"Wait, wait, don't—"
Wuye's urgent voice failed to stop the five figures descending like Mount Tai.
Kushina and the other four pounced down from above, instantly crushing him beneath them.
Soft, warm bodies pressed against him in a tangled heap.
All kinds of sweet fragrances filled his nose.
In fact, their bodies could remain suspended in the air only because Wuye controlled them. As long as he wished it, he could have pushed them all away in an instant.
But how could he bear to...
Though only three short days had passed in reality, for him, it had been a full three years!
How much torment and struggle had he endured to finally gain this moment of peace and happiness?
Buried beneath them, Wuye flailed his arms around. He had no idea who he was holding or who he had kissed...
"All right, all right!"
Only after quite a while did he crawl out, his clothes in disarray.
Too many people... was a problem too...
"Big Sister, what's going on with you now?"
He separated the nine of them, then looked toward Kaguya.
Kaguya walked over and linked her arm through his, gazing into his eyes before slowly speaking. "The four of us can now exist at the same time, but our connection hasn't been completely severed. Just like Hanabi and Hinata share their senses, we're the same."
Wuye finally relaxed, patting his chest. "That's good, that's good. As long as you're all right..."
Kaguya's gaze softened. "You've worked hard, Wuye."
The others also looked at him gently.
Though they did not know what had happened, or why souls that had clearly shattered could recover intact, they at least understood that accomplishing this could not have been easy.
"Whew..."
Wuye let out a long breath, a thoroughly relieved smile appearing