While Hashirama was struggling to hold Madara back, Kou was in the ancient cemetery beneath Uzushio Village...
"Are you ready, Uncle Minato?"
Sasuke stood at the center of the cemetery and quietly asked the "Naruto" beside him.
Minato, possessing Naruto's body, wiped the sweat from his brow. His eyes carried a steadiness and weariness that did not belong to someone of this age.
He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the Flying Thunder God formations that covered the cemetery and extended throughout the Land of Whirlpools. He forced a smile at Sasuke.
"It was tough, but we finally finished it—the Flying Thunder God Formation covering the entire island!
Now, all our preparations are in place. All that remains is the final step."
Sasuke nodded lightly, then looked toward the figure behind him with closed eyes, his gaze full of concern.
At that moment, Kou was sitting cross-legged atop a stone platform, his eyes shut and his face as peaceful as if he were asleep.
Yet beneath that calm surface, some wondrous transformation seemed to be brewing...
Following Sasuke's gaze, Minato gently placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Sasuke. Believe in Kou.
He's never let us down before, has he?"
Sasuke placed a hand over the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye. After a moment of silence, he gave a solemn reply.
"...Yeah."
Meanwhile, within Kou's inner world, the boundless darkness was slowly receding.
Kou slowly opened his eyes. Before him stretched an endless space bathed in soft white light.
At the center of that space, a "stranger" floated before him.
It was an old man, tall but not burly, dressed in a white robe.
His face was lean and aged. Two white horns stood side by side at the center of his forehead, while a pair of