When Obito began begging for mercy, Naruto stopped his incantation and lowered his left hand, releasing his hand seal. The Mantra Diadem vanished from above Obito's head.
Thud!
Obito fell onto his back, fragments still peeling off his body.
"Whew." Naruto let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand, and walked over to Obito.
Obito's unfocused eyes regained a little clarity. "You won, Naruto."
Naruto shook out his robes and sat down unhurriedly. "Isn't there still Tsuchima?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Obito no longer seemed to care about anything. "When Tsuchima comes back, I'll tell him to stop. He's my will, and he'll obey me unconditionally."
"..." Naruto considered this in silence.
"Does my change of heart seem abrupt to you?" Obito said frankly. "To tell you the truth, I just saw Rin. She kept asking me why I'd fallen so far. The look on her face felt unfamiliar, and it terrified me..."
"I've often had dreams like that, but none ever struck me so deeply... Perhaps, deep down, I'd already begun to waver."
"You said the Infinite Tsukuyomi was a lie, a scheme Black Zetsu devised to revive Kaguya. I couldn't refute any of the facts you laid out, yet I kept running from reality."
"Because... this world was filthy in my eyes, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the only way to cleanse it. If even the Infinite Tsukuyomi itself was a lie, what hope did this world have left? I couldn't accept that reality... so I chose to run from it and stake everything on one last attempt!"
"But that last attempt failed. I was utterly defeated..."
Obito's expression was bleak, yet relieved.
Something stirred in Naruto's heart. "You still have Rin's remains, don't you? I