The battlefield was ruin. What was once solid ground had splintered into floating shards of rock, drifting in a sea of warped space and broken time. Sky bled into sea. Fire rained like tears. The scent of ozone, blood, and betrayal filled the air.
Naruto knelt on one knee, clutching his side. His Nine-Tails chakra flickered erratically, like a dying flame. "That blast… it almost erased me."
Beside him, Luffy stumbled back onto his feet, steam rolling off his Gear Fifth form. "We've been playing defence too long…"
Zoro wiped blood from his mouth, three swords drawn. "Then it's time to cut this war open."
In the distance, the Shadow Warlord floated above a growing vortex of energy. The dimensional rift behind him was widening, devouring the sky itself. His body, now more monstrous than humanoid, was dripping shadow like ink into water.
And near him… the fire emissary had returned, burned but not broken. Her face twisted in fanatical joy.
"Let it all end," she shouted. "Let the old gods burn and the new dawn rise!"
Saitama glanced around at the battered group. "You all good?"
Gojo gave him a sideways look, blindfold stained with blood. "Define good."
"Alive," Saitama said simply. "That's good enough."
Then the world screamed.
A surge of raw, cosmic energy exploded from the Warlord's chest. The vortex cracked open wider—revealing glimpses of alternate Earths, dying versions of their home worlds where evil had already won.
Goku gasped. "He's not just merging worlds… he's consuming them."
"He's becoming a singularity," Gojo said coldly. "A walking apocalypse."
Naruto forced himself upright. "Then we hit him with everything."
And they did.
The sky erupted as Goku and Vegeta launched in unison, Goku in Mastered Ultra Instinct, Vegeta in Ultra Ego, their auras colliding into a spiral of divine energy. Luffy followed, rubber body snapping through dimensions. Zoro leapt, blades wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, each swing sending shockwaves across time.
Gojo activated his Domain Expansion again—this time warping it, forcing his Limitless technique to crash against the dimensional rift, buying mere seconds.
Yuji and Megumi hurled cursed techniques like meteors, while Saitama—
Saitama walked straight at the Warlord, unbothered.
One punch. Two.
The Warlord dodged each, shadows warping space between them.
"You're not ready," the Warlord growled.
Saitama's expression didn't change. "We'll see."
But it wasn't enough.
The Warlord extended his arms—and from the void, he summoned them.
Twisted versions of the heroes.
Shadow Goku. Hollow Naruto. Inverted Luffy, smile warped into a sneer. The team froze, staring at broken echoes of themselves.
"What… the hell is this?" Luffy whispered.
"The worst version of you," Gojo muttered. "Pulled from doomed timelines."
"You must fight yourselves," the Warlord declared. "And see how fragile your hope truly is."
And for the first time—they struggled.
Shadow Goku was ruthless. No mercy, no restraint. He knocked Vegeta into a rock spire with a savage elbow.
Hollow Naruto moved like a ghost, dodging Rasenshuriken and whispering poisoned words: "You were always the failure. Konoha died because of you."
Zoro fought a version of himself with no honour—no crew. Just bloodlust.
The tide turned against them.
Until—a scream.
A massive surge of cursed energy exploded from Yuji. The sky turned black and red. His eyes glowed.
"Sukuna…"
Yuji's voice was not his own.
"I'm bored of hiding," the king of curses growled. "Let's make this interesting."
He stepped forward—and attacked Shadow Goku with horrifying glee.
Naruto's gaze locked with Gojo's. "Is this safe?"
Gojo shook his head. "Absolutely not."
But it worked. Shadow Goku reeled.
Yuji—no, Sukuna—grinned wickedly. "You wanted monsters? You've got one."
The team rallied.
Zoro pushed through his copy with a blood-slicked roar, slashing through the phantom's chest.
Goku and Vegeta tag-teamed their echo, overpowering it with a combination of divine techniques.
Naruto stared at his own twisted self—and for a moment, saw his younger self crying in the woods. He roared, driving a Rasengan through the clone's chest. "I'm not him anymore!"
The battlefield shifted. The echoes shattered into light.
But not without cost.
Yuji collapsed, Sukuna's control fading. Blood trickled from his nose.
Then—the fire emissary attacked again.
But not at the team.
At Gojo.
She launched herself into the air, flame spear in hand. "You should've joined us."
Gojo turned—but too late.
A flash of flame. A thud.
Gojo staggered back, a burning spear impaled through his chest.
"No—GOJO!!" Yuji screamed.
The blindfolded sorcerer dropped to one knee, coughing blood, laughing bitterly. "Well… guess infinity has a limit."
Naruto rushed to him. "We can heal you—!"
Gojo raised a hand. "No. You have to stop him. Forget me."
Goku's fists clenched. "We're ending this. Now."
The rift behind the Warlord began to collapse inward—the singularity growing unstable.
He snarled. "You've stalled long enough. If I go, I'll take every world with me!"
And then—
A light.
In the center of the battlefield, a new figure appeared—calm, glowing with a strange energy none of them recognized.
It was not divine, not cursed, not shadow.
It was… something else.
"Who—?" Luffy began.
The figure raised their hand.
"Volume One's final act begins now."
And the sky split open one final time.