"I have my reasons for standing by and watching coldly."
"Obito, you need to understand something—this world does not revolve around you. Not everyone will act according to your wishes."
Uchiha Ren knew that the current Obito was extremely biased in his thinking and emotionally unstable. Harsh words could easily trigger his rebellious instincts. But Ren had no intention of soothing Obito's wounded heart with hollow platitudes.
What mattered more now was forcing Obito to confront his own heart—to truly see the reality of this world.
Ren continued,
"When the higher-ups of Konohagakure assigned you to Team Minato, did anyone ask for your opinion? When the war began, did anyone ask for your consent? When Madara Uchiha chose you as his pawn, did he ever ask what you wanted?"
"That is simply how the world works."
"If you want to cut off the chain of causality behind all this… then the only way is to change the world itself."
Obito fell silent, stunned.
Ren's words made him think of many things—so much so that he felt them resonate deeply within him.
Although he had been deceived by Madara, Obito had spent considerable time wandering through the shinobi world recently. During that time, he had witnessed many things firsthand and gradually came to accept Madara's vision of changing the world—as well as the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Obito had seen enough to understand the cruelty of reality. Because of that, Ren's words struck him with even greater weight.
Slowly calming down, Obito looked at Ren.
"So… you allowed Madara's plan to proceed because you agree with his ideals?"
"No." Ren shook his head.
"Madara's ideas are admirable, but his plan is deeply flawed. As for why I'm temporarily not interfering with it—there are other reasons."
Obito didn't ask what those reasons were. Instead, he asked,
"Then what about Madara's ideas? And what about his plan?"
Ren paused for a moment before asking in return,
"Did Madara ever tell you about the journey of his life?"
Obito looked confused and shook his head.
"No. He only told me about his ideals and his plan."
Ren nodded.
"Then let me tell you about Madara Uchiha's life."
"Madara was born during the Warring States Period, an era of endless conflict. From a young age, he repeatedly experienced the deaths of loved ones. Deep in his heart, he longed for peace."
"During that time, he met someone who shared the same experiences and the same dream—Hashirama Senju. The two hit it off immediately and became friends."
"At the time, Hashirama already had the beginnings of an idea: reconcile the constantly fighting clans and build a village together. If everyone united under one community, then perhaps the endless wars would finally stop."
"Back then, Madara had not yet formed his own ideas, so he temporarily accepted Hashirama's vision."
"At the same time, Madara understood something clearly—neither of them were strong enough yet. They had no real authority, and no one would listen seriously to their words."
"So the first step toward realizing their dream was simple: become powerful enough to command a voice."
"But later, various events occurred. The friendship between Madara and Hashirama was torn apart by the conflict between their clans, and the two were forced into battle against each other."
"It continued until the day they each became the leaders of their respective clans—the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. By that time, Madara's last remaining brother, Izuna Uchiha, had fallen on the battlefield."
"Both of them were truly exhausted by the endless fighting."
"And so, persuaded by Hashirama, Madara agreed to a ceasefire. Together, they founded Konohagakure—the Hidden Leaf Village."
"At the time, many ninja clans of the Land of Fire joined Konoha. Their interests became aligned, forming a shared community."
"For a brief moment, the war-torn shinobi world experienced a fragile peace."
"But when ninja clans in other countries realized that they needed to unite in order to compete with Konoha—and began forming their own hidden villages—Madara saw the coming crisis."
"He realized that Konoha and the other hidden villages still stood on opposing sides. Their interests would inevitably clash, and when that happened, wars even larger than those of the Warring States Period would break out."
"And because of that, the philosophies of Madara and Hashirama began to diverge."
"Madara believed conflict should be resolved through overwhelming force."
"Hashirama, on the other hand, believed disputes could be solved through dialogue."
"However, at the time Hashirama had promised Madara that he would become Konoha's First Hokage—the village's first leader. Because of that promise, their ideological conflict did not explode immediately."
"Hashirama would yield to Madara, while Madara believed that Konoha would eventually follow his ideals."
"But in the end, Hashirama failed to fulfill that promise. He himself became the First Hokage."
"To Madara, it felt like betrayal."
"And he also realized that Konoha would inevitably fall into greater wars because of Hashirama's compromises."
"So Madara decided to leave Konoha—and take the Uchiha Clan with him."
"But at that time, the clan had been blinded by the brief peace. One by one, they abandoned Madara."
"Not a single person followed him."
"That betrayal cut even deeper—and planted the seed for the extreme path Madara would walk in the future."
Ren paused, giving Obito time to digest everything before continuing.
"After leaving Konoha, Madara traveled throughout the shinobi world. The more he saw, the clearer he understood the nature of this world."
"Because everyone has their own standpoint, wherever there are people, there will always be conflict."
"When facing greater threats, groups with smaller internal conflicts unite and form a community of shared interests. Those conflicts then evolve into war."
"This is inevitable."
"Even among beasts, the same rule applies."
"So achieving eternal peace is almost impossible."
"As long as people exist… as long as living beings exist… conflict will never truly end."
"And it was around this time that Madara encountered the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan."
"And from that moment… he began walking down an extreme path."
At this point, Obito finally couldn't hold back his question.
"Why would the Eye of the Moon Plan drive Madara to such extremes? Isn't a world with only victors… a world filled with love… a good thing?"
Ren sneered with disdain.
"Let's set aside whether the plan itself is even real."
"Do you even know what the true nature of the Eye of the Moon Plan is?"
The true nature…
Obito almost repeated the doctrine Madara had instilled in him—the theory of a world with only winners and only love.
But seeing Ren's expression, he knew that wasn't the real answer. Slowly, he shook his head.
Ren explained calmly:
"The Eye of the Moon Plan drags everyone into an illusion where each person experiences their own perfect dream."
"On the surface, it sounds beautiful."
"But human lifespans are limited. Even if nutrition were somehow sustained, if no new children are born in the real world, humanity would eventually go extinct."
"This isn't solving the problem."
"It's eliminating the people who raise the problem."
"In essence, it's no different from destroying the entire shinobi world."
"At best… it's simply a more comfortable form of euthanasia."
"And you don't think that kind of thinking is extreme?"
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