The End, and the Beginning [Finale]

In this gray world, time stands still.

Uchiha Kei had no idea how long he had been standing there.

One day? One year? Or one hundred years?

He didn't know.

All he knew was that he had to make a choice.

Go back?

To stay or to leave?

Going back would allow me to reunite with Naruto, watch Kaguya and Hanabi continue their bickering, listen to Hashirama and Madara argue, teach Sasuke swordsmanship, and have tea with Itachi...

We can go back to a normal life.

But going back would mean giving up.

Give up becoming the new ancestor.

Give up protecting this world.

Give up everything accumulated from 379 failures.

Then, it won't be long before nothingness awakens again.

A new ancestor will emerge.

A new war will begin.

A new Jiang Hao will be born.

The 381st failure will come.

Leave?

Staying will end all of this.

To become the ancestor, to become balance, to become eternity.

Nothingness will never awaken again.

War will never start again.

Three hundred and seventy-nine failures will mark the true end.

But staying means...

Stay here forever.

Forever alone.

They will forever protect this world, but will never see those they long to see again.

He closed his eyes, and faces flashed through his mind.

Naruto is smiling.

Sasuke is rolling his eyes.

Kaguya was waiting for him.

The Hanabi are angry.

Madara and Hashirama are fighting.

Uchiha Izuna is practicing his swordplay.

Tobirama is making sarcastic remarks.

Itachi is handling official business.

Shisui was dozing off.

They are all alive.

These are all things he doesn't want to lose.

He opened his eyes and sighed.

"So this is how difficult it is to make a choice."

He looked up at the gray sky.

A faint light could be seen deep in the sky.

That's the exit.

A gateway to the outside world.

He stepped forward and walked towards the light.

Step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Getting closer and closer.

Getting closer and closer.

Until--

He stopped.

Because suddenly, countless faces appeared in the sky.

Naruto, Sasuke, Kaguya, Hanabi, Madara, Hashirama, Uchiha Izuna, Tobirama, Itachi, Shisui...

And there's A-Yi.

And Jiang Hao.

And those three thousand warriors.

They were all watching him.

"Jing," Naruto's phantom spoke, "What are you hesitating about?"

Uchiha Kei remained silent.

"What are you afraid of?" asked Sasuke's phantom.

Uchiha Kei remained silent.

"Master," Kaguya's illusory figure said softly, "Whatever you choose, we will support you."

"Teacher," said the phantom of Hanabi, "You can't abandon us."

"Teacher," Madara and Hashirama's phantoms said simultaneously, "If you dare to take this alone, we'll come find you and fight you!"

"Even if we can't win, we have to fight!"

Uchiha Izuna's illusory figure laughed, "Teacher, I haven't finished learning swordsmanship yet."

Tobirama's illusory figure, unusually, didn't complain, "Sensei, we haven't seen the end of Ninjutsu yet."

The phantom of Itachi said, "Keiya, you are our bond."

The illusory figure of Shisui said, "So, don't think you can shoulder this alone."

Finally, A-Yi's phantom appeared.

She was still the same, with a lollipop in her mouth and her head tilted to the side.

"Fool."

"You think staying is protecting?"

"You think being a hero means carrying the burden alone?"

You're wrong.

True protection is not something one person can shoulder alone.

"We'll shoulder this together."

"A true hero is not someone who sacrifices themselves alone."

"It's about everyone living together."

She reached out and gently touched his forehead.

So, let's go back.

"Go back, and be with them."

"We'll get through this together."

"Live together."

"Together..."

"Defeat nothingness."

The phantom image vanished.

Uchiha Kei stood there, stunned, for a long time.

Then he smiled.

He was laughing very happily.

"It turns out I've been wrong all along."

He turned away, no longer looking at the light.

Instead, they looked into the depths of the gray world.

That place is the origin of nothingness.

They are the real enemies.

He started walking towards it.

Step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Getting closer and closer.

Until--

He stood before nothingness.

It was a gray mist, shapeless, sizeless, nothing at all.

But Uchiha Kei knew that it was nothingness.

"Aren't you going to escape?" a hollow voice echoed.

"I won't run away," Uchiha Kei said.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid."

"Why?"

Uchiha Kei smiled.

"Because I am not alone."

He raised his hand, and three thousand three hundred and seventy-nine worlds appeared in his palm.

In those worlds, every face is watching him.

Every face is smiling.

"Together."

He said softly.

Three thousand three hundred and seventy-nine worlds shine simultaneously.

That light illuminated the entire Return Ruins.

That light shone into nothingness.

The nothingness began to tremble, began to dissipate, began to...

Change.

The gray mist gradually condensed into a figure.

That was... an ordinary person.

A middle-aged man, dressed in ordinary clothes, with a tired smile on his face.

"You win," he said.

Uchiha Kei looked at him.

"You are... Ancestor?"

"Yes," the middle-aged man said, "It is both nothingness and balance, both a beginning and an end."

"But I was once alone too."

He sighed.

"I've lived too long and forgotten who I am."

"What it feels like to forget what it's like to have friends."

"What it feels like to forget you have family."

"I've forgotten... what happiness is."

He looked at Uchiha Kei, his eyes filled with envy.

You are lucky.

You have them.

Uchiha Kei remained silent.

The middle-aged man smiled.

"So, I lost."

"It's not that I lost to you."

"We lost to them."

His body began to dissipate.

Go ahead.

"Go back and find them."

With my blessings.

"Never... become like me."

As the last word fell, he vanished completely.

The gray world began to crumble.

Uchiha Kei raised his head and looked at the beam of light.

That's the exit.

A gateway to the outside world.

He stepped forward and walked towards the light.

This time, he did not hesitate.

Step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

He stepped into the light.

Everything went black.

Then--

The sunlight was blinding.

He opened his eyes and found himself standing on ruins.

Familiar ruins.

The ruins of Blue Star.

But the sky is blue.

The sunlight is warm.

The air is fresh.

He took a deep breath, savoring that long-lost feeling.

Then, he heard a voice.

"Scene!"

He turned around.

Naruto was standing not far away, waving at him.

Sasuke stood to the side, arms crossed, a look of disdain on his face.

Kaguya and Hanabi stood together, one smiling gently, the other glaring at him angrily.

Madara and Hashirama are fighting again, Uchiha Izuna is practicing his swordplay, Tobirama is making sarcastic remarks.

Itachi was processing official documents, while Shisui was dozing off beside him.

Three thousand warriors stood silently in the distance, watching him.

Everyone is here.

Uchiha Kei was stunned for a long time.

Then he smiled.

"You're back," he said softly.

"Finally... I'm back."

[The End]