25: The Raven's Farewell (Kurotensei's POV)

Vanishing Shadow (Kurotensei's Final Game)

The abyss roared.

Naruto and Sasuke braced themselves, standing amidst the swirling void as reality twisted around them. The weight of time pressed down, an unbearable force threatening to crush their very existence.

And at the center of it all—Kurotensei loomed, its formless body shifting like ink in water, watching them with those ever-knowing eyes.

"You continue to amuse me." Its voice slithered through the darkness, neither mocking nor kind—just an observer, detached yet intrigued. "No matter how many times I break you, no matter how much the world denies you, you still find each other."

Sasuke's grip on his sword tightened. "Enough of your games."

Naruto cracked his knuckles, eyes burning with defiance. "Yeah, bastard. Either fight us or get the hell out of the way."

Kurotensei chuckled, deep and ancient.

"Fight? No… I am done here."

The void shook.

Naruto and Sasuke tensed as the abyss cracked like glass, the endless nothingness beginning to break apart. The swirling black tendrils that once held them captive now unraveled, dissolving into scattered wisps of shadow.

Kurotensei's body shrank, its towering form pulling inward as its voice softened.

"I have witnessed countless fates. I have rewritten history itself."

A gust of wind swept through the abyss—an unnatural breeze in a world that had never known air.

"But you two…"

Kurotensei's form shifted, compressing, morphing into something smaller, lighter.

"I have no power over fools who refuse to be erased."

Sasuke's Sharingan gleamed as he took a step forward. "What are you doing?"

Naruto blinked as the massive, formless entity became something else—its dark shape twisting into delicate wings, its endless presence condensing into something that fit in the palm of a hand.

And then—

A raven fluttered before them.

Sleek black feathers. Glowing ember eyes. A presence neither living nor dead, neither mortal nor god.

Kurotensei had become a bird.

The newly formed raven let out a quiet caw, tilting its head as if amused.

"Perhaps I shall watch from a different view."

It flapped its wings, lifting into the air, circling them once before perching on a jagged fragment of time itself.

Naruto gawked. "Wait—what?! What the hell just happened?!"

Sasuke scowled, but there was a flicker of understanding in his gaze. "It's choosing to leave. To observe."

The raven let out a sound that could almost be laughter.

"Call it… curiosity. You two are unfinished. Your story has not yet reached its conclusion. I wish to see how it ends."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "So that's it? No final boss fight? No ultimate showdown? You're just gonna… be a bird now?"

The raven fluffed its feathers.

"Perhaps I grow tired of eternity as a shadow. Perhaps I prefer the sky."

It leapt from its perch, wings spreading wide—

And with one final glance at the two shinobi who had defied fate itself—

Kurotensei vanished into the winds.

The World Returns

The abyss shattered.

Naruto and Sasuke barely had time to react as the world around them twisted, bending—spitting them out of the Shadow Realm.

Light.

Sound.

The smell of fresh rain.

Naruto gasped, stumbling forward—his feet landing on solid ground.

Sasuke landed beside him, steady as ever, Rinnegan flickering before fading.

They were back.

The sky stretched above them—endless, free.

The village loomed in the distance, untouched. Reality had stabilized.

Naruto let out a breathless laugh. "Holy shit. We actually did it."

Sasuke exhaled, looking up at the sky, his expression unreadable.

Far above them, a black bird soared high, circling once before disappearing into the endless blue.

Kurotensei was gone.

But the feeling of being watched remained.

Naruto grinned, nudging Sasuke with his elbow. "Think that bastard's gonna keep spying on us?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't move away. "Hn. Let it."

Naruto laughed. "Guess we're not so easy to get rid of, huh?"

Sasuke glanced at him, something unreadable in his gaze—something lingering.

Something that had nothing to do with fate or time or gods.

Something that had been there all along.

But as always—

Neither of them spoke of it.

They just stood there, side by side, beneath the endless sky.

And far above—watching, waiting—

The raven flew on.

To Be Continued…?