After hearing Uchiha Madara repeat "Better protect your comrades," Uchiha Obito asked, "What's wrong?"
Uchiha Madara didn't answer Obito's question directly. Instead, he said, "With your current body, you cannot continue to be a ninja."
"How can that work?" Obito exclaimed with excitement. "I finally... finally obtained these eyes. I believe now I can coordinate better with my teammates!"
His voice grew more passionate. "I have finally become a ninja capable of protecting my comrades. How can I stop here?!"
Madara's face remained expressionless. "Look at reality clearly. There are unsatisfactory things everywhere in this world. The longer I live, the more I feel that the world is filled with only depression, pain, and loneliness."
He continued in a solemn tone. "Listen, everything in this world follows the same pattern. Where there is light, there must be darkness. As long as there is the concept of a winner, there must also be a loser. The selfish desire to protect peace will lead to war. To protect love, hatred will be born. This is a causal relationship that cannot be broken. According to common sense..."
Obito couldn't understand any of it and found the lecture tedious, so he interrupted, "Where is this place anyway?"
Madara looked directly into Obito's eyes and asked gravely, "Some people were rescued just because you were injured. Am I right?"
Obito remembered the moment when he pushed Kakashi out of the way before being crushed under the boulder.
Growing increasingly eager to see Kakashi and Nohara Rin, Obito complained, "You talk too much! I don't want to stay here any longer! Hurry..."
Due to his agitation, Obito aggravated his wounds again, and a sharp pain shot through him, making him wince.
"You can leave anytime you want," Madara said, turning around and walking slowly toward his seat, "as long as you can move."
Obito sensed something was off. Why would this old man live alone in a place like this? Thinking carefully, he knew all the elderly in Konoha Village, but he had never met this man, which meant... this old man wasn't currently a ninja from Konoha.
That meant...
"Old man, are you a rogue ninja?" Obito asked. "Who are you really?"
Madara settled into his seat and replied, "I am the ghost of the Uchiha—Uchiha Madara!"
Obito looked at him in confusion. "Madara? You mean... my ancestor, Uchiha Madara?"
Obito shook his head in denial. "How could Madara still be alive? How old would that make you?"
Madara asked calmly, "Would you prefer to believe that I am the Shinigami?"
Suddenly, Madara smiled. "That's right. In a sense, I am indeed the Shinigami. This real world is hell! If it weren't for the golem behind me continuing to provide chakra to this old immortal, I would die immediately."
Obito looked at the fearsome Gedo Statue, his heart filling with an inexplicable dread.
"I want to go back!" Obito struggled to move his body and fell to the ground.
"There is no exit here," Madara stated flatly. "To put it bluntly, neither you nor I can leave from here with our bodies in this condition."
But Obito wasn't listening and continued trying to move.
Madara warned, "If you keep moving around, Hashirama's artificial body that was finally attached to you will fall apart. Do you want to die? I need you to do many things for me in the future. Stay with me for what remains of your life—you've been given a second chance. Don't rush toward death."
"What do you want?" Obito demanded. "What would a creepy old man like you want with a kid like me?"
"To break the chain of cause and effect in this world!" Madara declared solemnly. "To create a world where there are only winners, only peace, only love—only these things!"
Obito responded angrily, "Who cares about your nonsense! I just want to return to everyone!"
"I told you that nothing in this world goes as one wishes," Madara replied. "One day you will understand this truth."
Obito ignored him and continued to struggle.
Madara no longer tried to dissuade him. "If you want to die, go ahead. But if you do, I will take your Sharingan."
"Why do you want my eyes?" Obito snapped. "Don't you already have a Sharingan?"
"No, I gave my original eyes to someone else. This is just a spare that was transplanted later. It's not a bad thing to have more in stock. My right socket is still empty."
Madara lifted his right bangs, revealing an empty eye socket.
"Sharingan can only exert its true power when both left and right are present," Madara continued.
Obito thought of Kakashi. Kakashi now had his left eye, which meant they could become stronger together. In that case, the two of them could better protect Rin.
He couldn't stay here any longer!
However, Obito's injuries were still too severe, and he passed out from the strain.
...
Sora deactivated the visual sharing technique and lay on his bed, meditating about the path ahead.
Project Tsuki no Me would definitely succeed in the future. Once the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast, everyone would be caught in it—even those who tried to hide would not be spared.
The light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi couldn't penetrate the Susanoo of a Rinnegan wielder, and those with the power of the Six Paths were immune to the spell.
In other words, Sora would need either the Six Tomoe Rinnegan or the power of the Six Paths.
However, it was impossible for Sora to acquire either through normal means.
So he would have to rely on the system.
But the number of witness points required was an astronomical figure that Sora couldn't even imagine now.
To counter the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the conditions were extremely strict—it required someone who possessed the Rinnegan and someone who had chakra from all the Tailed Beasts to form seals together.
And that wasn't even considering Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and the Ōtsutsuki clan beyond the sky.
Therefore, to survive such chaotic situations in the future, he must become stronger.
Thinking of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya... Sora recalled that there seemed to be an Ōtsutsuki in the ninja world already.
And there would be another Ōtsutsuki who would travel through time in the future, one who apparently would die at the hands of Uzumaki Naruto and his future son.
When that Ōtsutsuki died, a special power system would appear.
The Rinnegan of the Ōtsutsuki clan and their special power system... it all seemed quite confusing.
Sora didn't know what would happen to Uzumaki Naruto's son.
That day was still far in the future, so he needed to plan carefully.
The current war should be almost over after Nohara Rin's death.
Sora breathed a long sigh of relief. After the war, he would be able to rest properly and think about what lay ahead.
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