The Invisible Dancers , 2

Turning Naruto's words over in his mind, Lee recalls growing up alongside Neji, and as chakra flows into him he gently closes his fallen friend's eyes. Awed by the power now surrounding him too, Kakashi thinks back on his talk with Shikaku, while Kurama marvels at Naruto's knack for tuning his chakra to match each different shinobi. Silently addressing Kushina and Minato, the fox reflects that their son has outgrown them, exactly the gift they had hoped to leave him.

Atop the Ten-Tails, Madara chooses to aid Obito and tears free of the Nara clan's shadow bind. The beast's tails crash down, but the empowered Alliance surges ahead, and Naruto carves through the creature with a Rasenshuriken to prove Neji's will still lives. Hinata resets Naruto's dislocated arm with her Gentle Fist, Lee lands a kick that splits Madara in two, and Naruto's spinning shuriken phases through Obito, cutting both Uchiha off from the beast and forcing them to withdraw.

Naruto affirms that, unlike Obito, he has no wish to sever the bonds tying comrades together. Far off in the Hidden Leaf, Orochimaru and Taka appear to reach their goal. The chapter is part of the Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax arc in the sixty-fourth volume. As the alliance cuts through the Ten-Tails' arms, the formation takes the shape of a bird, echoing the caged-bird imagery of a creature breaking free.