Cutting Off the World's Cause and Effect
Hearing Uchiha Madara repeat the words, "Better to protect your comrades," Uchiha Obito furrowed his brow and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Madara didn't answer directly. Instead, he said flatly, "With your current body, you can't continue to be a shinobi."
Obito protested, his voice rising with emotion. "What are you talking about?! I finally awakened these eyes… I finally gained the strength to fight! I can protect Kakashi and Rin now! I've become a ninja who can actually make a difference. How can I stop here?!"
But Madara remained cold and unmoved. "Face reality," he said. "This world is nothing but suffering. The longer you live, the more you understand that bitterness, pain, and loneliness are all it has to offer."
He continued, "Everything in this world is bound by cause and effect. Where there is light, there is darkness. If there are winners, there must be losers. The desire to protect peace breeds war. The desire to protect love breeds hatred. It's all inevitable. That is the structure of this flawed world."
Obito frowned, unable to follow the old man's logic. "What are you even talking about? And where is this place?"
Madara looked directly into Obito's eyes, his tone suddenly deeper. "Some people only survived because you were injured. Isn't that right?"
Obito's mind flashed back to the moment he pushed Kakashi out of the way—the moment the rocks came crashing down on him. That sacrifice had saved them.
But now, the desire to see Kakashi and Rin again burned inside him. "You talk too much! I'm not staying here any longer. I want to go back! Hurry up—!"
He tried to sit up but the pain ripped through his body, making him cry out and contort in agony.
"You're free to leave—if you can move," Madara said, turning and slowly walking toward his stone throne.
Obito looked around again. Something felt wrong.
Why would an old man like this live in such a strange, desolate place?
Come to think of it, Obito had never seen him before in Konoha. That meant… he wasn't from the village.
"…You're a missing-nin, aren't you? Who are you really?"
Madara sat down with a quiet groan and said, "I am the ghost of the Uchiha… Uchiha Madara."
Obito froze. "Madara? The Uchiha Madara? My ancestor?"
"No way… Madara died decades ago!"
Madara gave a thin smile. "Then would you prefer I told you I'm a Shinigami?"
He chuckled. "In a way, I am. This world is hell, after all."
He gestured behind him. "If not for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path supplying me with chakra, this decrepit body would've died long ago."
Obito turned his gaze toward the grotesque statue looming behind Madara. A cold dread settled in his chest.
"I want to go back…" Obito muttered, dragging himself forward.
Madara sighed. "There's no exit. Not for you, not for me. Not with the state our bodies are in."
Still, Obito ignored him and tried to crawl forward.
Madara's voice sharpened. "Keep straining yourself and the artificial body I grafted from Hashirama's cells will come apart. Do you want to die so soon? I have plans for you. I brought you back from the brink of death because you're needed. Don't waste that."
Obito glared up at him. "Why? Why go through all this trouble for me? What do you want, old man?"
"To sever the world's cause and effect," Madara declared. "To create a world with no losers. Only peace. Only love. A perfect reality."
Obito growled, "What does that have to do with me?! I just want to return to my friends!"
Madara stood, his gaze hard. "The world does not bend to your wishes. One day, you'll understand."
Obito refused to listen and continued dragging himself across the stone floor.
"If you're so eager to die," Madara said darkly, "then I'll just take your Sharingan."
Obito's voice turned sharp. "Why my eyes? Don't you already have your own?"
"No," Madara said calmly. "I gave my original eyes away long ago. These are replacements. It never hurts to have spares. My right eye socket is still empty."
He swept aside his bangs, revealing the hollow space.
"The Sharingan's full potential is only realized when both eyes are complete."
Obito's thoughts turned to Kakashi.
Kakashi had his left eye… Could the two of them still fight together?
If he reunited with Kakashi, maybe they could protect Rin—together.
That thought alone gave Obito the strength to keep crawling forward… but his body couldn't handle it.
The pain overwhelmed him. Darkness pulled him under.
And he lost consciousness.
---
Elsewhere, Chi Yu closed his eyes and ended the visual sharing link, lying still on his bed, deep in thought.
The Eye of the Moon Plan would one day succeed. Of that, he had no doubt.
Once the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast, no one would escape its light. Even hiding wouldn't work—only those with the power of the Six Paths could resist.
The light of the Tsukuyomi couldn't penetrate a Susanoo empowered by Six Paths chakra. Possessing either the Six Paths Rinnegan or Six Paths Senjutsu would be the only way to break free.
But gaining such power through conventional means was impossible for someone like Chi Yu.
So he could only rely on the system.
The problem was, the number of "witness points" needed was astronomical—beyond imagination.
And to even initiate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, two conditions had to be met: the caster must possess the Rinnegan and have the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts.
Then there were the wild cards: Ōtsutsuki Kaguya… and the Ōtsutsuki Clan from beyond the stars.
To survive in a world headed for that level of chaos, Chi Yu knew he had to become stronger. Much stronger.
His thoughts drifted again.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya… Wasn't there already an Ōtsutsuki in the current ninja world?
And in the distant future, another would arrive—only to be killed by Uzumaki Naruto and his son.
That event would mark the emergence of a completely new power system tied to the Ōtsutsuki.
Rinnegan evolution… alien bloodlines… abilities yet unseen…
Chi Yu couldn't see beyond that future. The manga only gave fragments. What came after Naruto's son was still a mystery.
All he could do now was prepare—carefully and methodically.
The current war, he surmised, would soon end… likely after Rin Nohara's death.
Chi Yu exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on the ceiling. When the war was over, he'd finally have a moment to breathe—and plan the next steps.
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