"Cancelled?"
Obito Uchiha was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell did that mean?
Cancelled?
Over?
Was this damned old fossil messing with him?
Did he even hear the nonsense coming out of his own mouth?
Obito was on the verge of exploding. His fists were clenched so tightly they were practically creaking.
Did this damn old man have any idea how much he had given up for this plan?
For this plan, he had thrown everything away.
He had severed his bond with Kakashi, betrayed his village, even killed his own teacher.
He was no longer truly human, nor truly ghost—just a specter wandering the world of the living.
The only thing supporting his faith, the only thing keeping him moving forward, was the Eye of the Moon Plan. The Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan.
Only that could create a world with Rin in it. A world with everyone in it.
And now this bastard was telling him it was cancelled?
Had he gone mad, or had Madara?
"What kind of joke is this?!"
Obito's rage was terrifying. The Sharingan in his eye looked as though it wanted to devour someone whole.
"The Nine Tailed Beasts may not all have been captured, but their chakra has already been gathered! The Demonic Statue has already absorbed everything! The Edo Tensei army is already in motion, and Kumogakure and Iwagakure are fully cooperating! We're only one step away from success!"
"And now you're standing there telling me the operation is cancelled? Have you lost your mind?!"
"Don't forget—it was you who told me the Eye of the Moon Plan could create a peaceful world! A world under our control! And now you want to abandon it?!"
Obito would never accept that.
Bang!
Madara's only response was a glance—and an invisible chakra strike that couldn't be perceived at all.
Under that invisible force, Obito was blown straight off his feet and slammed hard into the wall.
Madara's eyes grew colder and colder, and his voice left no room for argument.
"Was I asking for your opinion? I was informing you, nothing more."
"And you'd better stop overestimating yourself. Who do you think you are?"
"Damn it!"
Obito scrambled back to his feet at once, his Sharingan burning a deeper red.
The murderous intent in his eye made him look even crazier.
In that instant, the space around him began to warp, and his chakra started surging wildly.
It was obvious—he was ready to attack.
He had sacrificed too much for this plan. The sunk cost was already far too great. There was no way he was going to abandon everything just because one dead man said so.
At this point, he didn't care who the man in front of him was.
He had to carry this plan through!
Because he was going to create a world with Rin in it, with everyone in it. He absolutely could not give that up!
"Oh? You want to fight me?"
Madara still looked down on him from above, arms folded over his chest, eyes full of disdain.
"Everything you have was given to you by me. Your life, your power—everything. The only reason you're still alive now is because of me."
"I just never imagined that my mercy would give you such delusions. How pathetic."
As he spoke, Madara's eyes shifted, turning into the Eternal Mangekyo. At the same time, his chakra stirred faintly.
"Urgh—"
Obito was struck like a hammer to the chest. He instantly clutched his heart and dropped to one knee in agony.
The face beneath his mask twisted violently. That kind of pain was not something an ordinary person could endure.
"Did you really think I left myself unguarded against you?"
Madara shook his head, his gaze utterly indifferent.
Still, he didn't seem to have any intention of killing him. He simply looked at Obito and said flatly,
"Before I change my mind, get lost. The plan is cancelled. It's all over. Stop wasting your time."
With that, Madara turned and walked deeper into the underground base.
Hashirama Senju watched it happen and could only sigh and shake his head. He didn't say anything either, only followed after Madara.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Obito gripped his chest tightly. The intense pain made even breathing difficult.
His gaze locked onto Madara's retreating back, rage with nowhere to go boiling inside him.
What was this?
What the hell was this supposed to be?
He had clawed his way to this point, betrayed and abandoned by everyone, with blood on both hands, becoming this half-human, half-ghost monster—
And now it was all supposed to amount to nothing?
Black Zetsu, who had remained silent the entire time, also stared at Madara's back. He had more or less expected an outcome like this.
But Madara had been even more decisive than he imagined. This was not something Black Zetsu could accept either.
"So what now? What do we do now?"
Orochimaru watched everything quietly, licking his lips with a strangely amused expression, as though he wasn't sure what the right move was anymore.
"Everything proceeds as planned."
But after only a brief moment of thought, Black Zetsu spoke in a tone that allowed no disagreement.
"Madara may have been deceived. He went to Konoha—he may have run into something there. I'll go talk to him. Perhaps he was only misled. He may still change his mind."
Would he change his mind?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Black Zetsu didn't know.
But he did know one thing—he had to do something.
Even if he couldn't get what he needed from Madara, then he had to get something from Obito.
This time, he absolutely could not fail.
"Do as you like. They're still bound by Edo Tensei anyway. I can keep them under control."
Orochimaru shrugged indifferently, though he still smiled and asked, "But is that really wise? He did refuse, after all."
"And have you considered what Konoha will do to you if we stop now?"
Black Zetsu shot back with a question of his own.
That made Orochimaru's eyes narrow slightly. A man who had controlled the First Hokage through Edo Tensei… if everything really ended here, his fate likely wouldn't be pleasant.
But Black Zetsu clearly had no interest in continuing that line of discussion. He turned instead toward Obito, whose face was still dark and bitter.
"We need to talk. It's important."
With that, Black Zetsu headed outside without another word, and though Obito hesitated for a moment, he still followed with a cold expression.
Neither of them noticed the strange smile spreading across Orochimaru's face behind them.
And his thoughts drifted back to that night.
"Don't you want to know the true secret of the Eye of the Moon? Don't you want to drag out the one behind it all?"
Moonlight poured like song through the Hokage Tower.
Seated calmly in the Hokage's office, Ren had spoken those words in an even tone, but both Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had trembled at the implications.
Did that even need to be asked?
The one who had driven Indra and Asura into conflict, who had turned their descendants—the Uchiha and Senju—into enemies locked in a thousand-year war…
The one who had taken brothers who might have lived in harmony and made them mortal enemies…
Whoever that was, whether the Sage of Six Paths had his own reasons or not, that person had to be dragged out into the light.
"You mean…"
Madara remained wary of Ren striking at any time, but he still kept enough composure to speak in a low voice.
"Wait."
Before he could finish, Ren raised a finger and shook his head gently.
"There's still someone else listening. I don't think we should ignore him."
As he spoke, his chakra spread out and blanketed the entire Hokage Tower.
In that instant, it felt as though they had all been dragged into some strange new realm.
There was only black and white here, nothing else. And the moon in the sky had somehow turned crimson.
A nine-tomoe Rinne Sharingan rotated slowly above them, radiating endless power.
And at that moment, they noticed that there was now one more person standing before them.
"Orochimaru?"
Madara raised a brow as he looked at the spiritual body that had suddenly appeared.
Orochimaru himself was also stunned.
Though the Land of Rice Fields bordered the Land of Fire, Konoha was still quite far away.
And yet in the blink of an eye, he had been yanked here with no chance to resist at all.
Was that really human power?
He looked from Madara to Hashirama, then finally to Ren, who still seemed to be sitting leisurely in the Hokage's chair.
In the end, Orochimaru wisely chose silence.
At a time like this, saying anything at all seemed like a bad idea. Observing quietly was clearly the smarter option.
"Good. Now that everyone's here, let's talk properly."
Ren didn't seem to care at all about Orochimaru's reaction. This man had used the connection through Edo Tensei to eavesdrop more than once already.
And considering his tendency to defect whenever necessary, Ren thought Orochimaru might still be useful.
Orochimaru had always known when to bend with the wind.
"The Uchiha tablet was deliberately altered to insert this so-called Eye of the Moon Plan. That alone already tells us a lot."
"You mean… you want me to carry it through?"
Madara was no fool. He immediately grasped Ren's meaning. Hashirama and Orochimaru also understood just as quickly.
It was the simplest solution.
If the one who altered the tablet wanted the Eye of the Moon Plan to be carried out, then why not help them get exactly what they wanted?
Now that they knew it was a trap, they could use the whole thing as bait.
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
But Hashirama objected at once, shaking his head.
"This whole thing is obviously wrong, and nobody knows what the Eye of the Moon Plan would truly become once it's completed. What if it leads to some irreversible disaster? And it's been so many years already—who knows whether the one behind it is even still alive?"
Time truly was a merciless blade.
At least, from Hashirama's perspective, if even the Sage of Six Paths and his younger brother had long since died, then how could anyone else survive the erosion of time?
"That's not your concern."
Madara, unfortunately, was not interested in hearing it. In fact, he seemed openly intrigued by Ren's proposal.
"Whether that thing is still alive or not, I want to see who's been playing games behind the curtain. Even if it costs me my life, I'll do it. I'm a dead man already."
"But I will never accept being treated like an idiot and toyed with."
"Madara…"
"Shut up. Everything I became was because you drove me to it. Did you ever make the right choice? Look at the shinobi world now. You're a complete fool!"
"..."
Madara's words were vicious, and what Hashirama hated most was hearing that the current era of war was his fault.
Even though, deep down, he knew there was truth in it.
When he made his choices back then, it really had been for peace…
He gave a bitter smile and said no more. Because aside from having no way to answer, he also knew Madara's temper far too well.
In a state like this, no one on earth was going to talk him out of it.
"A wise choice."
Ren shrugged and smiled at the scene, though his eyes drifted briefly toward the red moon overhead.
That moon clearly bore the image of his third eye, but the problem was he hadn't consciously activated that power.
Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it. That eye still needed further exploration. For now, the matter in front of him was more important.
"And there's no need for you to worry too much. No matter what happens, one outcome is still best."
"Besides, I don't think you need to personally revive yourself to deal with all this."
"Hm?"
Ren's words startled everyone present, but Madara was the first to think of the implication.
"You mean… Nagato?"
Ren rubbed his forehead and shook his head.
"No. Not Nagato. What you need is someone with a strong will to carry out the task, enough ability to protect themselves, enough compatibility to endure the power of creation from all things to some extent…"
"And above all, someone stupid enough—but with a will so stubborn that they'll never let go."
"And conveniently enough, you happen to have exactly such a person."
"Obito Uchiha?!"
Ren may as well have written the name across his face. If Madara still couldn't figure it out now, then he really ought to kill himself on the spot.
Still, Madara looked rather doubtful.
That idiot? Could he really handle it?
"Obito Uchiha…"
But soon enough, his expression shifted into something more complicated. He repeated the name again.
"Obito Uchiha…"
He murmured it once more, and this time the name seemed to settle more naturally.
"That's right. Obito Uchiha."
Ren nodded, the smile on his face widening again.
The man who could hold onto thoughts of a woman strongly enough to resist the tearing force of the Ten-Tails and become its jinchuriki anyway really was the perfect candidate.
"Wait, wait, wait. Isn't this a little wrong?"
Hashirama couldn't help speaking up, troubled.
To be fair, he still didn't fully understand what role Obito Uchiha had played in all of this.
But one thing he did understand very clearly—Madara seemed to be the source of a great many things here.
"First Hokage-sama, there's nothing wrong with it."
Ren shook his head without hesitation.
"You have no idea how many vile things that man has done over the years. I've got more than a few grudges with him myself."
"In order to achieve his goals, he colluded with Danzo, led Jiraiya's disciples astray, and created the current Akatsuki. He launched the Nine-Tails Incident, killing the Fourth Hokage. He planned the Uchiha massacre from behind the scenes. He struck Konoha during the Chunin Exams."
"He targeted the tailed beasts, nearly brought disaster down on the Land of Rain, manipulated other Kage, used Edo Tensei, and started the Fourth Great Ninja War!"
"Tell me honestly—can a man like that possibly be spared?"
As Ren said this, his gaze drifted lightly toward Madara and Orochimaru, the meaning in it obvious enough.
Madara's lips twitched.
Yes, some of that was Obito's doing.
But a good portion of it had absolutely been his own work!
Without the groundwork Madara laid, Obito Uchiha's idiot self could never have achieved that much.
And now it was all being dumped onto Obito's head?
Orochimaru also smiled without really smiling. At that point, it had become clear to him that Ren's methods were filthy.
Whether Obito had done it or not, Ren was piling it all onto him. He was clearly going all out to bury the man alive.
Still, Orochimaru had no moral objections to such tactics.
Nor was he constrained by any firm sense of loyalty. He was, first and foremost, a man who knew when to adapt.
That said, both he and Madara had become keenly aware of one thing.
Ren was far more petty than he looked.
And people who offended him rarely seemed to end well.
"…Was that man really that excessive?"
Hashirama's mouth twitched. He turned and glanced at Madara and Orochimaru again.
"But some of those things sounded more like something the two of them would do."
"Orochimaru is a rogue ninja. Konoha will deal with him properly in time. But right now, what matters is getting to the truth."
Ren nodded, making no effort to deny his own little framing job.
"Besides, Madara Uchiha is already dead. Even if he left things behind, it's Obito Uchiha who carried them out."
"Maybe we can run a little experiment. We tell Obito directly that the operation is cancelled and see how he reacts. That should answer certain questions, don't you think?"
"..."
Would that man really refuse?
Hashirama let out a soft sigh, but in the end he said no more.
And regardless, Obito Uchiha had committed sins that could never be forgiven.
Attacking Konoha, killing his teacher, slaughtering the entire Uchiha clan—those crimes alone were enough.
The man had ceased being even remotely human a long time ago. He had walked completely into darkness, and there was likely no turning back for him.
And as for Madara…
In the end, was it really still Hashirama's fault?
At that thought, Hashirama fell silent again.
But in truth, he really did want to see whether this plan would work.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, did not dare say a word.
He was busy considering whether he had ever offended Ren himself.
And if he had, should he perhaps run for it while he still could?
Then again, looking at the current situation, even that might be useless.
Ren was simply too terrifying now.
"Good. Since that's decided, there's one more person whose cooperation we'll need."
Seeing that both Madara and Hashirama had gone quiet, Ren turned toward Orochimaru, who had remained so impressively silent up until now.
"Orochimaru-sama, after all, you are the caster of Edo Tensei. This part cannot happen without you."
"You have two choices now. One—cooperate with us. Since you've already learned so many secrets, that would be the smarter path."
"Two—I make you cooperate through other means. And for me, that would not be difficult. In fact, it would be extremely easy."
"So now, make your choice, Orochimaru-sama."
"..."
As if I have a choice.
"You really pulled all of this without telling me!"
Back in Konoha, within the Senju ancestral residence, Tsunade's face darkened as she listened to Ren describe his encounter with Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. Yugao and Hikari sat nearby in silence.
One of them trusted Ren completely. The other simply didn't care enough to comment.
"Sorry, Teacher. Things happened too suddenly."
Ren shrugged and smiled as he explained himself.
"But I've already worked things out with the First Hokage, Madara Uchiha, and even Orochimaru. They're willing to cooperate and help us drag out the true mastermind. That's the important part, isn't it?"
"And with their cooperation, this war shouldn't become too troublesome. Who knows? We might even get to see the twin legends of the old shinobi world fight side by side again. Maybe even the Three Sannin reunited."
Tsunade froze at those words, and for just a moment there was even a trace of longing in her expression.
But Hikari looked at Ren strangely and said, "Even if they join forces—or if the Three Sannin appear again—they still wouldn't be your match."
"..."
Tsunade shot Hikari a vicious glare. At that moment, she realized that Tobirama Senju's dislike of the Uchiha had not been entirely unreasonable.
Ignoring Hikari, Tsunade turned back to Ren.
"Are you certain Obito Uchiha will act the way you expect?"
"And are you certain you can keep the situation under control? We're talking about an unfamiliar and unstable variable here."
"Relax. If I'm willing to do this, then I obviously have confidence."
Ren smiled.
Setting aside the fact that he already knew plenty, if he had prepared this much and still couldn't manage things properly, then he would have no business doing any of it.
And in truth, the people Ren was preparing to face this time weren't just the shinobi of this world.
He had already seen that members of the Otsutsuki clan were approaching.
And not just any Otsutsuki either—some very familiar old faces.
Since that was the case, Ren naturally intended to make good use of them.
He had already "cleaned up" the Sage of Six Paths' reputation a bit, weaving a nice explanation around why the Senju and Uchiha had been allowed to drive the shinobi world into war.
So…
"Decided, then. Third-generation pot-bearer—Sage of Six Paths!"
The first-generation pot-bearer, of course, was already long gone. Even his corpse had been dragged out by Ren for research before being burned so thoroughly that not even ash remained.
The second-generation pot-bearer was still technically alive, though he might as well have been dead already.
That would be Obito Uchiha.
His fate had already been more or less sealed. He had crossed Ren too many times, and the man was simply far too suitable for shouldering blame.
Passing up an opportunity like that would've been a waste.
As for the third generation, Ren thought the Sage of Six Paths himself—being safely absent from the mortal world—was the ideal choice.
It may have been a little disrespectful.
But Ren felt that the Sage surely wouldn't mind too much. After all, someone had to take some responsibility, didn't they?
Besides, Ren wasn't making the Sage carry the burden for nothing. He'd even helped "deal with the man's family problems."
Paying a little price for that seemed reasonable.
Especially once those Otsutsuki arrived, wouldn't it just prove Ren right anyway?
"And besides, I'm a sage myself now. It won't be so easy to pin things on me."
When Ren said "sage," he wasn't talking about Jiraiya's kind of sage.
Nor Sage Mode.
He meant a true sage in the same sense as the Sage of Six Paths himself.
With that level of strength, Ren truly didn't believe he needed to fear the Sage of Six Paths coming back to settle scores. Much less fear those few "old acquaintances" on their way here.
If they came, he'd only be more pleased.
"Anyway, enough of that. Our focus right now is still the battlefield."
Ren tapped the table lightly and spoke in a low voice.
"As for Obito Uchiha, he will definitely move for the Rinnegan. That man's will is absurdly stubborn."
"You're really confident, aren't you?"
Tsunade shook her head helplessly. She still didn't fully approve of how Ren handled things, but on reflection she couldn't say there was anything fundamentally wrong with it either.
And besides, this was hardly the first time he had blown a situation far larger than necessary. At this point, there was only so much complaining she could do.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine. I—hm?"
Ren smiled and was about to reassure her further, but suddenly he froze.
"What is it?"
Hikari looked at him curiously, and Tsunade and Yugao turned toward him as well.
"Nothing."
Ren was silent for a moment before smiling and shaking his head.
"I just received two pieces of news. Both of them are good."
"It seems Sasuke and Naruto are more or less ready. They'll be returning to the shinobi world soon with Shisui, Minato Namikaze, and the others."
"And besides that… Obito Uchiha has already made his move."
Obito Uchiha's will truly was as stubborn as stone.
There was no way he was abandoning everything just because Madara said so once.
After following Black Zetsu out of the chamber with a cold expression, he was immediately met with a question that nearly suffocated him.
"Are you really going to stop this plan?"
"Stop?"
Obito clenched his teeth. It took him a long while before he finally shook his head.
In his mind flashed Rin's smiling face.
Then the image of her collapsing into Kakashi's arms, covered in blood.
His fists tightened completely.
After a long pause, he finally spoke in fury.
"How could I possibly stop? I will never stop this!"
"He said it himself—the Eye of the Moon can create a peaceful world. A world with Rin in it. A world with everyone in it."
"And now he tells me it's cancelled? How could it be cancelled? I'll never stop!"
When he said it, his eyes had already gone half-mad.
Black Zetsu, seeing that, nodded inwardly in satisfaction.
Obito Uchiha might be a fool.
And he might be a failure.
But at least on this issue, he was useful.
That kind of obsession—even if it was all for a single woman.
But then again, who could deny that she was his driving force?
"So you're going to tell me to cancel it too?"
Obito looked at Black Zetsu with a dark and dangerous stare.
"If that's what you plan to say, then—"
"I support you."
"Then I already know I'm going to kill—wait, what?"
"I said I support you."
Black Zetsu repeated the words. Seeing the look on Obito's face, he sighed inwardly.
An idiot really was still an idiot.
"Let me repeat it. I support you. I support continuing this plan."
At that moment, Black Zetsu could only thank the heavens for Madara's arrogance.
If Madara had explained even a little of what had happened the previous night, things would not have remained this simple.
Though to be honest, even if he had, it might not have mattered much.
Obito Uchiha was exactly the kind of person who would smash straight into a wall and never turn back.
And as an Uchiha, his obsession ran especially deep.
The love he had lost was the love he intended to reclaim. That obsession could not be shaken.
"To be fair, Madara Uchiha should've been the same. So why did he change?"
"Could it be because Hashirama Senju was revived through Edo Tensei?"
Black Zetsu didn't understand.
But then his thoughts drifted to Ren and that mysterious Uchiha girl.
And when he mentally placed Madara Uchiha together with Hashirama Senju…
"..."
He stopped himself there.
If he kept going, he was afraid even he might not be able to take it.
Meanwhile, Obito seemed to have recovered enough to think again.
He stared at Black Zetsu in disbelief before slowly speaking.
"Aren't you Madara Uchiha's will? Then how are you…"
"You have your obsession. I have mine. Or rather—I am Madara Uchiha's obsession!"
Black Zetsu lied without the slightest hesitation.
"I don't know why he suddenly changed, but when he created me, he made it clear that I was born for the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Now he's deviated from that plan. But my heart hasn't changed. I still intend to see it through!"
"So that's how it is…"
Obito nodded slowly.
Though it still all felt a little strange, he remained cautious.
"So then tell me. What do we do?"
"It's simple. I'll help you control Nagato and seize the Rinnegan!"
Black Zetsu answered at once.
Even if Obito Uchiha was a failure, Black Zetsu had no choice now but to treat a dead horse as if it could still run.
"We need the Rinnegan. Only with the Rinnegan can you control the Demonic Statue. Only then can you use it to become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki."
"Nagato is alert, yes. But he still doesn't know the plan has been cancelled. He's definitely still preparing. Even if he's wary of us, I can still try to control him and help you take the eyes."
"Really?"
That was exactly what Obito had been planning for days. It was what he had wanted to do all along.
He just hadn't found the right opportunity.
And now it was being delivered right into his hands?
"But Madara Uchiha and the others won't just stand by. And what about Orochimaru? Won't you have him release Edo Tensei?"
"Not yet. He still has his uses."
Black Zetsu shook his head, his gaze turning dark and deep.
"Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's power cannot be ignored. Even if they can't defeat Ren, they can still hold him off for a while."
"And you… you'll need time to adapt to the Rinnegan. You'll need time to control the Ten-Tails' power. So they are still very necessary."
"As for Orochimaru, there's no need to worry. He has already done too much. He has already made an enemy of Konoha. Do you think Ren would spare him?"
"Other than cooperating with us, does he have any other option?"
Ren's pursuit of Orochimaru had never seemed especially aggressive—but that was only because Obito himself had still been around.
That realization left Obito grim, but he still nodded.
It was true enough. Very few people who truly offended Ren ever met a good end.
"So…"
Obito had begun to trust Black Zetsu more now. He asked in a low voice,
"What do we do first?"
"Naturally, we go after Nagato. Only once we take the Rinnegan will there be any hope at all."
Black Zetsu's answer was cold and immediate. They had to move quickly now.
"Fine. Then let's go."
Obito didn't hesitate for even a second. He understood just as well that without the Rinnegan, nothing could be turned around.
But before they moved, he glanced at Black Zetsu again, a thought stirring in the back of his mind.
"Not yet. There are still a few other things we need to prepare first."
But Black Zetsu shook his head again, making Obito's expression shift. Black Zetsu paid it no mind.
"First, we need to remove the seal on your heart. Otherwise Madara Uchiha will always be able to restrain you."
"Second, we need to go see Orochimaru."
"You know as well as I do that Nagato is always on guard now, and he remains with the Demonic Statue at all times. If we want to bring him down, the simplest method is numbers."
"We need more help. So…"
At that point, a hint of vengeance entered Black Zetsu's voice.
"What do you think about making Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju attack alongside us?"
"Madara… do you really think this will work?"
Inside the underground chamber in the Land of Rice Fields, Hashirama finally couldn't help asking quietly.
At the same time, his senses were spread fully outward, making sure no one was eavesdropping. He was also searching for anyone else nearby.
After what the root had revealed, he had every reason to be extra cautious.
"I don't know if it will work. But I'm willing to gamble."
Madara shook his head, his expression stern.
"I refuse to keep stumbling along in ignorance. And I refuse to keep being deceived."
"As for Obito Uchiha—you saw his expression. That kind of resentment means he'll probably do something."
Madara's tone left no room for dispute, and Hashirama could only sigh.
Still, he too was a shinobi who had clawed his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Even if he was sometimes slow to grasp certain things, he knew perfectly well what needed to be done now.
"But I want to confirm one thing. What exactly do you plan to do next?"
After a moment of silence, Hashirama asked in a low voice,
"Orochimaru will cooperate, yes. But how do we actually move? When do you plan to act? Or rather, how?"
"You…"
Madara shot him a glare at once.
Of course he understood what his old friend meant.
Hashirama was worried that Madara would turn his hand against Konoha's shinobi again.
But did Madara really look that stupid?
"Don't measure me by your own intelligence. The greatest regret of my life was not defeating you. If I had, the shinobi world would never have fallen into this mess!"
"..."
"And besides, while I've always hated Tobirama Senju—that damned bastard—there is one thing about him I acknowledge."
"He's my brother."
"He killed my brother!"
"..."
"But that bastard thought the same way I did. Only by completely unifying the shinobi world could true peace exist. You were the idiot who rejected all of it. You really do have something wrong with your head!"
Faced with Madara's furious rant, Hashirama truly didn't want to say a word.
He had noticed a pattern. So long as any conversation between them turned even slightly unpleasant, Madara would instantly drag this back out and use it to bludgeon him.
And the worst part was, Hashirama couldn't even deny it.
Maybe it took dying once to see more clearly. Maybe maybe he truly had been wrong. Maybe his vision really had been too short.
"What we do now is simple. We keep acting as though we're still under control."
Seeing Hashirama remain speechless, Madara nodded in satisfaction and continued.
"So from here on, don't blow our cover. If the situation calls for anger, be angry. If the situation calls for resentment, show resentment."
"The moment they send us onto the battlefield will be the moment we strike back."
It was a solid plan.
Edo Tensei wasn't really guaranteed to hold Madara down.
Even if Orochimaru used the technique to restrain him by force, Madara believed he could eventually break free. After all, he knew the hand seals, and he also had great confidence in his current body.
With that many preparations, with so much in his favor, if he still couldn't uncover the truth and launch a proper counterattack, then he truly wasn't fit to be Madara Uchiha.
"And when the time comes, don't go soft on them either. You have a history of doing that. As for me… I'd also like to see just how far Ren can really go."
"Relax. At this point, what choice do I have?"
Hashirama shook his head helplessly.
He wasn't thrilled with where things had landed, but in the end he still chose to go along with it.
And in truth, he shared the same thought Madara did.
He had already failed once.
The village system he created had not brought real peace to the shinobi world.
Instead, it had created a far more efficient engine of war.
In the past, a battle involving dozens or a hundred men was already a huge conflict.
Now, multiple fronts opened at once, and battles involving hundreds or thousands were routine.
And in major campaigns, the number of combatants could easily reach into the tens of thousands. The number of casualties was almost impossible to imagine.
Perhaps only by bringing the entire shinobi world under one banner could anything truly improve.
And Ren seemed to be walking exactly that road—even if his method was different.
Hashirama truly wanted to see what that road would ultimately lead to.
"Mm?!"
But at that very moment, both men suddenly stiffened.
An invisible restraint had fallen over them, locking down their bodies completely.
A trace of surprise crossed their faces. They exchanged a glance, and each seemed to understand something at once.
A moment later, footsteps could be heard outside.
Then Obito Uchiha and Orochimaru slowly entered the room.
"So cautious. Are you afraid we'll make a move?"
Madara's cold eyes rested on them. There was already anger simmering in his gaze.
"You two did create a new order in the shinobi world once. There's no choice but to be cautious."
Orochimaru licked his lips, still smiling, though the smile carried a peculiar undertone now.
Obito looked at the two immobilized men, his Sharingan slowly turning.
It seemed as though at the slightest change, he would vanish immediately.
But now, at last, he couldn't stop himself from speaking in fury.
"Madara Uchiha… Madara Uchiha… You think you can just call off the Eye of the Moon Plan whenever you feel like it?"
"Do you know how much I've given up for it? Do you know how much I've prepared for it?"
"Fine. Since you want to cancel it—then from now on, you're out of the Eye of the Moon Plan!"
"From now on, the Infinite Tsukuyomi will be completed by me!"
"You always treated me like a pawn, didn't you? Then now you can be my pawn instead!"
"The Rinnegan belongs to you? Not anymore. Now it's mine!"
"I will create a new world of my own! I will make it happen!"
Listening to Obito's hysterical roar, watching the madness and excitement on his face, Madara Uchiha had only two thoughts.
The first was: idiot.
And the second was—
This brat really had turned the heavens upside down.
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