Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki

, known as in the anime, is an arc from Part II of the series. This arc sees Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha becoming the jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails. It spans through volumes 67 to 70, or more specifically, covers chapters 640 to 677 of the manga and from episodes 378 to 388 in the Naruto: Shippūden anime and later picks up from episodes 391 to 393, and then again starting from episode 414. This arc is preceded by the Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax and followed by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes. In the anime, two stand-alone episodes, followed by the In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths arc were shown in the interim.

Obito, The Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
Despite Minato's attempt to stop him, Obito goes after Naruto and proceeds to attack him and Sasuke. Luckily, Naruto uses his chakra arms on his father and Sasuke so the former can teleport them away. By that time, his body beginning to mutate as he attempted to attack, Obito is losing control as the Ten-Tails is asserting itself and destroying the human's mind. Though he instructs Naruto and Sasuke to follow his counter with a collaborative attack, his former student thinking of Rin and their team, Minato finds Obito had managed to regain control of his body and assume a form similar to the Sage of the Six Paths himself. Teleporting away after his arm got ripped off, Minato finds that Obito attached an orb made of mysterious substance onto him as it begins to expand. Luckily, a clone of Tobirama grabs the orb and destroys himself in an attempt to kill Obito. Elsewhere on the battlefield, deciding that the time of waiting is over, Madara battles Hashirama in an epic clash with the Allied Shinobi Forces in awe before Shikamaru uses Ino to contact their allies to not lose focus for a second.

By that time, having used the substance to avoid being consumed in the explosion, an unscathed Obito deflects an impulsive Sasuke's Amaterasu before Naruto aids his friend so the two can made an opening for Minato and Tobirama. With the Second and Fourth Hokages preparing for an Instantaneous Swapping Flying Thunder God Technique before Tobirama appears behind Obito, Sasuke and Naruto rush forth with an Kagutsuchi-infused Rasenshuriken. Expecting to be attacked by the Second Hokage, Obito learns he fell for a trap as Minato suddenly has the Rasenshuriken and takes Tobirama's place to attack Obito from behind.

The Konoha ninja's elation at landing a direct hit are quickly diminished, when Obito makes use of his new abilities to push aside the flames and heal himself. At this point, they realise that Minato's arm had not regenerated, and figured out that the Uchiha was using Yin–Yang Release, and thus be able to nullify the regeneration of Impure World Reincarnation, and making the reincarnated vulnerable to fatal attacks. In response to this, Naruto tries to enter Tailed Beast Mode in order to deliver an even more powerful attack, but fails completely, earning himself blank looks from both enemy and allies. After Kurama tells Naruto to hold off from using its chakra, Gamakichi fires a natural energy infused Starch Syrup Gun in a last ditch effort to help before disappearing. Obito easily blocks it, however both Tobirama and Naruto notice something amiss. As Minato questions why Obito has discarded his dream of becoming Hokage, Naruto uses this chance to enter Sage Mode. When the Uchiha explained his reasoning and insults the Hokage, Tobirama assists Naruto in delivering a Rasengan, proving that, while resistant to ninjutsu, Obito is vulnerable to senjutsu.

As Naruto passionately defends the title of Hokage and his father's legacy, Kurama's Yin half within Minato spurs Minato to action. After Naruto and Tobirama fall back, a recovered Obito decides to execute the Eye of the Moon Plan by first creating an enormous tree to wipe out the remainder of the Allied Shinobi Forces while boxing them in with a barrier to prevent them from escaping. To counter the turn of events, Naruto thinks up a risky plan before asking his father to bump fists with him, the act between father and son allowing Yang and Yin-Kurama to connect to each other as well.

The Will of the Shinobi
After telling Obito that he will not let the world end as long as he lives, Naruto dons his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode mantle with Minato following suit. Their combined efforts bolster the Version 1-like mantles around the shinobi thus allowing Minato to teleport the Alliance outside the barrier before the Tailed Beast Balls exploded. With this, the team presses onwards in their assault on Obito with the father-son duo going into Tailed Beast Mode and Naruto also using Sage Mode to bolster the attacks so that they would affect Obito. The Uchiha, however, was prepared for the assault this time and was able to deflect it. Before the Alliance can launch another attack, Obito decides to press on with the Eye of the Moon Plan as he manifests the Ten-Tails and has it transform into a tree that instinctively proceeds to suck the chakra out of any shinobi that it grabs. Madara reveals the tree to be the Ten-Tails in its tree form, while telling Hashirama of the monster's true origins along with the chakra within all ninja. Barely escaping the branches with Hiruzen's help as he is teleported to safety, Naruto looks around his friends and allies in anguish as Obito proclaims that their suffering will end once the tree form's flower, the crown piece in creating the Infinite Tsukuyomi, blooms.

En route to the battlefield, the five Kage see the Ten-Tails' tree form and wonder what it was, which leads Tsunade to ask Katsuyu to explain what was happening. When Shikamaru is found to be one of the victims of the tree's attack, Sakura tries to have Katsuyu heal him remotely, but Katsuyu informs her that its clones also died due to having their chakra absorbed by the tree, leading the her and Sai to rush to their comrade's side instead. The Allied Shinobi Forces members spiral into deep despair, and taking advantage of their morale, Obito declares that he would not kill those who stopped resisting, but Hashirama's wood clone reminds them not to give up. Hiruzen's sentiments causes Orochimaru, who had just arrived with Suigetsu and Karin, to note that pessimism was very out of character for his sensei. As Madara and Hashirama continued to fight, the Uchiha reveals that even without the full chakra of the Eight and Nine-Tails, the tree would bloom in approximately fifteen minutes, during which Madara planned to take Obito's place using Hashirama's senjutsu abilities.

As the info is relayed to him, Hashirama's wood clone called out for a Yamanaka, and while startled, Ino responds to the First and patches him through to the Alliance. Connected, the clone passes on the recent revelation, and also tries to boost the shinobi's confidents, telling them to not give up. As the Ten-Tails' tree form moves again to attack, a large chunk of its root is cut off by a Susanoo created by Sasuke, who asks Naruto if he had already reached the limit of his capacity. Responding to his friends question, Naruto once again enters both Tailed Beast Mode and Sage Mode and through Ino's technique his feelings and memories are passed to everyone. Remembering his time as a child and the people he had lost along the way, Naruto notes that he did not want to have any more regrets, and that the sacrifices made would not be in vain.

With new determination and a chakra boost from Yin-Kurama, Naruto charges forward into battle alongside Sasuke, who has Jūgo use the Sage Transformation on his Susanoo to imbue it with natural energy, creating the Cursed Seal of Heaven markings on Sasuke's Susanoo. Ready for action, the two shinobi plunge back into battle against Obito, who took note of how time and time again Naruto would pick himself up from the rut of despair. With this, Orochimaru reflects on how Sasuke seemingly had the potential to surpass even Madara Uchiha himself, while Tobirama notes that Naruto was in a lot of ways like his brother Hashirama: faults and all. With the shinobi still somewhat doubting themselves and contemplating waiting for directives from the current Kage, Hashirama shares with them all his memories of the first summit of the five Kage. How the meeting unfolded is revealed to all; what rings home for them all, is Hashirama's wish for all shinobi to be united. With this, Hashirama rallies the troops to amass their worries, their resolve, their sorrows and strength in order to fight. Ultimately, Hashirama's wish for the future is answered by the appearance of the five current Kage to the battlefield, all standing as a united front.

The five Kage disperse across the battlefield in order to strengthen the wills of the shinobi from their respective villages. Sakura is still attempting to heal Shikamaru, who is slowly slipping away due to an astounding loss of chakra. However, Naruto's Version 1 chakra reemerges and begins to give Shikamaru some strength, which Ino later notes that Naruto did subconsciously. Tsunade arrives to their location and easily heals Shikamaru back to full health, while also commending Sakura for her recent achievements. While a reformed Allied Shinobi Alliance, led by their respective Kage, begin attacking the tree, Naruto and Sasuke are still engaging Obito. Meanwhile, Kakashi is healing himself in the other dimension, while also pondering Obito's true feelings and his buried Will of Fire deep within him. Just as Naruto and Sasuke believe they have found an opening, Obito deflects their attacks and manages to force Naruto out of his senjustu-enhanced Tailed Beast Mode and Sasuke out of his Susanoo. As Obito asks Naruto why he would want to save a world that would ultimately only hurt him in the long run, Naruto replies that he would never go back on his word because it is his nindō. Naruto and Sasuke agree to put an end to the battle once and for all as Sasuke's Susanoo encases Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode.

Obito's Last Stand
With Kurama now in Susanoo armour, Naruto and Sasuke prepare to attack Obito once more. Realising their strength, Obito manifests a gigantic Yin–Yang shield and the Sage of Six Path's legendary Sword of Nunoboko to counter them. As the two young shinobi rush in, Naruto creates nine Rasengan within the tails of his Susanoo-enhanced Tailed Beast Mode. Naruto then uses Ino's Mind Body Transmission Technique to contact the Konoha 11, excluding Neji (who died), Sakura, and Sai to enter the fray. As they join the battle, the Tailed Beast Mode mantles envelope them and Naruto instructs them to use the Rasengan to break Obito's shield. After the Konoha 11 and Sai destroy the shield, Sasuke's Susanoo Sword breaks the Sword of Nunoboko and manages to slice through Obito. From there, Naruto proceeds to siphon out the other tailed beasts while Gaara attempts to reclaim Shukaku and Killer B retrieves the fragment of Gyūki. Knowing that the tree would become a lifeless husk again if he allows the jinchūriki to succeed, Obito wrestles with them for the chakra. However, the rest of Allied Shinobi Forces and Sasuke's allies join in helping Naruto in grabbing hold of the chakra through Minato's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Within his subconscious, having begun to imagine what his life would have been if he returned to the village instead of Madara after Rin's death, Obito sees himself alone against the entire Alliance as he begins to contemplate and grapples to come to terms with what he starts to view to be regret. However, using their link to reach him, an empathic Naruto tells Obito that despite his declaration of being no one, he was in fact someone with dreams. Telling Obito he was and still is Obito Uchiha, Naruto vows to destroy the metaphysical mask he created for himself. Even despite attempting to strangle the youth, insisting he regrets nothing in the choices he made, Obito struggles with his inner turmoil when Naruto pointed out that Rin could never accept the man he is now. As Naruto grabs Obito's hand, the Allied Shinobi Forces succeed in freeing the tailed beasts.

Utterly defeated, gazing at the moon while lamenting that he could never fill the void in his heart, Obito did not notice Sasuke running at him with intend to cut down. However, as the Alliance were about to join in before Tsunade tells them to stand down, Kakashi manages to return from the other dimension. Stopping Sasuke, Kakashi informs his former student that killing Obito is his burden to bear, yet is stopped by Minato. From there, the three members of Team Minato speak of their ordeals and what they each became since Rin's death. Kakashi then tells a doubtful Obito that Naruto would not ended up like him because he had many friends to him along the way. By that time, after the freed tailed beasts thanked him for freeing them from the Ten-Tails's body, Naruto focuses his attention away from Obito to find Madara with the intention of stopping the Uchiha for good. A defeated Obito watches as Naruto attacks an immobilised Madara from atop the tree, that Hashirama managed to subdue besides being pinned down himself. The Allied Shinobi Forces notices the direction of Naruto's attack and begin rushing to the location. Shukaku agrees to assist Gaara with stopping Madara, with the other tailed beasts following suit. Sai flies to the top of the tree to collect Naruto while Madara recovers from Naruto's attack. Meanwhile, Obito, who is incapacitated due to the extraction of the tailed beasts, resolves to using the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive those who have been killed during the war, stating that he finally understands Nagato's actions. Before he could do so, however, Black Zetsu emerges and takes over his body, forcing him use the same technique to revive Madara instead. Much to the shock of Naruto and the others, and his own satisfaction, Madara is revived in the flesh.

Revival of Madara Uchiha
As Madara's eyes crumble, having bestowed them to Nagato prior to his death, he is suddenly struck ablaze by Amaterasu, courtesy of Sasuke. The legend is unfazed though, and simply absorbed the technique. As his armour falls away, Madara reminds Hashirama about the conversation they had under the Naka Shrine, stating that he believes the unity stated refers to the combination of both Uchiha and Senju, revealing the face of Hashirama on his chest. Stating that the face was due to Kabuto, Madara quickly bypasses Naruto and Sai, so as to grab onto his old enemy and drain him of his senjutsu chakra, turning the face on his chest into Sage Mode. Sasuke then goes on the attack, intent on killing Madara now that he has been fully revived, however the older Uchiha manages to grab the younger's blade, planning on taking Sasuke's eyes until he gets his original back.

Meanwhile, Obito, Kakashi and Minato learn about Madara's revival. Just as Black Zetsu attempts to take the Rinnegan, the former Hokage and his pupil simultaneously attempt to attack the creature, who quickly attaches itself to Obito before they reach it. Explaining that he is Madara's will, it recalls how it escaped. Though Chōjūrō managed to pin the upper half down, after bisecting Black Zetsu, the lower half was also sentient and escaped to help his master later. Back with Madara, the Uchiha attempts to persuade Sasuke into joining his side, but the younger adamantly refuses. Both Sai and Naruto attempt to attack Madara in a pincer attack, but he manages to push both back while escaping Sasuke's blade. As he instantly starts healing, Madara then turns his attention to the incoming tailed beasts. Seeing that they were between the beasts and Madara, the Allied Shinobi Forces quickly get out of the way, with Killer B and Gyūki's help.

Gaara, together with Shukaku, launch a mass of sand projectiles at Madara. Gaara then manipulates the sand in the Uchiha's blood to temporarily immobilise him as he is ricocheted between Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō and Chōmei, before landing in a sticky field courtesy of Saiken. Gaara and Shukaku then act quickly, attempting to seal the Uchiha before he could recover. Though they manage to do so, Madara still manages to break out using Susanoo, but is quickly knocked back down by Naruto and Kurama. They are then joined by B and Gyūki, and together, the beasts use their tails to rain down a barrage of hits, stripping away the Susanoo to get to the man within. Though the attack costs Madara his right arm, he manages to escape. A White Zetsu then emerges from the ground which carried Madara's Rinnegan. Taking the eye and the clone's right arm he attaches both, claiming that now the real "fun" begins.

Though temporarily overjoyed at being alive, and able to "feel the fight", Madara quickly returns his attention to the battle. As the Uchiha prepares a summoning, Kurama shudders as he recalls how Madara had used to summon it, which receives a chastening from Shukaku, who in return gets a warning about the "mere" human. As the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is summoned, the object in question suddenly emerges from Obito. Kakashi attempts to warp it away, but only manages to take an arm. As the tailed beasts wonder at how Madara is capable of summoning the statue, Naruto quickly manages to figure it out himself. Back with Obito, Black Zetsu again attempts to take the Rinnegan from its weakened host, but through pure will power, Obito manages to prevent it. When Zetsu states that the Rinnegan is to return to Madara, Obito claims that he has hidden the right eye and Kakashi will crush the left. However, Black Zetsu mocks his host's ignorance, stating that White Zetsu has already found and returned the right eye, and Obito would be dead if it wasn't attached to him. It goes on to say that the only reason that it still attached to the dying man, is because he knows that Kakashi and Minato would have already killed it otherwise. Madara soon recovers from the damage he received earlier, claiming to White Zetsu that he has gotten careless considering he now possesses Hashirama's recovery power. He then resolves to be more careful, and will instead use the Rinnegan's ability to the fullest. Madara then uses Limbo: Border Jail, and while at first it doesn't seem to do anything, one by one, each of the beasts are blown back. He then launches chains from the statue, which attach to, and starts pulling the tailed beasts towards it. Madara declares he will extract the Eight and Nine-Tails from their jinchūriki.

The Fall of Two Shinobi
Naruto tries to exit Tailed Beast Mode, but finds it futile, as Madara has Kurama's chakra trapped with the chains. The clone of White Zetsu informs Madara that it would be best to recapture the beasts in numerical order, starting with Shukaku. Madara, with a readjusted strategy, attempts to capture Shukaku with the chains first, however Gaara manages to stop this transaction with two enormous sand hands. Shukaku, shocked at Gaara's actions, remembers the words of his previous jinchūriki, realising that the time has come where humans and Tailed Beasts can be comrades. Madara quickly equips his Susanoo and hurls one of his swords at Gaara, though Shukaku intercepts it. Madara sends another sword across the battlefield and manages to connect the chains once again, as well as knocking Gaara down. As the beasts are dragged into the statue once more, B severs one of his tentacles, while Kurama asks Gaara for a favour. As Naruto is ejected from Tailed Beast Mode and is sent hurdling towards the ground, Gaara calls out to a shocked Naruto.

As Naruto begins to fall to the ground, unconscious due to Kurama's extraction, Gaara uses his sand to cushion his comrade's fall. Meanwhile, Madara reseals all of the tailed beasts, including Gyūki and Kurama, back into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Paths. Tobirama suddenly attacks Madara and the two engage in a brief battle, with Madara gaining the upper hand. Madara pins down Tobirama with his chakra rods, as the two exchange harsh words. As Sasuke travels to the battlefield from atop Garuda, he recalls how Hashirama wanted to give him a technique to stop Madara. Though initially hesitant, Sasuke accepted the offer when Hashirama noted that Sasuke reminded him of Madara's brother Izuna. Madara drives the stakes into Tobirama's head, taking deep pleasure in this as he states that this is penance for Tobirama's killing of Izuna. Sasuke appears over the two shinobi and jumps down towards them, ready to enter the fray. Tobirama tries to attack Madara to get an opening for Sasuke, however Madara foils the plan, suspending Sasuke in the air before he has an attempt to attack. Taking Sasuke's dropped sword, Madara stabs Sasuke through his chest, expressing his disappointment in the young Uchiha's actions.

Gaara rushes Naruto to help, while Tobirama curses Madara for stabbing Sasuke, which has left the young Uchiha severely injured. Meanwhile, Tobi appears on the battlefield and uses Wood Release: Several Thousand Hands to attack the alliance. However, it is barely fended off by Hiruzen, while Shikamaru notes that if Hiruzen falls, the alliance is doomed. While Orochimaru and Taka plan a surprise attack against the Tobi the Zetsu clone, Karin senses Sasuke's current predicament and becomes frantic. Gaara arrives to Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura, and asks them to heal Naruto. Hinata, realising that Naruto's heartbeats are getting weaker and weaker with her Byakugan, rushes to Naruto's aid but stumbles due to being low on chakra, praying for Neji to help Naruto. However, Sakura is the only one with enough chakra left to heal Naruto, though stated before that neither she, Tsunade or Shizune could perform medical ninjutsu any longer. Meanwhile, a struggling Sasuke refuses to die, promising to honour Itachi's sacrifice by becoming Hokage and changing the ninja world for the better. Madara simply rebuffs his statement and walks away from the dying Uchiha. Due to healing the members of the alliance beforehand, Sakura rapidly begins to run out of chakra, and Karin notices how serious Sasuke's wound is. The two young women note that soon Naruto and Sasuke will die if they do not receive immediate attention.

The New Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki & The Crimson Beast Emerges
As Kurama's chakra vanishes from around her, Sakura notices that Naruto has lost his pulse and heartbeat. Confused as to why her medical ninjutsu isn't working, Gaara explains that the Nine-Tails has been extracted from Naruto. He then explains Kurama's plan: to bring Naruto to his father, in order to place the Yin-half of Kurama within him, which would allow him to be saved. Realising Naruto may not make it, Sakura cuts open Naruto's side and begins personally pumping his heart, while preforming mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him. Elsewhere, Tobirama notices that he can no longer sense Sasuke's chakra. Additionally, has lost complete movement, being even unable to use the Flying Thunder God Technique. Meanwhile, Karin commences an assault on Tobi, using Adamantine Sealing Chains to fight the immense wooden structure. Her attack allows Orochimaru the opening to bite the Zetsu clone's neck, producing a curse seal that binds his movements. As their assault ends, and Karin heals by biting herself, she notes that she can no longer sense Sasuke. At this point, Madara summons the once-again-revived Ten-Tails and proceeds to seal it inside of him, becoming the new jinchūriki. He then launches himself in the direction of Obito in order to retrieve his missing Rinnegan. As Sasuke's situation seems hopeless, he is approached by an unknown barefooted individual.

As Orochimaru's group presses forward towards Sasuke, both Karin and Tobirama note that they do not recognise either the person or their chakra signature. Believing that this person may intend to harm Sasuke, Karin races towards Sasuke's location. Meanwhile, Guy, Rock Lee, and Tenten begin making their way across the battlefield. However, they see Gaara, Sakura, and Naruto fly overhead towards Kakashi's location, and decide to turn around and head there as well. As Madara flies to the same destination, he spits out the Kohaku no Jōhei and Benihisago, noting that they were weighing him down. The two weapons land on top of Guy and Lee's heads, while Tenten is shocked at the weapons' reappearance. At the other battlefield, Kakashi and Minato continue to battle Black Zetsu, until the Kazekage's group arrive at the scene. Gaara explains what happened to Minato and urges him to give Naruto the other half of Kurama's chakra. As Minato begins the transference, Black Zetsu suddenly intercepts him and absorbs Yin-Kurama's chakra, becoming its jinchūriki. With no hope left, Madara arrives on the battlefield, chastising Black Zetsu for taking too long. Black Zetsu tells Madara that he has successfully taken half of the Nine-Tails' chakra and Madara tells him to give it to him immediately. Black Zetsu tries, but Obito regains control of himself. Minato, Kakashi and Gaara try to interfere, but are countered by Madara. Minato has his remaining arm cut off. Madara and Obito discuss Obito's identity, and Obito shoves his hand into Madara's chest, manifesting the same shakujō he wielded when he was the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.

Madara immediately attempts to obtain his left eye from Obito; however, the latter simply phases through his former mentor. Locked in their subconscious, Obito attempts to extract the tailed beasts from Madara, however he only manages to extract fragments of Shukaku's and Gyūki's chakra. Returning to reality, Obito orders Kakashi to send Naruto to the other dimension, which Kakashi does so without arguing. As Obito attempts to transport himself, Madara stops him by sending a mysterious orb in his direction. Reclaiming his footing next to Kakashi, Obito tells Madara to beware of the power that two Mangekyō Sharingan have to offer. As Madara launches two more orbs towards the two, Obito — with Kakashi's help — transports himself to the other dimension. After convincing Sakura of his changed nature, Obito begins the tailed beast transfer technique on Naruto. In the real world, Guy arrives just in the knick of time to save Kakashi from Madara's attack.

Orochimaru and Taka arrive at Sasuke's side, and are surprised to learn that the mysterious man was in fact Kabuto Yakushi, who managed to break out of Izanami after finding his true self. Mentioning that he inherited Itachi's will to protect Sasuke, Kabuto reveals that he has arrived on the battlefield to heal Sasuke's wounds and atone for his sins. Meanwhile, Kakashi thanks Guy for saving him from Madara's attack, and mentions that only senjutsu and taijutsu will be effective against the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. As Minato mentions that his senjutsu is subpar, Guy opens the seventh gate, and attacks Madara with a series of punches. Keeping Madara at bay, Guy finished his assault with the Daytime Tiger, which Madara managed to survive, as he plans on eliminating an exhausted Guy by launching a mysterious orb in his direction. Though Kakashi attempts to save Guy with Minato's special kunai in order to warp away the black orb, Rock Lee arrives just in the knick of time to save his sensei. As the group ponders on how to defeat Madara, Guy reveals that the only way to beat Madara is for him to open the eighth gate, which would result in his death, and evolve into the crimson beast.

While Kakashi, Minato, and Lee attempt to dissuade Guy from using the fatal technique, they abandon this fruitless endeavour once they realise Guy's commitment. As Lee begins shedding tears for his master, Guy tells him that it is no time for tears, as the noble shinobi rushes towards Madara once more, sticking his thumb into his chest, and opens the Eighth Gate of Death. As he begins transforming into a crimson beast, Guy reflects on his father Might Duy: a shinobi only talented in taijutsu like himself and his pupil, and who was once disgraced because of his faults. Remembering how Might Duy gave up his life after using the Eighth Gate in order to save him and his team-mates from the previous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Guy realises that his time has come to sacrifice himself for the safety of his comrades. As Madara berates Guy's abilities, he immediately attacks Madara with the Evening Elephant.

Guy wastes no time in attacking Madara with his new technique. He manages to land a blow of the legendary shinobi, and sends him plummeting into the ground, creating an extremely deep crater. While Guy laments from the pain that is caused from using the first attack, Madara notes that Guy has become extremely powerful, and decides it would be best to avoid being hit from the technique at all costs. As Guy and Madara prepare to clash again after Guy grows accustomed to the pain, Minato, Lee, Kakashi, and Gaara decide to aid Guy by disabling Madara's black orbs. As Lee opens the sixth gate, their plan succeeds, as they are able to warp away the black orbs, and create an opening for Guy to use the five steps of the Evening Elephant. Though beaten severely, Madara notes that he had not had this much fun since his battle with Hashirama, greatly surprising Guy. Meanwhile in the other dimension, Naruto finally opens his eyes.

The Return of the Two Saviours
Waking up surrounded by a watery surface, Naruto questions if he has died. An unknown figure asks him what his definition of "death" is. Naruto asks who this person is, and the figure reveals himself to be none other than Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths himself. Naruto recognises the name as he had previously heard it from Jiraiya and Nagato, and states he is the one who created ninjutsu, Hagoromo corrects him however by saying he did not create ninjutsu, but ninshū, stating his creation was to inspire peace, while ninjutsu was made to create war. Following this revelation, Hagoromo begins telling him about his history, including his mother, brother, and how his two sons fought. Hagoromo reveals to Naruto that he is the reincarnation of his younger son Asura Ōtsutsuki.

Naruto, however, is not surprised by this fact, and tells the Sage how he had felt something different in Sasuke during their meeting at Samurai Bridge, and realises that Sasuke is the reincarnation of the Sage's older son Indra Ōtsutsuki. Hagoromo goes on to tell Naruto more about his mother's past and about the previous reincarnations of the sons, Hashirama and Madara. He then summons all the Tailed Beasts chakra sealed inside Naruto and asks him how wants the fight against Madara to end, to which Naruto replies he is stupid and does not know much, but he knows what friends are, and he wants to protect them. It is then revealed that Hagoromo was talking to Sasuke at the same time as Naruto, stating they are the one's who will decide the future, and proceeds to pass on his power to both of them.

Returning to the battlefield, as Guy prepares his technique, Night Guy, Madara notices Guy's rapidly-decreasing chakra levels, and notes that this will be the legendary beast's final attack. Meanwhile, Naruto, with a light circle mark on his right hand, and Sasuke, with a dark crescent-moon mark on his left hand, finally awaken, and prepare to head to the battlefield with their respective surround groups of people. As Kakashi, Lee, and Gaara watch the gruesome battle continue, Kakashi recalls the first time he met Guy, and realises that Guy is no longer the the talentless loser he once was. As Guy finishes preparing his attack, he rushes towards Madara, as the latter notices that Guy is managing to distort space, resulting in his inability to counterattack. Guy lands a devastatingly powerful kick on Madara, which manages to decimate the complete left side of the Uchiha's upper body, and almost killing him. As Guy's body begins to deteriorate, Madara sends one final black orb to annihilate his enemy, Naruto arrives to the battlefield and kicks it back to him. Naruto manages to restore Guy's life force slowly, as he reveals his new mysterious eyes, commenting that he can change the world with his new power.

Madara is confused as to why Guy did not perish after using the Eighth Gate of Death, and questions what Naruto did to stop the shinobi's death. Without any time to react, Naruto leaps towards Madara, while the latter forms his shakujō from his remaining Truth-Seeking Ball to defend against Naruto's punch. As Madara ponders Naruto's new powers once again, Naruto mentally requests Son Gokū's power. Naruto forms a senjutsu-enhanced, lava-natured Rasenshuriken with his new powers. As Naruto's is about to throw it, Madara leaps away, and casts Limbo: Border Jail, but the young ninja somehow (unintentionally) dodged it. Naruto throws his new technique at Madara, making direct contact, and upon exploding, chops down the tree form of the Ten-Tails. Naruto then quickly gets Guy out of danger, and back to Rock Lee. As the tree collapses towards Madara, a "voice" tells him to absorb the tree. Following the advice Madara recovers, completely from his wounds and even altering his form slightly. Meanwhile, Sasuke has pulled out the stakes which pinned down Tobirama, who wonders how the young Uchiha is capable of doing so without being affected, until he gets a good look at Sasuke's face and understands. Sasuke then asks Tobirama to teleport him to the main battlefield, which the Hokage agrees to but warns that, in his current condition, he'll only be able to transport one person. The Uchiha responds stating that it's fine, claiming that he'll be fine by himself. Back in the other dimension, Sakura reluctantly thanks Obito for saving Naruto, while the half-dead man asks for a favour in return. After Gaara wishes Naruto good luck, the young Konoha shinobi ponders at how different he feels as he confronts Madara. The elder Uchiha then boasts about how he was immortal and can't be defeated to which Naruto responds that "together they" will defeat Madara, just as Sasuke appears. After Naruto transforms into a new Tailed Beast Mode, Madara realises that Sasuke possesses the Rinnegan, while the Uzumaki has the Senjutsu of the Six Paths while he himself has both of them. Responding to the two younger ninja's challenge, Madara announces this to be their final battle as he prepares to use a technique.

Madara begins his counter-attack, which Naruto blocks by throwing one of his staffs at it, while Sasuke seemingly teleports out of harm's way, shocking Madara. Naruto attacks Madara with his staff but is blocked by a seemingly invisible wall. Meanwhile, Sasuke notices an invisible clone of Madara in between Naruto and the real Madara with his Rinnegan, and so he throws his sword towards the clone, but the attack fails. Madara dispatches Naruto and retreats. As Sasuke begins explaining Madara's technique, Madara soon realises that the two shinobi have found out how his Limbo: Border Jail technique works. Madara attempts to steal Sasuke's Rinnegan eye, but much to the surprise of the elder Uchiha, Sasuke switches place with his discarded sword from earlier and Madara is stabbed in the chest. Sasuke tells Naruto to use a technique with his senjutsu in order to bind Madara, while Shukaku offers his new host its own chakra, creating the Sage Art: Magnet Release Rasengan. Sasuke manifests a black version of his Chidori, and though the two strike Madara simultaneously from both sides, the elder Uchiha uses his shadow version of himself as a substitute. Madara goes for Kakashi and manages to steal his Sharingan, transplanting it into his own empty eye socket. Despite Sasuke slicing him in half, Madara uses Kamui to teleport to its dimension, in order to stop Sakura and Obito from destroying his other Rinnegan.

Obito quickly transports Sakura back to the other dimension, where she informs everyone that Madara has entered the Kamui dimension, and intends on retrieving his left Rinnegan. While tending to Kakashi's eye, Sakura informs everyone that Madara will become unstoppable if he receives his other eye. In the Kamui dimension, Madara holds his hand in Obito's chest, and is shocked to discover that the Forbidden Individual Curse Tag on his heart had been removed. Obito reveals that Kakashi destroyed it in their earlier battle, and that enabled him to become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. Madara then reveals to Obito that he was the mastermind behind Rin's death, and had been manipulating Obito the entire time, much to the younger Uchiha's shock. Meanwhile, Naruto returns to Kakashi's side and restores his left eye using his power from Hagoromo, much to Sakura's shock. Kakashi reflects on how each of the three members has changed and matured since their first meeting. Kakashi asks Sasuke what his true motives are, and Sakura wonders as well, but Kakashi interrupts him before he can answer, stating that they need to remember their first lesson about team-work, as Madara returns to the battlefield.

The Infinite Dream
Madara, who has recovered his left Rinnegan from Obito, mocks Team Kakashi's pledge to defeat him with team-work. Black Zetsu informs the group that Obito is no more, and he has completely taken possession over his body. Sakura sees an opening and activates her Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique to attack Madara, but to no avail, as Naruto and Sasuke quickly rescue her from Madara's wrath. Sasuke notes that Madara has created four more shadows and warns Naruto to beware. Madara goes on the offence and activates multiple Chibaku Tensei, intending to drop the massive earthen debris on his opponents. Naruto creates several shadow clones to deal with Madara's shadows, while the real Naruto and Sasuke use Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken and an improved Susanoo to counter Madara's technique. Madara uses this opportunity to fly closer to the moon, and he removes part of his forehead protector, revealing the third eye on his forehead that resembles the eye of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Turning towards it, Madara casts the Infinite Tsukuyomi onto the moon.

On the other battlefield, the members of the Allied Shinobi look at the moon in horror, realising that Madara's plan had finally been accomplished. Tobi, considering his job was complete, releases an encased Yamato from his body. While Naruto destroys the remaining meteors from earlier, Sasuke rushes back to earth and covers his team-mates with his new Susanoo. Madara finally activates the genjutsu on the world, as light begins emanating from the moon and turns the night as bright as day. Around the world, all living souls fall victim to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, with the Rinnegan reflecting in their eyes. The only ones who are not affected by the technique are the reincarnated Hokage, who watch in horror as Madara activates a technique that connects all life forms to the roots of the Ten-Tails' tree form, and Team 7, with the help of Sasuke's Susanoo.