"So that is the origin of the Tailed Beasts?"
Uchiha Yuzuru's words plunged both Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju into deep thought. The idea felt utterly unbelievable.
After all, they stood at the very pinnacle of the shinobi world—yet they knew nothing of such matters.
Tobirama couldn't help but ask, his voice tinged with disbelief, "How do you know all of this?"
Yuzuru lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingers and replied calmly, "Uchiha Madara told me."
"Madara?!"
At the sound of Madara's name, Hashirama's eyes instantly lit up.
He took two excited steps forward, muttering under his breath, "So it really was Madara…"
Tobirama's brow, however, furrowed even tighter.
Confused, he said, "Madara was cut down by my elder brother at the Valley of the End. That was decades ago. How could he possibly have told you such secrets?"
"Unless Madara left these secrets behind within the Uchiha clan before defecting?"
Even as he voiced the guess, Tobirama found it increasingly implausible.
When Madara left Konoha, not a single clansman chose to follow him. With Madara's personality, there was no way he would leave behind any messages for the clan.
Moreover, there was no reason Madara should know more than they did…
Seeing Tobirama deep in thought, Yuzuru smiled. "You're underestimating Madara. Back then, he didn't die at the Valley of the End."
"What?!"
The sudden revelation left both Hashirama and Tobirama staring in shock.
Hashirama said in a deep voice, "Impossible. I personally held Madara's body and confirmed it for a long time. There's no way he was still alive."
Tobirama echoed him, "I examined Madara's corpse repeatedly as well. You haven't lost your mind, have you?"
Faced with their disbelief, Yuzuru fell silent.
Hashirama felt as if a kitten were scratching at his chest. For the first time, urgency showed on his face. "Yuzuru, say something."
Yuzuru glanced at Tobirama and spoke slowly. "I'm under no obligation to explain these matters to you—especially when someone has always harbored hostility toward the Uchiha."
Hashirama immediately slapped Tobirama on the back of the head. "Apologize!"
Tobirama clenched his teeth. He was just as curious about Yuzuru's words, and in the end, he bent down and bowed. "I'm sorry. I was wrong."
"What were you wrong about?"
"I…" Tobirama tightened his fists and took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have been hostile toward the Uchiha clan."
"Hmph! Evil Tobirama Senju!"
Seeing Tobirama's face flush red, Yuzuru felt thoroughly satisfied.
He didn't press the matter further and instead explained, "The Uchiha clan has a forbidden technique called Izanagi. At the cost of the light of one Sharingan, it can rewrite reality itself—turning unfavorable outcomes to one's advantage."
"Back then, Madara activated this forbidden technique in advance and rewrote the reality of his own death."
Hearing this, even Tobirama—known as a master of forbidden techniques—couldn't help but inhale sharply.
The Sharingan possessed such terrifying power…
Hashirama, however, felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
For the sake of the village, he had been forced to kill his closest friend. Learning now that Madara hadn't truly died, but had survived, finally pulled out the thorn that had been embedded in his heart for years.
He couldn't help asking, "What happened after that?"
"After that, Madara obtained your cells. Once he transplanted them into his own body, he gained the power of all creation."
"Using that power, Madara eventually evolved his Mangekyō Sharingan into the Rinnegan in his later years."
"And the Rinnegan is the very eye once possessed by the Sage of Six Paths."
Yuzuru continued in one breath, "After awakening the Rinnegan, Madara learned many truths—and even summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
Seeing both brothers frown again, Yuzuru added, "The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is the husk of the Ten-Tails."
Tobirama pondered this. "So… if all nine tailed beasts are sealed into that statue, the Ten-Tails can be revived?"
Yuzuru nodded. "That's right."
"Relying on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Madara barely managed to cling to life."
"During the Third Shinobi World War, he sought me out and told me many secrets."
"Secrets concerning the Sage of Six Paths, the Rinnegan, the tailed beasts, and… the Moon Eye Plan."
Tobirama caught the key point immediately. "The Moon Eye Plan? The so-called unification of the shinobi world you mentioned?"
Yuzuru shook his head. "Not exactly. The Moon Eye Plan is to become the Ten-Tails jinchuriki and use the moon to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi—plunging everyone in the shinobi world into an illusion, achieving peace by granting all their desires."
Tobirama sneered. "Isn't that self-deception?"
Forcing everyone into an illusion to escape reality—how could that be true peace?
If humanity remained cut off from reality for too long, wouldn't everyone eventually die out?
He looked at Yuzuru. "Compared to Madara, I agree more with your plan."
"I just never imagined there were such secrets hidden within the shinobi world…"
Hearing tales of the Sage of Six Paths, the Ten-Tails jinchuriki, and the Rinnegan stirred Tobirama deeply.
His previous perspective now felt far too narrow.
He still had many questions—about the power of all creation, about why the Sage of Six Paths divided the Ten-Tails, and more.
But seeing that Yuzuru had no interest in continuing, he could only suppress those questions.
Hashirama asked curiously, "Yuzuru, why are you telling us all this?"
"You're Tsunade's elders, after all. Seeing your curiosity, I just said a bit more."
"Alright. Go talk to Tsunade."
"Life hasn't been easy for her all these years after your deaths."
With that, Yuzuru vanished without a trace.
Hashirama and Tobirama were left puzzled, feeling that Yuzuru's attitude toward them was strangely subtle.
————
————
Half a month later.
Yuzuru walked through the streets, surrounded by people hard at work.
Konoha had endured several wars and was now little more than ruins. Rebuilding it was no simple task.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
Nagato moved through the air at low altitude, occasionally releasing Chibaku Tensei to draw scattered rubble and debris into the sky, gathering it together.
Tōdai, Mabuma, and the others were planning the layout of Konoha after reconstruction.
Hashirama, meanwhile, used his Wood Release kekkei genkai to continuously build temporary wooden houses…
In short, everyone was working at full throttle.
Fugaku Uchiha strode up to him and said in a low voice, "Yuzuru, the matters concerning the four ninja clans have been fully investigated. This is all the information."
Yuzuru nodded silently, a faint smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
It seemed the next step of the plan could finally begin.