"Kid, you actually chose such a schemer as your partner?"

Izuna glared at Obito and Black Zetsu, hands clasped together, and spoke in a low, venomous tone: "Aren't you afraid she's just using you?"

"Don't overthink it, old man…" Uchiha Obito didn't even pause to consider. Holding Black Zetsu's hand tightly, his words flowed out smoothly: "If not for Kazuki, if she and I had never lived through the daily grind together, then sure, maybe there would have been quarrels… But in this timeline, we've been through countless trials, survived endless ordeals, side by side as comrades and as lovers…"

"A mere alternate timeline—it has nothing to do with me!"

Obito turned his head toward Black Zetsu and smiled brightly.

That smile nearly broke Izuna into pieces. Uchiha Obito, truly—starved and undiscerning, weren't you!

But Obito's words sent a tremor through Black Zetsu's heart.

In truth, she had deceived him many times… yet Obito had never minded, always meeting her with the same unchanging smile.

Black Zetsu (Uchiha Rin) squeezed his hand in return—no words were needed.

And Sasuke's story only deepened her gratitude toward Kazuki. For if there had been no Kazuki—in that world wasted by millennia—even if she regained the Ten-Tails' power and fled…

She would most likely still have been hunted down and met her end.

At this moment—

Everyone present regarded Obito and Black Zetsu (Uchiha Rin) with subtle expressions, nodding thoughtfully…

Though Senju Tobirama had said he saw Kazuki's chakra within Black Zetsu (Uchiha Rin), proof that she could be trusted…

Still, doubts lingered—could the mastermind of an alternate timeline really be "won over" by some naïve Uchiha brat?

But when they saw Obito's natural protectiveness, and the smile on Black Zetsu's (Uchiha Rin) face that she could no longer suppress…

They all understood.

It was, in essence, a tale of feelings so deep they could pierce through stone.

"Without Kazuki, would I have ended up as nothing more than a corpse worth 35 million ryō?" Sarutobi Asuma muttered bitterly, pulling out a cigarette after so long, lighting it with a weary sigh, and glaring resentfully at Kakuzu.

Damn it!

Just a few days ago he'd even shared a meal with old man Kakuzu! That damned alternate timeline—it had to be fake, fake!

Shisui clawed at his hair, leaving it a messy tangle without even noticing.

At the very start… his elder brother, who had been content to remain a nobody in the academy, carefree and unbothered even if he lagged at the bottom of the class, had only shouldered the burden after seeing the crushing pressure the village and clan placed on Shisui himself. In the end, he bore everything alone, walking step by step to where he stood today…

"If not for my brother, would I really have been deceived by that Shimura Danzō—unable even to protect my awakened Mangekyō?"

"And my brother, who shouldered it all—who even foresaw Ōtsutsuki reinforcements that not even the Sage of Six Paths had anticipated—what kind of crushing weight did he have to bear?"

Shisui drew a deep breath, feeling as though his heart might shatter.

At this moment, he had only a single thought—to give everything he had to aid Kazuki, to burn himself away completely if it meant helping Kazuki!

"Whether enemy or friend… once Kazuki appeared, standing from where we are now, it's clear—the world has become a better place…"

Hatake Sakumo let out a quiet sigh: "A Third Hokage who was not slain by his own disciple, a Jiraiya who did not die, Minato and Kushina who did not perish the very day their son was born, an Obito who did not betray Konoha, a Tsunade who shed her sorrow, a Madara-senpai who fought to protect the shinobi world like a true warrior, an Izuna-senpai who returned to life, a thriving Uchiha clan, and an Itachi and Fugaku who never had to cross blades with their own kin…"

"And all of you shinobi who should have died—yet live on from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure… and Kirigakure, freed at last from the era of the Bloody Mist…"

"And even the Second Hokage himself, who once held his own harsh views toward the Uchiha, yet here has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan…"

"This world shaped by Kazuki… truly, it is a good one."

Sakumo spoke from the depths of his heart: "And as for me, able now to sit and share dinner with my son—I believe the time has come for us to do something for Kazuki, once and for all…"

"To stand united and prove our resolve to him, to let him know we all share the same heart—a will to fight for peace in the shinobi world…"

Senju Tobirama slowly raised his hands and began to clap.

"Well said, Sakumo… That is what I, too, wished to express. What do the rest of you think?"

In that instant, every shinobi present, whether from inside or outside Konoha, nodded sincerely from the bottom of their hearts.

Hearts and spirits converged as never before!

"Eh, I suddenly realized—there's still one man who died too early…"

Kaguya Jinzaburo licked his lips with a playful grin. "Shimura Danzō? From the story Sasuke told, it seems he actually lived another twenty years longer than in our timeline…"

The moment that name was mentioned, Tobirama's face darkened. "Enough, Jinzaburo, don't waste words on such a worthless name! He didn't die too early—he died too late!"

Good-natured laughter rippled through the room.

The damned should die early, and those who deserve to live should live on well…

That—was the true shinobi world!

Only Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile stiffened slightly, his eyes wandering as he thought silently to himself: 'Old comrade Danzō, it will have to be me who sees this world of peace in your place…'

'There will be no redemption for you.'

...

A few days later.

The entire Shinobi Alliance assembled!

Beyond the shinobi of Konoha—

The leaders of the other villages who had come to recognize Kazuki's vision and scope—such as the Third Raikage, Ōnoki, the Third Kazekage, and Hanzō—had all worked earnestly on their subordinates' mindset, urging them to give their utmost in supporting the great formation.

And it was not only the shinobi.

Under the lead of Kurama, the Nine Tailed Beasts and their jinchūriki all joined the formation.

So too did the three sage regions' summoning beasts, the Three Great Sages.

And there were Ōtsutsuki Hamura, Hagoromo, Asura, and Indra…

In the truest sense, every living force that the shinobi world could muster had gathered!

It was a sight unseen in a thousand years of shinobi history.

A world scarred by wars and blood feuds, bound and cursed by chains of hatred—at last, everyone now stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting together for the same goal!

At the very front of the Shinobi Alliance—

Senju Tobirama stood proudly, his Mangekyō Sharingan gleaming with fighting spirit, as he barked in a deep voice: "All forces! First rehearsal—begin!"

"Yes!" the crowd roared in unison.

Their reply echoed as though it reached across the skies of the shinobi world—

In this moment—

Everyone formed the same hand seal together, their voices united in a single cry: "Open!"

And then—

The chakra of all living beings linked as one, each releasing their power without reservation.

"Good, just like that!"

Senju Tobirama shouted harshly: "Let Kazuki witness your limits—push even further!"

As the chakra surged wildly—

Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Indra, Obito, Sasuke…

Every shinobi who bore the Rinnegan or Mangekyō unleashed their dōjutsu, summoning forth Susanoo.

One towering warrior after another appeared—only to merge into one.

Within the great formation, each shinobi became a current of chakra, drawn together under the pull of the Ultimate Susanoo, fusing into a single whole.

At last—

A Susanoo bearing Kazuki's likeness, clad in impenetrable armor and radiating terrifying chakra, emerged upon the land!

"This… this is the power of the entire shinobi world?"

From atop the head of this Susanoo, Uchiha Madara breathed in deeply, intoxicated by the vast, overwhelming chakra coursing through it, far beyond his own.

The sensation of wielding such power left him utterly enthralled.

In every Uchiha's very blood ran an innate craving for strength…

In Madara's eyes, the rabble of the shinobi world—even if they gathered together—were nothing more than useless beings. With just a bit of effort, he alone could have slaughtered them all.

Yet now, when their powers had converged, it had brought forth such a terrifying surge of strength that even he found it inconceivable!

"I have to admit… that bastard Senju Tobirama, dark-hearted as he is, truly has some talent when it comes to studying jutsu!"

Madara's lips curved into an eager grin. With a single thought, he sought to drive this Susanoo—the strongest ever to appear in the shinobi world—and test its might!

"What's going on?"

Madara frowned. The Susanoo, once so fluid under his will, had now grown unbearably sluggish.

His commands seemed to vanish without effect.

"This is only the experimental stage. You two—don't disgrace the Uchiha Clan…" Tobirama's face was dark as he addressed Madara and Indra: "This Susanoo wasn't built solely by your eyes. This is the product of everyone's combined effort! If you want to control it, you're still far from ready!"

"Focus on the turmoil within it." Tobirama's voice was stern.

So much so that even Madara and Indra, both unaccustomed to rebuke, held their tongues. Instead, they steadied themselves and followed Tobirama's instructions.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. patreon.com/TitoVillar

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