Minato's voice was not loud, yet it clearly cut through Obito's clamor and reached Sasuke's ears with a calming strength.
"The path to power is never a single, lonely bridge. The light of one's companions is not a reason for despair."
Sasuke's body trembled.
His brother's words were like a key, prying open the lock that had sealed his heart beneath layers of resentment.
The strange, faint pain in his forehead gradually faded away. The chakra originating from the two people intertwined within him.
That warmth was not a spell forced upon him, but the trust and protection his companions had always given him.
He suddenly realized that he had nearly fallen into the same isolated state as Obito.
Watching Naruto's back, his eyes had been clouded by jealousy, unwillingness, and loss of control, nearly dragging him down a dark and crooked path!
Minato's eyes, filled with understanding and expectation, helped steady Sasuke's violently heaving chest.
The madness and gloom in his eyes receded like a tide, replaced by clarity awakened from confusion and a determination that had been reignited.
He took a deep breath, and the fist he had clenched slowly relaxed.
His gaze crossed the chaotic battlefield and firmly settled on the familiar figure bathed in golden light.
"I understand now, Minato."
Sasuke's voice regained its former coldness, but it also carried an unprecedented resolve.
"Naruto has grown stronger again... but that will not stop me from moving forward.
"No matter how high he climbs, I will rely on my own strength, step by step, to catch up to him in the most upright way possible!"
As his words fell, the chakra Minato had given him blended with the chakra Naruto had bestowed upon him.
Although the amount of chakra was still limited, Naruto, having activated Nine-Tails Chakra