The moon, that pale celestial body hanging in the Shinobi World's night sky, was nothing more than a vast, cold, lifeless rock to most people. Only a handful of beings at the pinnacle of power in the Shinobi World, or descendants of certain ancient families, knew the secret hidden inside it.
After Shengu Xuan disappeared, Turtle Island returned to its former tranquility. Waves beat against the cliffs, making a monotonous, eternal sound. Yet none of the shinobi on the island, who had just survived a life-and-death ordeal, could truly relax.
Obito Uchiha's corpse, those unrecognizable remains that even Impure World Reincarnation could not repair, was carefully retrieved from the sea and laid in a clearing on Turtle Island. Sunlight fell on him, but it could not dispel the icy aura of death emanating from the depths of his soul.
Not far beside him, Madara Uchiha's body, raised through Impure World Reincarnation, had also fallen utterly lifeless. His intact Sharingan was closed, but the expression on his face held neither pain nor fear, only a calm that bordered on release.
Naruto crouched beside Obito's corpse. Beneath his golden Chakra Cloak, the Nine-Tails gave off a faint red glow. He remained silent for a long time before speaking softly. "Obito... why... did you have to go this far?"
Of course, Obito did not answer. Shengu Xuan's stomp had already crushed his throat.
"For Rin." An aged voice came from behind him. Leaning on a crutch, Jiraiya limped over, a complicated expression on his face. "He spent his whole life trapped by that girl named Rin. What he couldn't have, he would destroy; what he couldn't destroy, he would bury the whole world with."
"But Rin never wanted to see any of this!" Naruto sprang to his feet, his golden chakra pulsing violently