Hearing Madara Uchiha repeat the words "better protect comrades," Obito Uchiha asked, "What's wrong?"
Madara didn't answer Obito's question. Instead he said, "With your current body, you can no longer continue being a ninja."
Obito became emotional. "How could that be? I've finally... finally obtained these eyes! I believe in myself now—I can fight alongside my teammates more brilliantly than ever before!
"I'm finally a ninja strong enough to protect my comrades! There's no way I'd give up now!"
Madara spoke expressionlessly, "Face reality. The world is full of disappointments. The longer I live, the more I feel this world brings nothing but suffering, pain, and loneliness.
"Listen well—light and darkness exist together; wherever there's a concept of victor, there must also be a defeated one. The selfish desire to protect peace causes war, and to guard love, hatred arises. This is causality—it cannot be separated.
"In simple terms..."
Obito couldn't understand any of it and found it annoying, so he interrupted by asking, "Hey, just where exactly are we anyway?"
Looking directly into Obito's eyes, Madara said gravely, "People were saved precisely because you suffered. Tell me, am I wrong?"
Obito recalled the moment when he had thrown Kakashi aside, only to get crushed beneath falling rubble himself.
The desire to see Kakashi and Rin again burned hotter than ever inside him. "You talk too much! I don't want to stay here long! Just hurry up and..."
He got too excited and accidentally strained his wounds. A sharp wave of pain shot through him, twisting his face in agony.
"You're free to leave whenever you like... as long as you can move."
Madara turned around and slowly walked toward his seat.
A sense of unease crept over Obito.
Why would an old man like him live alone in a place like this?
Thinking carefully, he knew all the elderly people in Konoha village—but he'd never seen this man before. That meant… this old man wasn't from Konoha anymore.
Which implied...
Obito asked suspiciously, "Old man, are you a rogue ninja? Who are you?"
Madara sat down on his chair and answered, "I am the ghost of the Uchiha clan—I am Madara Uchiha!"
Obito stared at Madara blankly, "Madara? You mean... my ancestor, Madara Uchiha?"
He shot back instantly, "Madara couldn't still be alive! He lived ages ago!"
Calmly, Madara asked, "Would it be easier for you to believe I was Shinigami instead?"
Suddenly, Madara smiled slightly, "Hmm, perhaps you're right—in some ways, I am indeed a death god. This reality—this is the true hell!
"Yes, without the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind me continuously feeding me chakra, I'd die in an instant."
Looking at the terrifying Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, a strange fear welled up inside Obito.
"I want to go back!"
Obito Uchiha struggled to move his body, crashing down onto the ground.
"Let me make this clear — neither of us can get out of here like you are now," Madara continued.
But Obito refused to listen and kept moving.
Madara warned, "If you keep struggling like that, the artificial Hashirama body we painstakingly assembled will fall apart. Do you want to die? I've got a lot of plans for the future — and I'm gonna need you right there with me. We'll be together for life. Since we finally managed to save your life, don't be in such a hurry to throw it away."
Obito questioned angrily, "What do you intend to do? What could an old man like you possibly want with a kid like me?"
"To sever the karmic chains binding this world!" Madara responded solemnly. "To create a world where there are only victors, only peace, and only love!"
Obito spat back, "Who cares about your nonsense! I just want to return to my friends!"
"I've already told you, things rarely go as planned in this world. One day, you'll understand this truth too."
Obito still wouldn't listen and continued wriggling.
Madara stopped trying to talk him out of it. "Fine then. If you really want to die, be my guest. But in return, I'll take your Sharingan."
"Why would you need my eyes when you already have the Sharingan?" Obito demanded harshly.
"No," Madara explained. "I gave my original eyes to someone else. This is just an extra pair I transplanted later. Having more isn't bad either. My right eye socket is still empty."
Madara lifted the hair on his right side, revealing an empty eye socket.
"The true power of the Sharingan can only awaken when both the left and right eyes are united," Madara continued.
This made Obito think of Kakashi.
Kakashi now had his left eye — did that mean they could grow even stronger together?
In that case, they'd be better able to protect Rin.
That made his heart race even more!
However, Obito's injuries were far too severe, causing him to lose consciousness.
...
[Visual Sharing] Chinya shut it off, lying on his bed deep in thought, contemplating how he should proceed in the future.
The [Infinite Tsukuyomi] plan was definitely going to succeed.
Once it was successfully executed, everyone would be dragged into it, unable to escape even if they tried.
Only those protected by the Susanoo of a Six Tomoe Rinnegan wielder could resist its light, while possessing Six Paths Chakra grants immunity to this technique.
In other words, Chinya must either obtain the Six Tomoe Rinnegan or Six Paths Power.
But under normal circumstances, there was absolutely no way Chinya could ever achieve either the Six Tomoe Rinnegan or Six Paths Power.
Therefore, he still needed to rely on the System.
But the required Witness Points were through the roof — far beyond what Chinya could currently afford.
As for breaking free from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the conditions were extremely demanding: one needed a person with the Rinnegan to collaborate with another who possessed all the Tailed Beasts' chakra by performing hand seals together.
Moreover, there was Kaguya Otsutsuki and her clan from beyond the heavens.
Therefore, to survive in such a chaotic situation in the future, he still needed to grow much stronger.
Thinking about Kaguya Otsutsuki... Chinya recalled that there seemed to have already been a member of the Otsutsuki Clan existing in the Shinobi World.
Moreover, in the future, another Otsutsuki will arrive from another world, seemingly destined to die at the hands of Naruto Uzumaki and his future son.
And when an Otsutsuki dies, a new power system will appear.
The Rinnegan and the Otsutsuki Clan's mysterious power system… might lead to something huge.
As for what happens after Naruto Uzumaki's son, it's unclear even to Chinya.
Besides, that day is still far off — there's still time to plan ahead.
The current war, following Rin Nohara's death, is about to end.
Chinya let out a long sigh. Once the war ends, there'll finally be time to rest — and to start thinking ahead.
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