[Itachi Uchiha: “Such is the nature of war…
Tragic.”
[Sasuke Uchiha: “Tragic, my foot!
Itachi, just you wait!
I’ll avenge our clan!”
[Itachi Uchiha: “My foolish little brother…
You’re still far too weak.
Run.
Run to a place beyond my sight…”
The video continued.
The cold night wind howled through the darkness.
Holding Rin’s lifeless body tightly in his arms, Obito slowly turned to look at Kakashi, who lay unconscious in a pool of blood.
“I…”
“…will sever this world’s chain of causality.”
The coldness in Obito’s eyes deepened.
The scene changed.
Inside the dark cavern—
“This…”
“…is why I’ve come back.”
Obito stared coldly at Madara, who sat in his chair, and at White Zetsu beside him.
Madara looked up at the young man before him and gave a quiet snort, unable to hide the faint satisfaction on his face.
“No one else saw you, did they?”
“I was the only one watching.”
White Zetsu answered playfully.
“Obito killed every last enemy, so there weren’t any witnesses.”
“He simply couldn’t bring himself to kill Kakashi.”
“But Kakashi didn’t see anything either.”
“When the Konoha reinforcements arrived, he was still shouting, asking who had defeated the enemy.”
Madara studied Obito carefully before speaking.
“So…
you couldn’t bring yourself to kill your former comrade?”
“No.”
Obito shrugged.
“I simply don’t care anymore.”
“Whether he’s alive or dead makes no difference to me.”
Silence filled the cavern.
Madara continued to scrutinize him.
“In the world I’m going to create…”
“Kakashi will exist.”
“So will Rin.”
Obito fixed his right eye upon Madara.
“Tell me.”
“How do I create that dream world?”
Madara smiled faintly.
“No need to apologize anymore.”
“Come.”
“From this day forward…”
“…you are the savior.”
Obito slowly walked toward him.
His black cloak fluttered gently in the wind.
“Look into my eyes.”
Madara cast a Genjutsu.
Boom.
When Obito regained his senses—
He found himself standing in an endless white world.
“This is my Genjutsu space.”
“It’s still empty for now.”
“But by projecting my will into it…”
“…I can create and control anything.”
“That is, so long as I remain connected to the forbidden Statue and borrow its power.”
Madara calmly explained.
[Tobirama Senju: “I see.
So this is how you intend to cast the Genjutsu.”
“How naïve.”
“Do you really think your Chakra could sustain something on that scale?”
[Uchiha Izuna: “Hmph!
White-haired Senju, stop making noise.”
“You’re just jealous of my brother!”
[Madara Uchiha: “Izuna.”
“I’ve already blocked Tobirama.”
“You should block him too.”
[Uchiha Izuna: “Understood, Brother!”
[Tobirama Senju: “…”
[Mito Uzumaki: “Madara, no matter how you look at it, your method can’t possibly work.”
“Covering the entire Shinobi World would require an unimaginable amount of Chakra…”
[Uzumaki Boruto (Adult): “There is a solution.”
“Become the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki.”
[Tobirama Senju: “Exactly.”
“That was what I was about to say.”
[Tsunade: “Then wouldn’t gathering every Tailed Beast from every village and keeping them under strict supervision bring peace to the Shinobi World?”
[Ōnoki: “Hmph.
Easier said than done.”
“Where would you gather them?”
“And why would anyone trust one another?”
“Don’t forget—we’re all enemies.”
[Tsunade: “…”
[Uchiha Obito: “I will sever the chain of causality that binds the Shinobi World…”
“…and place everyone under Genjutsu.”
[Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki: “Your thinking is far too naïve.”
“I will never allow you to succeed.”
[Konoha Civilian: “Holy—!
The Sage of Six Paths?!”
[Sunagakure Genin: “Wait…
the legends were real??”
[Uchiha Tekka: “I never expected this…”
The footage continued.
“No matter how large or small…”
“…it can all be done.”
Madara slowly raised his hand.
His aged appearance instantly transformed into the face of his younger self.
“Like this.”
Obito stood frozen.
“Create the ideal world within this Genjutsu.”
“Then cast the Genjutsu upon all of humanity and bring everyone into it.”
Madara continued.
“Replace this eye with the moon.”
“Expand the Divine Tree.”
“And the dream world will become reality.”
“That’s…
far too unbelievable.”
Obito shook his head.
“I can’t wrap my mind around it.”
“Then I must begin with the story of the Sage of Six Paths…”
“…and the Ten-Tails.”
Madara spoke calmly.
“The Ten-Tails?”
“I thought it was just a mythical creature.”
Obito looked toward the stone wall that had suddenly appeared.
It was covered with mysterious carvings.
“Myths are often rooted in truth.”
“The Tailed Beasts scattered throughout the world were all created when the Sage of Six Paths divided the Ten-Tails’ power.”
Madara smiled faintly.
“Is there any proof of that?”
Obito asked.
[Ino Yamanaka: “I never realized Madara was this handsome when he was young…”
As Madara’s appearance changed from that of a frail old man to his youthful self, the chat instantly erupted.
[Tenten: “Seriously…
he’s pretty handsome.”
[Sakura Haruno: “One second he was an old man…
the next he looks like a completely different person…”
[Mei Terumī: “Listening to an old man tell stories was getting boring…”
“But now I suddenly don’t mind anymore.”
[Rasa (Fourth Kazekage): “Sigh…
Time spares no one.”
“I was quite the handsome young man myself back then.”
[Mū (Second Tsuchikage): “Oh, stop exaggerating.”
[A (Third Raikage): “Can Madara’s plan really work?”
“It sounds like an impossible amount of work.”
[Uchiha Sarada: “Theoretically…
it should be possible.”
“As long as there’s enough Chakra.”
[Uchiha Mikoto: “Granddaughter, have you eaten yet?”
[Uchiha Sarada: “Yes, Grandma.
I already have.”
[Uchiha Mikoto: “That’s good.”
“How’s Sasuke doing over there?”
[Uchiha Sarada: “I…”
“…I haven’t seen Dad very much.”
[Uchiha Fugaku: “What’s going on???”
[Itachi Uchiha: “Sasuke Uchiha (Adult)…
What happened?”
[Sasuke Uchiha (Adult): “I’m carrying out a confidential mission.”
“I can’t return to the village.”
“I’m sorry, Sarada…”
[Uchiha Sarada: “It’s okay.”
“I’m used to it…”
[Uchiha Mikoto: “???”
The footage continued.
“Of course there is.”
Madara answered Obito’s question.
He rolled up his sleeve.
“After obtaining Hashirama Senju’s cells…”
Beneath the sleeve was not merely a muscular chest—
Embedded in it was a human face.
“I grafted them onto my wounds.”
“At first, nothing happened.”
“Not until the very end of my life.”
Madara gestured toward the stone wall behind him.
A new image appeared.
An elderly man gazed excitedly into his own eyes.
His purple Rinnegan radiated overwhelming pressure.
“My Rinnegan awakened.”
“At the same time…”
“…a certain seal was released.”
“I learned how to summon the shell of the Ten-Tails from the sealed stone.”
“The shell of the Ten-Tails?”
Obito was stunned.
“I call it…”
“…the forbidden Statue of the Outer Path.”
“And that sealed stone…”
“…is what people know as the moon.”
Madara continued calmly.
“Afterward, I immediately used the forbidden Statue as a medium…”
“…to cultivate Hashirama’s cells.”
The images on the wall shifted once again.
Countless White Zetsu bodies appeared.
“Without possessing both the power of the Uchiha and the Senju…”
“…the Rinnegan can never awaken.”
“And without the Rinnegan…”
“…one cannot control the forbidden Statue.”
“The right half of your body has already fused with Hashirama’s cells.”
“Even without awakening the Rinnegan…”
“…you should still be able to control the forbidden Statue.”
Madara looked directly at Obito.
[Rasa (Fourth Kazekage): “I didn’t understand any of that.”
“Can someone explain it?”
[Tobirama Senju: “Allow me to explain…”