Chapter 42: Revival

I breathed.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

So much chakra swirled through my veins. At Naruto's request, the tailed beasts had provided me with a small sample of their chakra, just enough to stabilize two people who had had their tailed beasts ripped out of them. But even a small sample was still so much. If I wasn't half Uzumaki, I might have ended up in the same state as Haku. As it was, I still needed to be careful when containing it.

So I focused on my breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

There were no distractions here in the Kamui dimension where I waited for news. So when the telltale swirl of air finally manifested, I was ready and managed to catch both Naruto and Sasuke as they fell.

Sasuke was suffering from a simple stab wound to the chest, probably from being impaled by his own sword. I healed the puncture easily enough, though he'd need a bit of time to recover from the blood loss.

Naruto wasn't as simple. As expected, he'd lost Kurama, and his heart had stopped, but like Haku on the bridge, he was not completely gone. There was still a small flicker of chakra remaining, and that was enough for me. I poured my healing chakra into him, forcing his heart to beat and his diaphragm to draw breath even as I infused his chakra coils with the power of the tailed beasts. It wasn't easy. There was an immense void in Naruto where Kurama once resided. No matter how much I poured into it, it never seemed like enough. But I kept going.

My chakra pathways burned, but it wasn't anything my Hashirama cells and healing chakra couldn't handle. I kept going. And eventually, the void in Naruto's soul began to glow with warmth and life.

And not only that.

From within Naruto, I felt something strange. Something old and powerful. And it wasn't only inside of him, either. An equal force reverberated from within Sasuke as well. That had to be Hagoromo here to explain the history of this world to the current incarnations of his wayward sons.

And to grant them his power.

Another swirl of air appeared beside us and Obito stumbled into Kamui. His breathing was ragged, but he looked otherwise uninjured. Except, of course, for the fact that black Zetsu was clinging to the left side of his body.

For some reason, he did not seem particularly bothered by this fact.

"Madara has become the Juubi Jinchuuriki," said Obito without preamble as he knelt beside me. "All he needs now is my Rinnegan. How are these two doing?"

"Nii-chan and Naruto will wake soon," I said. "Thanks to you."

Obito looked down.

"Ever since I was a kid, I was never able to walk a straight path," he said. "But I've finally gotten to where I need to go."

His chakra rippled with the pain of grief.

I reached out and held his hand. Obito allowed it.

There was a sudden flare of chakra from Naruto and Sasuke, and they both blinked awake.

"Nii-chan…Naruto," I said softly.

Naruto's head lolled and his eyes slowly focused on me. Sasuke was more alert, but his eyes were shadowed and the left one had become a Rinnegan.

"Kiyo…chan?" Naruto mumbled, one hand reaching up to clutch weakly at my sleeve.

Beneath my palm I could feel his chakra strengthening.

He was going to be fine.

Sasuke was the first to climb to his feet. He and Naruto exchanged a glance, and a spark seemed to pass between them. Understanding. When Naruto stood, there was nothing but grim determination on his face or in his chakra.

"Naruto and I will handle this alone," said Sasuke. "Everyone else will just get in the way."

Not quite true.

"Naruto, can I borrow some of your Sage chakra?" I asked.

Sage Mode took intense training to master, but the hardest part was gathering the chakra. And Naruto had already done that. Besides, if Madara could steal Hashirama's Sage chakra and use it despite not being a sage himself, then in theory, I should be able to do the same. If it came down to chakra control, I would make it work.

"Eh?" Naruto asked, bemused. "Uh, it's really dangerous, Kiyo-chan. If you don't mix it properly, you could turn to stone."

"I'll be fine," I assured him, reaching out. "I can sense how you mix your chakra, and the proportions are easy enough to manipulate. I won't be able to generate any of my own, though, so whatever you give me is all I'll have."

Naruto still seemed reluctant, but upon seeing my determination, he nodded and held out his hands. I took them, and he passed his chakra to me. And wow, that was a rush. Although he'd only given me a small portion of his power, it was still enough to become fully aware of everything around me, like I was suddenly one with the world. I could feel it strengthening my body too, enhancing both me and my chakra. It was also, I noticed, not Naruto's normal Sage chakra. This was even stronger, and held the same power I'd sensed while he was unconscious.

This wasn't just Sage chakra. It was Six Paths Sage chakra. The power of Hagoromo. Of the Otsutsuki.

I released Naruto and stood back.

"Alright, let's go…" I began. But then I was interrupted by the arrival of what could only be described as Guy Flambé, who was unceremoniously dumped on the floor nearby. Probably courtesy of Kakashi's Kamui.

Damnit! No one else was supposed to be on the battlefield! Guy must have disobeyed the order to retreat….Or he'd been sent here. Most likely by Jiraiya…who I'd sent to Lee with dire news of Madara's revival.

Yeah, this was probably my fault…

I dropped to one knee beside Guy and poured healing chakra into him.

"Gah!" yelped Naruto. "What happened to Bushy-brow-sensei?"

Madara. That's what had happened to him. Guy had obviously released the Eight Gates, including the final Death gate. Normally it was a death sentence, but beneath my palm, Guy's chakra sparked to life.

"...You two go on ahead," I said. "Make sure that Kakashi-sensei is alright, and I'll meet with you soon. I'll handle this for now."

Naruto cast a worried glance between me and Guy before nodding. He shared a look with Sasuke, and Obito sent them both to the battlefield with a touch.

As I worked on Guy, I couldn't help but marvel at Naruto's Six Paths chakra. It was incredible. If I'd thought that the Hashirama cells had enhanced my healing, it was nothing compared to this. Guy's charred skin and burned chakra coils seemed to regenerate with a simple thought. I just had to imagine what I wanted, and the chakra seemed to manifest it into reality. Was this an extension of Hagoromo's Creation of All Things Technique? If it could be used to create things like the bijuu, it seemed trivial to apply it to a human like Guy.

It took me about five minutes before Guy was blinking groggily awake. He tried to sit up, but I pushed him back down. It was easier than it should have been, both because of Guy's weakness and my own Sage-enhanced strength.

"Stay still for now, Guy-sensei," I said. "You're safe here, and you need to rest."

He gave me a sparkling smile that was just a bit dimmer than usual and a shaky thumbs-up. I put him to sleep with a touch. Which meant that it was time for me to go.

"Obito–," I said.

"I cannot send you into danger," said Obito. "Itachi's Kotoamatsukami command is still in effect. I cannot let you leave as long as Madara is still out there."

Oh…Right…

'Protect Uchiha Kiyo.'

I had completely forgotten about that. I reached up to touch my eyelid. I still had one of Shisui's eyes sealed into mine. Maybe I could find a way to use it to undo the command afflicting Obito? But it was also bound by Obito's seal on my heart. I'd have to undo that first. But since the seal was designed to prevent me from removing it, I'd need help.

The air beside Obito swirled and the top half of Madara appeared in the Kamui dimension.

Ah, yes. Perfect timing.

I slid between Obito and Madara, who barely spared me a glance before thrusting a Rinnegan chakra rod straight toward me. Huh, it was almost like Madara was moving in slow motion. It seemed that it wasn't just my power that had increased, but my speed and reaction times too. Yeah, only those with the power of the Six Paths would be able to fight on this level. I adjusted my position slightly, sending Madara's chakra rod straight into my chest. Straight into my heart. And the seal that lay buried there, destroying it completely.

Perfect.

I choked on my own blood, but although the rod disrupted my chakra, it did not seal it completely. And so I grasped the rod and pulled it out, already healing my damaged heart and closing the wound as if it had never existed at all.

I looked directly at Madara before activating Shisui's now-unbound eye.

As the Juubi jinchuuriki, Madara should be immune to genjutsu entirely. But this genjutsu was backed by Naruto's Six Paths Sage chakra, and I felt it land. I felt Madara fight against it, and I pushed harder, forcing the genjutsu command into his mind.

Do not kill anyone.

Madara continued to struggle, but with one final push, he was restrained by my genjutsu.

Great.

Of course, just because he couldn't kill anyone, that didn't make him any less dangerous. Which meant that it was time for me to go. I leaped back, slamming into Obito, who was still bound by his own command to protect me. With Madara right in front of us, the best way for him to do that was…

Obito's hand grasped my shoulder, and suddenly I was thrust back into the real world.

Flawless victory.

I was almost impressed by how well it all went. But there was no time to celebrate. Madara would return shortly.

I landed heavily on the broken ground and looked around to see Itachi, Shisui, and Minato nearby, all looking worse for wear, which was impressive since two of them were Edo Tensei summons. While Shisui looked a little bedraggled, he didn't have any obvious injuries. Minato, though, was missing both arms. I made my way over to Itachi and healed him with a touch, barely bothering to register his injuries before mending them.

A short distance further away, Sasuke and Naruto stood over Kakashi, who was clutching at the eye socket which should have contained his Sharingan. Even from here, I could sense that it was empty.

"Kiyo-chan!" Naruto shouted, waving.

I finished with Itachi and approached Kakashi, coaxing him to lower his hand. I couldn't regrow Obito's Sharingan, but I could at least replace the missing eye. I'd never grown a whole body part before, but now it seemed so simple. So easy. It only took a moment, and then Kakashi was suddenly looking at me with a pair of matching black eyes.

"I was able to use Shisui-nii-san's eye to command Madara not to kill anyone," I said. "But he'll be back soon with Zetsu and Obito's Rinnegan. Guy-sensei is asleep, so Madara won't have any reason to hurt him. How are you holding up here?"

"Eh, we're fine," said Naruto, surprisingly nonchalant all things considered.

"Are you?" Sasuke asked, scowling at me. Or rather, at the bloody hole in the front of my robe right over my heart. The one created by Madara mere moments ago.

"Yeah, it's nothing I couldn't heal," I said, careful not to mention the fact that I'd injured myself on purpose. That probably wouldn't go over well. "That happened before I used Shisui-nii-san's eye on Madara." Sasuke was still scowling so I decided to switch topics. "Shisui-nii-san, Fourth-sama, do you think you could gather the first three Hokages?"

"I'll do it," said Minato. "I can get there and back quickly enough."

I shook my head.

"We'll need you both away from the fight for now," I said. "The Sage of Six Paths will need help to summon us back from Kaguya's dimension. If you're here during the fight, you'll be dragged along too, and we'll all be trapped. As Edo Tensei summons, you're the only ones who will be immune to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so we'll all have to rely on you."

Minato and Shisui didn't seem too happy, but they eventually nodded, and I Hiraishined them to Hashirama.

"You three should get out of here too," said Sasuke, looking between Itachi, Kakashi, and me.

"With Kamui no longer a safe refuge, it is unlikely that there is a minimum safe distance from this battle," said Itachi.

"Against the Infinite Tsukuyomi, our only chance will be with your Susanoo, Nii-chan," I reminded him. "Naruto, can you give Kakashi-sensei and Onii-chan a bit of non-Sage chakra to work with?"

They were near chakra exhaustion and would need something to keep them on their feet at least.

"Hmm," said Naruto, folding his arms in deep thought for a moment before nodding. "...I think so, yeah."

Naruto held out his hands, and Kakashi and Itachi each took one. In the span of a few moments, both of them had their chakra reserves completely restored.

"You have a truly impressive amount of chakra even without the Kyuubi," Itachi remarked.

"Well, he is Konoha's #1 most surprising ninja," said Kakashi before suddenly perking up.

Naruto and Sasuke did the same.

I could feel it too.

"He's coming…" said Kakashi as the air swirled nearby. "Do you remember your first mission, snatching away the bells? You haven't forgotten my lesson, right?"

"Of course!" Naruto shouted, far too exuberant. "Teamwork!"

And then Madara and Obito appeared, Madara with both Rinnegan, and Obito unconscious, standing only because he was still possessed by Black Zetsu.

"...In this case, would you consider dying together to be 'Teamwork' as well?" Madara asked, mocking. Then his gaze shifted to me, and his Intent spiked. "...Though you've done something to prevent that, haven't you? Do you think it will be enough to save you and your friends?"

I didn't answer. I didn't have to.

"Obito!" Naruto shouted.

"Unfortunately, Obito is no more," said Black Zetsu. "I took his body. Apparently he wanted to make up for his past mistakes. Deep inside his heart, he was counting on you, just like a kid. Isn't that selfish? Like a spoiled brat…"

"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah, I know," said Naruto. "There's more of 'em."

I could feel them too, Madara's four Limbo clones.

The real fight was about to start.

Judging by the expression on Madara's face, he seemed to agree.

"...We've played enough," he said.

Madara leaped into the air, ascending towards the moon as his Limbo clones descended on us. Naruto and Sasuke moved to intercept them as Madara kept going up and up and up. The clones didn't last very long, so I half-expected Madara to summon a hail of meteors to keep us busy, but he didn't. Probably because of the 'Do not kill anyone' command. The only thing he could do now was fend us off and attempt to put us to sleep. So he continued up. When he finally stopped, he tore away the bony growth on his forehead, revealing the Rinne Sharingan.

Sasuke summoned his Susanoo and its wings curled around us, acting as a shield against Madara's power. It was through this lens of purple that I watched the surge of chakra from Madara to the moon. And suddenly night became day as the moon shone red. I looked away as if that would help, but although the chakra descending from the moon was as vast as the sky itself, it passed around Sasuke's Susanoo, parting like a river for a stone.

"This light can penetrate and see through even shadows," said Madara. "No one can hide from it. And now…Deep Forest Emergence!"

The ground shook, and within moments, a great forest of massive trees sprouted from the earth all across the world, wrapping its victims in white bandage-like growths. It only took a few moments before everyone was snared. The light from the moon persisted for perhaps a minute more, but soon even that began to fade.

"Alright, we should be okay now," I said as the last of the genjutsu-enhanced light vanished.

Sasuke's Susanoo slowly unfurled its wings.

"Hmm, so you're the only ones left to get rid of," said Black Zetsu, his chakra sharpened, but before he could attack, Madara was between us, surveying the scene of his apparent victory.

"I am the savior of this world, so I'll do it," he said. "I've severed the cycle of hatred. I have freed mankind from their suffering and their pain. Right now, everyone is inside the Divine Tree, each one dreaming their own idyllic dreams. You should be there now too, but it seems that I will have to deliver you to paradise personally. That's what you wanted, though, wasn't it?"

That question was directed at me, but Naruto spoke first.

"You're just deceiving everyone!" he shouted.

"I just want to be the savior that ends the long history of fighting amongst shinobi," said Madara. "Just know this: it's all over."

And now…

Zetsu stabbed Madara in the back, straight through his heart.

"You're wrong, Madara," he said. "You're not the savior. Nor is this the end of things. My dear Madara…you have been inside a phantom dream, inside the dream that I concocted."

"What are you saying?" Madara asked. "I created you! You are my will!"

"Wrong again," said Zetsu. "My will is Kaguya's!"

Madara screamed as dozens of black tendrils burst from Zetsu's hand and spread all over his body. Chakra exploded from around him, greater even than the power of the Juubi. Its presence alone was enough to shatter the ground at our feet, as if Madara was absorbing the very life energy of the world around us. No, it wasn't from the world. It was from the people trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Madara's Limbo clones flickered and vanished as the chakra coalesced inside Madara's wound, swelling him like a balloon. It might have been comical if it wasn't so grotesque.

"...Here she comes," I said.

Zetsu discarded Obito, unconscious, to the ground as Madara's expansion stopped and he abruptly shrank back in on himself. Back to normal human size and shape. But instead of Madara, there was a woman with unnaturally long, white hair.

Otsutsuki Kaguya.

She activated her Byakugan and focused on Naruto and Sasuke immediately, seeming to disregard everyone else as beneath her notice. That worked for me. We just needed a moment for her to be distracted, just long enough for one hit. I already knew exactly how Naruto would be able to get close enough, and I could use the Hiraishin to bring Sasuke in too.

We just needed one moment to make it work…

"These two must be Hagoromo and Hamura's…no Indra and Ashura's…?" Kaguya mused. "So, it's Hagoromo who gave you those techniques." Then her eyes shifted to me. "And you…your power was stolen…borrowed? It is from my blood, my people. But it is not yours. And yet…you know me. You knew I would awaken. And you intend…"

Oh no. I forgot that her Byakugan allowed her to read people's thoughts and feelings. Which meant…

She knew.

"Nii-chan, Naruto!" I shouted, activating my Sharingan in an attempt to block her, hoping against all hope that she hadn't seen too much.

Sasuke and Naruto blitzed forward to confront Kaguya. This was, blessedly, enough to pull her attention away from me, at least for a moment, and it allowed me to go after Obito. When I reached him, I poured my healing chakra into him. He wasn't actually wounded. Just completely drained of chakra.

I was distantly aware of Kaguya talking to Naruto and Sasuke.

And then the world suddenly shifted, and we were all falling toward an ocean of lava.

I grabbed Obito and wrapped a cloak of wind chakra around the both of us. It wasn't enough for me to fly, but it would at least let me hover. Not that I had to worry about that for long, however, as Itachi grabbed Kakashi and activated his Susanoo. I Hiraishined myself and Obito to Itachi's side, landing safely within his armored avatar. I looked around frantically, but Sasuke and Naruto were also safe on one of Sasuke's hawks.

Right. Good. For now, Kaguya didn't seem interested in us at all. It only took a moment to wake Obito as Kaguya, Sasuke, and Naruto clashed behind us. He roused slowly, as if from a deep sleep, blinking at me with a pair of matching dark eyes, which meant that Madara had returned his eye after stealing the Rinnegan.

How conscientious.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, drawing my attention back to their fight. Sasuke was falling, the shattered pieces of his Susanoo scattering around him. I activated his Hiraishin mark and summoned him back to me.

"Not even Susanoo works," he muttered, not seeming at all bothered by his near fiery death.

"Only the power of the Six Paths will work against her," I reminded him.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "Send me over to Naruto."

Naruto was floating some distance away, apparently having figured out how to fly with his new power.

I glanced at Naruto and caught him in a genjutsu.

"Naruto, use one of your Truth-Seeking Orbs to make a platform for Nii-chan," I thought to him.

"Huh, oh yeah!" thought Naruto, doing as instructed. When he was done, I sent Sasuke over to him and turned back to the others.

Kakashi and Itachi were keeping watch, on edge but unmoving. Yeah, there wasn't much either of them could do.

Not yet, at any rate.

But that didn't mean we were powerless.

"Onii-chan, can you seal Black Zetsu with the Totsuka blade?" I asked. Black Zetsu was Kaguya's advisor. If we could remove him, things would be easier for us.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as he watched the fight. Naruto and Sasuke were hanging back talking, but Kaguya didn't seem in much of a hurry to attack either.

"I cannot match Kaguya's speed unless I am given an opening," he admitted.

That wouldn't be easy.

"Give me a moment," I said.

I Hiraishined to Sasuke's side, activating my wind cloak to hover beside them and snaring Sasuke and Naruto in a genjutsu at the same time. Sasuke's hand twitched as he reflexively reached out to keep me from falling, but he aborted the motion upon realizing that I was hovering just fine.

"I'll use my chains to hold her down if you can distract her for a moment," I thought to Naruto.

"Right!" said Naruto, launching forward. "Leave it to me!"

Sasuke gave me an exasperated look before focusing on Kaguya and casting Amaterasu. Kaguya absorbed the flames, but it gave Naruto the moment he needed to create his shadow clones and transform them into a reverse harem of undressed men.

Great, she'd be stunned…

But Kaguya simply slashed at the clones with a spike of bone that appeared in her hand. The harem clones each turned to ash before they popped, leaving only the real Naruto behind. She swiped at him too. He wouldn't have time to dodge.

I Hiraishined to Naruto's side, wrapping Kaguya in chains enhanced by Six Paths chakra.

"Now Naruto!" Sasuke shouted.

The two of them closed in on Kaguya, their hands outstretched, but a moment before impact, Kaguya flared her chakra, shattering my chains with an enormous burst of raw power. And then the world froze solid. Another dimensional shift. I Hiraishined back to Itachi's side and pulled Naruto and Sasuke with me, freeing us all from the icy prison.

What happened? That should have worked. But…right. Kaguya had looked into my mind using her Byakugan. She must have seen Naruto's surprise attack. I'd been considering it as the perfect opportunity. Thankfully, that was the only part of this fight I'd been thinking about.

From within the ice, Kaguya opened a portal and appeared outside as well.

"Sorry my pervy jutsu failed," said Naruto.

"It's alright, I got her," I said. Because although my chains hadn't been able to hold her, they'd been more than sufficient to plant a dozen Hiraishin formulas all over her body. "Naruto, I need to borrow one of your Truth-seeking orbs. Can you break it into twelve pieces for me? Shaped like spikes?"

"Huh, sure," said Naruto, taking one of his orbs, reshaping it as I'd requested, and handing the resulting spikes over to me.

Great, I could work with these.

But before I could do anything, a portal opened behind Sasuke, and a pair of hands appeared to drag him away.

Or at least they tried to. I activated Sasuke's Hiriashin mark and pulled him back before the portal closed. I had to be careful. My Hiraishin didn't work across dimensions. If she stole away Sasuke or Naruto, then we wouldn't be able to seal her.

Actually, if we ended up sealing her here, we might not be able to get home. For that we'd need…

"Naruto, Nii-chan, keep her distracted for a bit," I said.

I created a shadow clone to make sure that Kaguya wasn't able to steal one of them away while I was gone. Then I Hiraishined back to Itachi, and, more importantly, Obito. They were some distance away, far enough to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, but still close enough to observe.

"Obito," I said gently, kneeling beside him. He looked up at me. "We're in a different dimension, and your Mangekyo is the only thing that can cross dimensional barriers. We'll need your help to get back. I'm going to give you some of my chakra, so hold still for a bit."

After everything, his reserves were pretty low, and victory wouldn't be worth much if we weren't able to get home. I placed my hands on his chest and began replenishing his reserves. He'd entered Six Paths Sage Mode when he was the Juubi jinchuuriki, so I was pretty confident that he could handle the power.

"There, that should be all you need," I said as I finished. I had to be careful now. Although Naruto had given me quite a bit of power, it was not limitless. "Have you had a chance to observe Kaguya's jutsu?"

"She emerges and disappears into different dimensions," he said. "You're right that it's similar to my Mangekyou power. If I resonate my Kamui with her jutsu, I'm positive that I can enter her portal. But I'm not sure if that will get us home."

"There's a central dimension that she uses to travel between the others," I said. "If we can get there, then the Sage of Six Paths will bring us home."

Of course, convincing Kaguya to go to that dimension wasn't going to be easy, but…

The world shifted, and suddenly we were all slammed hard into the ground, the ice and snow beneath us replaced by stone pyramids that dug hard into flesh. A sudden rush of chakra and memories flooded into my head. My shadow clone had been destroyed, popped by the pointed ground in the high-gravity dimension.

I quickly sorted through the memories. Apparently Kaguya had tried several times to separate Sasuke and Naruto, but I'd foiled her attempts each time. Naruto had created dozens of shadow clones to distract her. So she'd switched to targeting my shadow clone instead, but it had successfully evaded her through a combination of speed, luck, and a few timely assists by Naruto and Sasuke. This abrupt dimensional shift was likely an attempt to destroy all of Naruto's clones and pin us all down. And it looked like she'd succeeded.

But of course Kaguya was a victim of her own dimension as well, as she too was pinned to the ground. She raised her hands, bone spikes appearing in the center of her palms. When she fired them, I Hiraishined Naruto and Sasuke back to my side.

"Ah, thanks Kiyo-chan!" said Naruto.

Kaguya slowly and laboriously turned to face us.

"Onii-chan, I'm going to make an opening for you to seal Black Zetsu," I whispered hurriedly. "Obito, Kakashi-sensei, you act as decoys. Nii-chan, Naruto, we'll pin down Kaguya."

There was a chorus of assent. I reached out, my arms each as heavy as boulders. Naruto and Sasuke took my hands, and Itachi rested his hand against my back. Kaguya reached up to take aim once more.

Then Kakashi and Obito were suddenly standing in front of us, using their bodies as shields. Itachi activated Susanoo, preparing the Totsuka blade and making it appear that we were on the defensive.

In the moment of Kaguya's attack, I Hiraishined us to one of the many marks on her body, and we all moved as one. Sasuke and Naruto closed in with a pincer attack, their seal-bearing hands stretched out. I wrapped my chakra chains around her arms, binding her in place, and Itachi thrust the Totsuka blade into her sleeve, stabbing Black Zetsu and dragging him into the jar where he would be sealed.

Kaguya made a sound of fury, once again shattering my chains with a burst of chakra, but now Naruto and Sasuke were too close to fend off, and the gravity here was too heavy for her to fly to safety. She had no choice but to flee straight back to the central dimension where we needed to be to finish this.

Kaguya flew straight up and out of reach, but the Hiraishin marks were like a curse, binding her to me more surely than my chains ever could. I activated one of her marks, dragging her back to the space between Naruto and Sasuke's seal-marked hands. She raised her arms, bone spikes appearing in each palm in one last attempt to defend herself, but I took each of the dozen Truth-seeking spikes Naruto had given me and teleported them straight into her body, tearing her apart from the inside, a perfect reverse of the surgery I had once performed on Lee. Kaguya screamed, her body convulsing in agony, unable to defend herself at all even as Naruto and Sasuke finally made contact.

"Six Path's Planetary Devastation!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted.

The ground beneath us shattered, and huge boulders of pink stone rose up toward Kaguya, who screamed once more as her body began to swell and distend, not unlike Madara had done during her resurrection. She became a mass of grayish flesh shaped vaguely like the juubi, but as each of the ten tails emerged, they began to take the shape of the bijuu that had been sealed. Each 'tail' broke away, falling to the ground and becoming the bijuu once more until only one remained. The head of a rabbit. It opened its mouth, spitting out Madara to the ground before being entombed in stone.

"Fall back!" shouted Kakashi.

I grabbed Naruto and Sasuke, and I Hiraishined us all to Kakashi's side. He was standing with Itachi and, surprisingly, Obito. I hadn't actually expected him to survive Kaguya's attack back in the high-gravity dimension. But when I thought about it, I could guess at what had happened. After I'd Hiraishined everyone else to Kaguya's side, Obito would be able to Kamui away the bone spike aimed at Kakashi while allowing the other to pass straight through him.

With no one to protect, there was no need to die.

...Which was good because Guy was still in the Kamui dimension, and if Obito had died, we wouldn't be able to get him back.

Oops.

"Alright, sealing complete!" cheered Naruto, pumping his fist in the air.

The whole world shifted, and we were abruptly pulled through a summoning jutsu to a floating horned-man that could only be Hagoromo. Around us in a wide summoning circle were the Edo Tensei Hokages, Shisui, and the spirits of the other former Kages. I let out a breath of relief.

We'd done it.

We'd actually done it.

It was over.

AN: Okay, good news. By popular demand I've decided to add some of the fluff back in! I'm not actually sure how long the final arc will be, but I'll try to balance the completion of the character arcs with the fluffier scenes. That should keep things moving while getting a chance to see everyone at rest after everything they've been through.