Hashirama's Persuasion

The dome of the Beginning Ball Dimension split open before Naruto.

It was not the sort of crack torn open by something, but a cleaner break, as if a door had opened a narrow slit on its own. Grayish-white light leaked through, shining over Naruto's face, smeared with blood and dust. He braced himself on his knees and rose from the bone plate. His legs were still shaking, but at least he could stand.

Sasuke rose before him. His left arm had stopped bleeding, a thin scab covering the wound, but it still hung at his side without any strength in it. His Rinnegan had closed, while the Eternal Mangekyou in his right eye remained half-open, like a lamp not yet fully switched off. He walked to Naruto's side without a word, glanced at the crack, then stepped through it.

Naruto followed behind him.

The moment his foot crossed the crack, the ground beneath him changed from cold, smooth bone plates to scorched black earth. The stifling air of the sealed space became the open battlefield breeze, carrying ash and the stench of blood. The blood-red moon still hung overhead, but its color had faded greatly, like soup watered down again and again. The enormous Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on the moon was still turning, but more slowly than before, like a clock about to stop.

Naruto's eyes first found the people awakening from the white cocoons. There were many of them—hundreds, thousands—scattered across every corner of the battlefield. Some crouched on the ground and wept. Some stood with a hand on a companion's shoulder. Some looked around in all directions, as if searching for a familiar face. Their faces were full of confusion, like people who had just awakened from a very long dream and still did not know where they