"To think you can resist my Infinite Tsukuyomi... I find that hard to believe. Try blocking this next!"
As Madara finished speaking, the Rinne-Sharingan on his forehead immediately began to rotate, and a strange red light enveloped Yakumo.
It was the pure ocular power of the Rinnegan.
Yakumo simply stood there, smiling. The red ocular power had no effect on her whatsoever.
"I told you, I have seen through the very essence of genjutsu. In my eyes, the genjutsu you use isn't even as good as Uchiha Itachi's. At least he understood how to apply certain techniques and subtleties. You just rely on forcing it through with your eyes, which is practically an insult to the art of illusion."
Uchiha Madara felt anger rise, insulted by Yakumo's words.
Yet, at the same time, his heart was filled with a strange desolation. After plunging the entire world into the Infinite Tsukuyomi, he felt an unprecedented emptiness.
Seeing Yakumo standing before him, completely unscathed, Madara had to admit a flicker of relief stirred within him. He was human, after all. He felt loneliness, especially now that the goal he had set for himself was accomplished. He suddenly found himself at a loss for what to do next.
He had already 'saved' the entire world. So, what now?
What makes a human truly human is their social nature.
Perhaps you usually ignore others, perhaps you live alone deep in the mountains, removed from society. But you know there are many people like you living in this world. That feeling is completely different from being the only person left in the entire world.
Some might think they can savor solitude, but what about after ten years? A hundred? A thousand?
"You can't kill me, and I no longer feel like fighting you either. Go play somewhere else." Uchiha Madara waved his hand somewhat disinterestedly. He decided to let Yakumo go.
He acknowledged her formidable resistance to genjutsu.
But he was Six Paths Madara now. He could use Yin-Yang Release, the abilities of the Rinnegan, Chibaku Tensei, and countless other ninjutsu. Yakumo was just an ordinary person. Even if her genjutsu was powerful, even if her abilities were peculiar, in the face of the overwhelming power of Six Paths, she was just a little girl with some tricks in his eyes.
To deal with her, he just had to avoid using genjutsu.
"I have something to tell you..." Yakumo suddenly spoke, capturing Madara's attention.
"What?" Madara looked up, his expression relaxed.
"Cough, cough..."
Blood suddenly gushed from Madara's mouth. He felt the warmth rapidly draining from his entire body, and most importantly, his heart felt... cold.
Looking down, he saw a black hand protruding from his chest.
There was only one person who could have appeared behind him all along.
Black Zetsu?
"Why...?"
Uchiha Madara asked, unable to believe what was happening.
Yakumo covered her face with her hand. "That's what I wanted to say—this pitch-black fellow intends you harm. I just didn't expect your reaction to be so slow."
"Cough..."
Madara spat out another mouthful of blood. It was unclear whether it was from anger at Yakumo's words or because his heart had been pierced, forcing blood into his windpipe and out of his mouth.
In any case, Madara knew one fact.
He was done for.
"I'm sorry to tell you only now," Black Zetsu's voice came from behind. "I was never created by you from the beginning. In fact, every step of the path you've walked was deliberately guided and arranged by me!" Black Zetsu grinned as he leaned against Madara's shoulder, looking oddly intimate.
"Impossible!" Uchiha Madara could accept his own failure, but he could not accept that his destiny had been manipulated by another.
To him, this was like a slap across the face.
All his life he had held himself in high regard. Now, learning he had been manipulated by Black Zetsu, rage surged in his chest—so intensely it nearly finished him off.
"How is it impossible? I've watched you grow up since you were a child. From the first time you awakened the Sharingan, to your meeting with Hashirama, to you awakening the Mangekyō, and the founding of Konoha. Do you remember the words in the Naka Shrine, only visible to those with the Mangekyō? What if I told you I was the one who wrote them there? Would that make you angry?"
Black Zetsu mocked Madara. He was like a venomous snake now, firmly biting Madara's vital point, having completely secured the fruits of victory.
If he simply withdrew his hand, Uchiha Madara would die completely.
But Black Zetsu's goal wasn't Madara's death. He wanted to use Madara's body to resurrect someone.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Suddenly, Black Zetsu's arm dissolved into a viscous fluid, beginning to spread from Madara's chest.
"Honestly, whether you believe me or not doesn't matter to me. My objective is already achieved. My mother is about to appear. Thank you for your contribution, Madara!"
"Kamui!"
A transparent spatial distortion appeared around Black Zetsu, and then his upper body swiftly vanished, leaving only about a third of the black substance covering Uchiha Madara's body.
"What's going on here?" Obito stared in confusion at Uchiha Madara. "Wasn't Black Zetsu something you created? How did he turn on you?"
Looking at Black Zetsu embedded in his chest, Madara could only force a bitter smile. "I was deceived by Black Zetsu. This Infinite Tsukuyomi was something he guided me towards from the very beginning. He wasn't created by me. Based on what he said, I believe he is an ancient monster who has lived for countless years."
"Wait!" Obito exclaimed in disbelief, questioning him. "What are you saying?"
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi is a lie?"
"I was ready to accept the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and now you tell me it's fake? Uchiha Madara, believe it or not, I'll use Kamui to tear you in half!"
Obito grabbed at his hair, feeling like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
He wanted to create a world belonging solely to him and Rin, a world without Kakashi, without other troublesome people, just the two of them. Why couldn't these people just fulfill his wish?!
"Even if you use Kamui to kill me now, it's useless. It would only allow this remaining part of Black Zetsu to take over my body faster."
Uchiha Madara stared at the black mass on his chest, not knowing what else to say.
The only reason he was still alive was because of Black Zetsu's viscous substance.
If it were removed, he would die without a doubt.
If it remained, Black Zetsu would slowly take over his body. He could already feel another consciousness awakening within him.
"Then what should I do? You told me you could give Rin back to me! Why deceive me now?! Uchiha Madara, I hate you!"
Obito collapsed to the ground, looking at the immobilized Madara, filled with a sense of powerlessness.
He didn't know what to do.
And he didn't want to do anything anymore.
What did this world, a world without Rin, have to do with him?
"To be honest, I never expected that the moment I came out, I'd see the legendary Uchiha Madara... and even my old friend Obito here."
A somewhat frivolous voice rang out, causing Yakumo to look up. A smile immediately spread across her face.
"You're back!"