Inside the gloomy cavern, Obito walked back, his spirit seemingly hollowed out. Madara, however, looked as though he had known the outcome all along.
"It seems things ended in tragedy... Obito," Madara said. He remained motionless, seated in that gaming chair hooked up to the "network cables" of the Gedo Statue, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
But Obito didn't flare up in anger at the taunt, even though his beloved had just died. In fact, at this moment, one couldn't even see a trace of overt sadness on him. His desolation manifested as a numb, vacant stare rather than a fit of weeping.
It was as if he had lost all interest in this world. This world no longer belonged to him.
"I am in hell," Obito suddenly said.
"Well said," Madara nodded.
After that, Madara didn't speak further. Instead, he sat there quietly, watching Obito, waiting for the boy to initiate the next step of his own accord.
Obito's mind was adrift, lost in thought for a long time. Finally, he spoke: "Before, while I was recovering... you mentioned something to me... the 'Eye of the Sun Plan'?"
Madara's aged face twitched slightly. "The Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Oh," Obito replied listlessly. "Then 'Eye of the Moon' it is. You said this plan can give everyone the future they want? Realize a world where everyone is happy? What does that mean?"
"It seems you weren't listening very closely back then..." A smile played on Madara's lips.
Obito nodded, not denying it. "Back then, having survived, I thought being alive was the greatest stroke of luck. I thought once I recovered, I'd go back to Konoha, continue pursuing my dream, and live happily with Rin..."
At this point, he paused. His expression suddenly jolted to life, his eyes filling with a mixture of hatred and tears. "Now I see that if I had died back then, it might have been a blessing. To have survived only to see the 'future' that breaks my heart... I refuse to acknowledge this world!"
"Oh... is that so?" Madara seemed quite satisfied with Obito's reaction. He whispered, "Then go and create a world you can acknowledge, Obito."
Madara was truly pleased because he understood the Uchiha better than anyone. The Uchiha clan was inherently obsessive, volatile, and radical. It was in their blood. Most Uchiha were like this. Look at Obito, once a sunny youth and a chronic do-gooder, now he was no different from the rest.
Itachi, Sasuke, they were all the same. Whether they were "good" or "bad" was one thing, but obsession and radicalism were their shared traits. Because of this, Madara felt Obito was worthy of his legacy.
"Tell me about it. The Eye of the Moon," Obito said, his eyes filled with a sudden, sharp intensity.
He would destroy this world... no, he would destroy this hell! And then he would recreate a world that had Rin in it!
"Infinite Tsukuyomi. According to legend, it is the ultimate ocular jutsu. It is a power that can only be awakened by one who possesses the Rinnegan and has reached the realm of the Sage of the Six Paths. This thing behind me is the husk of the Ten-Tails, and it is an indispensable part of the plan..." Madara explained.
Obito: "???"
Sage of the Six Paths? Ten-Tails?
I know the Sage of the Six Paths, the founder of the Ninshu from the myths. But what the hell is a 'Ten-Tails'?
Before Obito could ask, Madara began to explain. However, he didn't dwell on the Sage; he went straight to the beast.
"As everyone knows, there are nine Tailed Beasts in this world. But in truth, they were all splintered off. In a much more ancient era, they were collectively known as the 'Ten-Tails,' a single entity. Their husk is what stands behind me. Currently, it is called the Gedo Statue. I used the Rinnegan to summon it from the moon..."
He paused briefly before continuing. "By merging the nine Tailed Beasts back into the Ten-Tails and becoming its Jinchūriki, one can become the second Sage of the Six Paths in history, wielding the power to reshape the world. At that point, using the Rinnegan, I can cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, the highest level of Genjutsu. By projecting my ocular power onto the moon to shroud the entire world, everyone will fall into an infinite dream. This will finally realize a future where everyone is satisfied and end the centuries of chaos and war in the Shinobi World. True, eternal peace."
Any normal person listening to Madara's plan would have flatly refused. The plan was fundamentally flawed, as it was pure self-delusion.
Realizing everyone's future by trapping them in a Genjutsu? Isn't that just a lie? Eternal peace through a mass hallucination?
It was insane.
If Diarmuid were looking at this, he wouldn't consider the Eye of the Moon for a second. He might be interested in the plan, but only in the way Black Zetsu was, as a means to get to Otsutsuki Kaguya, the alien. Since they were both essentially "outsiders" to this world, they might have a lot to talk about. But Kaguya was undoubtedly dangerous, so without sufficient strength, Diarmuid had no intention of releasing her.
A sane person wouldn't agree. But the problem was... neither Madara nor Obito were "sane" people.
Madara was a man who, for the sake of this plan, could literally eat his best friend's flesh and pluck out his own eyes to give to others. Obito had already declared that "Rin lives in my mind, and the one who died was an imposter."
Are these the actions of sane men?
So, after hearing the plan, Obito only noticed one thing. What the hell does world peace have to do with me? The only thing he cared about was that everyone could go into the Infinite Tsukuyomi and live the life they wanted! This perfectly aligned with his current mindset. He already believed Rin lived in his consciousness; if he went into the Infinite Tsukuyomi, wouldn't Rin be with him forever?
He nodded without hesitation. "Fine. What do I need to do to help you achieve Infinite Tsukuyomi? Is there a rush? You look like you're on your last legs. If you die... no one will be able to cast this jutsu."
"Heh heh heh..." Madara chuckled. "Death is but the beginning of rebirth. This body is too old; I only sustain my life through the support of the Gedo Statue. In truth, I should have died long ago. Let me rest for a while... Years ago, I secretly transplanted my Rinnegan into a boy. He is currently in the Land of Rain, a boy named Nagato, who has joined an organization called Akatsuki. You must go and cooperate with him, guiding him to use the Rinnegan's power. Once the nine Tailed Beasts are collected and preparations are complete, the Rinnegan possesses the power to reverse life and death. By communicating with the Pure Land of the underworld, it can fully resurrect me to my peak state. Then, I will merge with the Ten-Tails, attain the level of the Sage of the Six Paths, and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Obito nodded, though he looked a bit overwhelmed.
Even though he was "crazy" now, he had always been a "dead last" in school. He didn't have much self-confidence.
He had thought he was just there to assist Madara, maybe run some errands since the old man was in bad shape. But no, Madara was saying he was about to drop dead and leaving the entire future to him.
Aren't you worried about whether I can handle this burden? I'm only fourteen years old!
Despite his inner reservations, Obito didn't hesitate. He said directly, "I'm worried I won't do a good job..."
"Don't worry, I will help you. I won't die just yet. Before I go, I will teach you everything and give you unparalleled power. Remember, your name is also Uchiha. You are entitled to the full inheritance of my legacy... and finally... you will even inherit the name 'Uchiha Madara'." At this point, Madara paused and raised his hand.
White Zetsu naturally walked to his side. Madara placed his hand on Zetsu's shoulder and whispered, "Though I shall die, I will leave my will by your side to help you complete this."
As he spoke, a surge of Chakra gathered in Madara's hand. Soon, half of White Zetsu's body began to rapidly turn black. A moment later, Madara had created Black Zetsu.
He claimed it was to assist Obito, but in reality, there was clearly an element of surveillance. How could a grand strategist and hero like Madara truly entrust his life and death entirely to one person? He surely had other contingencies for his resurrection, and Black Zetsu was his trusted agent for those plans.
Madara didn't immediately pull the plug on his life support like in the original story. Instead, he began to instruct Obito, immersing him in the power of Uchiha Madara.
As one of the two men who had once stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, Madara was undoubtedly a "God of Shinobi" in his own right. Compared to Hashirama, he was not inferior; the gap in their strength was paper-thin. At their level, victory or defeat often came down to their state of mind on that particular day.
Unlike Hashirama, who had a gentle personality but a wild combat style, Madara was perhaps more technically proficient. Because of the Sharingan, the number of ninjutsu Madara mastered far exceeded Hashirama's repertoire. He even knew Tobirama's Reanimation Jutsu.
Is it possible Tobirama taught it to him? Absolutely not! Tobirama would have shredded the scroll and never used it again before he'd ever teach it to an Uchiha, especially Madara, the man he had always despised.
So, how did Madara know the Reanimation Jutsu? Most likely, whenever Tobirama used it, Madara secretly recorded the process with his Sharingan and learned it himself.
With a vast arsenal of ninjutsu at his disposal, Madara began dumping these incredibly precious techniques into Obito's mind all at once. For a normal person, it would take years to learn them all, but Madara didn't require Obito to understand the why, just the how.
Just use your Sharingan to memorize the execution. You'll have plenty of time later to figure out the mechanics.
Next, Madara passed on Yin-Yang Release, the complete secret techniques of the Uchiha clan, and even some Six Paths Techniques that even he couldn't currently use. Obito was essentially being force-fed. Madara even used Genjutsu to hammer these techniques directly into Obito's psyche and brain, forcing him to "know" them.
He knew how to use them, even if he didn't understand them.
One had to admit, in an extremely short period, Madara had created a formidable powerhouse. Combined with the Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan Obito had awakened on his own, once he processed this information and left the cave, he would be among the top tier of the Shinobi World.
Of course, it sounded simple, but Madara's "information dump" was actually quite brutal. First, you needed the Sharingan; second, your mental energy had to be immense. Obito happened to have the eyes and the mental surge from awakening the Mangekyō. If a normal person had undergone this process, Madara would have turned them into an imbecile.