Interior — Dark Cave — Somewhere in the Hidden Mountains
The silence was thick. Only the sound of droplets dripping from stone to mud filled the void. Sasuke Uchiha stood, facing a wall, his Sharingan active and fists clenched. His chakra burned like a whirlwind of pain and rage.
A distortion in the air. The sound of a spiral turning.
Tobi appeared.
— "Sasuke…" — his voice echoed calm, distorted, with an almost paternal tone. — "You seem more lost than ever. Still feel anger toward your brother, don't you?"
Sasuke didn't answer. His eyes trembled.
— "He lied to you your whole life. Killed your clan. All for a village that used him like a weapon. And now… left you alone in the world."
Tobi walked slowly toward him, unhurried, like a whisper dominating the mind.
— "But I can give you what Itachi denied you: the full truth… and power. Power enough to never be controlled again. To destroy Konoha, the root of it all. To create a world where you're never betrayed again."
Sasuke whispered:
— "A world where I decide who lives and who dies…"
Tobi stepped closer, his orange mask staring into the Uchiha's red eyes.
— "Exactly. But for that, you need to open your eyes completely. You must awaken something greater. Deeper than the Mangekyō… Something even Itachi never fully reached..."
He extended his hand.
— "Come with me. Abandon this useless burden of redemption. The world is about to crumble. And when Final Judgment falls upon them all… I want you by my side, as the true heir of the Uchiha clan."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. But his eyes… no longer wavered as much.
A seed of doubt had been planted.
And Tobi smiled behind the mask.
Meanwhile, Leaf ninjas were moving quickly toward the battlefield, with Shikamaru's group alongside his father leading the team to the location where the Leaf's battle was raging, joined by more ninjas from other nations.
— "Seems like war in the ninja world never ends!" — commented Shikaku Nara.
Upon reaching the battlefield, they were stunned by what they saw.
The armies of the five great nations were already positioned. With their arrival, they joined the ranks: Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Konohagakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure. The Kages shouted orders. Hundreds of ninjas formed lines. Clans and swordsmen. Sensors and medics. Summons already spread across the field.
But—
Minato appeared in a flash among the front-line ninjas — Hiraishin gleaming like pure thunder. With one move, ten jonin were cut to pieces.
Hashirama performed seals.
— Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan!
Entire forests erupted like fists, crushing troops.
Madara advanced like a god of war. Without words, his full Susano'o emerged in ethereal flames, smashing enemy lines like flies.
Tobirama leapt above the mist and shouted:
— Suiton: Suidanha!
Blades of water cut like giant scalpels, beheading three chunin in seconds. Then he appeared in dozens of places at once — using Hiraishin enhanced with Judgment chakra.
Sakumo moved like a specter. His white blade slashed through the eyes of opponents before they even sensed the attack. Every strike was a sure kill.
And Shisui... Shisui was the most terrifying. Because he didn't even seem to be there. When his gaze met someone's, the victim's body turned on their allies. Experienced jonin began killing each other — smiling.
— "It's the Kotoamatsukami...!" — screamed a sensor. — "Don't look into his eyes!"
Too late.
By the second, dozens were dying. Hundreds, maybe.
Explosions. Thunder. Screams. The ground cracked. Waters boiled. Skies split open.
And then, at the center of it all, Nagato floated like a higher entity. Chakra lightning flowed through the cables on his back — the same black rods from when he controlled the former Paths. But now, his connection wasn't just physical. It was spiritual.
From above, he raised his hands:
— Chibaku Tensei!
Three black orbs floated into the sky. The ground began to rise. Entire ninjas, mountain chunks, summons — all were being sucked in, crushed, shredded by pure gravity.
— "Retreat!" — the Raikage yelled. — "Everyone, fall back!"
— "This isn't a war… it's an execution…" — murmured Temari, wounded, watching the shadows of the Paths closing in.
Kazekage Gaara, even with his sand shield active, was pushed back by a punch from Madara's Susano'o that pierced the shield with ease.
The sand bled.
The Mizukage tried to counterattack with acidic mist, but Tobirama, in ghostlike speed, appeared behind her with an explosive tag on her neck.
Boom.
Half the field trembled.
The Hyuuga clan formed lines, activated Byakugan, and launched coordinated Kaiten attacks. But Madara dove among them like a beast, turning the battlefield into a blood spiral.
— "This can't be happening…"
— whispered Shikamaru, trying to form a strategy.
— "They don't have thoughts. They're… pure weapons."
Chōji activated his giant form, trying to crush Hashirama.
— Baika no Jutsu!
But the First Hokage merely touched the ground.
— Mokuton: Kajukai Kōrin!
A forest of poisonous flowers filled the air. Chōji collapsed, paralyzed, like a worn-out child.
Kurotsuchi used her lava to try melting Sakumo's feet. But the White Fang spun his blade and sliced the jutsu in half.
The heat vanished. She fell.
Darui unleashed his Black Panther.
— Raiton: Kuropansa!
But Minato appeared beside him with a seal.
— "You're fast," — murmured Darui, smiling.
Minato vanished.
A moment later…
Exploded.
Despair was spreading.
— "They have no emotion!" — Kankuro yelled, retreating.
— "They feel no pain, fear, exhaustion! They're… perfect weapons!"
From atop the hill, Nagato remained still.
His eyes glowed brighter.
— "This is the new world. No heroes. No honor. Only balance... through pain."
On the ground, bodies piled up.
Blood flowed like rivers.
The sounds of screams faded.
The battlefield, once full of promise, was now a red painting of tragedy.
And still…
No one dared surrender.
For even in hell, the ninja world refused extinction.
But Final Judgment had just begun.