"Oh? Are you threatening me?"
Madara Uchiha narrowed his eyes slightly, and a dangerous gleam flashed within them.
Genjo seemed completely oblivious to the pressure pressing toward him, and merely continued smiling as he said, "I imagine that while listening to our conversation, Senior Brother Nitai must have been wondering to himself what exactly the two of us had been rambling on about all this time."
"And I imagine you have already made up your mind that after you go back, you'll flip through those Buddhist scriptures you usually find so irritating, hoping to find some answers in them. It does not matter if you cannot understand them for the moment. Senior Brother has plenty of time. Read them one by one, slowly, and sooner or later you will grasp a few clues."
"In any case, being alone is still being alone, so you might as well find something to do. Read some scriptures, broaden your knowledge a little, cultivate your temperament a little. It would be far more interesting than spending all day in a daze."
Madara Uchiha said nothing, only stared at him coldly, and Genjo did not mind, continuing on by himself.
"Tonight, here and now, with wind and rain crossing outside this ruined temple, the Dharma names of the three of us are, when spoken aloud, rather a coincidence of fate: Ichisun, Nitai, Genjo, one, two, three, all complete."
"The three of us all wear kasayas, all hide our true faces, all have things we know and do not know. Though our meeting was accidental, monk met monk, false met false. That can be counted as one karmic connection between this young monk and the two Senior Brothers. Since tonight's bond is a matter of fate, it is also something to remember. And once a thought arises, it is difficult to extinguish again."
"If we should have the chance to meet again in the future, then why not still meet in these monks' faces, still speak through this skin, and not tear away this layer of kasaya so easily, lest tonight's chance encounter lose all room to turn back."
When his voice fell, Genjo pressed his palms together, and the other Genjo at his side did the same with a bow. Immediately after, his entire figure transformed into a streak of golden light that drifted away with the wind, evaporating like morning dew and scattering into the void like thin smoke, leaving not the slightest trace behind.
At the sight of this, both men narrowed their eyes slightly at the same time.
Neither Madara Uchiha nor Isshiki Otsutsuki had caught even the slightest clue as to how the other Genjo had appeared or disappeared.
If it were a space-time technique, there had been no spatial fluctuation whatsoever. If it were some kind of change in chakra nature, not even the faintest trace of chakra had remained behind.
It was as though, exactly as Genjo had said, ten thousand Dharmas are nothing but consciousness; they come with the mind and transform from consciousness.
Madara Uchiha stared for a long time at the place where the other Genjo had vanished before finally turning his gaze back to Genjo.
"Junior Brother Genjo, just now you saw through what this monk Ichisun was searching for. Then what about me? What is it that I am searching for, and can it actually be accomplished?"
Genjo lifted his eyes and looked at Madara Uchiha meaningfully, smiling as he said: "Does Senior Brother truly want this young monk to say it?"
"Yes."
"I'm afraid that if this young monk says it, Senior Brother will tear off this layer of kasaya in a moment."
"I won't."
"Then this young monk will say it."
"Say it." Madara Uchiha said through gritted teeth.
At those words, Genjo smiled faintly and said, "To use the moon's radiance as a mirror and reflect the shadows of all living beings; to use the eye of one man to ferry the hearts of the whole world; to seek a realm forever free of the sea of suffering through a method of dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, this is what Senior Brother seeks."
"As for the Senior Brother's question of whether it can be accomplished, the Senior Brother has, for the true meaning in your heart, cast aside everything mundane, severed all ties, and stepped onto a road from which there is absolutely no turning back."
"This heart is like iron, this will like stone. Whether this young monk says yes or says no, what use would that be to the Senior Brother? The road is one the Senior Brother chose for himself. Just keep moving forward and do not look back. Walk to the end, and there you will find your answer."
So he really did know!
Madara Uchiha remained silent, and not a ripple showed on his face.
But Isshiki at the side was inwardly astonished beyond measure.
Is this reincarnation of Indra actually intended to launch the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
What an idiot!
Isshiki Otsutsuki cursed inwardly.
No matter what the purpose of this Indra's reincarnation was, in the end, it would inevitably only be making a wedding dress for Kaguya.
He wanted to stop him, but on second thought, what did it have to do with him?
Even if Kaguya really crawled out of her seal, that would be something for Kaguya's two sons, as well as the soon-to-arrive Momoshiki and Kinshiki, to worry about.
As for himself, he was currently nothing more than a monk trapped in the suffering of reincarnation, so he had better first find a way to track down the World-Honored One.
And as for that old score between him and Kaguya, that too would have to wait until he broke free from this frail shell and regained the power he once possessed.
After a long silence, Madara Uchiha spoke again. "Then what about you, Junior Brother? What is it that you seek? And what exactly is your purpose in entering the world this time?"
Genjo smiled faintly and replied calmly, "During this period, this young monk has traveled through the nations of the Shinobi World, and everywhere I have looked, I have seen nothing but war; everywhere I have listened, I have heard nothing but slaughter."
"Great nations attack one another, small nations are reduced to ruins, ninja make killing their trade, and common people live on blood and tears. Although this young monk is untalented, I still cannot bear to watch the common people suffer like this."
"By chance, I heard that the greatly renowned benefactor, Shinichi Higashino, of Konoha intends to establish an association that will return ninja to their original heart and trace things back to the source of the ancestor, so this young monk wished to go to Konoha and see it with his own eyes. Perhaps he may be able to do something for this world."
"Oh?"
Madara Uchiha raised a brow, and there was a trace of surprise in his tone. "So Junior Brother also cares about such things? I had thought that, in your eyes, with all your talk of the myriad Dharmas being consciousness-only and the three realms being mind-only, these killings, this smoke of war, these lives and deaths of mortals would all be falsehoods, all mere illusions."
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