The War Is Over!

A thin black disc rose from the ground, carrying a layer of dirt and a baffled Black Zetsu.

Since Naruto knew this guy was an expert at burrowing underground, there was no way he would let his guard down.

In theory, burrowing underground could not get him out of the Four Red Yang Formation. But if he really did burrow down, digging him back out of the earth would be troublesome too, so Naruto had simply hidden a Truth-Seeking Orb beneath Obito.

Naruto looked at Black Zetsu, who resembled a slime monster, flipped his palm upward, and curled his fingers like a chicken claw. "Birdcage!"

Black lines rose from the edge of the black disc and converged overhead, forming a birdcage.

Black Zetsu panicked and tried to "flow" out through the gaps between the black lines.

Since this guy was being so uncooperative, Naruto had no choice but to seal all those gaps. The birdcage turned into a Dice Cup, and Black Zetsu's curses continuously rang out from within.

Naruto dug at his ear. Even someone who had lived for over a thousand years did not have many creative ways to insult people. Being uneducated was truly frightening.

"What should we do with this guy?" Naruto pointed at Obito, showing him no kindness at all.

"Obito used that kind of reincarnation ninjutsu. He probably does not have much time left." Minato's feelings were complicated. As his teacher, he should have been happy to see his student recognize his mistakes and be willing to repent. But Obito was about to die, and no matter what, he could not be happy about it.

Besides, from the Hokage's perspective, considering the harm Obito had caused Konoha over a decade ago, Minato had no right to forgive him.

"Cough, cough... Naruto?" Obito painfully turned his neck to look at Naruto. "You really resemble Teacher Minato. About what happened before, I..."

"If you want to apologize, there's no need." Naruto cut him off. "I have no intention of forgiving you either. Even now, I still feel like cutting you down with one stroke."

"I see. I truly deserve this. I have no right to ask anyone for forgiveness." Perhaps he had truly come to terms with it; Obito's voice carried remorse.

"Hold on a little longer. There's someone you should see." Naruto took Kakashi over, then turned and left while holding the Dice Cup containing Black Zetsu. "You two talk. I'm going to study this guy."

"Old Mom, we're done here." Naruto waved to Kushina.

The red barrier quickly vanished. Kushina ran over and stared curiously at the Dice Cup, from which curses kept pouring out. "How did it go?"

Naruto answered, "More or less everything's settled."

"What about Obito..."

"He's still alive for now, but he does not have much time left. If you want to see him, do it soon."

"Is that so..." Kushina was in low spirits as well. Hesitantly, she walked toward Obito.

Naruto did not follow her. Instead, he sent Gaara, Yagura, and Ōnoki back to headquarters. A few minutes later, a message spread through Yamanaka Inoichi's communications unit:

"Announcement to all forces: The enemy commander has been defeated by Hokage-sama. All units, eliminate the remaining enemies!

I repeat: The enemy commander has been defeated by Hokage-sama. All units, eliminate the remaining enemies!"

Inoichi's excited voice rang in the minds of everyone in the Shinobi Allied Forces. Once the shinobi understood what those words meant, cheers resounded across every battlefield.

"Lord Commander is so strong!"

"As expected of Hokage-sama!"

Encouraged by this good news, even those whose stamina had nearly run out burst forth with renewed strength. Military morale was a miraculous thing.

Naturally, the commanders of every battlefield would not waste this opportunity. Without prior discussion, they all chose to launch the final assault.

With morale soaring, the shinobi wielded their weapons and charged at the steadily retreating White Zetsu. So many people failed to notice the green points of light flying past, and that some fallen comrades had climbed back to their feet with confused expressions!

The most spectacular sight was at the rear Medical Unit. There were many shinobi corpses here. Some had died before they could be treated, while others had died despite rescue attempts. There were only so many people with top-tier medical skills; even if Tsunade and Sakura worked without rest, there were always cases they could not get to in time.

The bodies had been stored separately, awaiting transport back to their villages.

But now, countless green lights descended from the sky like a meteor shower. The "corpses" lying quietly sat up one after another. Some rejoiced at being reborn, while others embraced their family and friends, weeping with joy.

After finishing an operation, Sakura walked out of the tent. "Master Tsunade, what is this?"

Tsunade smiled as she listened to the cheers in the camp. "Probably some kind of reincarnation ninjutsu. It seems Minato did more than simply defeat the enemy."

"In other words..."

"Yes. The war will be over soon."

"Teacher Kakashi, are you... Are you okay?"

When Naruto saw Kakashi again, his eyes were red-rimmed. Parting through life and death was never easy to bear, and Naruto did not know how to comfort him.

"It's nothing." Kakashi took out a scroll and handed it to Naruto. "Obito left this for you."

"For me? What item is it?" Naruto accepted the scroll in confusion.

"...It's a Rinnegan." Kakashi composed himself. "He hid the other Rinnegan away. The scroll contains clues."

"..." Naruto did not know what to say. Was this meant as an apology? What use did I have for this thing? "I don't want to replace my eyes anyway. These are Uchiha Madara's eyes. They're kind of creepy..."

"Take it. Find the other one as soon as possible too. It's better than letting them fall into the hands of someone with bad intentions."

Naruto nodded and put the scroll away. He had an idea he wanted to try.

"Send me back to Konoha," Kakashi said. "Lord Jiraiya said his new book will be released on the first day after the war ends. I want to line up early."

Naruto looked at his somewhat unfocused eyes, curled his lip, and sent him near the Memorial Stone. No matter how he looked at it, Kakashi did not seem capable of reading right now. It was better to let him be alone for a while.

After thinking about it, Naruto sent Guy to the nearby Training Ground as well. When it came to cheering Kakashi up, Guy was a professional.

Obito was dead, Black Zetsu had been captured, and the outcome of this war was beyond doubt.

By noon the next day, after the battle-worn shinobi had recovered some of their energy, they gathered once more at the place where the war had begun.

The Five Kage stood atop the platform again, with the Four Kage flanking Minato.

Minato stepped forward. The cheerful chatter below gradually faded, and before long, the area fell completely silent. People looked up at Minato on the platform. This was the man who had called the Shinobi Allied Forces together. This was the man who had defeated the enemy commander and delivered the decisive blow in this war.

"Through everyone's hard fighting, we won this war!"

"The war... is over!"

Minato's powerful voice reached every corner of the square. Smiles first appeared on the faces of the Four Kage. The shinobi below fell into a brief silence before erupting into thunderous cheers.

"Oooh!!!"