After being bombarded with a torrent of curses, Shin wasn't angry at all.
At first, he had indeed considered simply killing Madara to put an end to that damned Eye of the Moon Plan. However, there was one thing he hadn't lied to Madara about, he really had, through his research, come into contact with some taboo existences, and had truly glimpsed a sliver of forbidden knowledge.
The overwhelming sense of crisis born from that taboo forced both Shin and Orochimaru to abandon their research.
But they also came to understand that beyond Earth, there were many intelligent races, some extremely powerful. The sages of the Three Great Sage Lands were in fact visitors from beyond this world.
Even the Ōtsutsuki clan, among these races, was only of mid-tier strength.
The difference was that, unlike the Ōtsutsuki who plundered like bandits to gain energy, many other races did not seize resources in such a way.
Originally, these matters had nothing to do with Shin. But roughly two hundred years from now, the Ōtsutsuki would no longer tolerate the repeated "rescues" in the cycle of vengeance, and their true god would descend, destroying everything on this land.
And the most damnable part? These people had gotten smarter.
Their plan was to, in two hundred years, send people to stall Shin, while simultaneously sending others to travel back through time to rescue Ōtsutsuki clan members who should have died, and then eliminate any threats to them, like Shin himself, while those threats were still in the cradle.
This was a tactic the Ōtsutsuki had used several times before, but in that attack two hundred years in the future, they came in full force, completely impossible to resist.
In other words, even if he worked hard to grow stronger, gained immortality, or even became a god, he still could not deal with that future crisis.
They wouldn't even fight you head-on, they'd simply go back in time and kill the weaker you. How could you possibly defend against that?
The solution Shin and Orochimaru thought of was to research a way to traverse time and space, so they could intercept those time travelers. And once the opportunity was right, they would engage them in an all-out battle within the time stream, wiping them all out for good.
But first, research required materials, and Madara was the perfect candidate Shin had his eye on.
The more talented a being was, the easier it was to unlock their genetic potential, and the higher their ceiling. In the entire shinobi world, no one was more suitable than Madara.
Second, Shin was only one person. He couldn't guard both the future and the past at the same time, so he needed strong, reliable allies, the more, the better.
But to prevent Madara from suddenly turning on him, he decided to lay all his cards on the table, draw him into his camp, and even get him to willingly submit to his experiments.
As for that ridiculous Eye of the Moon Plan? To hell with it!
That was why he tried to get closer to Madara, explain the truth to him, and why he didn't get angry when Madara grumbled at him.
He just treated it like being scolded by an elder in the family, what was there to be mad about?
"There's one more thing I need to tell you," Shin said, seeing that Madara had quieted down.
"Say it. Then get lost."
"It's about our clan's stone tablet, it's been altered." Shin spoke solemnly.
Madara fell silent at those words.
After a long pause, just as Shin thought Madara didn't believe him and was about to explain further, Madara suddenly smirked playfully. "If I said I already knew, would you believe me?"
"Uh..." This time it was Shin's turn to be dumbfounded. His stunned expression filled Madara with smug satisfaction.
This was an answer Shin had never even dreamed of hearing.
He had always assumed that Madara had been completely duped and misled by Black Zetsu, but to his surprise, Madara gave this kind of response.
"But so what?" Madara continued coldly.
"Whether the stone tablet's contents were altered doesn't matter to me. What matters is that the words on it truly inspired me, made me see the possibility of peace in the shinobi world. In fact, over the years, I've examined and debated it countless times, and my conclusion is that the Eye of the Moon Plan is entirely feasible. So if you intend to stop me, then kill me. Otherwise, I will carry it out no matter what."
"You've never considered that the one who altered the tablet is trying to use you?" Shin asked.
"Heh... 'Use me?'" Madara scoffed. "In this world, the relationship between people has always been one of using and being used, since ancient times."
"I only do what I want to do, so there's no such thing as being 'used.' Besides, once I become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki and gain unparalleled power, who could possibly stop me? For all you know, it'll be me using them."
"But even without my interference, I've still seen your failure, and your death."
"Hahahahahaha!" Madara suddenly burst into wild laughter. "You exposed my plan earlier just so you could say this now, huh? If it weren't for you, my plan would succeed, and the shinobi world would finally achieve true peace."
"Or true annihilation," Shin added.
"I've spent decades preparing the Eye of the Moon Plan. Do you really think you can just expose it, throw a few words at me, and convince me to stop?"
"The stone tablet was altered by Black Zetsu. You also die at his hands." Shin, who had originally planned to persuade him step-by-step, could only reveal the truth when faced with Madara's manic state.
This time, Madara was genuinely stunned, but the next moment, he burst out laughing again.
"Hahahaha, Black Zetsu?" Madara roared. "You're trying to say he's not a manifestation of my will, and that he has the power to kill me? I'm not an idiot. I don't believe something just because you say it, nor because Black Zetsu says it."
"In fact, when he first told me he was my will incarnate, I didn't believe it for a second."
"That thing that appeared out of nowhere, thinking it could fool me?"
"Even now, I still don't believe it."
"But over the years, I've secretly studied Black Zetsu countless times. I know his capabilities better than you do, and with his strength, there is absolutely no way he could kill me."
When he said this, he was radiating absolute confidence and dominance.
"Forget about after I become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, even before I awakened the Rinnegan, he could never threaten me."
"Moreover, everything I want to do, everything I can't do on my own, he's been helping me with. I need his help."
"So even if he is using me, I don't care, because I'm using him, too."
"As long as the Eye of the Moon Plan is completed, I don't care about anything else." Madara's expression was already bordering on madness.
Alright then.
Shin finally understood.
Madara hadn't been tricked into this, he was simply insane.
And now Shin understood exactly what kind of man this was: a proud, arrogant, domineering, and overbearing madman, yet one filled with idealistic dreams.
A man like Madara found it very difficult to trust others, and even harder to truly give his feelings. Unlike those who are simply plagued by paranoia, he simply believed that other people were not worthy of his trust or emotions.
But toward Izuna, his love came from the depths of his heart.
As the former leader of the Uchiha clan, he genuinely took on all responsibilities and burdens.
Toward Hashirama, he chose to give his trust without reservation.
A man like him, once he truly trusts, will believe wholeheartedly without a shred of doubt; once he invests his emotions, it is without the slightest reservation.
When Izuna died, killed by Tobirama, it caused Madara unbearable pain. Yet, for the sake of his dearest friend, he chose to bear the grief alone.
Though he hated Tobirama to the core, he did not seek revenge, fearing it would hurt Hashirama's heart.
He had always been careful to protect this rare friendship, quietly enduring much suffering.
For the sake of preserving their bond, he even set aside everything and led the Uchiha clan to join Konoha.
Proud as he was, he naturally did not want to voice his grievances. Besides, he believed that his sacrifices were surely visible to Hashirama, and that Hashirama would certainly understand them.
But later, he discovered he had been terribly wrong.
He naively believed that Hashirama would understand him, and he treasured their friendship like his most precious possession.
However, he later found that Hashirama's focus was always on "the village" and "peace," his attention drifting far away from Madara himself. And time and again, in the name of friendship, he would ask Madara to compromise.
At first, he was unhappy, but for Hashirama's sake, he endured it.
Unexpectedly, Hashirama seemed to take his compromises for granted, even thinking that this was proof Madara understood him, something that even brought Hashirama joy.
But only Madara himself knew, he was never the sort to yield. The only reason he chose to compromise was because he regarded Hashirama as a true friend.
Yet Hashirama's growing overreach, and his increasing neglect as all his attention turned toward the village, finally snapped the taut string in Madara's heart.
After one fierce argument, he suddenly realized that perhaps Hashirama had never truly understood him, nor cherished their friendship the way he did.
This so-called "friendship" seemed to have become a tool for Hashirama to bind him and force him to compromise.
To Madara, this was a shameless betrayal by Hashirama. In anger, he decided to lead the Uchiha clan out of Konoha.
But reality dealt him another crushing blow, the Uchiha clan, long weary of wandering and war, refused to follow him. Not one person was willing to leave.
In that moment, he realized how pitiful and ridiculous he had become.
The death of his brother, the betrayal of his dearest friend Hashirama, and the collective backstabbing by his clan left him in complete despair. He even lost the will to live for a time.
What gave him a new reason to go on was the Eye of the Moon Plan, recorded on the altered stone tablet.
In a sense, Madara and Obito were the same, they had already given up completely on the real world, believing that only an illusory world could be perfect.
The reason Madara insisted on carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan was because it had become his spiritual pillar.
He was never truly trying to bring about real peace in the shinobi world through this plan.
Peace?
What did peace have to do with him? Since when had he ever been the type to pursue peace?
No matter how bad this world was, it was not Madara's place to play the "peace ambassador." That had never been something he did in his life.
He simply wanted to create a perfect world without any pain.
As for what consequences the Eye of the Moon Plan might bring, Madara did not care, even if the world were destroyed because of it, it meant nothing to him.
For he had already fallen completely into madness, willing to die for it without hesitation.
The so-called "for the sake of peace" was nothing more than a grand excuse he gave himself, just like Obito's so-called "for the sake of love."
That was why he immediately took a liking to Obito when he first saw him, because he could instantly tell that this guy was, at his core, the same as himself.
So even though he knew the stone tablet had been altered, and that Black Zetsu might be a problem, he did not care. He even chose to deceive himself into believing, and was willing to give everything for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Just as Obito, even knowing that Madara and Black Zetsu had been using him from the very start, still pressed forward without turning back.
After seeing into Madara's inner world, Shin felt a headache coming on.
He had thought that once Madara learned the truth, he would turn back from the wrong path.
But from Madara's resolute expression, it was clear he intended to walk this road of darkness to the very end.
"What's wrong? Disappointed? Or maybe you should consider killing me, then it would be good for both you and me."
"You know that as long as I'm here, your plan will never succeed."
"Hahahaha! Until the very end, who can say for sure?"
Madara laughed wildly, not taking Shin's words seriously at all.
Success? Failure?
The Eye of the Moon Plan had already become his only spiritual pillar, he simply wanted to do it, to do it at all costs.
The outcome no longer mattered to Madara.
"In that case, forgive me," Shin sighed. His eyes suddenly emitted a faint purple light that shot into Madara's body.
In the next instant, Madara's entire being became dazed and vacant.
With his Rinnegan gone and his body on the verge of burning out, he simply could not withstand Shin's move.
But Shin did not actually harm him, he merely created an Illusionary Reincarnation, letting Madara succeed again and again in a dream world.
The time in this illusionary world was controlled by him, so he started right off with a "hundred lifetimes reincarnation deluxe package."
In the illusory world, Madara succeeded in completing the Eye of the Moon Plan in countless different ways.
Simply put, he let Madara enjoy it to his heart's content.
And in these hundred lifetimes, sometimes Black Zetsu succeeded in controlling Madara, and sometimes he failed.
When Black Zetsu succeeded, Madara became the sacrifice to release Kaguya, dying with hatred in his heart.
But in the reincarnations where Black Zetsu failed, Kaguya was never released.
Madara managed to pull everyone into the illusionary world, their bodies wrapped in the chakra of the God Tree, becoming nourishment for the White Zetsu. In the end, the entire shinobi world had only one living person, Madara.
And in those moments, an intense emptiness and loneliness would engulf him, leaving him mentally dazed and at a loss.
He had succeeded, but in this world, only he remained.