Naruto Uzumaki turned his head in confusion.
He found the entire class—including Iruka-sensei, whose face was frozen in shock—staring at him as if they'd seen a ghost.
Their gazes flicked back and forth between Naruto and the World-Ender on the Heavenly Screen, eyes filled with fear, doubt, and utter disbelief.
Kiba pointed at Naruto, his finger trembling, voice cracking.
"Na… Naruto… he… he—"
Sakura covered her mouth, glancing from the screen back to Naruto, her face deathly pale.
Even Sasuke—normally so composed—stood rigid, staring at Naruto as his thoughts collapsed into chaos.
Naruto scratched his head, baffled by the strange looks, and shouted indignantly:
"Hey! What's with you guys?! Why are you all staring at me like that?!"
At this very moment, the emotional shockwaves caused by the collapse of the shinobi world's shared understanding reached their absolute peak.
In the mysterious space, Yin An closed his eyes in pleasure, savoring the tidal wave of emotion pouring in from across the world—
Extreme shock. Fear. Disbelief.
"The ultimate suspense has finally been revealed," he chuckled softly.
"Now then… it's time to show how a hero becomes a devil."
"No—better yet," he corrected himself.
"The hero stops the devil first… and only then becomes the devil."
Heavenly Screen – The Ruins of the Summit
"Naruto."
Sasuke's voice was calm as ever, but beneath that calm was a turbulence that only surfaced when he faced the man before him.
Floating in midair, Naruto's frozen, godlike indifference softened slightly—like ice touched by sunlight.
He smiled.
The grin carried a trace of familiar teasing, yet it was steeped in indescribable weariness.
"Sasuke… you really do love ruining my plans when I let my guard down," Naruto said lightly.
"Bullying an old classmate like that—don't you think that's cruel?"
The tone was so casual it felt as though they weren't standing amid the ruins of a destroyed summit, but back at the Ninja Academy training grounds.
Sasuke's lips curved faintly, a hint of resignation and long-standing understanding in his eyes.
"You've got some nerve talking," he replied.
"This way of saying hello is… just as 'special' as ever."
"Hah…" Naruto laughed.
The sound echoed across the ruins, empty and lonely.
As the laughter faded, his expression turned serious.
Those icy blue eyes locked onto Sasuke, filled with raw sincerity.
"Sasuke. You're my most important friend. I've always… thought of you as my brother."
Sasuke nodded slowly, Naruto's reflection steady in his dark eyes.
"I know."
He paused, the weight of their bond heavy in his voice.
"That's why I've always thought of you as my best friend too. My… little brother."
"I really don't want to fight you."
Naruto let out a long sigh, filled with exhaustion and regret.
He extended a final invitation—to Sasuke, to the brother he cherished.
"Then… why not join me?"
The wind swept through the ruins, stirring dust and smoke.
Sasuke didn't answer immediately.
He stared straight at Naruto, as if trying to pierce the cold shell surrounding him and reach the boy who once dragged him out of loneliness with a smile as warm as the sun.
After a long silence, he finally spoke—his voice firm, almost pleading.
"Naruto… you were the one who pulled me out of the darkness."
"And now… I don't want to see you sink into an even deeper darkness of your own making."
"Come back, Naruto."
Sasuke's words rang out like a final warning bell.
The Present Shinobi World
Dead silence.
Everyone watching the Heavenly Screen was stunned.
This wasn't the simple clash of justice and evil they had imagined.
It was a tragedy woven from pain, bonds, and helplessness—a duet of fate.
"They… they're not enemies?"
"The World-Ender… calling each other brothers?"
"They were… best friends?"
Countless minds struggled to keep up.
"Close friends turned against each other over ideals—now that is a true tragedy," Yin An murmured.
"So… are you curious yet?"
"But really," he added with a grin,
"it'd be even more interesting if Naruto got killed early."
Ninja Academy
After a heartbeat of deathly silence—
The room exploded.
"Wha—?!!"
Naruto and Sasuke turned toward each other at the exact same time, faces twisted with disbelief and rejection.
"Me and this guy?! (This dead-last?!) We end up that close?!"
Both wore expressions as if they'd swallowed something dead.
Hokage Office
"Protect Naruto Uzumaki at all costs!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi barked the order through clenched teeth.
A chill crawled up his spine.
"Could it be… really because of that…?"
He didn't dare finish the thought.
For the first time, he clearly realized—
Perhaps his way of handling Naruto back then hadn't protected the village at all.
Perhaps it had been cultivating a demon capable of destroying everything.
Heavenly Screen – The Decision
Facing Sasuke's heartfelt plea, Naruto slowly—firmly—shook his head.
"You know it already, Sasuke," he said calmly, with undeniable finality.
"I can't turn back… and I don't want to."
Sasuke fell silent.
He had never been good with words—never known how to thaw a heart that seemed completely frozen.
Tsunade stepped forward, suppressing her pain, trying to reach him through the past.
"Naruto! You used to call me Granny Tsunade! I don't want you to keep going down this path!"
Naruto cast her a cold glance.
There was no respect in it. No warmth.
Just the indifference reserved for a stranger in the way.
Ignoring Tsunade entirely, he fixed his gaze on Sasuke and spoke with cruel finality:
"Since you've chosen to stand with them… then there's no other option."
A suffocating pressure erupted outward from Naruto!
Sasuke's pupils contracted as he instantly pushed his chakra to the limit.
Behind him, the Five Kage and their guards tensed, battle stances snapping into place.
The ruins plunged into deadly stillness.
Yet Naruto did not attack.
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the broken world itself, lifted his head, and his voice thundered across the heavens.
"I hereby declare—"
"The Fourth Shinobi World War begins now!"
The proclamation struck the hearts of all who watched like the toll of final judgment.
Naruto looked down at the grim-faced Kage below—and burst into laughter.
The sound was arrogant, unrestrained, and unbearably lonely.
"Hahahaha!"
"Either I kill all of you—and destroy everything!"
"Or you kill me—and stop everything!"
"I'll give you three days to gather your forces!"
"When the war begins—"
"It will be the final battle!"
"One war—"
"To decide the fate of the world!"