Just then, Sasuke Uchiha spoke.
"Sakura, you're really annoying, you know." Then Sasuke seemed to remember something. He stopped and glanced back.
His left eye, the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, glared at Sakura. Her eyes, which had just been brimming with tears, immediately widened, then closed as she looked ready to collapse.
Oh, here it comes, Zeyu thought gleefully from the sidelines.
"Sakura!" Naruto and Kakashi shouted at the same time. They hadn't expected Sasuke to attack Sakura. Fortunately, it was only a genjutsu, but he had still attacked his comrade.
"Uh, Sasu...ke? Where is he?" Zeyu knew what would happen to Sakura. She'd only faint from the genjutsu. Sasuke still needed her, after all—for when he beat Naruto half to death and stopped him from carrying out his revolution, for killing the Five Kage, and later, for undoing the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
So Zeyu hadn't even looked at Sakura. He'd kept watching Sasuke show off.
But Sasuke should still have been standing there. Now, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Zeyu!" Naruto shouted when he noticed.
A burst of birdsong rang out. Zeyu's left chest was pierced through, the entire hand passing straight through him. Without looking down, Zeyu saw the lightning crackling inside his chest.
He also saw a fair left hand wrapped in lightning. Blood ran over it, reacting with the lightning and sending up wisps of white smoke.
"Sasuke... why?" Zeyu stammered. As soon as he spoke, blood trickled from his mouth.
"Zeyu, someone like you will get in my way. You know too much." Sasuke paused, then continued, "Besides, Kaguya has already been sealed, along with Black Zetsu. The new Shinobi World I'm building has no need for you."
"I..." Just as Zeyu tried to say something, Sasuke yanked his hand out. The sudden movement splattered blood across the ground at Zeyu's feet.
Sasuke didn't seem intent on letting him go, either. He grabbed Zeyu's right shoulder with his other hand, leaned in toward Zeyu's left shoulder, and said coldly, "Besides, you were the one who told me to come back early that day, weren't you?" With that, Sasuke let go.
With nothing to hold him up, Zeyu fell straight to the ground, face down.
"Sasuke! What are you doing?!" Naruto couldn't hold back any longer. He hadn't expected Sasuke to attack Sakura when she confessed to him, either.
He'd only realized what was happening after Sakura was caught in the genjutsu. He'd just been about to check on her when he noticed Sasuke had vanished—and appeared behind Zeyu.
By the time Naruto realized what Sasuke was about to do, Sasuke had already struck. Naruto had tried to warn him, but it was too late.
The Chidori had pierced straight through Zeyu's heart. There was no saving him.
If Zeyu still had his Yang Power, they might have been able to try to save him. But he'd already returned it to Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
For Naruto, this was a double blow. They'd both been his friends since childhood. One had been caught in a genjutsu; the other had been murdered outright.
Until now, Naruto had been holding back so he wouldn't accidentally hurt Zeyu. But Zeyu had fallen, and Naruto no longer had to worry. He charged straight at Sasuke.
"Rasengan!" Naruto formed the sphere and rushed at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't hesitate. He leapt backward, while his left Rinnegan prepared to use the Preta Path.
Naruto was faster, and Sasuke was jumping backward, which slowed him down. But the distance he covered with that jump was enough for him to prepare the Preta Path's power.
Just as Naruto was about to hit him, Sasuke reached out with his left hand and absorbed the Rasengan. Then he caught Naruto's wrist with a backhand motion.
Still in midair, Naruto couldn't brace himself. Sasuke exerted a little force and flung him behind him.
Looks like this battle has made me much more proficient at using my Rinnegan. Sasuke was very pleased with himself, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Damn it, Sasuke!" Naruto clenched his fist in anger and held it in front of himself, as if he wanted to pin Sasuke to the ground and beat him senseless right then and there.
"Naruto, if you want to fight, let's go to the Valley of the End. You don't want to put Kakashi and the others in danger, do you?" Sasuke shook out his left hand and looked at Naruto with contempt.
In Sasuke's eyes, Naruto was already a dead man. Once he'd beaten him half to death, killed the Five Kage and anyone else in his way, then undone the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Naruto would be completely useless.
He could kill him whenever he wanted. What was there to fear from a loser who'd only made it this far thanks to the Nine-Tails Fox? The dead-last would die along with the Tailed Beasts when Sasuke dealt with them.
"I, Sasuke Uchiha, am the strongest now. Once I've dealt with you, Naruto, this Shinobi World will enter a new era—a peaceful one." Sasuke spread his arms toward Naruto, whose face was twisted with anger.
Then he leapt away.
"Sasuke..." Naruto watched Sasuke disappear into the distance, then turned and went back to Zeyu.
By then, Zeyu had completely stopped breathing. The warmth was slowly fading from his body.
Kakashi crouched nearby without a word.
He truly hadn't expected Sasuke to kill Zeyu outright.
Over the years, Zeyu hadn't been particularly strong, nor had he defeated any formidable enemies. But he'd always gathered information exceptionally well, and during battles, he'd accurately identified the enemy's weaknesses.
In an era when shinobi could be killed as soon as they met, knowing the enemy's information and weaknesses in advance could make all the difference.
It could decide the outcome of a battle.
And yet a man like that, a hero, had been killed just like that.
And for the absurd reason that he was no longer useful. What had Sasuke meant by, "You were the one who told me to come back early that day, weren't you?"
Naruto came over and glanced at Zeyu, then at Kakashi. When Kakashi noticed Naruto's gaze, he shook his head.
Naruto sighed, crouched down, and placed a hand over Zeyu's eyes. He gently drew it down, closing them.
"I'm sorry, Zeyu. It was my fault. If only I'd noticed sooner..." Naruto sighed again.
After a moment of silence, he said to Kakashi beside him, "Kakashi-sensei, please bury Zeyu. And please take care of Sakura."
"Okay," Kakashi replied with a nod.
Naruto turned and looked toward the direction Sasuke had gone, then glanced at Zeyu lying on the ground. As if he'd made up his mind, he walked away without looking back.
In this life, Zeyu had finally managed to reincarnate in Konoha. He was still just an ordinary nobody, but thanks to knowing the story, he'd provided intelligence that saved Asuma Sarutobi and Jiraiya. Neji, too.
He'd told Asuma about the weaknesses of Hidan and Kakuzu ahead of time, preventing Asuma's death. In the end, their side had only suffered two minor injuries, while Kakuzu lost one heart.
It was a shame they hadn't taken the enemy out, but Kakuzu and Hidan weren't pushovers. Given how weak their side's lineup was, the result had been very good.
As for Jiraiya, after learning about Nagato, he'd insisted on going there. First, to verify that the information was accurate. Second, he wanted to see his former student and ask why he'd founded an organization like Akatsuki.
On his way back, he hadn't suffered any serious injuries. He'd even seen Yahiko and Konan, and talked with Nagato for a bit. Then, they'd run into a little trouble while retreating, but they'd been prepared, so it hadn't caused much of a problem.
After that, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, began to rely on Zeyu more. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she even appointed him as a strategist... an aide.
Only after Zeyu had insisted did he go to the battlefield, where he stayed by Naruto, the main force.
That was how he later saved Neji with a Shadow Clone.
Zeyu had kept his chakra in reserve the whole time he was with Naruto, waiting to save Neji. He didn't have much chakra, and making even one Shadow Clone was his limit.
Besides, Naruto was protecting him, so he didn't have to fight much.
Hinata thanked him profusely at the time, bowing until she was practically bent at a ninety-degree angle.