Uchiha Madara's personality made him disdainful of doing petty things like torture or sadistic killing.
Blue flames appeared in the palm of his hand as he gripped the White Snake Sage, clearly summoning a portion of Susanoo, intending to crush the White Snake Sage cleanly and decisively.
After that, he still had many things to take care of.
For example, having a heart-to-heart talk with that brat Obito.
And for example, going to meet Ryosuke, the most outstanding descendant of the Uchiha clan.
When he thought of Ryosuke, much of the anger Madara felt from being revived by Edo Tensei and then manipulated like a puppet by the White Snake Sage faded away, replaced by a deep sense of pride.
"To unify the world… has Ryosuke's Sharingan evolved into the Rinnegan? Even if not, it must at least be a Mangekyo."
"But why is it 'Ryosuke'? Shouldn't it be Uchiha Ryosuke?"
Thinking this, Madara tightened his grip.
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.
"You can't kill it," Itachi said.
Uchiha Madara slightly turned his head, his gaze icy cold. "Since when did the Uchiha become the dogs of some monster?"
Itachi didn't let go. "It's not a monster. It's the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave."
"And I'm not a dog. I'm helping you."
"More precisely, I'm helping all of us. Madara, you can't kill it, unless you don't want to realize the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan."
"Heh..."
Madara let out a scoffing laugh. "The descendants of the Uchiha have already become the rulers of the world. He accomplished what I once wanted to do but couldn't. Why would I still need to carry out Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Uchiha Madara's life held two obsessions.
First, to become strong, unimaginably strong.
Second, peace in the ninja world.
Both obsessions were tied to the experiences of his childhood and youth.
Throughout his life, Madara witnessed far too much war and death. And only overwhelming power, in his view, could put an end to all of it and achieve true peace.
From this perspective, Madara was very similar to Nagato, or rather, Nagato becoming "Pain" was precisely because he was influenced by Uchiha Madara's ideals.
They both believed that human nature was inherently evil, and that it was impossible to rely on humanity itself to resist the temptation of war.
To achieve peace across the world, Pain's solution was nuclear deterrence through fear.
Madara's solution was absolute hegemony, ruling and managing everything through sheer dominance.
Now, back to the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
Why did Uchiha Madara formulate this plan in the first place?
First, because Madara knew very well that no matter how strong he was, unifying the world was something he couldn't accomplish in his lifetime, it was simply too difficult.
Second, because the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan was just too convenient. It was like discovering a small path straight to the mountaintop in a mountain forest full of thorns.
So Uchiha Madara pushed the plan forward.
But Madara was not a coward like Obito, who spent his days mourning a phantom girlfriend.
The dead, sorrow, and pain, he could shoulder them all and keep moving forward under the weight.
Compared to the illusory world of Infinite Tsukuyomi, if real-world unification and governance could truly be achieved, Madara would naturally choose reality.
Because dreaming feels good.
But the process of becoming strong does not feel good.
What Madara longed for was a world without war. Whether it was comfortable or not was never part of his consideration.
From this angle, he was like an older generation elder who, seeing young people today able to eat well and dress warmly yet still complaining about life's pressures, would sneer and say, "Back in our day, we didn't have conditions like yours."
Especially when aliens still existed in this world.
Dreaming in an Infinite Tsukuyomi world?
What, wait until the Otsutsuki come one by one, kill their way in, treat humans like edamame, pluck them off the branches of the God Tree, and eat them one by one?
Sensing Uchiha Madara's attitude, Itachi let out a soft sigh, shook his head, and said, "That's because you don't really understand Ryosuke, and you understand his political philosophy even less, how… beautiful and dangerous it is."
"Let go of the White Snake Sage first. We're at Ryosuke's lunar base. There are definitely books here about the 'Awakening Ideology.' After you read them, if you still want to kill it, no one will stop you."
The White Snake Sage, its neck being squeezed, added in a shrill, duck-like voice, "And no one could stop you anyway."
A few minutes later, Uchiha Madara closed the book and let out a complicated sigh.
"So it can be like this… Such a beautiful, mature ideal. It's really hard to imagine that Ryosuke wrote all of this on his own. He truly is an extraordinary person…"
Though he didn't want to admit it, Madara had to say that this young man was more outstanding than he was.
"It's just a pity…"
"This road is too hard to walk, and far too radical."
Uchiha Madara never thought that words like "too radical" would come out of his own mouth.
But that was the reality. Ryosuke had only taken the first step. Countless difficulties still lay ahead.
If Ryosuke truly relied on force to suppress everything, combined with his immortal, indestructible body, perhaps the world really could usher in lasting peace.
The White Snake Sage said in a low voice, "Ryosuke ended the struggles of the old era. That doesn't mean struggles are eliminated. New-era struggles will appear."
"It's like a winding mountain road that spirals upward, one wrong step, and it's eternal damnation."
"On the other hand, the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan is more conservative, and also safer."
"As for the Otsutsuki problem, I have an idea…"
It looked at Madara, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and exhaled smoke.
"Depends on whether you want to hear it."
Among those controlled by the White Snake Sage's single-core Edo Tensei, only Madara had broken free of the restraints. Hashirama, Tobirama, and the others were still bound.
Seeing Madara about to kill the White Snake Sage, Hashirama and the others naturally supported it. But after waiting and waiting, they instead saw signs that Uchiha Madara was being persuaded. Hashirama hurriedly spoke up to remind him not to fall for it.
"Shut up."
The White Snake Sage and Uchiha Madara spoke at the same time.
Senju Hashirama was muted and could only watch helplessly.
"Don't worry,"
Namikaze Minato said. "We're separated from the ninja world by nearly four hundred thousand kilometers. There's no ninjutsu that can cross that distance. Flying Thunder God can't, and reverse summoning can't either."
The remaining people all nodded.
Senju Tobirama, who was also highly proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique, thought it over for a moment.
"Even if you throw a kunai toward the ninja world, use Flying Thunder God, throw another, and repeat the process nonstop, it would still take at least three to four days to get back."
This was a very simple math problem. Flying Thunder God teleportation itself didn't take time, but the kunai's flight did. Even if a kunai could travel at one kilometer per second, it would still take four days.
Given the ultra-high-frequency battle tempo between Ryosuke and the Otsutsuki, by the time four days passed, the victory banquet would already be over. You wouldn't even make it in time for hot food at the feast.
By then, whether Ryosuke won or the Otsutsuki won, with no other opponents to restrain them, Madara in his Edo Tensei state wouldn't be a match either way.
These difficulties were things Minato could think of, and naturally, Uchiha Madara could think of them as well.
He looked at the White Snake Sage. "You have space transfer abilities?"
"I don't. But there's someone who does."
"Who?"
The White Snake Sage didn't answer the question. It exhaled a mouthful of smoke, the corner of its mouth lifting to reveal a sharp fang.
"Madara, how about considering being a 'jinchuriki' for once?"
"Jinchuriki?"
Not just Madara, everyone present turned their gaze toward it.
The White Snake Sage lifted its chin toward the vast universe outside.
"'Isshiki.'"
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