That afternoon.
Deep within the Uchiha Clan compound, Chiya's residence was quiet and elegant, as though it existed in a different world from the thunderous celebrations outside.
The traditional sliding doors of the Japanese style room were left open.
Carefully trimmed pine trees in the courtyard cast mottled shadows, while a gentle breeze rustled through the branches.
The war at home had finally come to an end as well.
Chiya sat casually on a low couch with his outer robe hanging loosely open.
Mikoto knelt across from him and skillfully poured him a cup of hot tea.
The fragrant aroma slowly filled the room.
The blush on her face had not completely faded yet, but her eyes had already returned to their usual calm and focused look.
"Chiya-nii, these are all the reports that need your review. I've already marked the most important ones."
Mikoto gently pushed a neatly organized stack of scrolls toward him.
The top scroll bore a special encrypted seal.
Chiya picked up the teacup and took a sip.
His eyes swept over the encrypted scroll.
Instead of opening it immediately, he looked at Mikoto.
"Is this about Obito being taken away?"
"Yes."
Mikoto nodded with a serious expression.
"I mobilized every secret channel the clan could use and cross checked everything with Obito's vague descriptions, especially the part about the eternal dream."
"Although there is very little direct evidence, all the indirect clues, especially the understanding of the Uchiha's power and the clan's ancient secrets..."
"In the end, they all point toward someone who should no longer exist."
She took a deep breath.
Speaking that name seemed to require tremendous courage.
Her voice was very quiet, but perfectly clear.
"Uchiha... Madara."
The room seemed to grow colder the moment that name was spoken.
No surprise appeared on Chiya's face.
Instead, he smiled knowingly with a hint of mockery.
He set down his teacup and picked up the encrypted scroll.
Rather than opening it, he simply tapped it lightly with his fingers.
"That's right."
"It's him."
"That old man who thinks he can control everything by hiding behind the scenes."
Hearing Chiya confirm her suspicions, Mikoto's heart sank.
Although she had guessed it might be true, hearing it confirmed still brought a tremendous shock.
Her eyes became even sharper and more serious.
"So it really is him..."
"The legendary ninja who founded Konoha together with the First Hokage..."
"He's actually still alive?"
"And..."
Thoughts of all the terrifying legends surrounding Uchiha Madara flashed through Mikoto's mind.
"His power was already beyond common sense back then."
"He stood shoulder to shoulder with the God of Shinobi."
"If he's really still alive after all these years, just how terrifying has he become?"
"He has probably already mastered the ultimate power of the Sharingan."
"His very existence is the greatest threat to the entire ninja world."
Thinking that Uchiha Madara intended to target both the Uchiha and Chiya made Mikoto's heart pound uneasily.
It was the fear born from facing the unknown and absolute power.
Seeing her deeply worried expression, Chiya suddenly laughed softly.
He reached out and gently tapped her smooth forehead with one finger.
The affectionate gesture carried a trace of teasing, instantly breaking the heavy atmosphere.
"Don't make such a serious face."
"Uchiha Madara..."
"Hah."
"When all is said and done, he's just a pitiful tool."
"A tool?"
Mikoto froze.
Covering her forehead where he had tapped her, she looked at him in confusion.
Calling the legendary Uchiha Madara a tool was almost unbelievable.
"That's right."
Chiya leaned back slightly, completely relaxed.
His tone carried the calmness of someone who understood everything.
"A man deceived by an ancient lie."
"He believes he's carrying the mission of saving the world."
"But in reality, he's only running madly along a path that someone else laid out for him."
"A tool."
He paused before looking into Mikoto's puzzled eyes.
"Do you know why he was willing to completely break with his best friend Hashirama and even abandon the Konoha he personally helped create?"
Mikoto shook her head.
This was one of the greatest secrets shared only between the Uchiha and Konoha's highest leaders.
She only vaguely knew that it had been because of differences in ideals.
"A large part of it was because of the stone tablet beneath Nankashinsha."
Chiya's calm voice revealed a shocking secret.
"The stone tablet?"
Mikoto was stunned once again.
"The one... that only the Sharingan can read?"
"That's right."
Chiya nodded.
"The stronger your eye power is, the more of it you can decipher."
"Back then, Madara had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"He saw far more than ordinary clan members."
"But the information on that stone tablet had been cleverly altered."
"It pointed toward an extreme and absurd solution."
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi..."
"A massive genjutsu that covers the entire world."
Chiya explained with a trace of ridicule in his voice.
"It traps every living person inside an eternal dream without pain."
"In that dream, everyone can fulfill their wishes."
"There are no wars."
"No suffering."
"No loss."
"It appears to be a perfect world of peace."
Mikoto's eyes widened in disbelief.
She instinctively objected.
"H... how could that be?"
"What about reality?"
"What happens to the real world?"
"Reality?"
"In the eyes of the one who proposed that solution, reality had already become hopeless."
"It was the source of all suffering."
"So it was better to abandon it completely."
Chiya let out a mocking laugh.
"And Madara..."
"That proud and stubborn fool."
"After seeing that altered plan to save the world, he completely believed it."
"He believed it was the only way to achieve true peace."
"He believed Hashirama's path was naïve and doomed to fail."
"He wanted to become the one who carried out that divine revelation."
"He wanted to become the one who controlled the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"He wanted to become the one who gave the world its eternal dream."
He looked at Mikoto with deep eyes.
"So he left."
"He abandoned Konoha."
"He searched for a way to make that insane dream become reality."
"He believed he was chasing his ideals."
"But from beginning to end..."
"He was nothing more than an important chess piece in the hands of someone hiding even deeper in the shadows."
Mikoto was completely speechless.
Her lips remained slightly parted as she stared at him.
The image of Uchiha Madara in her mind had completely changed.
From the powerful and terrifying legendary ninja...
Into...
A pitiful man who had been deceived by an illusion of saving the world and led down an extreme path.
Using a dream to control the entire world?
Making everyone live inside a fake illusion forever?
The idea itself was already madness beyond reason.
She could not understand how such a powerful man, one who had survived the brutal Warring States Era and founded the village system alongside the First Hokage, could believe something so absurd.
How could he possibly think deceiving the entire world was peace?
"H... how could he..."
Mikoto murmured.
Her face was filled with confusion and disbelief.
"This is even more terrifying and unreasonable than simply conquering or destroying the world."
"This isn't salvation."
"It's the complete denial of humanity's free will and reality itself."
She looked up at Chiya.
Her expression was complicated.
"I might still understand the logic behind pursuing power, domination, or even destruction."
"But this..."
"Creating an eternal dream as peace?"
"That's simply..."
"Madness."
"That's right."
"He went mad."
Chiya spoke indifferently.
"Blinded by great power and obsessive beliefs."
"Completely immersed in the role of a self proclaimed savior."
"Isn't that madness?"
"Every plan."
"Every action."
"No matter how grand or terrifying it appeared."
"Everything revolved around that false goal."
"That's why I call him a tool."
"A tool living inside a dream someone else created for him."
"A tool even more pitiful than ordinary people."
Chiya stood up and walked toward the window.
He quietly looked out over the peaceful courtyard.
"Still."
"Even if he's only a tool..."
"He's a dangerous tool."
"His power is real."
"And he's been carrying out his schemes in secret for decades."
"The fact that he has set his sights on Obito..."
"Is probably only one step of his larger plan."
He turned around.
His eyes had returned to their usual calm and sharp appearance.
"Alright."
"Now we know who our enemy is."
"And we know roughly what he wants."
"That's enough."
"An old relic living inside a dream isn't worthy of making us lose our composure."
"If he wants to hide in the shadows..."
"Then we'll simply wait for him to make his move."
"Now..."
"It's time to deal with the problems in the real world."
"The Hokage's side has probably been waiting impatiently."
His relaxed tone made it seem as though they had not just been discussing a terrifying legend capable of overturning the entire world.
Instead, it sounded like nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
That absolute confidence and calmness quietly swept away the heavy pressure that the name Uchiha Madara had placed upon Mikoto's heart.
That's right!
No matter how powerful Madara was.
No matter how insane his dream had become.
The man standing before her now...
Chiya-nii.
The man who had ended the Third Great Ninja War by himself and forced the entire ninja world into submission.
He was no weaker.
Mikoto took a deep breath.
She straightened her back once more.
The seriousness in her eyes became determination.
"I understand, Chiya-nii."
"I'll make the preparations immediately."
"We'll go to the Hokage Building together."
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