Itachi no unmei -イタチの運命-
(The Destiny of Itachi)
Part 8 : The revelations of Madara
I had finally arrived at Madara's lair. To tell the truth, I didn't know what was waiting for me there. What had happened during my absence? What were they planning?
— Itachi...»
Madara, I mean the real Madara, was there, at the entrance to the lair, waiting patiently. Had he been waiting for me here? Yet I had arranged to meet him somewhere else...
— Madara is waiting for you.» he said. «Did you get what he wanted?»
I nodded in agreement.
— Very good.»
I was just entering the lair when Madara suddenly stopped me with one hand.
— Stay there.»
I didn't understand... What did he want now?
— I'd rather have talked to you. There wasn't time. I'd like to talk to you for a while before you hand over the merchandise to Madara.»
In the end, I wasn't surprised. On the other hand, something bothered me when he spoke...
— Why do you keep calling him "Madara"? You're Madara, aren't you?»
He smiled slightly, then huffed.
— I'm dead. He's the new Madara. At least, I hope he is... To tell you the truth, he's let me down badly.»
— In other words... He wasn't always Madara.»
— Indeed...» he looked at me with interest «You... Are you up to something, tell me? Have you figured something out?»
He read me like a book. It wasn't the same level of deduction as the other Madara. Given the situation, I felt I could talk to him freely, without fear. Still, I had to be sure...
— Let's go to your dimension of darkness. I wish the other couldn't hear us.»
He chuckled slightly at my suggestion.
— You take risks... But I can see it... You've realized that if you can convince me... I won't do you any harm.»
I'd never been in a situation like this before... I had a gift for manipulating others. No one had ever been able to really read me. But he... He wasn't just anyone.
WAP
A sudden thud. We had finally arrived in the dark. The dimension of Madara's Mangekyou Sharingan.
So I immediately spoke up, which wasn't usually my style.
— Obito Uchiha... Sound familiar?»
Madara's scarlet pupils lit up in the dark, taken with interest.
— Yes.» he replied simply.
— Today, I arrived a little late... Something came up. But we... But not only that. I took a little detour on the way back. I met up with someone... Under pressure, I made him talk. Kakashi Hatake... He told me that the man who gave him his Sharingan was none other than a certain Obito Uchiha. This Obito... He's the Madara of today. Am I wrong?»
Madara's pupils flashed even more intensely in the dark.
— You're a true genius... Nothing like those stupid ninjas of today... Yes, you are. It's the truth.»
— So... What did you want to tell me?» I asked.
He looked at me for a moment, then spoke:
— There's something about you that interests me... You're not just any Uchiha. Somehow... you remind me... of myself when I was younger.»
I... Like him? No...
— Madara told me a little about you... You slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan, and for that, I respect you. But I... You didn't kill them all, did you?»
I frowned. He understood...
— Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of lecturing you on the fact that... Your brother survived. Quite the contrary.»
In his eyes, I detected a hint of compassion.
— I had... I had... brothers. I had four.»
He paused.
— Two of my brothers died very young during the first great ninja war. I was left with only one...»
I see, so he understood what I had done. That's why he's even more interested in me today.
— My last brother, my youngest... Was called Izuna. He had become... one of my only obsessions. This... And protecting my Clan. But he... He really came first. He was... All I cared about. It's the same for you with yours... Isn't it?»
He could really read me. But somehow, was that such bad news? As long as he didn't say anything to the other Madara... If he understood me, if he bonded with me, that would fix things.
— Don't repeat our conversation to your sidekick.»
— Obviously.»
— That's right. Everything I do is done... For the village of Konoha, and even more so for my little brother, Sasuke. Just like you.»
From the shape of his eyes, a big smile must have appeared on his face.
— Know... That not everything is simple. My brother died in the 2nd great ninja war. Then, my clan cowardly abandoned me for the village of Konoha.»
His eyes narrowed, a symbol of his furrowed brow and annoyance.
— This destiny... You're very likely to experience it, too.»
He was right. But I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen.
— Madara... I want you to know that I've studied your case at length. It's not very complicated, you're present in many history books. I'm different from you. I've done everything in the interests of the village and my brother. If you'd just agreed to join forces with the other clans and stop the war... Your brother wouldn't be dead.»
He screws red. Now I'd upset him. Really pissed him off.
— Are you provoking me now? Do you even know who I am?»
— You're wrong about everything. If you had simply created Konoha with the other clans from the start, you wouldn't be here plotting today. There wouldn't have been a second great ninja war.»
I had two options: Either convince him, which was difficult when faced with an adversary who had lived for a long time with the same ideology in mind. Or I had to find a flaw in him to defeat him once and for all.
— You know... Regardless of certain mistakes I may have made... I really want peace. You just can't get there that easily. Life is difficult, you see. I think you understand that yourself, don't you? You were forced to destroy your clan to save the village. But in the end... Wasn't there any other way? Did it ever occur to you? You went for the simplest solution, the one that came directly to you. It was the same for me. But today... I know it's the simplest and most obvious solution... That has the best chance of being realized.»
I didn't know what to say. But a question now came to mind...
— You have a peace project, don't you? Tell me, concretely... What does it involve?»
Madara closed his eyes for a moment. Then he spoke calmly:
— To do away with war, you have to do away with any desire to wage it. The slightest social relationship can lead to the desire to fight. As long as men live in society... War is inevitable. But the other problem is that if men don't live with each other, they get bored. They were born to live in societies. To deprive a man of his social ties... Is tantamount to cutting him off from the world. It even removes his will to live. So, society is essential. But everyone needs a different kind of society, one that functions according to their own ideals. Nobody can agree on everything... People have to agree, and they can't find a common ideology. The only solution... Is for everyone to live in a world of virtual society, where their own ideology and sensibility take precedence.»
His reasoning was coherent. But I could see what he was getting at... And he was wrong.
— Men should... to live in their own society. For that... There is a genjutsu technique. The ultimate genjutsu. This technique allows... Immerse each person in their own genjutsu. A genjutsu where they live a paradise, where their ideas and sensibilities come first. Thus, without being aware of it, all beings are separated. And what's more... They lead their ideal lives.»
This genjutsu... It rang a bell. I could produce that with my Tsukuyomi. Anyway, the genjutsu's duration was limited to 48 hours and I couldn't use it too many times because it consumed a colossal amount of chakra.
— The technique I'm talking about... Tells you something... Doesn't it?»
Madara had been right.
— What I'm talking about... It's a technique that only a God on the level of hermit rikudo could produce. Its name... Is the infinite Tsukuyomi.» Madara explained.
The infinite Tsukuyomi... No doubt about it. They were linked.
— I have mastered a similar technique... It's that of my Mangekyou Sharingan. It's called Tsukuyomi. It seems... the same. But more limited.» I confessed.
— Oh... Interesting...» Madara murmured with interest.
My power... So it wasn't all nonsense?
— The Tsukuyomi... I studied the different powers of the Mangekyou Sharingan. They were never written down in books... in my time. But as the first user of this ward, I was able to see its evolution in the Uchiha Clan. I know most of the techniques that can be obtained with these eyes... Tsukuyomi is not one of them.» said Madara.
His eyes crinkled, he smiled.
— Itachi Uchiha... You're definitely not just anyone. You're... special. You've got it in you... An interesting destiny. Very interesting.»
His eyes shifted. He was moving in the dark. He circled around me, brushing my face. I turned my gaze to catch a vague glimpse of him.
— But you see... Your destiny will undoubtedly lead you to death. My eyes see it very clearly.»
His eyes suddenly try to move. He was staring into my eyes.
— You see... The second ability of my Mangekyou Sharingan allows me to know the destiny of others, when I'm very interested in them. I've seen yours.»
He brushed his mouth over my ear and whispered:
— Your destiny is to die young. Then, when you die, you'll realize that your plan wasn't so infallible. And... It will fail. You are destined... To a tragic end. To die in pain... both physical and psychological.»
He paused. His eyes disappeared.
— Remember what I just told you. Whatever you do, your destiny is already written.»
My thoughts blurred. I saw nothing. Everything was... black. I felt empty... Meaningless. Who was I really? What were my dreams? I felt... That along the way... I'd forgotten them.
📖To be Continued...📖