Chapter 9: Madara: Son of a...!
[Star Forger]: "Madara, may I ask... are you currently... expired?"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "..."
A muscle in Madara's cheek twitched uncontrollably. This kid has some strange manners, he thought. At least he said 'may I ask'.
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Not yet. But I'm half-dead, clinging to life with the energy from the Gedo Statue."
Madara let out a soft sigh. To think that he, the Ghost of the Uchiha who once dominated battlefields and struck fear into the hearts of nations, was now reduced to this pathetic, withered state. It was a bitter irony.
[Star Forger]: "So you're Old Man Madara. The plan you wanted to ask about is the Eye of the Moon Plan, right?"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Yes. Through the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the entire world will be cast into a genjutsu, achieving true peace. There will be no more war, no more suffering."
Madara didn't bother hiding anything. Kenji clearly knew most of it already, so there was no point in being coy.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "Trapping everyone in an illusion?"
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "A fake life without sorrow or pain... can you even call that living? Is that kind of peace truly meaningful?"
Elysia strongly disapproved of the plan. It was robbing humanity of its future. That wasn't how things should be. Little did she know that in the next era, the Stigma Project that Kevin planned to execute was just as terrible.
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "I have seen enough of war. Hashirama's ideals could never bring true peace to the ninja world."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Besides the Infinite Tsukuyomi, is there any other way?"
[Star Forger]: "Oh, there totally is."
[Star Forger]: "I think Hashirama was an idiot for distributing the Tailed Beasts. You two, with your Susanoo-clad Wood Golem, could have steamrolled the other four great nations and unified the entire ninja world. Whether it would fall apart again in the future is another question, but at least you would have prevented several Great Ninja Wars."
Madara's eyes lit up at the suggestion. He felt like he had found a kindred spirit. He had clad the Nine-Tails in his Susanoo before, but never a Wood Golem. The thought was... thrilling.
What a heart-pounding combo!
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "He's right. If Hashirama and I had joined forces, how could the other four nations have even hoped to dance?"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "I think things should have gone differently back then."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Hashirama was too soft. If mercy was effective, the Great Ninja Wars would never have happened in the first place."
[Star Forger]: "He wasn't so merciful when he entered Sage Mode and dropped a giant thousand-armed Buddha statue on your head."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Ahem."
He couldn't argue with that. When he saw the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, he had been completely stunned. He never expected Hashirama to have such a move. The Susanoo armor on his Nine-Tails was shattered to pieces. And that final backstab... it was a vicious blow. If it weren't for Izanagi, he would have been sent straight to the Pure Land on the spot.
[Star Forger]: "But back to the point. I regret to inform you that the peace you envision will never come to pass. Your entire plan is a long-conceived deception."
[Star Forger]: "The Uchiha Stone Tablet in the Naka Shrine has been altered. It's not the original version written by the Sage of Six Paths."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Who altered it?"
Madara's ancient face darkened visibly. If that was true, then everything he had done was nothing but a cruel joke.
[Star Forger]: "Did you, by any chance, create a manifestation of your will called Black Zetsu?"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "I did."
[Star Forger]: "Black Zetsu is not your will. He's the will of the Sage of Six Paths' mother, a creation of Yin-Yang Release who has been alive for a very, very long time."
[Star Forger]: "He was the one who altered the stone tablet. His goal was to manipulate an Uchiha into awakening the Rinnegan and casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi in order to resurrect his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess, who was sealed in the moon."
[Star Forger]: "Madara, your immense talent and potential to awaken the Rinnegan made you the perfect pawn for Black Zetsu."
[Star Forger]: "In the future, at the very moment the Infinite Tsukuyomi succeeds, the Black Zetsu you trust will literally stab you in the back and rip your heart out."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "SON OF A...! That little bastard! How dare he!"
Madara was incandescent with rage. He had been nothing more than a tool for Black Zetsu, a comical clown in a grand play. The irony was suffocating.
So he's going to backstab me? Literally? While I was fighting for my life against Hashirama, that little lump of coal was just spying on us, wasn't he?! Using the same method Hashirama used against me... Good. Just perfect!
A sneak attack from Hashirama, he could almost understand, chalking it up to disbelief. But Black Zetsu? Who the hell was he to dare backstab him?
From a world away, Kenji could almost feel Madara's fury. He hoped the old man wouldn't just have a rage-induced stroke and die right then and there.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "Mr. Madara's story sounds rather tragic."
[Lady Justice]: "It really does."
Having played the role of a god for five hundred years, Furina could empathize. If she were to find out at the very end that all her sacrifices and suffering had been for nothing, her spirit would shatter completely.
'The me in the mirror,' I hope you can succeed, she thought. I hope you can break the prophecy's curse. If not... I'll have to rely on power from beyond this world (the chat group).
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Are you saying Black Zetsu and the Sage of Six Paths are brothers?"
Madara had calmed down slightly. Though he'd never seen the Sage of Six Paths, he doubted he looked like a slimy, black blob.
[Star Forger]: "Not exactly. Black Zetsu was a last-ditch creation Kaguya made just before her two sons sealed her away."
[Star Forger]: "Kaguya had two sons: the Sage of Six Paths and the ancestor of the Hyuga clan. The mother and sons had a falling out, and the boys ended up sealing her."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "What a dysfunctional family. A picture of motherly love and filial piety."
[Star Forger]: "Black Zetsu doesn't have the Sage's power, so he could only operate from the shadows. It's likely he instigated many of the wars throughout history. You and Hashirama are also connected to the Sage's two sons."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Are you saying Hashirama and I are their descendants?"
[Star Forger]: "While the Senju and Uchiha are indeed descendants of the Sage, you and Hashirama are special cases. The Sage's two sons, Indra and Asura, have passed away, but their souls and chakra continue to reincarnate through the generations."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "So you're telling me... I'm the reincarnation of this... Indra?"
Madara's mind was reeling. What the hell was this? It was too chaotic.
Today I learned that I am not myself? Who am I, really? I honestly don't know anymore.
[Star Forger]: "It's not a complete reincarnation. You likely have Indra's soul within you, but it's probably dormant. It won't turn you into Indra, but it influences your personality and power."
[Star Forger]: "Madara, have you never noticed that you and Hashirama are exceptions within the Uchiha and Senju clans?"
Madara pondered this. It was true. They were both anomalies. His power far surpassed anyone else in the Uchiha clan, especially after he awakened the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Years had passed since he left Konoha, and still, no Uchiha had emerged who could even come close to his strength. In the Senju clan, Hashirama's power was in a league of its own. His Wood Release was practically a cheat code, putting him on a completely different level from everyone else.