"There's no need to save me, is there?"
Madara Uchiha said, a dazed expression on his face as he felt Yang Power surge into his body. He couldn't understand the point of Emiya Shirou's effort.
Project Tsuki no Me was wrong.
What meaning was there for him to continue living? Was he supposed to go find Hashirama Senju and admit his mistake?
"You've only failed twice," Emiya Shirou said nonchalantly, reaching out to help Madara up. "Once for believing in Hashirama, and once for believing in Black Zetsu. You, who have lived through the chaotic Warring States period, how could you think achieving eternal peace would be so simple?"
Madara's expression turned strange. He had the sudden urge to curse the man.
Wait… how does he have the nerve to say such things!
After all, the only reason he had believed Black Zetsu was because this man had allowed Black Zetsu to impersonate his will.
Who wouldn't fall for a deception personally endorsed by the ancient medical sage, Emiya Shirou?
However, Emiya Shirou had just defeated Kaguya Otsutsuki and was clearly the strongest in the entire ninja world. The gap between them was already incalculable.
And… Emiya Shirou had saved him again. It seemed the man didn't see him as a useless pawn. His words still treated him as a companion, inviting him to continue moving forward together.
"How should they be dealt with?" Madara's gaze fell on Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. With the Yang Power from Shirou, he had also regained the power of the Six Paths.
"As for them..." Emiya Shirou didn't look at Naruto, his gaze fixed on Sasuke instead. "No need to worry. I made arrangements before this battle even began."
"!!!"
Sasuke's face changed. Compared to Naruto, the minds of the others present were clearly more flexible. They immediately understood that Shirou's so-called "arrangements" were definitely not a good thing.
After all, Emiya Shirou had arranged for Black Zetsu and Kaguya Otsutsuki so perfectly.
How would he deal with Naruto and Sasuke?
If Shirou truly wanted to kill them, perhaps the torment would be less. But if he wanted to create some conspiracy, his schemes were not something an ordinary person could bear.
Emiya Shirou. This was a man whose plots could succeed even across a thousand years, a man who had even calculated his own death and resurrection. To describe him with just the term "terrifyingly scheming" was a massive understatement of his intellect and courage.
"What will you do?" Sasuke watched Emiya Shirou with an uneasy expression.
"I don't need to do anything anymore." Shirou shook his head gently, his eyes becoming exceptionally deep. "Because the one who is truly plotting against you is not me..."
Sasuke's brow furrowed. Not Emiya Shirou… then who could it be?
"Sasuke, you are very similar to Madara," Shirou said, his tone softening. "Don't be bound by the past, and don't be bound by the future."
At this moment, he seemed to have turned back into the medical ninja who had watched Naruto and Sasuke grow up in Konoha. Or perhaps… he had never changed at all.
"Sasuke, this world has never liked you, because people dislike those who can control their own fate, and even more so, they refuse to have their fate controlled by them. But controlling your future is a mission you need to shoulder..."
"I've never thought about those things," Sasuke snorted coldly.
Although he knew Shirou's philosophy was right, he didn't want to be bothered with it. He was so lost he couldn't even find his own goal.
The Sage of Six Paths had given him and Naruto a mission to seal Kaguya and defeat Shirou, but that now seemed impossible. Even if they worked together to summon the Sage, it would be meaningless.
"Alright." Shirou raised his hand and opened a pitch-black space-time portal. "When you can't see the path forward, come find me. I will help you find it..."
Sasuke wanted to say that he was pretty lost right now. Ever since he learned the hidden story behind his brother's annihilation of the clan, his past life had completely lost its meaning.
However, Emiya Shirou's gaze was sharp. As if he could read Sasuke's thoughts, he casually added, "Your confusion isn't deep enough." He paused. "Perhaps I should put it another way… Your despair isn't great enough yet."
Sasuke couldn't help but grit his teeth.
What does he mean, my despair isn't great enough? Is this not desperate enough?
Even with the Sage of Six Paths' Yin Power, and with Naruto holding the Yang Power right next to him, they were no match for Emiya Shirou. What's more, the other side now had Madara Uchiha.
Madara Uchiha... Sasuke knew he absolutely couldn't defeat him now.
"Let's go," Shirou said calmly, pointing a finger in Kaguya Otsutsuki's direction. "The memories I got from Black Zetsu are just minor details. The information about the real enemies this world might face still needs to be dug out of her head."
Kaguya's eyes widened in alarm. But the Mangekyo Sharingan in Shirou's eyes activated, and he instantly sucked Kaguya's body into the Kamui dimension.
"Is it really not necessary to kill them?" Madara glanced back at everyone in Kaguya's dimension. "Sooner or later, they will stand in our way again."
"They no longer have a chance." Shirou stepped nonchalantly into the Yomotsu Hirasaka portal. "They will soon understand that they only need to bow their heads."
Madara followed, a hint of helplessness in his steps. He was also very lost right now. He only knew he had to continue seeking the path to eternal peace, but at the moment, he couldn't find any direction.
-----
On the other side, in the space of the Sage of Six Paths.
When the battle between Emiya Shirou and Kaguya finally ended, the Sage's chakra had observed Naruto and Sasuke being captured by Shirou. This ancient being, once revered as a god of creation, had less than a tenth of his power left.
He could only hastily gather the souls of the past Kage and, with their power, summon them—along with Kakashi, Obito, and the Tailed Beasts—from Kaguya's dimension to his own Pure Land.
Obviously, the purpose of this gathering was not to announce a victory, but to reluctantly accept their defeat.
"Sorry... we were no match for Emiya," Naruto said, lowering his head in frustration. He and Sasuke had been captured before the real battle even began, without a chance to intervene.
"It's not your fault," the Sage of Six Paths comforted him, then sighed. "I never would have thought that I, too, would become one of the pawns Emiya Shirou used in that era. No wonder he was never willing to meet me."
"Then what should we do now?" Kakashi Hatake asked, frowning. "In the future, are we to let Emiya Shirou and Madara Uchiha do as they please in the ninja world?"
The Sage of Six Paths couldn't think of a way. Even he couldn't predict how to handle Emiya Shirou. Shirou lacked neither combat power nor intelligence; in fact, he was more terrifying than anyone else in the ninja world.
In terms of combat power, he had defeated the progenitor of chakra. In terms of intelligence, even Konoha's smartest strategist, Shikaku Nara, would be unlikely to outwit him.
In this war, Shirou hadn't even given the Allied Shinobi Forces a second glance, merely using them as the chakra needed for Kaguya's revival.
"Emiya isn't a bad person," half of the Nine-Tails snorted.
After experiencing all this, it seemed to have taken many things in stride. "If he did something that made humans unhappy, it was probably your own fault."
"Hey, hey, Kurama!" Naruto quickly told the fox not to say such things. Weren't those words a bit too insulting to everyone?
"For now, we can only take it one step at a time." The Sage of Six Paths' gaze fell on Naruto and Sasuke. "You two must not separate," he said seriously. "If it truly comes to the final moment, work together to summon what remains of my chakra into the world of the living."
"Even then, we wouldn't be a match for Emiya Shirou," Sasuke immediately pointed out.
"We can't just give up!" Naruto swore to the Sage.
He also didn't believe that his friend Sasuke would choose to leave.
But… there are always exceptions to everything.
Even though Naruto was an important companion to Sasuke, it was also impossible for Sasuke to ignore another person who was equally important to him.