Valley of the End: Both Sides Gravely Wounded

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sakura finally woke up after the sun had set.

"Where are Sasuke and Naruto?" Sakura's first thought upon waking was to ask them.

Before we knew it, we had been playing from morning till evening.

"I guess they're making their final stand," Kakashi guessed, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He's a really bad teacher.

At the same time, we can see two figures still standing tall in the setting sun.

The Valley of the End of Sunset was no longer vibrant, but had become utterly silent, though the faint sounds of two fists striking each other could still be heard.

However, the two of them no longer seemed as powerful as they had at the beginning.

At this moment, the two sides fought each other with limited strength, and Naruto's Forehead Protector fell into the water because of Sasuke.

[Hashirama Senju: In that case Uchiha Clan kids will lose.]

Naruto has the Nine-Tails gathering Chakra for him, and he will regain the upper hand in a short while.

Wrong!

It was only then that Hashirama realized that Sasuke Uchiha wasn't simply attacking his opponent, but rather absorbing Naruto's Chakra.

The Nine-Tails painstakingly accumulated Chakra for an entire battle, only to have most of it absorbed by Sasuke.

As expected, those despicable Uchiha.

"Ah!" Naruto collapsed weakly, while Sasuke wore a smug expression.

"This is the power of the Rinnegan. With the eyes of the Uchiha Clan, victory is inevitable!"

"Birdsong!"

A Chidori appeared in Sasuke; now, he could finally be alone.

Farewell, my only friend!

Just as Chidori was about to hit Naruto, Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his eyes, but in that instant Naruto found an opening.

Naruto then punched Sasuke, sending him flying.

Sasuke was pinned to the rock wall by this attack.

"Time after time, why don't you just give up and die?!" Sasuke shouted hysterically.

Because I am the only one!

Judging from the flow of Chakra within him, this was likely his final attack; he even unleashed Kagutsuchi.

In other words, Sasuke wanted to use this move to decide the winner.

But does Naruto still Chakra?

[Obito: Naruto, do your best!]

Countless people began to cheer for Naruto, and even Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but hope that Naruto could bring Sasuke back to the right path.

[Madara Uchiha: It's useless. Naruto doesn't have much Chakra left. Even the Nine-Tails might not be able to provide him with much.]

[Nine-Tails: Don't underestimate me.]

When I was under your control before, I had no choice but to give you Chakra, but Naruto is different. This guy is someone recognized by the Six Paths, so how could I sit idly by?

"Listen, Naruto, I will give you all my Chakra, and then I will fall into a deep sleep." As Nine-Tails was speaking to Naruto, he saw Naruto silently extend his hand. "I only trust you."

"I just can't do anything with you. After all, you're my only one," Nine-Tails sighed.

The Nine-Tails, who once loathed humans, eventually came to live like one.

[Hozuki Mangetsu: We're not going to die together, are we?]

Hozuki Mangetsu said with some concern, "The two of them seem to be about the same strength right now."

I hope it doesn't come to that.

[Kushina: What are you talking about? Naruto and Sasuke would never go that far!]

Kushina said confidently that her son would definitely be able to save Sasuke.

At this moment, Naruto's Rasengan kept condensing in his palm, and a pair of large hands silently helped Naruto.

It was Minato Namikaze, and subsequently, more and more people joined the ranks of those who condensed the Rasengan.

There's a father, a mother, and a lecherous... immortal.

With so many people supporting him, I, Naruto Uzumaki, will definitely not let you down!

"Ah!!"

"Ah!!"

How could I, who carries the beliefs of countless people on my shoulders, possibly fall here!

At this moment, Sasuke seemed to be all alone, forming a stark contrast with Naruto.

With so many bonds between us, how could I possibly lose!

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

The powerful explosion emitted a dazzling light that enveloped the entire screen, making it impossible for anyone to determine who had won.

[Might Guy: Does this mean Naruto won?]

Might Guy looked at the constantly flashing screen and said uncertainly.

[Obito: I don't know, could it be that Sasuke won?]

Just as the group was discussing, the scene shifted to a place that seemed like a dream.

"They should be dead!" Sasuke and Naruto arrived at the place where they used to be at the Ninja Academy.

They walked together along the riverbank where Sasuke liked to hang out, and then they walked together to the place where Naruto swung on the swings.

Scenes from the past seemed to replay before my eyes.

"If we die, will there be no way to break the Infinite Tsukuyomi?!" Naruto said anxiously.

It seems that even if he's about to die, Naruto will still be the same person.

"Even if you're about to die, why would you care about the future of this world?" Sasuke said disdainfully.

What time is it?

When Naruto tried to move, he suddenly felt a sharp pain and then disappeared from the dream.

[Kakashi: Seriously, they weren't both dead, were they?]

Kakashi said in disbelief, and then he was met with Byakugan from Obito.

"Please don't Crows it!"

There's nothing we can do. Look at how intense their fight is; do you think anyone could possibly survive?

Just when Sasuke thought he was dead, he heard the sound of dripping water.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock!"

"You're finally back!" Naruto said, looking at Sasuke who had just woken up beside him.

"As you can see, we're all in the same boat now. If we move around too much, we'll bleed to death," Naruto kindly advised from the side.

"Why, why do you go to such lengths to hinder me? I have embraced darkness to gain immense power in order to sever all ties."

"Everyone is trying to cut ties with me like that!" Sasuke's attitude at this point was no longer as aggressive as it had been initially.

He was now more confused than anything else about why Naruto would risk everything to save him.

"You already understand?" Naruto said, keeping everyone in suspense.

"Because we're friends!" Naruto said, just like in the beginning.

Because I made you my role model, I envied everything you had—your talent, everything about you made me, who had nothing, incredibly envious.

So I took it upon myself to make you my opponent, and thus I, who originally had nothing, now have a bond.

I can always follow behind you.

This time, Sasuke surprisingly didn't object, because he was genuinely enjoying the time.