A wisp of white smoke rose from the muzzle, rising five kilometers away from the battlefield on a piece of Gobi Desert.

Broken wood pieces were scattered across the Gobi Desert, along with pits of varying depths.

Boom!

The long knife in the hand of the Complete Form of Susanoo slashed at the massive wooden human’s fist, sending dark green wood chips flying. The wooden human’s fist shattered, but in an instant, its palm regenerated, grabbing Susanoo’s shoulder.

"Madara, what we’re doing is utterly pointless. We’ve both been dead for years. Why do we still have to fight to the death? We battled back then because we had no choice."

Senju Hashirama had no desire to fight Madara.

"You’re... still lecturing me."

Madara was somewhat angry. He always minded the fact that during their fight, Hashirama used a Wood Clone to distract him and then stabbed him in the back.

If someone else had stabbed him in the back, Madara would consider it an oversight on his part. But Hashirama was different; they had been friends, and Madara believed Hashirama would never stab him in the back.

"We’re... both already dead, so why care if I’m lecturing? The past is past, and those people are gone. I know you always cared about Izumi..."

"Shut up!"

This time, Madara was truly enraged.

"Back then, I should have let you taste the pain of losing a loved one. If not for the clan, I wouldn’t have built Konoha with you, that hypocritical ninja village that makes me sick."

This time, Madara hit a sore spot for Hashirama. For Hashirama, his important things included Konoha.

"If that’s the case, then let’s continue this slaughter. It won’t be long before the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki is defeated. I believe in them, whether it’s Tobirama, or the Monkey, or that young man. They all carry on my will, the Will of Fire."

"Ridiculous."

Even as Hashirama and Madara fought fiercely, destroying nearly a kilometer of the surroundings, neither could subdue the other.

Su Xiao was sniping from afar and waiting.

About half an hour later, the ground began to shake, and Su Xiao looked into the distance. A twisted, sky-reaching tree shot into the sky.

This tree was at least a hundred meters tall, spiraling upwards, giving off an eerie and ominous feeling.

"Finally summoned the Divine Tree. It seems Obito can’t hold on much longer."

Su Xiao adjusted the scope, looking at Hashirama and Madara. The two had temporarily stopped fighting, and the surroundings were in ruins, as if struck by an earthquake and a typhoon.

Both of them were reanimated dead via Edo Tensei, and though they couldn’t die, the cracks on their faces increased noticeably, with some areas flaking off like clay dolls.

Boom!

A thunderous roar came from afar. A purple Susanoo stood in the distance, beside it a massive golden-energy fox. The purple Susanoo and the golden fox were tugging at something.

Su Xiao adjusted the scope again, bringing the scene into view from afar.

Kilometers away, the half-Six Paths state Obito floated in mid-air. The phantom of eight Tailed Beasts appeared, one end entering his body, the other being pulled by Naruto, Sasuke, the Second Hokage, and the Fourth Hokage.

Clearly, Obito was in a crisis: he had fought too many ninjas, rushed to complete the Moon Eye Plan, and hastily summoned the Divine Tree, leading to flaws.

Obito was struggling with Naruto and others over the eight Tailed Beasts. Once these beasts were pulled out of Obito’s body, his half-Six Paths state would vanish immediately.

Seeing this, Su Xiao sighed. While he could return to Reincarnation Paradise anytime, he couldn’t act recklessly on the battlefield. Some battles he couldn’t join; he wasn’t strong enough yet.

However, everything Su Xiao did was to quickly become strong. He didn’t have the bloodline and fate that allowed Naruto and Sasuke to grow strong effortlessly, so he gambled with his life.

Either die in battle or become stronger. Strength is freedom, is the ability to act as one wishes.

After observing for a moment, Su Xiao felt Obito wouldn’t last much longer.

Su Xiao stood, put away Spider Queen, and headed toward Hashirama and Madara’s battlefield. It was time to enter the stage.

Hashirama and Madara exchanged glances, both waiting for their bodies to recover.

Swoosh～

A sound of wind tearing through the air approached. Su Xiao stood atop a huge stone.

"Backup?"

Hashirama didn’t care much about Su Xiao. He could see that Su Xiao’s strength was greater than a Shadow, but to Hashirama, Su Xiao wasn’t a threat, making him guess Su Xiao was Madara’s subordinate.

"Madara, Obito’s almost done over there."

Su Xiao began talking, and Hashirama frowned. He suddenly felt that Su Xiao’s tone didn’t seem to be that of Madara’s subordinate.

"Hmm, then let’s begin here too. It’s time for a change of players, both here and there."

Madara was in a good mood. No, he was overjoyed because he would feel this world anew.

Hashirama’s gaze swept over Su Xiao and Madara. Their conversation gave him a bad feeling.

On the main battlefield.

With a thud, Obito, having lost his Six Paths state, fell to the ground. His aura weakly diminished, a side-effect of the Ten-Tails being extracted from him.

Two figures approached Obito. They were Naruto and Minato Namikaze.

"So, that’s how it is."

Naruto’s expression was low. His feelings towards Obito were similar to those towards Nagato, as while they struggled for the eight Tailed Beasts, their intentions intertwined, giving him some insight into Obito’s past, and vice versa.

They both found their past experiences similar; only the outcomes differed.

"He’s no longer a threat. Being stripped of eight Tailed Beasts, even if he can survive, his combat ability will fade in months."

Minato looked at Obito and sighed.

"Teacher, if Rin saw me now, she..."

Obito’s weak voice came forth.

"She probably... wouldn’t even look at you. Rin fought to protect Uchiha Obito, not the person you are now."

Minato’s voice was calm. As Rin’s Jonin leader, he had some understanding of her.

"That’s right. The Rin in the Illusion World was just my fantasy; she wasn’t Rin. Rin died long ago by Kakashi’s hand, but that no longer matters."

Obito was suddenly uncertain what obsession drove him all this way.

Obito didn’t realize that it wasn’t obsession that led him here but an escape from reality combined with anger, yearning, delusion, and a talisman at his heart.

Flat on the ground, Obito turned his head with effort, looking at the corpses spread across the battlefield, all of whom he had killed.

"I finally understand why Nagato betrayed me back then."

Obito chuckled bitterly, his thoughts now clearer than they had been since a massive rock crushed him.

"Naruto,"

Upon hearing Obito’s extremely weak voice, Naruto stayed silent, waiting for Obito to continue.

"Be wary of Uchiha Madara and Bai Ye. I might have been used, but those two, one hates this world, and the other cares nothing for it."

Obito struggled to lift his arms. Minato frowned, while Naruto placed a hand on his father’s arm. Minato looked at Naruto, puzzled, and Naruto shook his head.

"Madara’s weakness is..."

Obito gasped, struggling to speak.

"His weakness is being under Edo Tensei. If you can collaborate to defeat him, you can seize the opportunity to seal him. As for Bai Ye, never let him get close. Even though I was once his associate, if he got within five meters of me, I’d get goosebumps. Also, beware of the ninja dog by his side. Its stealth ability surpasses even Bai Jue or the Second Tsuchikage.

Do not let Bai Ye escape. This Ninja World War was entirely incited by him, as if he craves this war more than I do. Slaughter seems to be his pleasure; he can sit atop a pile of corpses and calmly enjoy dinner, something no ordinary ninja could do."

Obito clasped his hands together, then hooked them back, slowly forming a seal, a smile appearing on his face.

"I must atone for my past mistakes."

"You’re going to..."

Seeing Obito’s seal, Naruto’s mouth opened and closed. He had seen this sequence before. Obito intended to resurrect the fallen ninjas on the battlefield.

"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."

After using this technique, Obito would die, yet this wouldn’t actually compensate for anything.

A mass of black substance suddenly flew in, appearing almost out of nowhere. Neither Naruto nor Minato sensed it.

With a slap, the black substance landed on Obito. It was only then that Naruto sensed it, or rather, they had been misled by some ability, thinking that black substance was air or a stone.