The moment Kakashi reappeared, he was about to try talking Obito down again—then he saw a familiar girl.
"Rin? How are you—"
And then he noticed the cracks on Rin's face and immediately understood: Edo Tensei.
But he still couldn't understand why Edo Rin was here.
Rin's eyes lit up the instant she saw him. "Kakashi! It's been so long. You and Obito… you've both grown up so much."
Kakashi didn't know what to say. There was joy—real joy—in that reunion, but he also knew this wasn't the time for any of it.
Then Obito suddenly coughed up blood.
"Obito! Obito, are you okay?!" Rin panicked, rushing to him.
"Rin… one last thing. Please."
Obito wanted to reach for her hand, but he didn't dare extend his arm.
"Rin… transplant my eye into Kakashi."
Rin and Kakashi both jolted. "Obito, why would you—"
Obito cut them off. "Rin. Kakashi. I did too many things wrong in this life. I hurt too many people. Even if I wake up now, it doesn't change anything."
His breath shook.
"I'm dying. Just like last time… this time, too, I want to give my eye to Kakashi. Kakashi—I want you to take my eye and protect this world. It's the only thing I can do now… my only atonement."
"Obito…"
Kakashi couldn't speak. Tears poured down anyway.
He'd been trying to pull Obito back from the edge for so long—he never imagined that the moment Obito truly came to his senses would also be the moment his life ran out.
Rin looked at Obito for a long time, eyes trembling… and then she nodded.
Just like back then.
No one could know how much pain and reluctance was tearing her apart inside.
But she understood Obito—understood what he was trying to do, and why he couldn't keep going.
Kakashi didn't refuse. He silently knelt and accepted the procedure.
Thankfully, it wasn't complicated. The transplant was finished quickly, and after using Shōsen no Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique), the eye could function immediately—though for Kakashi, the chakra drain was even worse than before.
Good thing he still had a chakra "battery" to prop him up. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to use it at all.
And besides… out here on the battlefield, his "always goes even" buff was basically stacked to the ceiling. In other words, he could use it.
Even pulling out a Susanoo wouldn't be surprising at this point.
Obito's empty eye sockets seemed to curve with a faint, satisfied smile.
With his last breath, he finally took Rin's hand—his final obsession, the one thing he couldn't let go of.
He whispered, "Rin… I want to hear how you truly feel. You have to say what's in your heart. If you don't… there won't be another chance."
Rin looked like she was about to break down, but as an Edo Tensei she couldn't shed tears. She could only choke on her words.
"I… I like Kakashi. I've always liked him. Obito, I'm sorry. I always saw you as a little brother."
"That's good… that's how it should be. Just like Natsuki said—Rin loves Kakashi. That Rin is the truest Rin…"
And then Obito—
His body went still, and his remaining life finally extinguished.
"Obito!" Kakashi's eyes went wide, but no words came.
Rin didn't react like a living person might. Instead, her body began to break apart into drifting light.
With a soft smile, she said, "Kakashi… I have to go too. If Obito walks that road alone, he'll cry. Getting to see you again… getting to confess to you… I'm satisfied."
Her voice gentled even further.
"You have to live well, okay? I hope you'll be happy…"
Kakashi reached out—an instinctive, desperate hand—
But all he could do was watch Rin disappear.
His tears blurred everything.
But he still remembered what mattered most.
First, he collected Obito's body. He intended to take it back and bury him properly.
Then he used Kamui to move toward Tenten and Shino to ask what was happening.
With both Kamui eyes now, he should be able to help.
On the other side, Natsuki stared at the Ten-Tails' headless body, wondering if he should keep attacking.
After he'd split the Ten-Tails in half earlier, he realized its vitality was still absurd—it wasn't going to die easily. So he'd followed up with another attack, smashing its head into pulp.
And even then… it still didn't seem dead.
That kind of life force was downright monstrous.
Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, Fū, and Killer B gathered around as well, exchanging uneasy looks.
Sasuke said, "I think it's going to regenerate. We should use the opening to set up a large-scale sealing technique and lock it away completely. Right now we don't have a reliable way to kill it."
It was a good suggestion—
But it probably wouldn't happen.
Because someone would stop them.
"A large-scale sealing technique? Not a bad idea."
Madara's voice drifted in, and he arrived with Black Zetsu at his side.
"Natsuki, you really are strong. Opening the Seventh Gate and injuring the Ten-Tails this badly… in the shinobi world, you truly are the strongest. But this isn't over."
His smile sharpened.
"I'm about to become stronger than you. I'll become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. I'll become the new Sage of Six Paths!"
Power surged around him as he began absorbing the Ten-Tails itself.
"Rikudō: Jūbi Jinchūriki Fūin (Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal)!"
As the jutsu took hold, the Ten-Tails—split in two—began to rush into Madara's body at terrifying speed, as if it were being pulled through a funnel.
Naruto and the others instantly lunged to stop him—
But even in that state, Madara could still use Rinbo: Hengoku (Limbo: Border Jail). Invisible shadows struck in an instant, blowing Sasuke and the others away like rag dolls.
Whoosh!
Natsuki flashed in front of Madara in a blink, snapping open the Seventh Gate—
—and firing a point-blank air cannon straight at him.
But Madara was even more insane than anyone expected.
He forced the Rinnegan's repulsive power to its limit, slamming that invisible force head-on into Natsuki's air cannon.
The collision detonated into a violent explosion.
In a single instant, everyone was blasted away by the shockwave.
Everyone—
Except Natsuki.
Natsuki stood unmoving, as if the blast didn't even exist.
He scanned through the smoke for Madara.
A moment later, Madara rose to his feet.
And the Ten-Tails was gone.
Completely.
It had been fully absorbed.
Madara's mouth was smeared with blood—he'd clearly taken heavy damage from that air cannon.
And yet he was smiling.
No—he was laughing.
"Hahahaha! Natsuki, you really are strong. You nearly killed me. But now I'm the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. I'll gain Six Paths power, and you're no longer my match!"
Everyone's faces tightened, heavy with dread, as they watched Madara's body begin to change.
His hair turned white.
A marking appeared on his forehead.
A white robe formed over him, and at the collar sat six dark-red magatama.
Nine black orbs floated behind him, and in his hand was a shakujo-like staff.
He looked exactly like—
A Sage of Six Paths.
And the pressure rolling off him was so terrifying that people couldn't even summon the will to resist.
Madara had finally stepped into the Six Paths realm, becoming the second Sage of Six Paths in the shinobi world.
"Th-This… is the Sage of Six Paths?" someone whispered.
No one answered. They could only stare, stunned.
At that moment, Kakashi arrived with Tenten, Shino, and the three Hokage, and they saw it too—shock freezing them in place.
With the Ten-Tails' clones wiped out, more people rushed over as well—Neji, Tsunade, the Fourth Raikage A, Ōnoki, and others—everyone staring at Six Paths Madara, their pupils trembling like earthquakes.
(End of Chapter)
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