[Naruto's Original World]
Hyuga Neji lay on the ground, panting heavily as he looked at the still firmly standing Old Obito, who held the Sword of Nunoboko.
Old Obito's strength was despair-inducing. Even though it seemed like he only knew one move, that one move could break all techniques.
Neji had felt the unshakable will on the Sword of Nunoboko countless times, and that kind of will was something he could not defeat no matter how much strength he poured in.
Suddenly, Neji had a realization.
'Perhaps the fate of the ninja world has already been decided the moment Naruto was defeated, and Hinata and I were merely the Sage of Six Paths' unwilling struggle before death.'
He gave a bitter smile as he looked at Old Obito and murmured, "Do you know what the most painful emotion is? The most painful emotion is when, in your heart, you have a glimmer of hope, and then someone tells you that such hope is nothing but an illusion, that it never existed…"
The light faded from Neji's eyes, "Perhaps… this has been my fate all along…"
Seeing Neji wallowing in self-pity, Old Obito merely shook his head.
"For a smart person to live in this world, it's a misfortune. You saw through everything too early, yet you are powerless to change it, and thus you feel pain."
He paused, then continued, "But on the other hand, you resent your birth. Yet you don't realize that in truth, most of the Hyuga branch family live far better than the commoners of the ninja world."
"At the very least, you can live in large mansions, eat food that commoners could never taste in their entire lives. Because of the 'caged bird' mark, no one covets your bloodline. You have almost no worries about survival, and the only price you have to pay is to be the main family's dog."
"Is that truly such a heavy price? If just being a dog meant you could live, I believe there would be many, many, many, many people willing."
Neji's gaze turned slightly dazed. He recalled other members of the branch family. Indeed, not everyone was as resentful as he was. Some even lived quite comfortably and had no complaints about their unequal birth.
He gave a self-mocking smile, "You're right. Maybe it's just because everyone called me a genius that I became so unwilling to accept it."
Old Obito gave a cold snort, "So-called geniuses, are they really that impressive? Of the geniuses I've seen, if not a thousand, then at least eight hundred, and among them, only a small number have been lucky enough to truly become strong."
He paused, and his gaze grew deep, "In the entire ninja world, those who are truly likely to become strong are usually, when they are young, called… MONSTERS!"
Neji's whole body trembled. He couldn't help but remember the Chunin Exams many years ago. When he, the so-called genius, faced a monster.
A monster he knocked down again and again, yet who stood up again and again. While he himself was knocked down once and could no longer stand.
At that moment, he had already vaguely realized something, 'Perhaps the one with true talent is not me, but Naruto…'
However, there was one thing Neji could never understand.
"Why is it that those who truly have the potential to be strong are ostracized?"
A faint glint appeared in Old Obito's eyes, "Because they can truly break certain rules, shake the rule of those in power. Those at the top feel fear, and instinctively want to reject and suppress them…"
Neji felt a chill in his heart, "So, those called geniuses, it's because they're not seen as a threat by those at the top that they are praised?"
Looking at Obito, his gaze became serious, "I want to know, how can I go from a genius to a monster?"
Old Obito shook his head, "Didn't you already see it clearly long ago? Monsters are often decided from the moment they are born."
"Like how Ashura, reincarnated, was given the title of 'Child of Prophecy'. From birth, he was destined to be able to save the world."
"It has nothing to do with effort. It's only because Ashura had a powerful father who had already prepared a great power for him. As long as he inherited this power, he could do anything."
This time, Neji shook his head.
"If Naruto were truly all-powerful, he wouldn't have been defeated by you. And even if he was defeated by you, you still can't deny the path he's walked. Naruto… isn't as worthless as you say."
Old Obito didn't deny it.
After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Didn't you want to know how to go from a genius to a monster?"
"In fact, the difference between a genius and a monster can be seen from the words themselves. A genius has already been tamed, they obey orders."
His voice suddenly turned cold, "A monster still retains its beastly nature. They can still go mad. They can still harm others."
"The ninja world is a man-eating world. If you want to climb up in a man-eating world, don't you have to also become a beast? Without madness, you cannot live. There is a limit to being human, so why be human at all?"
This sentence rang like thunder in Neji's ears, and his whole body trembled.
He thought of Naruto in his Nine-Tails chakra rampage.
He thought of the news he had heard of the Konoha S-rank missing-nin, Uchiha Itachi, who massacred his entire clan.
He thought of the Uchiha Obito before him, who had destroyed the world.
He thought of Uchiha Madara…
He even thought of his own teacher, the one known as Konoha's Blue Beast, Might Guy.
He recalled Guy's near self-torturous training methods.
At this moment, Neji suddenly had a deep understanding of the phrase "Without madness, you cannot live."
He suddenly raised his head sharply and looked at Old Obito.
"This world has already gone mad. All the strong… have a certain essence of madness in them, don't they?"
Without waiting for Old Obito to answer, Neji murmured to himself,
"No need to answer, I already have the answer in my heart. Thank you for telling me so much."
Old Obito looked at Neji and said calmly, "No need to thank me. What I do is to break this cage. You and I, we should be like-minded companions. The ninja alliance you followed before is not."
Neji stared blankly at Old Obito. He had to admit, Old Obito was truly skilled at swaying hearts.
With a bitter smile, he said, "Uchiha Obito, do you want to make me completely surrender through the power of words?"
Old Obito didn't deny it, "Naruto was once able to persuade you, why can't I?"
Neji nodded, "I understand."
Knowing there would be no twist in this situation, he instead became unusually frank.
"Then, as you wish, I surrender. I only hope you won't make things hard for Hinata."
Old Obito shook his head, "It's not about making things hard. Besides, how can you be so sure your little sister will definitely lose?"
"What if she defeats the me from the other world, and in the end, I also lose to her?"
Neji gave a bitter laugh, "I know Hinata's personality very well. Even if she suddenly obtained great power… this power, can she really control it well?"
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