Amid the deathly silent ruins, Sasuke Uchiha stood like a cold statue between scorched earth and wreckage. Obito's words before leaving echoed through his mind like a curse.
"Stay here with these so-called 'comrades' and wait for an unknown fate. Or... come with me. I'll show you the truth of this world and give you power truly great enough to control your own destiny."
Stay? Sink into these hopeless ruins alongside these people from Konoha, alongside Naruto, whose bond I once considered a burden, alongside Ling, whom Tobirama Senju protected at the cost of his life, and wait for a future that might bring rescue or destruction? Then keep struggling in that mire of light and darkness, enduring the tearing of both my power and my heart?
Leave? Follow that madman who calls himself Madara Uchiha and sides with the "Sacred Lord," pursuing that so-called "truth" and "complete" power? Throw myself into darkness entirely? Perhaps I could gain the power I've always dreamed of and take my revenge, but at what cost? Become a puppet, lose myself completely, and turn into another "Pain"?
His gaze swept over the unconscious Naruto. That face, which seemed stubborn even without consciousness, reminded him of their fierce battle at the Valley of the End and those countless cries of "I'll bring you back." Annoying, and yet... stubbornly persistent.
His gaze then settled on Ling. His breathing was faint, his face pale. He had exhausted everything to protect others; even the ancient remnant soul within him had burned itself out for that cause. In the cruel Shinobi World, where everyone pursued power, such sacrifice seemed so foolish, and yet... it carried a weight Sasuke could not understand.
Finally, he looked at his own faintly trembling hand, wreathed in ominous purple-black chakra. In Annihilation Valley, this