Chapter 40

Final Battle: Ascension of the New Sages

Final Battlefield, Land of Lightning

Tobimaru was thrilled with his new power, it was like he had the very power of the planet itself. The strange black orbs around him kept attacking and defending without any need of seals as bodies of the Allied Shinobi Forces piled up around him. However just as he was about to finish off several more shinobi a tri-kunai slammed into the ground and they then vanished before he could land his attack. His Rinnegan eyes narrowed and he looked to see Minato there, the Yondaime Hokage twirled his blade in his hand.

Memories of the night where Tobimaru attacked Konoha flashed in his mind as the Yondaime Hokage scowled more and more as his eyes narrowed. Even with the mask off and becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, the evil Uchiha still carried himself the same way he did that night nearly seventeen years ago. A crack of thunder was heard and then a heavy rain began to fall from the sky and Tobimaru twirled his strange black staff.

"Man, this feels nostalgic doesn't it? And like before, I have the upper hand…Yondaime Hokage," Tobimaru said as his Rinnegan glowed a bit. "Though I'm not the same being you beat before, I am now a god."

"Doesn't matter how much stronger you are, you're going to lose," Minato said as he created a Rasengan. "You're the same arrogant man I defeated over a decade ago."

Tobimaru's smirk faded and he snarled. "I'm a GOD, I'll crush you this time!"

Minato glanced at his fellow Hokage and Tobirama put his hand on his shoulder. Hiruzen summoned King Enma and turned him into the Kongōnyoi. And then…wordlessly the Yondaime Hokage then tossed his kunai right at Tobimaru who then charged right at him wildly.

If he can still phase through a target, he'll do it like before. If he deflects my kunai, I'll have an idea if he can't, Minato thought as time slowed down for him…and his spatial awareness and mind raced. Either way, I'll have an idea of how to attack. But those black orbs…I need to figure out how to bypass them!

Just as Minato thought as Tobimaru charged…his Kamui activated and the shuriken passed harmlessly through it. It was at that moment Minato used the Hiraishin no Jutsu to catch the throwing knife in mid air and he went to slam his Rasengan down onto the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's back…only for the strange black orbs to automatically defend him! The Yondaime Hokage reacted and avoided being skewered and in a flash, he was teleported back to his starting point by Tobirama.

Minato then went in for another attack and Tobimaru prepared for yet another Hiraishin but instead, the Yondaime Hokage used a Shunshin to blitz him. The evil God barely blocked in time with his staff which cut through Minato's kunai, but before he could counter the Yondaime dodged with another shunshin and then landed a kick on Tobimaru's face. Tobimaru grunted and then went to grab him with a Bansho Ten'in but Minato was just too fast, and he teleported just in time. And there was also suddenly a roll of explosive tags around his chest which immediately exploded when Minato reappeared by the rest of the Hokage.

"Amazing Yondaime, he's even faster than you brother!" Hashirama said and the younger Senju's eyes rolled.

"We established that already, elder brother," Tobirama said as Kushina sucked in breath.

"You're STILL so awesomely fast, datebasa!"

Naruto smirked at his dad but then frowned. "I don't think it worked though, mom."

"Man, was that a light breeze?" Tobimaru asked as he wiped the dust off his shoulder. "Or was that a serious attack, Yondaime Hokage?"

Minato's eyes narrowed as Naruto stood up and put his hand on his father's shoulder. "I think we have to use other ways to attack dad, I have an idea, we just have to work together."

"Huh, an idea?" Hashirama asked as he came over.

"Yeah, gonna need all the Hokage's help with it," Naruto said with a smirk and he offered his fist. "Connect your fist with mine and I'll tell you."

Hiruzen grinned and then put his fist to Naruto's. "You've grown up a lot since you were that little unpredictable ninja that caused so much trouble, Naruto."

"Not sure what connecting our fists will accomplish, but fine," Tobirama said as he did so as well, and his elder brother followed.

Minato was the last one to do so…at least until Hinata put her fist there. "I'm going to help out to, my eyes will be able to spot a weakness."

In a few moments, the Hokage and Hinata found themselves in a world of white and looming over them were Kurama and Matatabi. Almost instinctually Hashirama did a seal to try to do a Mokuton ninjutsu but Naruto pat his shoulder with a grin.

"Don't worry Shodaime! They're good! Kurama's a great strategist!" Naruto said with a grin. "And Matatabi is really nice too."

"Kurama, Matatabi? Huh?" Hashirama and Tobirama asked at the same time, '?' marks seemed to appear over their heads.

"Those are our names," Kurama said as his eyes narrowed. "I swear you Senju brothers are as bad as Madara when it comes to treating Biju as living beings not weapons."

"…did we just get admonished by the Kyūbi?" Hashirama asked Tobirama in a whisper.

"…it appears so, elder brother," Tobirama whispered back.

"Ahem, we CAN hear you," Matatabi said as she licked her paw. "You can see me here since I reside in Hinata now."

Hiruzen blinked. "When did that happen, Kumogakure possessed…uh…you, Matatabi-dono."

"During the War, I saw a chance to escape the Gedō Mazō statue and I took it, its thanks to Hinata's chakra absorption technique I was able to seal myself inside her. Initially it was a…"

"Let's skip the storyline, we got someone whose as powerful as the Old Man to fight," Kurama interjected as he knelt. "Shodaime, you can use Senjutsu right? Just like Naruto?"

"Uh…right, I did use it against you and Madara during our…"

"Good, what about you Nidaime, Sandaime, mastered any Senjutsu? We're going to need it."

"But why?" Tobirama asked.

"If the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki is anything like the Ten-Tails, Senjutsu is its weakness," Kurama explained. "During our battle with it, Senjutsu was the only thing that managed to remotely damage it. Don't know how that Kiba kid did so too, but that's something to question for another day. But do you know Senjutsu?"

"No, I never had a chance to master it like my brother, so I focused on other ninjutsu."

"I'm afraid not. I know that Jiraiya managed to learn it, but I wasn't able to," Hiruzen added. "Minato, you studied under Jiraiya, you did manage to learn Senjutsu right?"

"Jiraiya-sensei did take me to Myobokuzan to learn Sage Mode, yes," Minato confirmed, and he frowned. "But its useless for my fighting style. I did learn it, but I ruled it out in the long battle due to needing to stand still."

"I can handle that dad," Naruto said with a grin. "I'll just transfer Senjutsu Chakra as well as a Version 1 cloak to you, the old man, Nidaime and Shodaime. It'll power you guys up and allow you to at least hurt the bastard out there."

"That's right, but Naruto and Shodaime, you'll be our heavy hitters. Hinata too given she has some strong attacks now with those enhanced Byakugan," Kurama started and he then looked at Hiruzen, Minato, and Tobirama. "You three will be support. With Hiraishin and the other jutsus in your disposal, you'll be able to do a lot of damage."

"Now break! He's about to attack!" Matatabi added as the Hokage and Hinata snapped back to reality.

In an instant Naruto transferred his power to Minato, Tobirama, Hashirama, and Hiruzen and Hinata's Keihatsu Byakugan snapped on and she created a Hoderi to block Tobimaru's charge, but it was shattered by the sheer power behind the demonic Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. But it was enough time for Hashirama to enter his own Sage Mode and he unleashed a Mokuryū no Jutsu right at Tobimaru and it opened its mouth to try to consume his chakra. Tobimaru's eyes glinted and he smirked, and he lifted his hand up…and unleashed a Shinra Tensei which obliterated Hashirama's jutsu like nothing.

Hiruzen had crossed his fingers and created a Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique) to create an army of Naruto enhanced clones which immediately surrounded Tobimaru. The Sandaime Hokage then summoned gigantic Fuma Shuriken and then all tossed them at the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki before doing a seal.

"Tajū Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!" Hiruzen called out as the giant fuma shuriken suddenly bursts into dozens right at Tobimaru.

The black orbs wrapped around the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki like a large sphere and instantly protected him. The Sandaime noted that the shuriken seemed to…melt…or turned to dust whenever they impacted the orb and his eyebrow raised.

It's like Ōnoki's Kekkei Tōta…like that Jinton… Hiruzen thought as he pictured Ōnoki using his trademark jutsu. But unlike his, this technique can attack and defend with ease. What is its weakness?

When the barrage finished Tobimaru withdrew his black sphere only for him to dodge a super-sharp, condensed blast of water from Tobirama. The Nidaime Hokage then did a seal and created three gigantic Suiryūdan to bombard the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki…who just phased through it with Kamui and he charged to attack Tobirama with one of the black orbs.

Whatever that space time jutsu is, its highly effective. I've never seen a Sharingan technique like that…and those eyes…the Rinnegan… Tobirama thought as he was teleported away with Hiraishin.

And then Hinata unleashed two huge blasts of Hakke Kūshō right at Tobimaru who was forced to block with his strange black orbs and Naruto and Minato then attacked from behind and created a giant, Father-Son Rasengan together! All the while Hashirama finished balancing his chakra with natural energy and entered Sage Mode. He slammed his hands together and from the ground a gigantic golem made of chakra, his strongest attack, the Senpō: Mokuton: Shinsūsenju had been created.

Half the size of the Ten-Tails with a ring of thousands of arms, it was gigantic. Normally it would dwarf even Kurama and the other Biju, but the size gap had been closed tremendously due to Kurama being linked with Naruto's chakra. The gathered shinobi were amazed and Neji stumbled backwards despite himself.

"Is that how strong the first Hokage is?" Neji asked and Shino breathed in.

"Like Naruto, Sasuke, and even Hinata and Sakura, it's on a completely other level than us, Neji," Shino said simply. "All the Hokage are…extremely powerful as we're learning."

Ino gulped. "But isn't there something we can do to help…?"

"Not at the moment," Shikamaru said as he looked at the chakra cloak that bubbled around him. "Even during this battle, Naruto's still protecting and empowering us. We can't waste this power…this chance needlessly."

As Shikamaru said that Naruto and Minato's Father-Son Rasengan smashed right into Tobimaru's black orb shield…and to the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's surprise cracks appeared. The two Hokages yelled and forced their way through the black orb shield. Naruto and Minato knew what was happening next and they disengaged, the Yondaime Hokage appearing next to Hinata as the Rokudaime Hokage appeared next to Hiruzen.

"Oh…so there IS a weakness," Tobimaru said with a smirk. "It won't matter, I'm still the god of this world!"

"Dad now!" Naruto called out and before Tobimaru could react…he was teleported OFF his spot and right to a kunai that was on the outskirts of the crater battlefield….

…and then Hashirama and his Shinsūsenju were teleported to the exact same place. The Shodaime Hokage did a seal and all the fists of his gigantic wooden statue flexed and got into position.

"Chōjō Kebutsu (Top Transformed Buddha)!" Hashirama called out and Tobimaru looked up as the hundreds if not thousands of fists converged on him.

And the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki smirked as he let the barrage hit him. Thousands of gigantic fists impacted his body and created a massive crater-the size of the Valley of the End. With each impact the ground shook and earthquakes rocked the area. There was then a large explosion from all the impacts nearly as big as Naruto's gigantic Bijudama Rasenshuriken…and Hashirama then investigated the crater he had carved out. Laying on his back in a heap…Tobimaru smirked.

"Is that…the best you can do?" Tobimaru asked as a little blood leaked from his lip…and then sizzled away. "The so-called God of Shinobi, that's the best you can do? I'm honestly disappointed, a legend like you could only give me a busted lip while I'm in his form?"

…I was hoping he'd be a bit more damaged! Hashirama thought. He's on a completely other level than I am!

Before Hashirama could react Tobimaru then shaped one of the black orbs into a large buzz-saw which he sent flying right at the Shodaime Hokage. It carved right through the senjutsu empowered Mokuton with ease and Hashirama only got out of the way when he heard it coming. But his arm was severed from the shoulder and he jumped back…and was teleported away with Tobirama's Hiraishin. From a distance the Allied Shinobi Forces could see the gigantic Shinsūsenju be torn apart.

Hashirama winced when he arrived back with his fellow Hokage and he put his hand to his shoulder. "Thanks bro, it looks like I'm not any match for him…"

"He has the power of the Ten-Tails, even you had trouble with the Ky... I mean Kurama when it was alone and it had its right mind," Tobirama reminded him and he noticed. "Your arm should have started regenerating by now."

"Huh, it should?" Hashirama asked as he looked.

"Yes, ash and paper should be bursting around the 'wound' to regenerate it…but its not even activating," Tobirama said as he looked at it. "…but your regeneration hasn't activated…."

"You created the Edo Tensei, got any idea why?" Minato asked as he, Naruto, Hinata, and Hiruzen walked over.

Hiruzen looked at the damage. "If I were to guess, its due to the nature of the technique. It resembles a Kekkei Tōta, it must use multiple nature transformations to create…"

"It would have to have Yin and Yang chakra to prevent the Edo Tensei's regeneration," Tobirama said as he looked at the 'wound' on his brother. "Edo Tensei's regeneration relies on Yōton (Yang Release) and Inton (Yin Release), but if a Onmyōton (Yin-Yang Release) attack were to hit it would sever the previous releases that keep the regeneration functioning. If I were to also guess, a technique like this could also nullify any ninjutsu we try due to how Onmyōton functions."

"So in essence, if we get hit in a vital area, we die?" Minato asked. "Even though we're Edo Tensei now?"

"…exactly," Hiruzen surmised and the younger Hokage nodded.

"…good to know," Minato said.

"That means you have to fight the same way you would in life and try to not get injured," Hinata said and Hashirama focused and did a seal with his remaining arm…and he created an arm made from wood with his Mokuton.

"This should suffice for the lost arm," Hashirama muttered as he flexed the wooden limb. "We don't have much time until the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki tries to kill us again, do we?"

Naruto's negative emotions sensing flared and he created several Kage Bunshins and sent the right out at Tobimaru to slow him down. As the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki plowed through them the youngest Hokage created a Rasenshuriken and tossed it at Tobimaru. The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki had a flashback of that attack from before he achieved godhood and immediately erected the black orbs in front of him as a shield.

The Rasenshuriken empowered by Naruto's Sage Mode as well as Kurama's immense power ground against the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's defense and several sparks created by friction could be seen from the clash. And like a saw…it bore through the defense and Tobimaru was forced to use his Rinnegan empowered Kamui to phase through the attack to avoid damage. But after he did so he was left open to Minato slamming a Rasengan right into his face!

The blow did stun him from the sheer suddenness as the Rasenshuriken exploded behind them and he unleashed another series of jabs with his black orbs at the Yondaime Hokage who just vanished with Hiraishin, but he did what he needed to. On the side of Tobimaru's face…was the Hiraishin seal and the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki snarled.

"Did you expect that to hurt me, to kill me?! I am a GOD!"

"And you're as arrogant as one," Minato said with a smirk and glanced at Naruto. "Nice, that's the Rasengan once its fully completed right?"

"Heh, it's the next step FROM that dad, I call it the Rasenshuriken, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taicho helped me create it, and I mastered it with Sage Mode," Naruto confirmed with a smirk.

"Enough games!" Tobimaru called out as he then…floated and from his hands he then shot out several black rods throughout the battlefield and did a seal "Musekiyōjin (Six Red Yang Formation)!"

With that a giant red barrier shot up and trapped everyone within it. Tobimaru wasn't done however he then slammed his hands down and created a giant tree…with flowers that looked like the Ten-Tails face. Four of them to be exact and they all opened their mouths and started to charge a Bijudama as strong as the one that Minato teleported away. The sheer amount of power cracked and cratered the earth as the entire battlefield rumbled.

Shikamaru spun around and his eyes widened. "We've been walled in, there's no way to escape!"

"Can't we get under the barrier?!" Ino asked.

Neji's Byakugan snapped on and he frowned. "…no, the barrier extends far underground…farther than my Byakugan's range."

Hashirama frowned. "Even if I could deflect one, there are three others…Tobirama, Yondaime, can you teleport the other two?"

"That'd still leave one," Hiruzen frowned as the Bijudama kept charging.

Tobimaru then wrapped his black orbs around him to form a protective sphere barrier…and a tear opened on his forehead. Slowly…a red eye was revealed, with concentric rings shown. Given that he had awoken the Rinnegan in both eyes, despite neither of them being his original set…it was enough for the Ten-Tails own eye, the Rinne Sharingan to awaken. However he hadn't realized he had awoken it just yet and was more focused on just wiping out the entirety of the Allied Shinobi Forces with one shot.

Naruto frowned and then he looked at Minato. "Dad, can't you use Hiraishin to do a mass evacuation of the Alliance? You're fast enough right?"

"…I can do Hiraishin too you know, I did invent it, young Rokudaime," Tobirama chastised Naruto and he winced.

"Oh…sorry Nidaime-sama," Naruto winced, and Minato shook his head.

"Even with my speed, I wouldn't be able to evacuate everyone. Not all at once and we don't have much time, and there are thousands of shinobi here," Minato replied. "To use Hiraishin, anything I marked or is touching my body, or my chakra is…"

"Wait, that's it!" Naruto said and he grinned. "My chakra is distributed throughout the entire alliance, which means…"

"That if I link my chakra with yours, I'll be able to teleport everyone," Minato finished, and he smirked. "Not bad Naruto, not bad!"

"Fist bump with me and I'll link our chakra," Naruto said as he offered his fist to his father and Minato then pushed his own against his son's.

In the mindscape Kurama appeared too…and then a shadowy fox appeared behind Minato. Kurama smirked, the confirmation that his other half was there would mean they could turn the tide

"Hey other half! Been a while!"

"…not consumed by rage. What quelled the anger that we USED to have?"

"Naruto, that's what, link your chakra with mine and I'll show you why!"

The smaller Yin Kurama, who had a darker red colored fur nodded and linked with his larger Yang self at the same time as Naruto and Minato's chakra linkage. Suddenly, each chakra cloak got stronger from the infusion of the full power of Kurama being channeled through them. The Rokudaime Hokage's eyes were closed as he continued to link his chakra with his father's…

"NOW!" Naruto called out and just as the four Bijudama were launched…

Minato activated the Hiraishin no Jutsu and the entire Allied Shinobi Forces suddenly vanished from within the barrier…and were then outside it! All four Bijudama impacted against the walls of the giant red barrier and the massive combined explosion was channeled into space. Tobimaru's black orbs returned to their original shape. He looked with satisfaction and he then laughed.

"FINALLY…all my…" Tobimaru started and as the smoke cleared…he saw the Allied Shinobi Forces were outside the barrier. "That…that…how…"

Shikamaru was looking around. "How did we get out of that?!"

"I think its something that Naruto did with his father," Neji said as he looked around. "We were all linked to Naruto, and Yondaime-sama used the Hiraishin and…we appeared outside the barrier."

"They did that for ALL of us?!" Ino asked in shock. "Holy crap…"

In the distance, Sasuke and Madara had witnessed what had happened and came in for a landing. Tobirama turned with a kunai in hand when he saw the reincarnated Uchiha but Madara lifted his hand.

"In quite a predicament here, huh?" Madara asked and the red barrier was dispelled.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "We have a truce until the enemy is defeated."

"Huh?! But…" Naruto asked, and his best friend gave him the details about their fight and the realization that the Uchiha weren't supposed to be wiped out.

"…that sums it up," Sasuke said as his Susano'o wings flexed behind him.

"…well…we are gonna need as much help as we can get," Naruto said, and he then blinked. "Wait what's that?"

"I evolved my Susano'o into its ultimate form," Sasuke replied with a smirk. "Didn't think I'd fall behind you, Naruto?"

"Grr…that's awesome but…not the time!" Naruto said as Sakura landed next to them, and she released her seal on her forehead. "Sakura?"

"You, Hinata, and Sasuke aren't Edo Tensei, so you're gonna need me to keep you alive against this guy," Sakura said as she pointed her thumb to herself. "Plus I'd like a shot at this bastard myself."

"Heh, Team 7 is reassembled then," Naruto said with a smirk.

Minato nodded. "Don't underestimate him, the power that this man is throwing around is beyond imagination."

"Then we'll hit him with all we got!" Naruto said as his Kurama Sage Mode flared around him and he created his full Biju Mode, Hinata next to him.

"We'll take him down together," Hinata said as her Keihatsu Byakugan flared and Naruto's Biju Mode was covered by Hoderi once again.

Hashirama whistled. "Isn't that what you used to do with the Nine…I mean Kurama, Madara?"

"Tsk, the mindless beast just needed protection from your suppression techniques," Madara started and he looked at Hashirama. "…Kurama?"

"The Kyūbi's name," Tobirama said simply and looked at the reincarnated Uchiha. "The moment you step out of line, I'm ending you Madara."

"…never change do you, Tobirama," Madara commented darkly. "I still haven't forgiven you for killing my brother…"

"Now, now, we're on the same side again," Hashirama said as he put his hands together. "Just don't fight until after the big bad there is crushed!"

Hiruzen remembered what the orbs could do. "Those orbs, we need to neutralize them, they probably have a limit on range considering how close to his body they are."

"It'll be tricky and a bit dangerous, but I potentially have a way to counter them," Minato said with a nod at Tobirama.

Kurama glanced down at Madara. "I'll say this once; you try to control me again and I'll crush you. Even with your eyes, my bond with Naruto makes me immune to your technique now!"

Madara was a little bewildered. Did I imagine it, or did the Kyūbi just speak to me? It's a mindless beast, it doesn't have the mental capacity!

Naruto felt an immense amount of killing intent in the distance and Tobimaru then floated in the air, the black orbs at this back spinning and then they hovered right behind his back. The third eye he had sprouted was now fully visible-seemingly glowing much like the Ten-Tails did. He then seemed to vanish and then appeared right in their midst. Minato reacted first and tossed several of his unique kunai at Tobimaru who immediately just dodged and the Yondaime Hokage used Hiraishin to get in close as a distraction. He even crossed his fingers mid-teleport and created a dozen Kage Bunshins which appeared all around the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

Trying to confuse me?! Tobimaru thought as his eyes darted back and forth and tried to pinpoint where Minato really was. Each Minato teleported at random points in the web of tri-kunai to throw him off and then Tobimaru smirked and created another sword with the black orbs. "THERE!"

The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki then stabbed forward at what he thought was the real Yondaime Hokage and his attack connected before he could teleport again with Hiraishin. Tobimaru smirked maliciously as what seemed to be ash and paper burst from Minato's Edo Tensei body…only to then explode in a violent burst of smoke which blinked Tobimaru's Rinnegan! Then a wall of blue flame...which was mixed with black Amaterasu flames slammed right into him.

"You'll burn to ASH!" Sasuke called out as he kept producing intense Amaterasu flames.

"Oh please," Tobimaru said as he used his didn't even bother to use his black orbs…and he absorbed the flames with Gakidō. "And Madara huh, I guess you're a bit sore I took all this power for myself."

Madara snarled. "I should have seen your treachery from decades ago, my plan is on hold until you are dead."

Tobimaru licked his lips. "Oh REALLY, as intelligent as you are with such grand plans…you've always been a bit dense Madara. Couldn't see a traitor like me right in your midst even though the Zetsu got it right away and went along with it since they wanted to further their own plans?"

"The Zetsu are loyal to me, I'm the one who created them…"

"Tsk, tsk, no, you didn't create them, just gave them new bodies," Tobimaru said like he was scolding a teenager. "Their real creator is going to be making her way back to reconquer this world. Those who read the tablet know who I'm talking about."

Before Madara could respond Naruto, Hinata, and Hashirama leaped into another attack. Tobimaru immediately raised a shield of black orbs only for the Hyūga Heiress' giant blade from her Hoderi slammed into it and created a small crack. The Shodaime Hokage then capitalized on it and created his Mokujin which smashed its fist right through the weakened defense to hit the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki with full force.

Tobimaru grunted as he skidded back and then he noticed he was starting to be separated from the black orbs from the force of Hashirama's blow. Before he could recall them Hiruzen landed in front of him and his body had a light green glow. The Sandaime Hokage then landed a spinning kick which sent the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki flying into the air.

"You're…using the Eight Gates!?"

"I was called the Professor, I know every ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu in Konoha that aren't Kekkei Genkai," Hiruzen said as he appeared behind Tobimaru and then grabbed his arms. "Now…Omote Renge (Front Lotus)!"

Even without the bandages that normally were used in the taijutsu the Sandaime Hokage's grip was like iron and he then spun the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki had high speeds before he launched him into the ground. Tobirama was waiting to finish the combo and his cheeks swelled and he timed it just right…

"Suiton: Suidanha (Water Release: Severing Wave)!" Tobirama called out as he shot out a highly pressurized blast of water powerful enough to cut through an entire mountain right at Tobimaru.

How annoying, Tobimaru thought as his Rinnegan glowed and he simultaneously used Tendō to stop his descent and then used Gakidō to absorb the attack. Might as well go on the offensive…

Just as he thought that Naruto had finished creating a Bijudama Rasenshuriken infused with Senjutsu chakra. Hinata even added her own power to it and the blades became sharper around the dense ball of chakra and blue flames burst around two of the four blades. When it was ready both fired the powerful attack right at Tobimaru and the other Hokage keeping him busy teleported away using Minato's Hiraishin!

Tobimaru's three eyes widened and immediately he activated Kamui to have the immensely powerful technique phase right through him and just after it did…Minato appeared above him with another Rasengan, empowered by senjutsu chakra and slammed it right into the Ten-Tail's Jinchūriki face once more, with even greater force than before. Blood flew out of Tobimaru's lip and sent him crashing through several boulders and into a cliff face as the Yondaime Hokage landed. He glanced back and Naruto with a grin.

Taking the Rasengan to that level, I'm extremely impressed! Minato thought with a satisfied smirk. He's surpassed me, that's for sure…but we need to keep up the attack!

"Amazing!" Hashirama said as he gawked at the still spinning Bijudama Rasenshuriken which crashed into a few mountains and then erupted in a gigantic explosion. "A lot like the combo you used against me in our final battle, Madara."

"…similar I'll grant you," Madara said as he smirked despite himself. "But superior to my own version, all I did was prevent you from grabbing the Kyūbi's bombs…this generation continues to surprise me."

"Stop patting Naruto on the back and keep up the attack!" Sasuke snapped at them as he charged forward, his Susano'o: Tathagata launched him at full speed. "Sakura, back me up!"

"Right!" Sakura yelled as she charged chakra to her feet before she launched herself at high speed, her Byakugō no Jutsu in effect around her body.

Tobimaru pulled himself out of the crater that Minato had sent him crashing into, his cheek sizzling as it regenerated from the blow. He was enraged, he had achieved godhood and they were using the weakness of the Ten-Tails against him so effectively?! His Rinnegan flashed as Sasuke and Sakura closed the distance and he blocked their attack with his black orbs!

"You two pests!" Tobimaru yelled as he orbs cracked and splintered from their combined blows. The girl's shielding her fist with chakra enhanced with the damn senjutsu chakra that Naruto gave her, and what the hell is this form Sasuke has?!

"SHANNARO!" Sakura called out as her fist bore through the black orb and her feet were cloaked in her own blue chakra. "Tsūtenkyaku (Heavenly Kick of Pain)!"

She jumped and then lifted her leg up in a powerful axe kick empowered by Naruto's Senjutsu chakra and Tobimaru managed to catch it and veins popped on his arms as he steadied himself against the kunoichi's immense physical strength. The ground cracked and shattered underneath him as the force was transferred through his body, but he overpowered her! From his back spikes a chakra arm then shot out and grabbed Sasuke just as he was about to attack and slammed him into the still suspended Sakura and crushed both into the ground.

Just before he could crush them completely Naruto and Hinata appeared in a flash, Kurama's Avatar flickered and faded as did the Hoderi. The youngest Hokage gritted his teeth as he used his own chakra arm to force Tobimaru back and the Hyūga Leader used a Hakke Kūshō to push him back as Sasuke and Sakura barely recovered and hopped back. The last Uchiha's body was covered in wounds, but Sakura had just finished regenerating her own injuries and began to heal him.

"Great attack Sakura, we almost had him," Sasuke said as his wounds were closed by Sakura's healing chakra.

"I couldn't keep him distracted enough for you to land a blow, you alright?" Sakura asked as she finished healing him and his Susano'o: Tathagata clad itself around him again.

"Yes, thanks to you," Sasuke said as he looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Are we going to let them have all the fun?"

Naruto and Hinata effortlessly were able to get into a tandem as they forced Tobimaru back with several blows. The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's eyes twitched and more veins popped on his head as more frustration overtook him. In his mind he was going 'how dare these gnats do so well against me?!' Just as he was about to counter Sasuke then unleashed several Amaterasu fireballs right at him and he used Gakidō to absorb them…and left himself open.

Sakura joined Naruto and Hinata's assault and charged more chakra to her fist. The Hokage created a Fūton: Rasengan and the Hyūga Leader created a Rasenyari and the three landed a combined attack right on the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. He grunted and blood flew out of his mouth and he crashed through another series of boulders. Before he could right himself an entire forest began to grow around him.

"WHOA! They have him on the ropes!" an Allied Shinobi Forces shinobi from Kumogakure commented.

"He's a god?! He hasn't landed a single blow, he's nothing but a punching bag!" a Konoha Allied Shinobi Forces shinobi added.

"Well he is fighting our Hokage!" another female Allied Shinobi Force member commented, from Konoha. "Go Naruto-sama, Hero of the Leaf! Go Hinata-sama, Heroine of the Gentle Fist!"

"What should Sasuke…"

"Pfft that traitor is probably just trying not to get punished after the war," another Konoha shinobi said.

"Still Naruto-sama trusts…"

"What should Sakura's title be, she's fighting there too like Godaime-sama would?!"

Shikamaru's brow furrowed. …this is seemingly too easy. Even with all the Hokages, they wouldn't be doing nearly as well against the Ten-Tails itself, is this bastard having trouble bringing out its full power?

Killer Bee was having similar thoughts. Yo Eight, you got an idea why Naruto's kicking this guy's butt if heh as the Ten-Tails power? Shouldn't they be constantly on the defensive?

Quite the opposite, Bee. They need to keep constant attacks up because of Tobimaru's immense power. Not giving him a second to rest and unleash his full might or learn how he can use his power, Gyūki explained as they watched. If they are unable to keep Tobimaru on the defensive…they die. They know it. Those Gudōdama he possesses…they either must keep forcing him to defend with them or destroy them individually or else…

Gudōdama? Those black things?

They're his most dangerous weapons. If he wanted, just one of them could cause significant damage to the entire continent. The Old Man had the same amount, as did his son Asura, Gyūki explained as Naruto landed another blow. With them, with proper usage, the person wielding them is nearly unbeatable. All the elements, Yin, Yang, and Yin-Yang all combined into a single technique…a Kekkei Mora.

"Then we ought ta warn them before they get blasted to him, ya dad, right?" Killer Bee said as he was about to transform but Gyūki stopped him.

"Getting into this fight is suicide for you Bee! As strong as you are, those fighting Tobimaru are just at a far higher level than you are and they're barely keeping him at the defensive! Any attempt to interfere could cause one or ALL of them to die! The best you can do is WATCH!"

"Tsk…sitting on the sidelines isn't my style yo, but if you say so Eight-O," Killer Bee pouted a bit as his eyes narrowed behind his shades.

Tobimaru's eyes then glowed in unison and he threw out his arms! Two more pairs of arms sprouted from his torso and a fan-bladed tail sprouted from his back as he accessed the power of Shuradō (Asura Path) and two more faces appeared on either side of his head. Just before Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura could land their next attacks the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki caught them with his extra arms and then he smirked.

"Sorry children, I believe playtime is over!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he was the first target…and one of the arms transformed into a cannon which blasted him point-blank in the stomach with a blast of chakra. Blood flew from his mouth as he was sent flying form the force of the blast. In a single second, the pendulum of the battle changed from what could be a victory…to a utter defeat!

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata yelled before Tobimaru grabbed her by the neck and headbutted her with enough force to knock her out and made her forehead start bleeding.

"Shit! I'm not going to make it in time!" Minato yelled as he went to teleport over with his Hiraishin.

"NARUTO!" Kushina cried out as she went to rush to the battlefield.

The Hyūga Leader was then tossed right into Naruto's prone form on the ground as the blood started to pool. Sakura struggled just as the fan-blade stabbed her through the stomach and tossed her in the opposite direction. The Medic-Nin spat out blood as she crashed into a crater…and then Sasuke was alone with Tobimaru.

"Now Sasuke…I need to appropriately punish you for turning on me!" Tobimaru yelled as he began to unleash a barrage of punches that couldn't even be seen by Sasuke's Sharingan nor Madara's Rinnegan. "Shuradō Rendan (Asura Path Barrage)!"

Blood flew from the last Uchiha's mouth as his Susano'o was stripped off with each round of blows before his arms and legs were then grabbed by the newly created ones the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki had created. He gave a sadistic smirk and then launched Sasuke into the air as he turned them into rocket fists….and then they exploded when the Uchiha was in mid-air.

So…overwhelmingly…powerful…. Sasuke thought as he plummeted to the ground and landed in a crater small crater, smoke wafted off his wounds.

Naruto panted, and groaned in pain as well; blood leaked out of his mouth as he grasped his stomach. The wound was healing…but it wasn't fast enough, and he was feeling light-headed. He glanced at Hinata who was panting as she tried to maintain consciousness. Despite their impressive assault on Tobimaru…they had been defeated in seconds.

"That was fun while it lasted," Tobimaru started with a smirk. "But now I believe its time I finished this…"

Before he could finish Hashirama, Madara, and Minato teleported in….and then from his blind spot several flaming kunai and shuriken curved and looped around. Tobimaru's black orbs then blocked as he scowled as the final figure appeared. Uchiha Itachi had reached the final battlefield.

"I thought Kabuto would have put you down permanently, he must have gotten sloppy," Tobimaru said with a laugh.

"Shodaime-sama, Yondaime-sama, I'm here to pledge my support against this monster," Itachi said with conviction. "Even if my power pales in comparison to yours, I'll do my best to be a distraction."

Hashirama nodded. "…I assume you're Sasuke's brother then, your chakra feels similar to his."

"Yes…I'm his elder brother. The foolish elder brother who thought he could do everything by himself and never learned the lesson," Itachi gave a light chuckle. "Hard to believe I thought I could be the first Uchiha Hokage after all this."

"You died young I can see," Minato said as he looked at his Edo Tensei body. "But your summoning is different from ours?"

"That monster's partner in this War used Edo Tensei to summon me to fight for Akatsuki once again," Itachi explained as in his mind, Kabuto appeared…with the Rinnegan in his eyes. "Someone I underestimated…tried to fight on my own and I failed miserably. I broke free thanks to a trap I set for my younger brother initially."

"Talk more about it later," Hashirama said as Tobimaru was now advancing on the prone forms of Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura. "We need to get them out of there and behind the front lines for healing."

Minato nodded. "Leave that to me," he said as he glanced at Itachi. "Those black weapons of his, they can cause permanent damage to a Edo Tensei. Any lethal attack for a normal human would be the same for us."

"I was observing that," Itachi said as his Mangekyō Sharingan activated. "I've never seen anything like those orbs before…though it makes sense if that man had achieved the same power as the Rikudō Sennin."

"...very astute," Madara said as he took a step forward. "As the weakest of us you should…"

"I'll be the front line," Itachi said as he then charged forward and then summoned a murder of crows to aid him in battle. "I have a plan. Just focus on saving Sasuke, Naruto, and the women."

Tobimaru's eyes twitched and he turned as a murder of crows appeared all around him, and his Rinnegan rolled. "Honestly? I thought you were dead again…"

"I'm not going to rest until we thwart your ambitions!" Itachi yelled as his right eye blood dripped out. "Amaterasu!"

The black orbs reacted immediately, and the Amaterasu was blocked with almost contemptuous ease, and then erased. Tobimaru then adopted a bit of a sadistic smirk and changed one of his hands into a chakra cannon which fired a concentrated beam right at Itachi who barely dodged as he closed the distance. Right when they were nearly in eye contact…the reincarnated Uchiha then unleashed what seemed like his most powerful genjutsu, the Tsukuyomi from his left eye.

"You are now in my world," Itachi started as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki found himself in the red and black world of the Tsukuyomi. The moon had the symbol of his Mangekyō Sharingan rotating as suddenly Tobimaru felt himself being crucified. "For the next seventy-two hours, I will inflict untold agony…"

"Really Itachi, are big genjutsu the only thing your mind can conjure up?" Tobimaru asked as his third eye then glowed red…and Itachi's Tsukuyomi cracked…and the Mangekyō Sharingan Moon suddenly was replaced with the Rinnegan moon.

"I anticipated that," Itachi said with a smirk and the genjutsu faded. "This isn't Tsukuyomi, but thanks for thinking it is."

"What?" Tobimaru started as the world cracked away and suddenly, he was back in the real world once again, but everything was hazy.

"You're right, I did rely far too much on the big flashy genjutsu," Itachi said as Tobimaru turned…in terms of perception things were in slow motion. "So I played with your expectations and trapped you in a genjutsu that your mind thinks it is Tsukuyomi, but in reality, it's just a much weaker, more subtle genjutsu. Until you break it, you're vulnerable and frozen in place, as if time has stopped and slowed for you…making you vulnerable."

"…altering…my perception by making it seem I'm in Tsukuyomi?" Tobimaru asked in a bit of surprise as he tried to lift his hand up…and it began to lift extraordinary slowly. No need to panic, I can break this….

"Exactly," Itachi said as in the real-world Minato teleported to his son, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura. "Just buying enough time…."

Tobimaru gritted his teeth and as his Rinnegan started to break the genjutsu. "This won't…stop me…"

"Please, I'm merely slowing you down," Itachi said as the Yondaime Hokage used his Hiraishin to teleport the younger shinobi away.

"Then let me aid in that," a new voice said as Tobirama appeared and did a seal. "Our ninjutsu power won't help, but genjutsu is another story. This genjutsu was developed specifically to blind those with the ability to see through them, Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness Technique)!"

The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki then found himself in a pure black world that his Rinnegan had extreme difficulty perceiving any semblance of light. On top his perception of time being altered to the point where everything was slowed down…Tobimaru was frozen in place until he broke both sets of illusions. His rage was building as the Ten-Tails inside him began to rumble in annoyance from being caught.

Minato had just managed to get Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura to a medical tent. Sakura was the first to regain consciousness as her Byakugō no Jutsu finished healing her wounds and she sat up, clutching her stomach from the phantom pains of being impaled. She winced, reached into her pack and downed a painkiller before getting back onto her feet and her eyes widened.

"Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke!" she rushed over and Minato breathed in.

"They're all in bad shape…Naruto and Sasuke looked to have got the worst of it," Minato said as he fought to keep his emotions in check seeing his son in such a state. "Kurama's trying to heal the damage to Naruto's body from that blast but he doesn't have enough power to from the looks of it…and Sasuke just got beat to hell on top of being on the receiving end of a point-blank explosion. If not for his Susano'o he'd be dead outright now…and Hinata…just physical trauma…"

Shizune and Rin were rushing in but the Nohara froze seeing the Yondaime Hokage. "S-Sensei…"

Minato had to let a smile appear. "Rin, you grew up well. I'm glad to see you…"

"R-Right…I have so much to tell you about what happened since…the Kyūbi Attack…Kakashi found it hard to believe," Rin then shook her head when she saw the injured young shinobi. "But we have to catch up after we save them, right Shizune-senpai."

"Right," Shizune said with a smirk. "And we're part of the same generation, so no 'senpai' Rin. Just glad to have your expertise here."

Sakura winced and she took a deep breath. "Let me help too, I'm…"

"Sakura you're not in any condition," Shizune cut her off. "Even with the Byakugō no Jutsu, you still have to deal with the damage your nerve endings received from such a attack. It took Tsunade-sama years to get ahold of that, and deal with the shock. Relax now, we got this."

At the same time Tobimaru's Rinnegan finally finished analyzing both genjutsu and Itachi and Tobirama were both struggling to keep him in place. Beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads as they kept putting more and more effort into their genjutsu when the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki stomped his foot…and dispelled both genjutsu. He then launched himself right at both genjutsu users…and Itachi found himself being launched away as the Nidaime Hokage let himself be hit first.

"Uchiha, I'm going to trust you to keep slowing him down until a plan is worked out to defeat him," Tobirama said and a smirk. "You have the Will of Fire, pass it on to the next generation!"

Tobimaru's hand grabbed the Nidaime Hokage's head and a light blue glow appeared…his soul was yanked RIGHT out of the Edo Tensei body using Ningendō (Human Path). Ash and paper crumbled as the corpse of the White Zetsu that had been used to reanimated Tobirama fell to the ground…and the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki threw it away.

"All you did was delay the inevitable, even without the Gudōdama I possess, I can still outright kill your imperfect reincarnations with my Rinnegan!"

Itachi then tossed some smoke bombs down to blind Tobimaru's vision and he fell back to try to get a better vantage point. The remaining Edo Tensei Hokage, sans Minato and Tobirama, as well as Madara were planning on their next moves to slow the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki down when the reincarnated Uchiha appeared next to them. His six arms moved in a near robotic fashion as his fan-tail blade whipped around him.

"Ahhh…this is exhilarating," Tobimaru said with a smirk, his Rinnegan glowed menacingly in the low light. "The Ten-Tails' power is truly immense…and you wanted to put the world under a genjutsu. What a farce!"

Madara snarled. "How many of our own clan have you killed now then…?"

"Hm…as soon as Sasuke succumbs to his wounds, the entirety of the Uchiha Clan will consist of me, and only me. Just how I always wanted it," Tobimaru replied as he caught the reincarnated elder Uchiha's Susano'o blade with a finger and shattered it. "You should be proud that I managed to make your 'plan' my own. In a way, you'll get what you wanted, the Uchiha ruling the world…through its new god, myself!"

Madara snarled. "You've always been arrogant, but I've excused that due to your past competence! But slaughtering our brethren and arranging what was left to be destroyed? You crossed the line…you are going to die by my hands!"

"Then you should have killed me before I revived the Ten-Tails and became its Jinchūriki!" Tobimaru mocked as he then slammed his palm through the reincarnated Uchiha's Susano'o like it was glass and grabbed his face before he slammed it into the ground. "For someone called a genius, you were a moron when it came down to it! You bought my story of a plague killing off my family and the branch clan without any questions asked after all! Then you continued to keep me on, teaching me everything you knew?!" the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki then dragged Madara through the ground at high speed as ash and paper were blown off his body. "You never saw my true nature and were so arrogant that I'd be awestruck and continue with your idiotic plan!"

"You…whelp…" Madara snarled as his Rinnegan glowed purple and he tried to break out of Tobimaru's iron grip.

"If I'm a whelp, you went senile after the Shodaime Hokage defeated you for that final time!" Tobimaru mocked as he then stabbed Madara with his fantail and then slammed him into a few boulders. "Oh, and you believe you saved that boy during the Third Shinobi World War. He would have been so grateful for you; he probably would have tried to help your idiotic plan in his own way!" he then leaned in. "That boy is dead, all your effort on him was for nothing! All you did was give me one of the best Sharingan eyes to use to further my own goals!"

Madara's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth. "I…won't let you get away…"

"Too bad, I already DID!" Tobimaru uttered and then he prepared to finish Madara off with a drill made from his Gudōdama…only for a forest of trees to intercept him and made him jump away. "Tsk…ruining my fun."

"Hands off my old friend," Hashirama said, his eyes as hard as steel. While Tobimaru couldn't see it, a aura of Natural Energy was around the Shodaime Hokage, it was if he had powered up in his Sage Mode. One of the tendrils of trees drew Madara back to him and let him regenerate.

"…thank you, Hashirama," Madara uttered as he wiped his cheek. "Despite supposedly gaining the ultimate dōjutsu, I still require your aid."

"He's right about one thing Madara, you are an idiot. Always trying to do everything yourself," Hashirama said simply, but he smirked. "You were the same way when we were kids, Mr. I can't pee in front of others."

"Oh really, Mr. I'm Depressed All the Time!?" Madara snapped back and then he caught himself. "…that was a LONG time ago."

"Yeah, and in all that time even after we founded the Village, we never teamed up," Hashirama said as he cracked his neck a bit. "To think we'd get a chance after death."

Madara nodded. "Indeed. Let's make up for that lost time."

Hashirama slammed his hands together…and his eyes glinted. "Senpō: Mokuton: Shinsūsenju!"

Under their feet the massive Shinsūsenju was created…and Madara's Rinnegan then glowed brightly as he then extended his Perfect Susano'o around the gigantic Shinsusenju. His Susano'o's armor completely covered the wooden construct…and gave every one of its thousand hands a giant sword, and the main part of the Shinsūsenju had the largest two blades. There was a pulse of power as both techniques settled in sync and Hiruzen's jaw lowered.

"…that is insane," Hiruzen uttered. "On their own they were at a level few shinobi ever reached, but now…" he glanced back to the medical tents where Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura were recovering. "…time would tell if their combined power would be the same…"

Tobimaru licked his lips. "Ohhh, this will be fun…."

As the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki prepared to battle Hashirama and Madara at the same time, Shizune and Rin were trying to stabilize Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. Sakura herself was wincing, her body was slowly getting accustomed to the shock as the pain from the regeneration began to numb. Shizune frowned as she tried to accelerate Naruto's healing, but the wound was slow to close.

"Its like Kurama is doing his very best to stabilize him but doesn't have enough power to do so due to the damage," Shizune frowned as she checked Hinata as well. "And her injuries are nearly as great, a massive amount of blunt force trauma…she's lucky she wasn't killed outright…."

"Sasuke's injuries are just as severe," Rin added as she checked on him. "Broken bones, several ruptured organs on top of burns. If not for that Susano'o technique he'd be dead…"

Sakura winced. "I can help…my Byakugō no Jutsu can heal all three of them."

"Not until your body recovers from the shock," Shizune said and she frowned as she tried to heal both Naruto and Hinata at the same time. But at the rate we're going we might need that…these injuries…

There was a bit of an earthquake from Hashirama and Madara's battle against Tobimaru that nearly knocked the medics off their feet. Minato was keeping watch as Kushina rushed in, wanting to help as best as she could as well. Their son was on death's door and they couldn't do anything to save him, unlike when he was born when they managed to save him from Kurama's claw at the last second. His wound even mimicked the one they received that day…

"Damn it…" Minato gritted his teeth as he wrapped his arm around Kushina.

"No…no he's going to pull through," Kushina whispered as she saw Kurama's chakra around the wound. Tears were streaking down her face as she fought to stay composed. She had just reunited with her son, met his friends and his girlfriend, and she was going to lose them? Damn it there must be something…

"You need to get Gyūki's chakra for him, and the other half of Kurama transferred to him," a new voice said, and everyone looked to the tent's entrance.

There was a man, looking like he was in his late fifties, with pale skin, long brown hair and a short beard. He was dressed in robes that were white, with a black blue haori over his shoulders. On his back was the symbol of his clan…a four-pointed star within a circle with lines extending to the edge of the circle, colored gold. He was flanked by two other men, dressed the same way as he was, one was just as old and the other was around the same age as Naruto.

"Who…where…." Minato asked. 'We didn't even sense you…how…"

"No time to explain, there's a limited amount of time to save the three of them," the man said as he opened his eyes…and revealed blank eye sockets. "I'll explain when those three are stabilized."

"Father," the young man said. "The pink haired girl, she has a Kāma (Karma) seal on her forehead! How did she get it?!"

"A what? This is my Byakugō no In (White Strength Seal), I developed it after studying my master's Infūin (Yin Seal)!" Sakura said and did a bit of a double take when she realized he was blind as well. "Wait how did you even see…"

"It wasn't hard to sense your chakra," the blind young man started but his father raised his hand.

"Fetch Gyūki's chakra before its too late. I'll work on healing the Byakugan Princess," he said as he stepped forward but Shizune tensed.

"Explain who the hell you are first before you take one more step to my patients," Shizune said as she looked at him. "You come out of nowhere and expect us to trust you? You've done nothing to…"

"…I'm not sensing any ill-intentions. Well my half of Kurama isn't," Minato said as he blinked. "He said something about…Ōtsutsuki…."

"We are the main family of the Ōtsutsuki Clan of the moon," the man said as he stepped forward. "We're here to aid you in the final defeat of the Ten-Tails and the monster that is controlling it. Now please, we have limited time."

Shizune pursed her lips…and moved away. "Don't make me regret this."

The man nodded…and he opened his mouth and a white orb came out of it…and then shot into Hinata! Her body shook and a purple chakra engulfed her as her eyes shot open and she received a massive amount of information…and met…

"Hello, Byakugan Princess Hyūga Hinata," an old man floated to her in her mind, he had the same black orbs behind him. "My name is Ōtsutsuki Hamura, I am the Rikudō Sennin's younger brother. And I'm here to aid you…and transfer my power to you."

"Ōtsutsuki Hamura?! The Rikudō Sennin's younger brother?! Wait…why did you refer…"

"I had, for lack of a better word, a dream before my death of a young woman with the same Byakugan as myself and the same eyes that I possess, fighting a great evil that would destroy the world my brother created," Hamura explained. "Your clan, the Hyūga direct descendants of my own family. I don't have much time; my chakra will heal your broken body and it'll awaken a new power within your Byakugan"

"A…new power?"

"Yes, you have unlocked the next step of the Byakugan, the Keihatsu. The final step is a dōjutsu equal in power to that of the Rinnegan…the Tenseigan. I awoke it myself and used it to build a civilization within the moon that my brother and I created when we defeated the Ten-tails," Hamura explained as he floated close. "Hold out your hand and I'll complete the transfer." He then gave a smile…and saw Matatabi behind Hinata's mental self. "My fire kitten has grown quite big. How are you Matatabi?"

"I-I'm no longer a kitten Uncle Hamura! Gah even after three millennia you get me to act like a child!" Matatabi exclaimed and she composed herself. "It is…very good to see you again Uncle…does this mean?"

"My brother will be meeting with the young Uzumaki Hokage, yes. And that anger filled Uchiha…Indra's descendants are always such a handful," Hamura said as he shook his head.

Hinata took a deep breath…and then put her hand to the ancient Ōtsutsuki's. "I'm ready then, Hamura-dono."

Hamura smiled and closed his eyes…and then the Hyūga Leader felt a rush of power enter her body. "It'll take a few minutes before your body becomes accustomed to my chakra. By then, the young Uzumaki and Uchiha should be conscious as well…both with new powers as well. I'll stick around for a bit to aid you whenever I can during this final battle."

In the real world Shizune spun around and she checked Hinata's vitals and her eyes widened. "Her…her body is healing! Even the broken bones and the concussion is fixing itself…"

"That's…the power of our ancestor's chakra," the Ōtsutsuki said as he stabilized himself. "My named is Momotaro, leader of the Main Family of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. My brethren left the moon to aid your Shinobi Alliance against the Ten-Tails when it was awakened. This is my son Shikitaro and my best friend Sanotaro."

Sanotaro went over to Sakura and he checked her seal. "You have a part to play in this battle…" his hand glowed brightly with chakra. "Accept my chakra so you can fight at the level beyond you can imagine."

"Your…your power?"

"He's going to give you a Kāma seal," Shikitaro explained as he leaned back. "Feel honored, normal humans usually only gain it by killing one of us. With him giving you his power…that seal on your head will be able to do a LOT more than what you are used to."

Sakura breathed in. "…alright then. Do it."

Sanotaro then put his hand to her forehead and she felt a rush of power concentrate right to her Byakugō no In. It slowly turned purple…to red to match her headband. Markings began to extend throughout her body from the seal and resembled flames and concentrated around her palms as she gasped in pain…and then the seals rushed back to the center. The older Ōtsutsuki Clan member fell to his knees.

"I've…fulfilled my duty…" he uttered as his breathing became labored. "You now…have the power to fight with the gods…"

Rin had, at that moment taken out a syringe. Breathing in she looked in it…it was leftover genetic material from the surgeries that she had given Danzo before his final bated battle with Sasuke himself. And now…it was going to be used to save the young Uchiha. She chuckled mentally a bit at the irony, and he she then put the syringe against Sasuke's vein on his arm and injected the genetic solution.

"…now all we can do is wait," Rin said and Momotaro looked at her in confusion.

"What did you do, the young Uchiha's chakra changed."

"I gave him some of the Shodaime Hokage's genetic material to save his life. The Shodaime could heal from nearly any wound, so this was the best solution," Rin replied as she monitored…and her eyes widened. "It is starting to take effect…."

"More than that," Momotaro said as his eye-less eye sockets widened, sensing the chakra. "Rikudō Chakra is now being created within the boy."

"What?!" Rin, Minato, and Shizune asked at the same time.

"The Shodaime Hokage is a Senju, and the boy is a Uchiha. The mixing of their genetic material and chakra creates the…original chakra, Rikudō Chakra," Momotaro said as his sensing focused. "The boy's going to awaken his own Rinnegan now…" he then turned to Minato. "What are you waiting for, get Gyūki and then both of you transfer your power to your son! There's not enough time left!"

"Right!" Minato said and he vanished from the tent via his Hiraishin.

All the while this was happening, Hashirama and Madara were in a desperate battle with Tobimaru. The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki gleefully countered their combined Susano'o: Chōjō Kebutsu with a barrage of his own which used his Gudōdama. The entire battlefield shook, and shockwaves knocked dozens of shinobi off their feet. Despite the power of their combination, both Edo Tensei veterans were clearly at a disadvantage.

"Even with your senjutsu empowering my blades, those black orbs are too hard to break," Madara said with a snarl.

"We're pushing him even less than the youngsters did when they were attacking in combination," Hashirama added as blue 'scales' from the Iso: Susano'o fell off his Shinsūsenju.

Tobimaru laughed. "Now come on, is that all the power you have?!"

Hashirama and Madara then called out and launched another massive barrage…only for the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki to bob and weave through each fist and sword like it was nothing and then he appeared above them. One of his arms then lifted and then he created a Bijudama, black and white chakra swirled around him. The color drained from the veteran Edo Tensei shinobi's faces as the sheer power of the Bijudama cratered the ground.

"Hey Madara...catch this!" Tobimaru yelled as he tossed the gigantic, dense ball of chakra right at the Shodaime Hokage and reincarnated elder Uchiha.

Before either could react the gigantic Bijudama slammed right into the Iso: Susano'o: Shinsūsenju's main body. Several of the arms were vaporized right outright from the impact as both Edo Tensei shinobi launched right across the sea towards Mountain's Graveyard. Their combined construct was barely intact when they reached the next shore…and the Bijudama exploded.

Everyone heard a huge 'doom' and from the distance a jet of energy could be seen. The Mountain's Graveyard, Akatsuki's main base had been completely wiped out by Tobimaru's own attack and the entire peninsula had become a crater. Any member of the Allied Shinobi Forces that had still been stationed there were also wiped out in an instant as Hashirama and Madara were slow to regenerate from the sheer power of the blast.

And then all that stood in Tobimaru's way was Hiruzen. Despite the display of power and holding the upper hand the entire fight, the Sandaime Hokage merely took a fighting stance as his eyes narrowed. The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki licked his lips in anticipation as Hiruzen then activated the Seventh Gate, a burst of blue chakra surrounded him, and he took his own stance. From a distance Guy and Rock Lee's eyes widened as they saw the Professor take the Goken stance!

"Yosh! I have never seen the Sandaime Hokage so youthful!" Rock Lee commented as Guy smirked.

"That's why he IS the Sandaime Hokage, Lee! He was able to master even the Eight Gates! And as an Edo Tensei he doesn't suffer any of the side effects we do!" Guy exclaimed but he frowned. …but if he does use the Gate of Death…the Eighth Gate will burn out his Edo Tensei body, even burning the very ashes that make up his body! But come on Sandaime, show him your Youth!

"I'm not arrogant enough to think this will be enough," Hiruzen said as he saw Tobimaru advance. "Which is why…"

He then jabbed his chest near the heart…and Tobimaru could see…the eighth gate opening within the Sandaime Hokage's Edo Tensei body. His Rinnegan could see the release of chakra as a new…red aura surrounded Hiruzen. His hair even seemed to resemble flames as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki smirked.

"Ahhh…a technique that will even destroy your Edo Tensei body," Tobimaru commented. "The Eighth of the Eight Gates, this is the first time I've seen it up close!"

"And it'll be the last time!" Hiruzen said as he prepared to attack. "I won't let you touch Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, or Sakura, they are precious children of Konoha!"

"Well then, bring it on old man! If you had this as your trump card, maybe you could have killed Orochimaru three years ago," Tobimaru taunted as the Sandaime Hokage's eyes narrowed…

And then before Tobimaru could register he moved a devastating kick hit him in the stomach. The sheer power of the kick made the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki spit out blood-something that no other attack before had managed to accomplish. He went flying backwards as Hiruzen crossed his fingers and then created a dozen Kage Bunshins all empowered by the Eighth Gate.

Tobimaru gritted his teeth as his Gudōdama formed into a spring to stop his ascent only for the Sandaime Hokage to land several more blows on him. Each time Hiruzen's body began to decay more and more as burned pieces of ash and paper burned away into nothing. Tobimaru managed to break away from the barrage and fly upwards, only for Hiruzen to pursue him by literally running up on the air.

"Damn it, I'm going to rip both your arms off!" Tobimaru yelled and he used his Gudōdama to try to stab the Sandaime Hokage who just effortlessly dodged…and got his back.

"Now…" Hiruzen drew his fist back. "Sekizō (Evening Elephant)!"

Tobimaru barely could turn his head when a column of air, shaped like an elephant's foot smashed right into him and sent him crashing into the ground…and bore an extremely deep hole. Hiruzen then winced as, even as an Edo Tensei, he began to experience the sheer pain and heat keeping the Eighth Gate active.

"My body won't last much longer…" Hiruzen said as he squeezed his hand into a tight fist. "I need to end this in the next few attacks!"

Tobimaru was lying flat on his back, blood leaked from his lip as he gave a snarl. Pain, actual pain from attacks that should be beneath him surged throughout his body. Hiruzen's Kage Bunshins then combined their Eight Gate enhanced chakra and all performed an elemental blast, streams of fire, wind, lightning bolts, waves of water and even gigantic boulders converged on the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and then exploded with enough force to wipe out the surrounding area. Steam rose and Tobimaru then floated and he panted right at the Sandaime Hokage.

"Impressive…most impressive. But if that's all you can do, you won't be able to kill me before your Edo Tensei body turns to literal dust," Tobimaru said as his body sizzled and the wounds that he had received began to knit themselves back together and regenerate. "While my reserves are limitless, and I can heal from whatever you inflict."

Hiruzen panted as more of his body began to disintegrate. "You're right, I can't draw this out much longer then."

In the background, Might Guy, Rock Lee, Neji and Tenten were observing from a safe distance. Lee's eyes were practically sparkling from the display of power and Goken mastery that the Sandaime Hokage had displayed.

"I can't believe it! Even the Sandaime Hokage had learned the Eight Gates!"

"I know Lee, take it in. The Sandaime Hokage's youth has exploded and is about to reach the climax!" Might Guy said as he saw the chakra bursts around Hiruzen who stretched his legs and put his hands to the ground. That stance…the Eight Gate's final technique…

As that was happening, Minato had retrieved Killer Bee using the Hiraishin no Jutsu and explained the situation. Without even a moment of hesitation, Gyūki's Jinchūriki agreed to transfer a bit of the Ox's power to Naruto to save his life. The Yondaime Hokage waited as Bee then put his hand to Naruto's chest and there was a flash of a Version 1 cloak around him and then a Version 1…and with that he transferred the entire cloak's worth of chakra to the young Hokage. The effect was immediate, and Naruto's wound began to close at an increasing rate.

"Phew…yo yo Naruto is on the mend! Time to get back to the fight and set things right, YEAH!" Bee said as the wound stopped healing just as he said that. "Huh?"

"Just one more thing," Minato said as he walked over and put his hand to his son's chest. "Here's the remaining half of Kurama, come back to us Naruto. We can't do this without you."

The last part of Kurama's chakra surged into the Rokudaime Hokage's mindscape…and a new chakra was formed within him. The chakra from all nine Biju then coalesced…and…formed the chakra of the Rikudō Sennin within his body. In Naruto's mind all nine Biju began to rise from the mental water…and a clapping was heard.

"Huh…who are you?"

"It's taken three millennia, but my chakra has been recreated within you and that young boy Sasuke, Naruto. I'm talking to him as I communicate to you," the figure said, floating in midair. Behind him he had nine Gudōdama and he was carrying a staff, and he had long white robes with tomoe designs on his collar. On his back he had the Rinnegan symbol with nine tomoe behind it, and Naruto could see it was an elderly man. "Its almost if this very event had been predicted long ago."

"Predicted? Who are you, old man?!"

"Naruto, don't you get it? This is the Rikudō Sennin, the father of the Biju!" Kurama explained in his mind. "Show some respect!"

"HUH?! T-T-The Rikudō Sennin!?"

"Indeed. And thank you Naruto for helping Kurama overcome his hatred. If he had been consumed by it much longer…he would have turned into another Ten-Tails and this entire mess would have started all over again," the Rikudō Sennin said with a thankful smile. "You may call me Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Then…why are you here?"

"Since you and Sasuke recreated my chakra, it is time for me to step into seal the Ten-Tails once and for all. This…Uchiha Tobimaru…" Hagoromo's eyes narrowed and Naruto could see his Rinnegan specifically. "In all my travels, I have seen few men as twisted and evil as him. My eldest son Indra may have started the 'curse' of his descendants when he gave into his anger, but the vast majority, even the Madara fellow are merely misguided. Tobimaru…I cannot fathom how a man like him was born into this world. It is like he is an incarnate of the Ten-Tails itself, no wonder why he was able to control its power so easily after sealing it. Even I couldn't manage that until I was in my elder years. If he cannot be killed in the upcoming battle, he must be sealed with the Ten-Tails after the other Biju are free."

"What type of seal are you talking about?!"

"The strongest in my arsenal, the same one my brother and I used to seal the Ten-Tails in the first place. Now…lift your dominant hand. I will bestow upon you the seal while your body finishes healing."

Before Naruto did however, he looked at Hagoromo. "What exactly IS the Ten-Tails? Its unlike any other Biju I've met…"

"You could say its…the culmination of evil that has existed since humanity rose to power on this planet. All its hate and malice are a counter to all the good that humanity can achieve, and it's always tried to destroy humanity due to…for lack of a better word, jealousy. However, for millennia it had been trapped underneath Earth's Shinju, its God Tree…" Hagoromo then closed his eyes. "Until my mother committed the ultimate sin. The Shinju produces a fruit every thousand years, a concentrated amount of chakra that is supposed to be shared between all the nations of the Earth. But my mother, to end the wars that raged during the time, stole the fruit and took its power for herself. She ended the wars, becoming a goddess to the ordinary people. This act however, and the disturbance of stealing the fruit allowed the primordial seal on the Ten-Tails to be broken. Just before it was unleashed, her countrymen whisked her away…" the elderly Ōtsutsuki sighed. "Leaving myself and my younger brother Hamura to…pick up the pieces. The Ten-Tails devoured the Shinju in its escape…and destroyed Earth's original moon. My brother and I fought it for an entire year before we managed to seal it within myself, using a special Chibaku Tensei to create a new moon. Then at the end of my life, when the seal was about to be broken, I divided the Ten-Tails into nine smaller pieces which became the Biju you know today."

The Rokudaime Hokage nodded slowly. "I see…it's the ultimate evil…"

"Exactly. If it isn't sealed once more, this time away from Earth, this entire tragedy will begin again."

Naruto nodded, not clearly understanding but he looked back and saw that Kurama fully trusted the old man. He then lifted his right arm as in his own mindscape, Sasuke did the same with his left. The symbol of the sun then appeared on the young Hokage's palm, while the symbol of the moon appeared on the young Uchiha's simultaneously.

"You don't have much longer until you're fully healed, and when you're recovered you must enter battle posthaste. The entire world is at stake."

At that Naruto nodded. "Yeah! Don't worry about us! We'll reseal the Ten-Tails, believe it!"

In the physical world Naruto's wound instantly closed and his body was jolted as it became accustomed to the new Rikudō chakra that surged through his chakra network. On his right hand the sun symbol appeared as it did on Sasuke's left, and his own body jolted as the power was concentrated in his left eye. Hinata's own body pulsed as Hamura's chakra healed her wounds and supercharged her own chakra network and her eyes…slowly transformed.

Minato breathed in. "Sandaime-sama won't be able to hold him off much longer. I'll slow this madman down as long as I can."

"Even Hashirama AND Madara couldn't defeat him Minato!" Kushina said as she stepped forward. "I'm coming…"

"Stay with Naruto, he'll need you when he wakes up," Minato twirled a kunai. "I'm dead anyway, so the best I can do is buy enough time."

Before Kushina could protest the Yondaime Hokage then vanished with the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Killer Bee leaned against the wall, a little dizzy after giving the Rokudaime Hokage that much of Gyūki's chakra, but he grinned. He took out his notebook and began to write more lyrics…not of a rap, but a ballad for the end of the war.

In that split second Hiruzen had finished charging his chakra…and then he leapt at such high-speed space around him warped. Tobimaru couldn't even create a defensive barrier with his Gudōdama and he saw the form of a dragon around the Sandaime Hokage. The sheer heat given off was melting the ground without the Sandaime even touching it.

"This speed…its impossible!" Tobimaru yelled as Hiruzen's foot connected with his chest.

"YAGAI (Night Guy)!" Hiruzen called out as his body broke apart from the force but he surged forward.

The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki spat out blood as he was sent crashing into, and through the crater wall on the other side of the battlefield. There was a gigantic explosion that sent molten rock, boulders and superheated ash into the air which rained down across it. It was much like a volcano had erupted with the power that Hiruzen had unleashed. Hiruzen stood…panting as his connection to the living world literally began to crumble.

"Did I…do it…?" Hiruzen whispered as his body began to break apart. Chunks of ash fell off his body as the cracks spread through the Edo Tensei construct that had created him.

"…damn…even I…thought I was dead…" Hiruzen's eyes widened as the smoke cleared…

There was Tobimaru…still alive but heavily injured. Half of his body had even been blown off from the kick but thanks to the Ten-Tails and Hashirama's cells, his injuries were already healing at an accelerated rate. The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki smirked and then laughed, his Gudōdama formed around him once more.

"Even with all that power…you still couldn't get the job done," Tobimaru said and he smirked. "I commend the speed, even with my Kamui I wouldn't have been able to job. But next time…aim for the head."

Hiruzen then…smirked. "You haven't gotten it have you…I just fought you in a delaying action and did this much damage…the counterattack will seal your death. Naruto will end you; he's already surpassed the greatest of the Hokage and will grow much stronger."

At that proclamation, the proud Sandaime Hokage's body completely gave out. His Edo Tensei body's eyes burned out and then the construct completely fell apart. Not even the White Zetsu that had provided the medium of his reincarnation was intact as the burned ash and paper was blown away by a gust of wind.

"Delusional fool," Tobimaru started as he stood back up, his chest and arm already fully regenerated…and then several tri-kunai converged and curved around him. What? That's the Yondaime's kunai…being thrown with Itachi's skill?

"You aren't going to get a second of rest, monster!" Minato called out as he teleported between every kunai that Itachi had thrown and the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki smirked.

His Rinnegan traced every movement and he then predicted where Minato would teleport to…and then reached to grab him only to miss. But he had anticipated that by attaching a Gudōdama right to his chest when he warped away…and then he sidestepped the follow up Rasengan attack which destroyed the ground.

"Minato, Minato, Minato, still fighting this hard even though you are dead, and I already won?" Tobimaru asked with a smirk as his Gudōdama then shaped into a shackle that slammed the reincarnated Yondaime to the wall and pinned him. "Now you can't teleport…oh I have an idea."

"I don't know what you're planning but it won't work," Minato snarled as he tried to form a seal for Hiraishin…but the Gudōdama began to consume his chakra to prevent him from doing so. "Ugghhh…"

"Ah…yes that is IT…" Tobimaru said and he then did a seal. "There's really no fun here without having the blood of my victim at my feet. So how does this sound…" his eyes glowed bright purple. "I bring you back to life…then kill you again…then rinse and repeat until your mind is completely shattered? Itachi would be proud, it's a live version of his Tsukuyomi! Gedō: Rinnei Tensei (Outer Path: Samara of Heavenly Life Technique)!"

Minato's eyes widened as, suddenly; his body began to glow green. The Edo Tensei features he had…fell away as living, breathing flesh appeared under them. In mere moments he had been, for lack of a better word an undead revenant…to a living, breathing man once more. His eyes widened as the sensation of pain hit him from his body still being pinned by the Gudōdama.

From a distance, Itachi's eyes widened. The last-ditch effort he and Minato tried to mount against Tobimaru was rendered completely useless. Even if he went in now…all that would happen a quick new death for him that he wouldn't be able to come back from. And to his amazement…he had seen the Yondaime Hokage be resurrected for the sole purpose of being tortured to death.

Its…its like a nightmare…! Itachi thought to himself.

"Now…I think I'll just do a quick kill on you," Tobimaru said with a smirk, another Gudōdama floated and then shaped into a spike. "Then…bring you right back!"

Minato snarled. "Do your worst, I won't beg for my life or give you any satisfaction!"

"Oh by the end of this, you will!" Tobimaru said as he then launched the spike…

…and then there was a new blur of movement. Multiple ones, in fact! Right before the Gudōdama could crash into Minato's chest it was suddenly deflected! Tobimaru's eyes widened in confusion as it was sent flying back at him and he was forced to evade as what felt like a heavy punch crashed into his side and sent him skidding back and it was followed by a palm strike that launched him into the air. He flew to right himself and then dodged a thrown sword…and then suddenly it was in his chest and he crashed to the ground.

"What…what the hell is this?!" he asked as the Gudōdama that was binding the Yondaime Hokage were utterly obliterated…and in front of him were…

Uzumaki Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. The Rokudaime's eyes were different, they were yellow in color and had a cross shape to them now. The Hyūga Leader's also had changed, they were a light blue in color with a sparkling star like pattern around the pupil. The last Uchiha's eyes were even more surprising for the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, in one eye he had the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…and the other was a Rinnegan with six tomoe within it. And finally the medic had symbols that were all over her body now from both her forehead mark and from her palms, and they were colored light pink.

"You don't give up…" Tobimaru growled with frustration. "Why can't you just DIE?!"

"You should give up trying to make us give up," Naruto proclaimed as he punched his hand to his fist. "We now can change everything, and you won't make it out of this!"

The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki howled in rage and slammed his staff down…and went to attack the Rokudaime Hokage. Hinata gave a nod to Naruto and he then assumed a Kawazu Kumite (Frog Kata) stance…Rikudō Senjutsu Chakra surged around him. Just as Tobimaru went to land a blow Naruto was a blur as he dodged, grabbed the Gudōdama staff without any trouble with his left hand and shattered it. He then slammed his right fist right into the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's stomach with just as much force as Hiruzen's Sekizō (Evening Elephant) and sent him flying backwards.

"Kawazu Rendan (Frog Barrage)!" Naruto uttered as his blow inflicted a massive amount of damage to the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

HOW?! How does that brat now have such…?! Before Tobimaru could finish that thought multiple ghost punches from Naruto's blow struck him and bore him through the ground till he came to stop….

"Yōton: Rasenshuriken (Lava Release: Rasenshuriken)!" he then heard, and a spinning disk of chakra was launched at him.

It resembled a normal Rasenshuriken…only its center was a dense spinning ball of molten lava instead of chakra. Tobimaru tried to activate his Gakidō in time but he couldn't do so in time and the molten blades impacted him!

"Now burst!" Naruto finished as the lava Rasenshuriken exploded with enough force to cut through the landscape and bathe it in lava, and Tobimaru called out in pain as he was cooked by the lava! "Now get up, I know that's not enough to defeat you!"

"You…brat…how dare…you!" Tobimaru roared as his body began to regenerate. "I am a GOD! YOU WON'T HUMILIATE ME LIKE THIS!"

And with that…the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki went in for a counterattack and Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura all took fighting stances. One way or another, this battle was going to come to an end…

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Whew…to all my readers, thank you for your patience. This was a longer chapter I thought it'd be, originally, I was planning on 40 being the end of it, but it became quite clear that as I was writing 41 is going to be the final chapter before the epilogue. Plus, I've had a rather…bad summer. My cat of 16 years, Blackey? She passed away in July. My mom was in a car accident, she's fine physically but legal troubles are ahead. So thank you for your patience while waiting for this chapter to be finished. I can appreciate how much effort Kishimoto made into his version considering all the content he had to condense!

Anyway, as for the chapter, I had a lot of fun reading it. The Hokage, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura (and eventually Itachi and Madara) vs Tobimaru was what I've been picturing for months. To give you a idea on how powerful Tobimaru is throughout the chapter: first becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki at the beginning he was as powerful as fully mastered Ten-Tails Jinchūriki Obito, and by the time he got the upper hand he was as powerful as twin-Rinnegan Ten-Tails Jinchūriki Madara. Hell Tobimaru using Asura Path-the 'War' Path is a good way of showing how monstrously powerful he had become. While Deva is the 'strongest', Asura is the most dangerous of the Six Paths of Pain. In a way, he is even more powerful due to his incorporation of the Paths abilities on top of using Kamui something that Obito was unable to do as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

Speaking of Kamui, notice how Obito's stolen eye became a Rinnegan with its Mangekyō Design from the surge of Ten-Tails (aka Rikudō Chakra)? I'll let you guess why Kakashi was inactive throughout this chapter, heh, heh, heh…

As for giving Hiruzen the Eight Gates? Hiruzen was known as the Professor and God of Shinobi in his youth, having mastered every non-Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu within Konoha. So it would make sense for him to be able to use the Eight Gates (he expressed no surprise seeing them when Rock Lee used them in the prelims of the Chūnin Exams after all). However in his old age, he wouldn't be able to use them…but thanks to Orochimaru, he had the body he had in his prime at the height of his power. And it was to show another weakness of the Edo Tensei, techniques like opening all Eight Gates causes death to anyone he uses them, regardless if they're a Edo Tensei or not due to burning out not only the body, but the chakra network. No chakra network, no Edo Tensei regeneration, Edo Tensei is forcibly dispelled.

Oh and another team up I never thought would be that enjoyable was Itachi and Tobirama vs Tobimaru, gave a pretty good genjutsu showcase between them. And since they weren't aiming to win, just slow Tobimaru down also meant that if one or both 'died' again, they would be satisfied in doing their job.

And then the Hashirama and Madara team up vs Tobimaru. True it was short, but it was fun picturing their massive constructs as a giant combined one. And honestly, if Kishimoto planned it differently, it could have happened against Ten-Tails Jin Obito too.

Also I was wracking my brain on how to give a power up for Sakura so she wouldn't fall behind Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata. And ironically, the Boruto manga gave me the idea of giving her the Karma Seal due to its connection to the Yin Seal. And now, with it she's gotten a power up to fight with God Tiers. She and Hinata (with Hinata being slightly stronger) are the two most powerful kunoichi of all time and nearly equal to Sasuke and Naruto respectfully.

Finally the last part of the chapter. Minato being resurrected fully! I kind of decided on this around a year ago. It would help the endgame two-fold, Naruto's kids will have both a grandpa and a grandma to visit (basically giving Minato Hiashi's role in Boruto, the sweet grandfather type), and Minato could take over when Naruto is incapacitated as well as reach the peak of his power. Also, I decided not to give him Kurama Chakra Mode. For one, he never needed it. For two, it robs him of his uniqueness by basically making him a 'Naruto clone' when he should have just his own abilities and techniques. In terms of power, he was already on Hashirama's tier of power by the time of his dead given his hype in Part I and throughout Part II.

Now, please read and review, and check out the TV Tropes page! Final chapter will be up hopefully in a couple months! Please, enjoy!