"If you insist I have ulterior motives, then let me clarify—my so-called 'plan' is nothing more than contemplation regarding world peace... At my age, do you really think my intentions can be described by such a simplistic word as 'conspiracy'?
Young man, do you even know who I am?"
Whether it was to buy time or simply due to having been silent for too long, Madara Uchiha seemed unusually eager to talk at this moment.
"I'm actually inclined to believe you. After all, one's thoughts are closely tied to their position in life. Someone like you, who stood above all others even before Konoha's founding, surely doesn't possess a narrow worldview.
The peak commands all heights below.
However… take you and me, for instance—we still see things from entirely different angles.
What truly is the nature of the world? And what exactly is war?
Complete peace, total elimination of war—I understand your desire for that. For someone like you who lived through endless wars, or perhaps I should say, for a ninja like you, war has taken far too much while leaving behind only disillusionment and deep hatred toward this world.
If rejecting war completely is the goal, but war and the world are inseparable, then why not simply reject the entire world altogether?
Your way of thinking is simply too extreme… despite the fact that you're Madara Uchiha.
Humanity is essentially foolish, isn't it? That's probably how you see it—you likely believe humans are hopelessly stupid.
War itself is part of the world's development cycle. Though it may seem utterly unnecessary, the root of conflict and contradiction between people lies precisely within humanity itself.
If you're chasing ultimate peace, then I think I understand your plan now…
After total destruction, there will be nothing but eternal silence."
Putting aside methods and focusing solely on intent, Madara Uchiha indeed pursued peace. Yet, despite "seeing all mountains small," nearly everything he saw was mistaken, for thick clouds had deliberately obscured his vision.
Even the proud Madara Uchiha was ultimately nothing more than a pawn used by others.
Of course, Haseo had no intention of revealing the truth—his words would never be believed anyway.
So… this old drama king really was somewhat pathetic.
"You're very sharp, but as you yourself put it, the limits of your vision shape the boundaries of your thinking. What exactly is the true nature of the world? Is what you see truly what exists?
You may have guessed my goal, but does that mean you can actually stop me? Come on now. Although you seem impressive in this era, in our time, ninjas of your caliber were everywhere."
Haseo quickly waved his hands in modest refusal, as if overwhelmed by such praise. "Please, Senior, don't say that. It's a bit embarrassing knowing you've collected information even about younger ninja like myself.
But… there's something unsettling about what you said. Not only in your time are ninja like me common as dirt—in my time, too, there's no shortage of ninjas like me. Honestly, what am I really worth? Practically nothing."
"..."
Uchiha Madara: "..."
That unexpected reply nearly shut him up completely.
When insulted like that, shouldn't he fight back in rage?
What about dignity? What about honor?
Is this guy seriously just a shameless punk? A total weasel?
Haseo silently snorted in disdain. What gave you the right to trash me? When I roast myself first, what do you even have to say?
Being the first to roast yourself so no one else has anything to work with—this was a classic move in the internet era. Did Madara Uchiha even know what that was?
At this point, Madara couldn't exactly say something like, "No no no, in your time, you're actually quite impressive," could he? Could someone so proud actually force himself to say something like that?
What about his character image?
Thus, the leader of the Laughing Four actually fell completely silent.
An old, lonely man silently hunched over, fiddling with the game pieces in his hands, looking... almost pitiful.
"You think what you see is reality?" Actually, that line fit Haseo far better than Madara Uchiha. As someone who knew the *story* and was an outsider, Haseo clearly had insights that Madara lacked. He was the one person in this world who truly understood the nature of [Infinite Tsukuyomi] and [Black Zetsu].
As for Madara Uchiha, he was still treating Black Zetsu as a loyal son at this point.
"I won."
Finally, Madara cleared all of Haseo's pieces from the board... Well, it was more like giving himself a way to save face.
"Nope, I won." Haseo smiled and disagreed.
Unfair punishment without rules? Isn't determining victory without explaining the rules simply bullying? Haseo was suggesting they played checkers the same way as poker—whoever got rid of all their cards (or game pieces) first would be the winner.
"I won, so can this boring genjutsu be lifted now?" Then Haseo asked further.
From the very first moment Haseo saw Madara Uchiha, he had already been caught within the other's illusion technique. However, up until now, he hadn't struggled against it at all.
Although Madara's genjutsu was immensely powerful, it wasn't [Tsukuyomi] or [Kotoamatsukami]. And even then, his Sharingan wasn't optimized specifically for genjutsu—it was more like a well-balanced type.
Put simply, Madara's strength went far beyond just his eyes.
In terms of sheer quality, the pair of Sharingan one would envy most belonged to the yet unborn Itachi Uchiha. No wonder Orochimaru was particularly fascinated by Itachi Uchiha alone.
"So you noticed, but uninvited guests don't have the freedom to leave as they please."
Before figuring out what information Haseo held inside his mind, how could Madara possibly release his genjutsu?
The talking was done. The game was over. Now it was time for action. Inside the genjutsu, Madara merely had to will it, and Haseo instantly froze, losing control of his own body.
Then, a dark shadow covered toward where he stood.
Haseo sighed inwardly. If he could help it, he really didn't want to expose everything jumbled up in his mind all at once... During these many years living in this world, he'd done this only once before.
Now it was happening for the second time.
Madara still underestimated how complex this kind of information extraction would be.
Just as Black Zetsu was about to make contact with Haseo's body, a torrent of countless black masses surged out like a flood bursting from him—a sight comparable only to a septic tank that had suddenly exploded under a monsoon. Gurgling and churning, thick, pitch-black muck oozed forth, pulsing with some bizarre energy.
As the "spring source," Haseo continuously spewed all sorts of messy substances without pause.
Black Zetsu bore the brunt of it first. This so-called "evil force" now seemed just like a helpless hatchling sucked into a sewer—weak, pitiful, and vulnerable.
Naturally, if he intended to oppose Madara Uchiha, Haseo wouldn't neglect defenses against genjutsu. And the method Haseo used to counter legendary genjutsus was straightforward: direct and brutal information surge—raw force overpowering everything.
Although this time its form differed from before, the essence remained unchanged. In his youth, Haseo had driven the Eight-Tails insane using such methods. So here came the question: Black Zetsu, being Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's will incarnate, should theoretically possess stronger resilience than the Eight-Tails, right?
Why not toss him straight into that septic mess? Maybe he'd even take a dip!
The pitch-black mire surged forward, swallowing Black Zetsu first before turning its momentum toward Madara Uchiha standing nearby. Before encountering the filth, Madara let out an arrogant snort—but then chose voluntarily to release his own genjutsu technique.
Madara indeed possessed insight.
Even today, Haseo had long become completely fearless toward genjutsu techniques at the "Tsukuyomi" level. Only two techniques really demanded caution—Kotoamatsukami and Infinite Tsukuyomi. Setting Infinite Tsukuyomi aside for now, there existed a minor issue regarding Kotoamatsukami.
Here's the thing: Haseo had specifically looked into this matter—he learned that when Kagami Uchiha died, he was very young. And when he died...
Turns out he died without ever tying the knot.
Haseo blinked once, regaining clarity, and found himself still positioned at the passage entrance.
The aged Madara Uchiha still waited not far away.
Therefore…
Drip. Drip. Drip. Then… footsteps picked up again.
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