The Mountain's Graveyard.
"Rin… Rin… Kakashi… Kakashi…"
Obito muttered incessantly, repeatedly calling out the names Rin and Kakashi.
Uchiha Madara sat upon a chair formed from intertwined tree roots, his crimson Sharingan eyes quietly observing Obito.
During this entire period, Obito had been constantly murmuring the names Rin and Kakashi.
Yet Uchiha Madara did not feel even the slightest irritation—if anything, his anticipation only grew.
This was enough to prove the depth of the bond between them.
Only with such a deep bond would its eventual destruction bring about the greatest possible effect.
"The sealing charm has been implanted completely."
Madara gazed at the slowly awakening Obito.
Obito had fused with the Hashirama cells smoothly. After burning with a high fever for a time, the muddled haze that once clouded him had completely faded.
And at Obito's heart, Madara had secretly embedded a special restraining seal just to ensure Obito would never stray from the path Madara had prepared.
"…Where is this?"
Suddenly, Obito's eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
He looked blankly at the dim underground cavern. There was so little light that he couldn't tell whether it was day or night outside.
"This place is the crevice between life and death… child of the Uchiha."
Madara stared at Obito.
"!"
Obito jolted in shock. Only now did he notice that an old, decrepit man was staring straight at him.
He felt a chill over his body. Looking down, he realized that he wasn't wearing any clothes—only bandages wrapped around him.
"So painful…"
Obito winced.
He suddenly felt a sharp, intense pain radiating from the right half of his body and the lower parts.
"Feeling pain means you're still alive."
""You fell into the tunnel I dug beneath the battlefield, beside the collapsing rocks…"
Madara began explaining Obito's condition.
"So, it was you who saved me, old man… thank you."
After Madara's explanation, Obito finally understood what had happened.
"It is too early for gratitude. This debt must be repaid."
Madara looked at him with profound meaning.
Every gift bestowed by fate already carries its price in the shadows.
"No way, old man. You look ancient. At most I'll help you with chores for a few days, then I have to return to protect my comrades," Obito said earnestly.
He was used to taking care of elderly people. He knew that old folks sometimes couldn't… hold it in, so he spoke with good intentions.
"…"
Madara suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"With your body, it is already impossible… to return to how things were. Accept reality."
Madara spoke lightly.
"No, no. I finally awakened my Sharingan—how could I not return? That doesn't make sense."
Obito frowned, confused.
He was only missing an arm! Could it be that something else was missing too?
"Wake up to reality, nothing ever goes as planned in this accursed world. The longer you live, the more you realize that the only things that truly exist in this reality are merely pain, suffering and futility."
As Madara said this, several scenes flickered through his mind.
Hashirama had promised him the position of Hokage—they dreamed together of how they would govern Konoha.
But in the end, Tobirama's so-called "democratic election," Hashirama became Hokage instead.
Then Madara left the village, yet not a single clansman chose to follow him.
"Heh…"
Madara couldn't help shaking his head.
Back then, when it came time to choose the Hokage, Tobirama, that scheming Senju, had preached about democracy and public will and said the Hokage must be chosen based on the will of the people—with everyone voting.
Yet according to the intelligence Madara had received from White Zetsu, the current Third Hokage had been personally appointed directly by Tobirama's decree.
As for the people's will? Democracy?
Tobirama hadn't even bothered to hold a symbolic vote among the Hokage Guards.
He had simply ordered Hiruzen Sarutobi to inherit his position.
Too much disappointment had made Madara see the world clearly.
"What is this old man even talking about?"
Obito wore a bewildered expression, as though Madara were spouting nonsense.
"Listen… In this world, whenever there is light, there are also shadows. As long as the concept of winners exist, there must also be losers."
"The selfish desire of wanting to maintain peace causes wars, and hatred is born to protect love. Those things are each other's causes and effects, and are thus inseparable …"
"Then where is this place, exactly?"
Obito felt this old man must have suffered something horrible in the past—he just kept rambling endlessly.
Obito hurriedly interrupted him, not wanting to listen to another long lecture.
"Hmph. This is a crevice. Leave if you wish… assuming you can even walk."
Madara gave Obito a glance, understanding that this boy's intelligence was too low to grasp his true intentions anytime soon.
"Wait…"
Obito suddenly noticed something.
Thinking carefully, he had met nearly every elderly Uchiha in the clan but he had never seen this man before.
Someone possessing the Sharingan, yet someone who had never appeared in Konoha…
"Old man, you… you're a missing-nin, aren't you?"
Obito had found the blind spot.
"Who exactly are you?!"
Obito raised his voice.
He wouldn't let an enemy interrogate him for information.
Madara did not answer. Instead, he supported himself with his scythe and slowly sat down.
"I am the ghost of the Uchiha clan… Uchiha Madara."
Madara's voice echoed through the underground passage.
"You mean… the patriarch of the Uchiha clan?"
Obito's eyes widened.
It was said he was the Uchiha clan's greatest traitor—a taboo name none dared speak.
Everyone could only refer to him as "that person."
"Even if you are an Uchiha, as long as you betray the village, I'll fight you all the same!"
Obito stared at him, already prepared to battle at any moment.
The village's method of dealing with rogue shinobi had always been the same—
Kill on sight.
"What are your intentions for saving me?!"
Obito demanded.
"These... causes and effects. I want to sever them!"
Madara finally spoke his true desire.
"A world of only victors. A world of only peace. A world of only love.
I will create a world of those only!"
"I don't care what you want to sever! I just want to go back—to the village, to my comrades!"
Obito had completely lost patience.
Rin must still be waiting for him right now.
There was also Kakashi, his grandmother, Minato-sensei, Kushina-neechan…
And that annoying Kiyohara—who knew what he might do to Rin if Obito didn't hurry back!
"Do you remember what I said at the beginning? You can no longer return to the past. Things will not always go your way."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Madara's lips.
Obito was his perfect pawn.
Hold strong… you must withstand what comes next.
Because… Obito, I will make you feel deep pain. I will show you the darkness of this world.
It would begin with that girl.
Let's see how she is taken from your side.
For Reality was nothing but cruel shadow.
…
"Kiyohara, a new mission has arrived."
That day, while Kiyohara was training at home and waiting for the next Last Will to appear,
Kurenai came to find him.
"So, it's you, Kurenai. What's the mission?"
Kiyohara asked, his upper body bare, breathing heavily from training.
(End of Chapter)