There was a point where everything seemed irrelevant—where life and death blurred into meaningless cycles.
For Naruto, humanity itself was hard to keep.
What made life worth living when death was no longer absolute?
Oaths. Principles.
Without them, there was no reason to do any of this.
He understood that interacting with others, having fun, and feeling emotions were essential.
Without those experiences, he would lose himself.
Life, in his eyes, was now a concept remembered only through others. He could turn back time and revive the dead if he wanted—but that would make existence meaningless.
The cost of bringing people back was heavy, even for him.
It was something Naruto could handle on a small scale, but he refused to abuse it.
Because a life without the danger of death was an empty one.
That's why he kept himself in check.
It's why Kurama was so hyperactive.
Because a life without challenge, without excitement, would eventually become colorless—a dull, meaningless existence.
Kurama had no intention of letting that happen.
"THIS IS THE LIFE!"
Kurama roared as his massive claw sent Sentry crashing through the moon.
The ground shook, the sky rippled, and the battlefield trembled under his raw power.
Turning his gaze to Juggernaut, Kurama grinned.
"Alright, let's turn it up a notch!"
A massive beam gathered in front of him, swirling with a magical circle covered in ancient symbols.
This wasn't just any attack—Kurama had imbued it with two devastating properties:
Anti-Regeneration– No healing. No matter how durable, no matter how fast a being could regenerate, this attack would denyConceptual Destruction– A power that erased anything it touched, even beyond the physical realm.
The beam fired, a massive surge of annihilation, wiping out air, light, and land in its path.
It carved a massive rift into the planet as it collided with Juggernaut's charge.
The unstoppable force met the immovable defense—
And for the first time in ages, Juggernaut felt resistance.
Kurama's eyes shone as he poured more power into the attack.
"More... MORE!"
His focus was locked on Cain.
At that moment, Sentry took his chance, charging toward Kurama.
Kurama's tails moved instinctively, countering every attack without even looking at him.
A battle on two fronts.
Sentry was stunned.
"How is this monster so skilled? He's focused on someone else, yet his tails are countering me effortlessly!"
He had never fought anything like this.
Juggernaut, meanwhile, pushed forward, his momentum growing.
And then—he broke through.
Kurama felt it.
Cain's unstoppable force pierced through his leg, leaving a gaping wound as the massive man kept running forward.
"How do you like that?!" Juggernaut roared as he gained speed, tearing through anything in his way.
But Kurama... laughed.
"Not bad, human."
He turned his full attention to Sentry.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's have a real fight now."
He was done with Cain.
There was no fun in hitting something that felt nothing.
Naruto's voice echoed in his mind.
"You can end him now."
Kurama grinned, turned to Juggernaut, and unleashed a final beam.
Naruto had momentarily severed Cain's connection to Cyttorak.
In that instant—
Juggernaut was erased from existence.
No resistance.
No second chances.
Naruto had seen his soul—weighed his sins—and judged him unworthy.
Cain had no regrets.
He never felt remorse for the destruction he caused.
He planned to run through a city of millions just to reach Charles, with zero hesitation.
Naruto's justice was absolute.
The only mercy Juggernaut received—was that Naruto believed in swift, painless death.
If Naruto had been cruel, he could have shattered Juggernaut's mind, trapping him in eternal darkness, breaking him beyond repair.
That was one of Naruto's domains—Darkness.
A realm where minds were shattered, and wills were broken.
But Juggernaut wasn't even worth that.
So he simply ceased to be.
Sentry staggered as the battle paused.
His eyes widened in shock.
Even he—someone capable of matching cosmic-level beings—had never seen Juggernaut be destroyed.
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Sentry's mind raced, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
How had Kurama's attack overpowered Cyttorak's protection?
How had Naruto canceled the connection between Cain and his deity?
The power to nullify divine gifts, to erase the indestructible, to undo cosmic forces—
This wasn't just strength.
This was domination over reality itself.
And for the first time in a long time, Sentry felt something he thought he had forgotten.
Fear.
The battlefield was a shattered world, torn apart by the power of two forces beyond mortal comprehension. The very core of the planet was exposed, molten rivers of destruction spilling into the void, as Kurama and Sentry clashed in a battle of strength, cunning, and sheer will.
Sentry moved swiftly, dodging beams that materialized around him, twisting through the air with inhuman agility. Yet, they followed him relentlessly, homing in on his energy signature. His golden aura flickered, struggling to suppress the damage he had already taken.
'I can't keep running like this.'
Making a split-second decision, Sentry gritted his teeth and let one of the beams strike his left side. The force was immense—his entire body shuddered as he was blasted backward, slamming through layers of planetary debris. His attack, a beam of raw energy, was already primed and fired toward Kurama.
The explosion sent Kurama hurtling into the planet's core, the immense pressure and heat consuming him in a blinding inferno. The shockwave alone reduced the surrounding landscape to dust. For a brief moment, the battlefield was still.
Sentry exhaled, clearing his mind as his body rapidly healed. He was about to move when—
SLASH!
A massive claw tore through his back, sending him crashing forward. Sentry grunted, barely containing the pain. His senses flared, searching for his attacker.
'What kind of fight is this?!'
There had been no movement, no indication of Kurama's presence. And yet, he had been struck. A creeping realization dawned on him—Kurama was moving through the shadows, attacking without form.
'Is he still in the core?'
Determined, Sentry propelled himself downward, breaking through the remains of the planet's crust, descending into the depths at full speed. He was immune to destruction on this scale, but that wasn't the issue—he needed to find his opponent before he was attacked again.
He reached the core, eyes scanning in every direction, searching for any trace of Kurama. But there was nothing. Only darkness.
Then—
"Never walk into the darkness without light."
Kurama's voice echoed in the abyss, a mocking whisper.
Sentry's eyes widened as an entire minefield of invisible energy orbs detonated around him.
BOOM!
The planet shattered, exploding into countless fragments. The force alone sent shockwaves across the sector, bending the laws of reality with sheer destruction. Sentry was caught in the blast, his body torn apart by compressed spheres of energy that had been waiting for him. And before he could even recover—
ZAP!
Four devastating beams struck from different directions, trapping him in the explosion zone. They spiraled, forming a crushing field of pure destruction.
Sentry screamed. The energy burned through his flesh, fracturing his bones, liquefying his insides. His regeneration fought desperately against the overwhelming force, but the pain was immense. He could feel himself slipping.
'I can't lose. I can't lose like this!'
His body was healing, but his mind was fracturing.
And in that moment—it spoke.
'Kill it. Kill it. How dare it do this to us?'
Sentry's golden eyes darkened as something deep inside him surfaced. His rage became tangible, his restraint snapping like a fragile thread.
"ENOUGH!"
His psionic energy surged outward like a tidal wave, obliterating the beams, tearing apart the remnants of the battlefield. The darkness that had been suffocating him shattered under the sheer force of his presence. His muscles ached, his body barely holding together, but he no longer cared.
Kurama materialized in front of him, standing on nothing, a grin stretched across his face.
Sentry didn't hesitate. He focused his psionic powers, gathering pure light into his hands and launched it with everything he had. The beam surged forward like a spear of divine retribution, aimed directly at the grinning fox.
It hit.
Or rather—it should have.
Instead, the attack passed through Kurama as if he were made of mist. His body flickered, intangible, his eyes glowing with amusement.
"You found me," Kurama said, his voice calm. "But can you really defeat me?"
Sentry clenched his fists, his rage still boiling.
Then, in an instant, Kurama's massive fox form collapsed inward, twisting and shifting, until he stood as a man. A tall, lean figure with fiery hair and piercing golden eyes—an almost exact replica of Naruto Uzumaki.
Sentry froze, his heart skipping a beat.
"Uzumaki?!"
"No," Kurama chuckled, stretching his arms. "I'm his brother." His smirk widened. "Come on, Sentry, enjoy this fight. Holding back is bad for your health."
Sentry's body tensed. He didn't understand—what kind of game was this?
Kurama took a step forward, his aura pulsating with untamed energy.
"You're mentally messed up because you suppress yourself," Kurama continued. "You fear your own power. You hold it back until it eats you from the inside out. You're afraid that if you let go, you'll destroy everything."
Sentry's hands clenched into fists, his breathing heavy. The words struck too deep.
He had been fighting this inner darkness for so long. The void inside him. The whispers that grew louder every time he used his power.
He had erased the world's memories of him to stop himself.
But it wasn't enough anymore.
Kurama's golden eyes bore into his. "You need a release. You need to let go." He raised his hands. "There are no consequences here. Just fun."
Sentry's mind swirled with conflicting emotions. His rage. His fear. The battle. The truth he had been avoiding.
This wasn't just a fight.
It was a challenge.
"You know nothing of my suffering." Sentry growled, his voice laced with anger. "Stay out of my head."
Kurama grinned, his body brimming with excitement.
"No."
He raised his fists, his power crackling in the void.
"Now—fight me."
Sentry's glare bore into Kurama, but deep inside, he knew the fox's words struck a truth he didn't want to face.
For days—no, years—he had been struggling, fighting a war within himself. His mind was unraveling, the fractures growing deeper, the whispers getting louder. His own power had become a threat to everything around him, a force so overwhelming that it terrified even him.
There was evil within him. A darkness that lurked beneath the surface, waiting, watching, whispering.
And if it ever got out—
He would kill them all.
It wasn't just fear. It was certainty. He had seen it before. He had done it before.
The screams, the bodies, the destruction.
Millions had died because of him. Because of that thing inside him.
He couldn't even remember the first time it happened. One moment, he had control. The next—he was standing in the ruins of a world, drenched in blood, surrounded by nothing but death.
And the worst part?
He didn't even know why.
It just… happened.
No enemy. No war. No justification. Just pure annihilation.
That was when he knew.
He couldn't be trusted.
So he did the only thing he could.
He erased everything.
Not just his past. Not just his name. Everyone's memory of him.
It was the only way to stop the cycle. To start over. To be… normal.
And for a while, it worked.
He lived a simple life, a life where he wasn't a immortal or a destroyer. A life where he wasn't feared or hunted. A life where he could pretend to be human.
But now—his name was known again. The world remembered.
And the problem was rising again.
The whispers were growing louder. The darkness inside him was stirring.
And if he couldn't stop it this time—
There would be nothing left to save.
But now this man—this thing—this so-called "brother" of Uzumaki—was telling him that the darkness existed because he held back?
That it was his fault?
How could that be?!
His body tensed, his fingers twitching as the storm in his mind raged.
That monster inside him wasn't some suppressed emotion. It wasn't just stress.
It was real.
It was alive.
And if it ever got loose again…
There wouldn't be anything left to fix.