It all happened too fast. One minute you were flying through the air, trying to reason with him, the next, you were crashing into another building, bones rattling, lungs struggling to hold breath.

Naruto hovered above you, cloak rippling in the wind like the wings of death. His eyes were cold, emotionless. Not even anger burned behind them anymore—just expectation. Calculation. You had already taken too many hits. Your ribs ached, your skin was cracked open in places, and blood trickled freely from your nose and lip.

This wasn’t training anymore. This was annihilation.

Far off in the distance, beyond the destroyed skyline of the Hidden Leaf, surveillance footage broadcast your every move. Cecil was watching. Shikamaru stood in for him, arms folded, tension carved into every line of his face. Next to him, Hinata sat in stunned silence. Her eyes tracked every punch, every scream, every broken piece of her family. She didn’t cry. Not yet. But her nails dug into her palms. Her breathing was shallow.

"Don’t go," she had whispered to Naruto, hours ago.

He didn’t even answer.

The new shinobi force—an elite team formed after the last war—stood ready, watching from their own command center. Ino, Konohamaru, Chocho, Metal Lee, all tense, waiting for orders.

"We have to help him!" someone yelled.

But Shikamaru shook his head. "No. If you go in, you die. All of you."

Even Sai—stoic, calm Sai—closed his eyes in silent agreement.

Rocks crumbled beneath your knees as you pushed yourself upright. Naruto was still above you, waiting, watching. He could end this in a second.

And still, something in you told you to try. Try to talk. Try to reach what was left of the man who raised you.

The man who used to laugh. The man who taught you how to throw your first kunai. The man who called you his pride and joy.

You rocketed into the air, fists clenched, tears stinging your eyes. You screamed his name. He said nothing. Just turned, calmly, as jets—yes, jets, desperate reinforcements—screamed toward him through the sky.

For a moment, you thought maybe, just maybe, they would distract him.

They didn’t.

A pulse of chakra burst from Naruto’s palm. One jet exploded in flames. The other dodged,