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Izuna's rigid face twisted into an unnatural, strained smile.
"Hah, hahaha… Brother, you—you shouldn't joke around like that!"
His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white, his teeth gritted. "Because… it isn't funny at all!"
Madara took a deep breath. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his expression deadly serious. "Izuna. Do you really think I manipulated the cycle of life and death, journeyed through time, and drifted aimlessly for half a lifetime… all because I was obsessed with some grudge against the Senju? All for revenge for the Uchiha?"
Izuna stared at this brother who felt like a stranger. "Isn't that… exactly what it was?"
"Heh."
Madara smiled. The smile held a deep, weary bitterness. Then, he spoke with heavy significance.
"Izuna. You are too young. You left this world too early, in that simple era of clear-cut vengeance. So your worldview… it still operates in simple binaries, doesn't it? Right and wrong. Yes and no. Love and hate. Victory and defeat. I can't blame you. You, too, are a victim of this… this cursed world of shinobi!"
"Brother… what in the world are you talking about?" Izuna asked, bewildered.
"You don't understand. That's precisely why I hesitated to tell you," Madara continued. "I have already seen through the true nature of this dualistic world. The Senju. The Uchiha. Us, and all the other clans that perished in the Warring States era, the people who died like ants… we are all the same! As long as the curse of this shinobi world remains unbroken, in the relentless flow of history, countless new 'Senju' and 'Uchiha' will take the stage, only to exit in tragedy!"
"A curse? What curse!" Izuna demanded.
"Still not clear? For there to be winners, there must be losers! To obtain peace, you must wage war! To grasp happiness, you must make others miserable! To protect love… you inevitably breed hatred! In these endless cycles of opposition and contradiction, cause and effect spin endlessly! A pathetic, laughable world! Shinobi… are the very embodiment of this world's curse!"
Izuna listened with intense focus. He tried, truly tried to empathize, to follow his brother's fevered logic. "Oh! I think… I think I see it now! So, what does this world have to do with what you want to do? That… 'Moon's Eye Plan'?"
Madara's voice was ironclad. "Everything! It is the guidance bestowed upon me by the Sage of Six Paths!"
"The Sage of Six Paths? Isn't that just a myth? The ancestor of all shinobi?"
"Myths are but distorted reflections of truth! The Sage was real. Both the Uchiha and the Senju are his descendants! But the Sage chose the Uchiha! And he left the path to sever this cursed cycle… upon the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet!"
"The stone tablet… Ah, the one our clan kept? But there was no 'path' written on it!"
"Because your ocular power was insufficient! You could not see it! I saw it! 'When Yin and Yang act in concert, all of creation is born'—this was the revelation I gained from the tablet!"
"That phrase… is a revelation?"
"On the surface, it suggests that if the Uchiha and Senju join forces, they could create a world of boundless prosperity! That path… Hashirama and I tried it! And it failed!"
His voice lowered, intense. "So… if you look at it from another angle… doesn't it suggest a different meaning? If the Uchiha clan obtains the power of the Senju and awakens the Rinnegan, they can harness the power of the Ten-Tails… and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi! To create a world with only love, only peace! A world where people no longer fight over unequal distribution or differences in power! A miracle only the Infinite Tsukuyomi can achieve!"
"To make this miracle real, I severed ties with Hashirama Senju. I wanted to lead the Uchiha away from Konoha. But… heh. No one followed me."
"Not long after, I controlled the Nine-Tails and fought Hashirama at the Valley of the End. I obtained his cells. I was defeated in that battle… but not before using a certain technique on him. Three months later, Hashirama died. As for me, I survived using Izanagi, but I was left with unimaginable injuries. In a cave, I transplanted Hashirama's cells onto my wound. Then came the long, long wait. Until I awakened these eyes."
Madara's eyelids drooped, half-covering the swirling patterns within.
"Yes. The Rinnegan. With the awakening of these eyes… a certain seal was also broken. The husk of the Ten-Tails…"
"The Tailed Beast container you mentioned? The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" Izuna asked.
"Correct. But even with the Rinnegan and able to control the statue… I was already old. Dying. I needed someone to execute the plan in my place. So I chose Nagato. Nagato was of the Uzumaki clan, possessing Senju blood. When he was a child, I secretly transplanted my Rinnegan to him. Later, during the wars, I discovered another remarkable eye. Uchiha Obito. I showed him the harsh reality. I gave him the purpose of the Moon's Eye Plan."
"As for him joining forces with Itachi to exterminate the Uchiha… that happened without my knowledge."
"So… you really didn't know!"
Madara's expression softened, just for a moment. "Izuna. In your eyes, there is still only the glory and decline of a single clan. But in my eyes… it is the fate of the entire world, of all humanity. The dimensions we stand on are different. But that we are brothers… that will never change. Will you… continue to stay by your brother's side?"
In that moment, Izuna's heart was torn by violent conflict and pain.
Staying by your side… that's the easy part.
But… a curse that can only be severed by trapping everyone in a dream… isn't that just another part of the curse itself?
Your method… it hasn't escaped the cycle. It's not the true path to salvation.
This understanding, this seed of doubt, flickered in Izuna's mind. But he didn't have the courage to voice it. He didn't have the courage to deny all the effort his brother had poured into this path for decades.
So, Izuna asked, "Brother… no matter what, you intend to carry out this Moon's Eye Plan?"
"Yes," Madara said. "No matter what, I will see it through. It is the wish I've nurtured for years. The great undertaking for which I have clung to life, endured humiliation, and even hijacked this boy's body to survive!"
Izuna's fists trembled. His voice was almost a plea. "If… if I got on my knees right now. If I begged you, brother, to let all of this go. To not become the enemy of the entire world! The two of us, just us brothers… we could find a place no one could ever find. Live there quietly! No more involvement in the world's conflicts! Would you… would you agree to that?"
A pained, bitter smile touched the corners of Madara's mouth.
Izuna. Seeing you again… filled me with indescribable joy. This time we've spent together since our reunion… I felt a warmth I'd long forgotten. But now… it's time to say goodbye.
Madara raised two fingers.
Black rods materialized around Izuna, piercing through the air and pinning him in place.
"Brother—!" Izuna couldn't move. He could only watch as earth and stone surged up from the ground, beginning to swallow his body.
"I will temporarily restrict your movements," Madara's voice was firm. "This is to prevent you from interfering. Once my Moon's Eye Plan is complete… you can vent all your resentment on me then."
"BROTHER, STOP THIS!" Izuna screamed as the earth climbed to his chest. "IF ALL OF HUMANITY FALLS ASLEEP, WHO WILL BE LEFT TO WITNESS THE GLORY OF THE UCHIHA?"
Madara closed his eyes briefly. "True glory… needs no witness. What I am about to accomplish is a feat not even Hashirama could achieve! It is this world's only path to salvation… Izuna. Even if you are my brother, I cannot allow you to stand in the way of humanity's happiness."
The earth and stone closed over Izuna's head. A sealing tag settled onto the mound, which slowly sank into the ground, leaving no trace.
Madara lowered his gaze, unable to hide the profound loneliness in his eyes.
—"Do you truly believe… this is the correct path?"
"Hm?" Madara's gaze lifted slowly.
Emerging from the rushing waterfall behind him… was a new figure.
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