The finality and pain in Naruto's voice left everyone momentarily stunned.
"Uchiha, you truly mean it..." Hiroki couldn't help but murmur.
"What nonsense," Kaguya muttered, disbelief flickering across her face. Something about his tone just felt wrong. Her grip on the Ten-Tails remained ironclad as she continued draining chakra from both Naruto and Sasuke.
Sasuke, meant to be protected, felt more than fury and sorrow—he felt overwhelming powerlessness.
He roared hoarsely, "You idiot, Naruto! What the hell are you saying?! Since when did I let you decide my path? Since when did I ask for your help? Stop acting like you know what's best for me!"
Baka... don't give up yet!
"Then consider it my arrogance, Sasuke."
Naruto's voice carried an unnatural depth for his age.
"I've always watched others die for me, sacrificed themselves to protect me. I never want to feel that helplessness again. Sorry, Sasuke—but this time, let me go first. I don't want to be the one hurting anymore..."
Suddenly, the image of Itachi Uchiha surged into Sasuke's mind.
'Forgive me, Sasuke...'
'Sorry, Sasuke. This shall truly be the final time...'
Itachi... Naruto...
"You're doing it again! Why do you guys keep deciding things for me?" He muttered bitterly.
"Such noisy children—way too emotional." Kaguya looked at the grimacing pair with disdain.
"Nine-Tails' Chakra—that was our previous agreement. Now, if you wish to live, surrender all your strength."
This time, Sasuke erupted even more violently. Screaming furiously, he shouted, "I don't need your help, Naruto! I'd rather die than live powerless like a nobody! I refuse to be an insect unable to control my own fate!"
Memories of past weakness surged back, twisting his heart anew.
He refused to lose his strength and fall back into weakness like he once was.
Like Naruto, he never wanted to feel loss again—to experience that helplessness.
"Sasuke..." Naruto stared at him with tears welling in his eyes.
"Just stop arguing already. If your emotions run so deep, why not walk together then?"
Kaguya sneered coldly.
At her command, chakra poured from Naruto and Sasuke into the Ten-Tails, their agony worsening by the second.
The two boys who had been shouting moments ago now twisted in torment, reduced to guttural groans—"Grrrraaah... grrrraaah..."
Hiroki exhaled in defeat and said nothing.
As Naruto and Sasuke gasped through their pain, suddenly an old male voice rang out with solemn authority.
"Mother, please spare these two youths..."
Hiroki turned his head.
The Sage of Six Paths hovered midair with arms crossed—an image of true immortality.
"You want me to release them? Fine. Then you take their place and die instead..."
Kaguya smirked coldly. Hearing her words, the Sage paused briefly, thoughtful expression on his face. After a long silence, he finally replied: "Okay."
Surprise flickered across Hiroki's face as he thought: Can the Sage of Six Paths really be this agreeable?
Kaguya's emotions were tangled and layered, her gaze flickering with conflicting feelings.
She had let Naruto and the others go—so who would return the favor to her?
When conflicts arose, Hayato disregarded all mother-son bonds.
Yet when it came to Naruto and Sasuke—his sons reincarnated countless times—he became a loving father.
How noble—a man who treats his own mother as an enemy now dares to claim he loves the world, that he protects future generations and all living beings.
Great love? More like twisted hypocrisy.
Thinking of this, Kaguya felt bitter inside.
In the end, she still cared—at least a little.
Back then, when she gave birth to Hayato and Hamura, she had felt some joy. After all, they were the only two people in the entire world connected to her.
Unfortunately, Hayato and Hamura chose to side with humanity, shattering her heart completely.
Sensing the faint sorrow and melancholy radiating from her, Hiroki stepped forward and hugged her tightly.
"Sage of Six Paths, if you truly want to save Naruto and the others, why not start by sacrificing yourself?"
The Sage of Six Paths stared at him for a while before shifting his gaze toward Kaguya.
"Mother, is this truly your chosen one? Do you love him for how similar he is to you, or for how different he is?" he asked.
Kaguya twitched the corner of her mouth but ignored him.
"Sage of Six Paths, hurry up and make your move. Those two won't last much longer…" Saying so, Hiroki pulled Kaguya even closer into his embrace.
The Sage glanced once more at Naruto and Sasuke, then turned his gaze back to the silent Kaguya, frowning deeply.
Finally, he sighed heavily and spoke, "How can I trust you?"
Hiroki chuckled lightly, "Trust isn't the issue. It's just that you care about their lives—we don't."
The Sage furrowed his brows and met Kaguya's eyes directly again, "Mother, you won't even speak to me now?"
"Don't call me Mother again!" Kaguya coldly snapped, turned her back on him, and wrapped her arms around Hiroki, resting her chin lazily on his shoulder as she exhaled softly.
Clearly, she refused to communicate with the Sage now.
A soft smile appeared on Hiroki's face, tenderness in his eyes. He lovingly brushed his cheek against hers.
If it weren't for worrying Kaguya might get upset, he would've done something far worse—just to provoke that self-proclaimed 'glorious son-in-law,' the Sage.
Seeing such intimate and suggestive behavior unfold before him, the Sage could only feel discomfort and unease.
In his memory, Kaguya always wore a cold, icy expression—never showing affection or initiating closeness with anyone.
Watching the Sage hesitate and wait for Kaguya's response, Hiroki grew somewhat annoyed. His tone darkened slightly as he said,
"You're too hypocritical, Sage. Back then, you acted arrogantly, ignoring everything, using force recklessly to seal Kaguya away. Now, without your physical body, unable to fully wield your power, you suddenly remember that communication exists? How ridiculous!"
"Fine then!" Hiroki exchanged a glance with Kaguya before snapping his fingers.
With a *thud*, Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously fell onto the ground.
Both Naruto and Sasuke were gasping for breath, exhausted from the battle.
"Naruto, Sasuke," said a voice. "The two of you must slap hands and release the power granted by the Sage of Six Paths."
At these words, both looked toward the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage gave a slight nod.
They exchanged uncertain glances for a moment before Naruto and Sasuke forcefully slapped their hands together.
As they withdrew their hands, the sun-and-moon seals on their palms had completely disappeared, along with the power that once resided within them.
"Get out," called Hiroki from above, looking down on Naruto and Sasuke. "You can leave now, Sasuke Uchiha."
Sasuke remained sitting weakly on the ground, as if wanting to do something else, but the Sage's voice reached him first—"Sasuke, go."
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke shot one last glance at everyone present before walking away without looking back.
Naruto silently watched as his figure disappeared into the distance, then slowly rose to his feet. But the moment he tried to take a step, an invisible force wrapped around him once again.
"Now it's your turn, Six Paths," Hiroki raised his eyebrows.
At this moment, the Sage of Six Paths was essentially a chakra construct—his form maintained only through willpower.
As long as he willingly dissolved his consciousness, the Sage of Six Paths would no longer exist in this world.
Naturally, the most thorough way to erase him completely was to absorb him.
He lifted himself higher into the air and drifted forward, stopping at a distance about three body lengths away from the eye of the Ten-Tails, suspended in midair.
From this position, the Ten-Tails could swallow him whole at any moment, and Kaguya and Hiroki could also strike him down instantly.
He repeated the question he had asked before: "Mother, what is it that you love about him? Do you love the parts where he is like you, or the parts where he differs from you?"
In his eyes, Kaguya was someone who utterly disregarded the lives of the weak.
If the man she chose was just like her in that regard, then this world was already doomed.
But if he was a man with compassion, then maybe—just maybe—he could stop her from going too far.
As the Sage of Six Paths posed the question, Hiroki suspected he was trying to provoke conflict.
"Let's just fight," Hiroki mentally grumbled to Kaguya. "Talking is too much trouble. Neither of us is good at this kind of talk."
True to his thoughts, Hiroki gathered chakra and lifted his hand, aiming directly at the Sage of Six Paths.
"King..."
"Hold on."
Kaguya placed a hand on his arm, stepped out of his embrace, and turned to face the Sage of Six Paths.
In the next instant, she appeared right before the Sage of Six Paths, her right hand pressing against his head—as though ready to crush it at any moment.
Her expression remained calm as her lips parted slightly, directly meeting the Sage's gaze. "Is this truly your final question before death?"
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