Son Goku's Disciple Naruto

Chapter 196 - 196

"Good. Everything is under my control." Hearing from Black Zetsu that the plan had succeeded and that Obito had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, Madara nodded in satisfaction.

As for the sudden disappearance of Rin's body, he dismissed it.

The goal had been achieved regardless.

Just as Madara had predicted, Obito returned. He stumbled into the cavern, completely devastated. His spirit was broken, leaving him looking like a hollow shell of a boy.

"Obito. You don't have to grieve like this."

"In my life, I've witnessed too many partings between the living and the dead. The so-called sincerity bought with betrayal, even from those once as close as brothers. They turn against each other over minor disagreements, eagerly stabbing one another in the back."

"The longer you live, the clearer it becomes. Reality is nothing but helplessness, suffering, and emptiness."

Madara spoke with a heavy, self-deprecating tone.

Obito remained on the cold ground, staring blankly ahead. He showed no reaction.

"For some reason, I found a message left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. It records a method to bring happiness to everyone."

"Abandon all the ugliness of reality, and escape to a dream world filled only with beauty."

"Because in a dream world, everything can go exactly as you desire."

"Even the dead can be resurrected."

At the mention of resurrection, a flicker of life returned to Obito's dull eyes.

The Infinite Tsukuyomi was a realm of endless dreams, capable of fulfilling everyone's deepest wishes. There would be no more war, no more hunger, and no more suffering. Everyone would live in absolute happiness. It was a perfect utopia.

"A world of victors. A world of love. A world of peace." Madara concluded, adding with a sigh, "That's the reality I want to create."

Lured by the promise of the Infinite Tsukuyomi and those carefully calculated words, Obito's gaze hardened. He had made his decision. "Rin... I will create a world that has Rin in it!"

"Of course. As long as it's a dream, everything will be exactly as you wish."

"Tell me how to create it."

"Look into my eyes, Obito."

Once Obito received the instructions, he finally departed. He left the subterranean hideout carrying Madara's dark will and the heavy burden of the Eye of the Moon Plan. The stone doors sealed shut behind him, leaving the cavern suffocatingly quiet.

The vast underground space was now empty except for Madara himself. The ancient Uchiha leaned against his makeshift throne carved from the roots of the God Tree. He slowly closed his single eye, feeling the last remnants of his life force draining away. He had prepared for this inevitable moment for decades.

The grueling wait was finally over, and he could quietly welcome death's embrace, confident that his grand design was securely in motion. He severed his connection to the demonic statue, letting the hollow silence of the cave consume him.

His breathing grew shallow. His heartbeat slowed to a crawl. The darkness creeping at the edges of his vision felt like an old friend returning to guide him into a long, dreamless sleep.

Suddenly, a foreign chakra flared in the dark. It was completely unexpected.

The disturbance startled Madara awake. His single eye snapped open, darting through the gloom.

A silhouette had appeared from nowhere, standing silently before him. Madara's eye widened in sheer disbelief. He stared toward the intruder. "What?!"

"Truly like a tool, used from start to finish by another."

The visitor's words carried a mocking tone, ridiculing Madara's lifelong ambitions.

Most disturbingly, the voice and its mocking inflection sounded exactly like Madara's own.

The shadow stepped out of the darkness, finally revealing its true form under the dim light.

"Who are you? Why do you wear my face?" Madara stared at the figure, deep wrinkles creasing his forehead as shock flooded his features.

"I am Madara Uchiha."

The stranger bore the exact face of Madara in his youth, but his limbs were pitch black, and his hair was pure white. He wore the white cloak of the Sage of Six Paths. Nine Truth-Seeking Balls floated behind him in a perfect ring. In his left hand, he gripped a Six Paths Shakujo.

A Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. Was this Six Paths Madara?

No. This man's chakra felt immensely more powerful than the standard Six Paths state.

Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't match this overwhelming presence.

"You claim to be me? I am Madara Uchiha! *cough cough cough*" The sheer audacity stirred something volatile deep within the old man, sending him into a violent coughing fit.

"Without the Gedo Mazo's power, you are this weak?"

"How pathetic. To think my former self was so frail."

"A decrepit remnant like you has no right to speak to me. Let's try a different approach."

Madara felt his throat violently constrict. His breath was entirely cut off as an invisible grip crushed his neck. A sharp crack echoed through the cavern. The old man's head lolled to the side. Heavy silence followed.

Six Paths Madara remained utterly calm. He flicked a finger upward. A White Zetsu hanging from the God Tree's roots fell to the floor like a ripe fruit.

Striking the ground, Six Paths Madara declared, "Edo Tensei."

Dust and debris swirled around the White Zetsu, burying it as it sank into the earth. Moments later, a reanimated body rose from the very same spot.

Old Madara had been resurrected.

But he was no longer an old man. He had been restored to his physical prime, at the absolute peak of his power.

He was Edo Madara.

Edo Madara's eyes snapped open. He instantly shattered the Edo Tensei bindings and launched himself furiously at his future counterpart.

"Still so impulsive."

Six Paths Madara tapped the floor lightly with the base of his Shakujo.

An invisible wall abruptly halted Edo Madara's charge. A crushing wave of pressure slammed down, pinning him rigidly in place.

Faced with absolute power, Edo Madara was entirely helpless.

Since they were the exact same person, the future version knew every conceivable strength and weakness.

No one knew Madara better than himself.

"Will you listen to me now?"

Edo Madara blinked. Only his eyes could move, the rest of his body remained paralyzed.

"Listen carefully. I come from the future."

"I crossed through time and space for one sole purpose: to tell you the truth."

"The ancient text you read on the Uchiha Stone Tablet is a lie. The Eye of the Moon Plan you sacrificed everything for is a lie. Even the physical manifestation of your will, Black Zetsu, is a lie."

"Your entire life's work is a conspiracy designed to use you."

"Black Zetsu is actually the will of the mother of chakra, Kaguya. He is her third child."

"His true purpose is to manipulate your strength, gather the nine Tailed Beasts, and resurrect his mother from her lunar seal!"

"Everything you saw, everything you fought for, is nothing but a carefully orchestrated illusion."

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