Graveyard Beneath the Mountains.
"Rin... Rin... Kakashi... Kakashi..."Obito murmured, repeating the names of Nohara Rin and Kakashi again and again.
Uchiha Madara sat upon a throne of twisted roots, crimson eyes quietly observing him.
Lately, Obito had been muttering those names endlessly.
Rather than being annoyed, Madara grew more and more pleased.
That kind of deep "bond" was exactly what he needed—for only bonds this deep, once severed, could cause maximum devastation.
"The sealing formula is buried now too."
Madara glanced at Obito, whose consciousness was slowly returning.
The fusion with Hashirama cells had gone smoothly.After a bout of fever, Obito was no longer comatose.
And in the process, Madara had implanted a unique binding seal over Obito's heart—just in case he tried to go off-script.
"…Where am I?"
Obito's eyelids trembled before he opened them with difficulty.
He stared around at the dim chamber. There was barely any light, making it impossible to tell if it was day or night.
"This is the gap between life and death… child of Uchiha."
Madara's voice echoed.
"!"
Obito jolted upright.
A creepy old man had been staring at him this whole time!?
He glanced down—sure enough, no clothes. Just bandages wrapped around his body.
"Ow… it hurts…"
The pain flared up in his right side—sharp, burning.
"If you can feel pain, then you're alive."
Madara's voice was calm.
"You were buried in the rubble I excavated, barely clinging to life under the collapsed rocks…"
He began explaining Obito's condition.
"So… you saved me, old man? Thank you."
Obito's voice softened after Madara finished.
"It's far too soon to thank me. You'll repay that favor—properly."
Madara's eyes gleamed with meaning.
'In this world, every favor comes with a price—The tag was already hanging from it when you accepted.'
"Uhh… I mean, you look super old. I can help you with a few errands, maybe empty your bedpan, but then I need to get back to my teammates."
Obito offered, completely serious.
He'd taken care of elderly people before. He knew sometimes the… plumbing didn't hold.
"…"
For once, Madara didn't know how to respond.
"…Your body can no longer return to the past. Accept reality."
Madara said flatly.
"That's not right. I just awakened my Sharingan—why can't I go back?"
Obito frowned.
He was only missing a limb! It's not like he'd lost—
"This world isn't as kind as you want it to be. The longer you live, the more you'll understand: this reality is filled with regret, pain, and emptiness."
Madara said, his mind briefly drifting—
To when Hashirama had promised him the Hokage seat…To the betrayal of Tobirama's "democratic" selection process…To that day he left Konoha—and not one Uchiha followed.
"Heh…"
Madara chuckled bitterly.
Back then, Tobirama had insisted that a Hokage had to be chosen by the people.Yet now, that same Tobirama had unilaterally appointed Hiruzen as his successor—no vote, no pretense.
So much disappointment.Madara had long seen through this world.
'What's this old guy even going on about?'
Obito's face said it all: this geezer's out of his mind.
"Listen. Wherever there is light, there will be shadow. A world with winners must have losers."
"If you seek to protect love, you will inevitably give rise to hatred. It's a cycle that cannot be separated—cause and effect."
"…Where even is this place?"
Obito had had enough. The old man was clearly traumatized and rambling nonstop.
He cut him off.
"Tch. This is the in-between. Leave if you want… if you can."
Madara glanced over with a sneer.This idiot wouldn't understand anyway.
"Wait…"
Suddenly, Obito noticed something.
He'd met plenty of elderly Uchiha over the years—but he'd never once seen this man before.
He had the Sharingan… yet Obito had never seen him in Konoha.
"You… you're a rogue ninja, aren't you?"
Obito narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you, really?!"
His voice rose, full of suspicion.
He wouldn't spill a single word to a potential enemy.
Madara didn't answer. He simply propped himself up on his scythe and slowly sat down.
"I am a ghost of the Uchiha… Uchiha Madara."
His voice echoed through the chamber.
"Wait—Uchiha Madara? That Uchiha Madara?!"
Obito's eyes widened.
That was the Uchiha Clan's greatest traitor. The name no one dared to speak aloud—only referred to as "that man."
"Even if you're Uchiha… if you betrayed the village, I won't hesitate to take you down!"
Obito stood ready for battle.
After all, Konoha's policy toward rogue ninjas had always been clear: Kill on sight.
"Why did you save me?! What are you after?!"
He shouted.
"I want to sever this world's chains of causality."
Madara finally answered.
"A world of only victors, only peace, only love—I want to create that world."
"I don't care what you want to cut off. I just want to go home, back to my friends!"
Obito snapped.
Rin was probably still waiting for him.So were Kakashi, Granny, Minato-sensei, and Kushina-neechan…
And if he didn't get back fast, that damn Kiyohara might try something with Rin!
"I told you… you can't go back."
Madara smirked.
Obito was the perfect pawn.
'Hang in there for what's coming, Obito…
Because I'm going to make you feel a deep, unrelenting pain—
I'll make you see this world's true darkness.
Starting with that little girl… Let's see how she slips away from you…
This is the truth of the real world.'
Back in Konoha.
"Kiyohara, your next mission's in."
That day, as Kiyohara trained at home—awaiting the next will—Yūhi Kurenai appeared at his door.
"Hey, Kurenai. What's the mission?"
Kiyohara was shirtless, panting from exertion.