Early the next morning, when Naruto and Hinata arrived, everyone was already waiting for them at the village gate. Naruto said apologetically, "Sorry I'm late."
Boruto complained, "You're way too late."
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. Jiraiya said, "All right, now that everyone's here, let's get moving. We'll meet up with Sasuke in the woods first."
Everyone nodded. When Naruto and the others reached the woods, Sasuke had already been waiting there for a long time, as the dew soaking his clothes made clear.
Sasuke did not complain when he saw them arrive. He simply said, "Let's go."
Naruto wasted no words either. He nodded and said, "Everyone, grab hold of me. Flying Thunder God Technique!" The instant everyone made contact with him, Naruto activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, and they all vanished.
In the northern part of the Shinobi Continent, along the Land of Fire's north-south axis, lay an uninhabited region. It was also the only part of the Shinobi World that belonged to no country. This was where the war between Kaguya and her two sons had broken out a thousand years ago, and where the God Tree had once stood.
Black Zetsu and Thanatos were hiding at the God Tree's former site. Black Zetsu approached the place where Thanatos was recovering from his injuries and asked, "Lord Thanatos, why did you summon me so urgently?"
Seeing Black Zetsu arrive, Thanatos said, "I called you here because I wanted to give you this." As he spoke, he handed Black Zetsu the Black Orb that had originally been underground.
Black Zetsu looked at the orb in his hand. "Lord Thanatos, isn't this the Godslaying Orb I brought back from the underground altar? Didn't you say it was what we needed to break the seals on the Gods and