Uchiha Madara

Three days earlier, within the Land of Iron.

"The Graveyard of Mountains... this should be the place."

The white puppet in his hand silently turned to ashes. Kagami Uchiha, clad in a white Sixth Division captain's haori, looked at the enormous mountain and frowned.

After Aizen's soul-body modifications and comprehensive physical enhancements, wearing the Sixth Division captain's haori, he could now be considered a rare match for anyone in the entire Ninja World.

The ability of Jiejin, his Zanpakuto, was practically unsolvable against ninja, because he had held back when facing Jiraiya. He did not need to strike anyone at all. As long as he pointed at a target within his line of sight and inside the Nature Energy interference zone, he could deprive them of their ability to breathe.

In a sense, his whipping of Jiraiya had been pure venting. He truly did not know what he could do to save Konoha from Aizen's shadow.

Aizen had said he did not harbor lethal hostility toward him. Kagami Uchiha understood that clearly himself. He, too, was struggling.

Kagami Uchiha genuinely believed in the Will of Fire and firmly believed that Konoha could change the entire Ninja World. He had always maintained considerable hostility toward the existence of Aizen.

He did not want to understand that bizarre and terrifying man. In Kagami Uchiha's eyes, that man possessed a sense of alienation utterly at odds with the entire world. Even the Second Hokage's fondness for researching ninjutsu now seemed exceptionally kind and amiable by comparison.

The Sharingan was the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Uchiha had always been extremely sensitive to the emotions of others.

A superficial encounter would make Aizen seem as gentle and tranquil as moonlight. But after truly spending more time with him, one could feel that he really was moonlight.

The moon itself did not shine. It merely reflected the radiance of the sun, and the moon itself possessed no will. Indifferent, heartless, pure, and cold—the lightless moon. That was Aizen's true nature.

Could not bear to hurt others? Held expectations for others?

What a joke.

That man merely treated everyone's minds as his own food and stepping stones.

Kagami Uchiha had heard that some carnivores, when they were too full to eat or simply did not wish to eat, would deliberately keep herbivores penned up, fattening them well as they waited for the best opportunity to feast.

In Kagami Uchiha's eyes, Sosuke Aizen was precisely that kind of predator. He did not care in the slightest what Konoha became. That scholarly and reasonable appearance he displayed was merely meant to raise Konoha, this bait, into something larger and stronger.

And every one of those being kept had their own reasons for turning a blind eye. Hatake Sakumo did it for his son, Dan Katō for his girlfriend, and many other ninja had their own reasons as well. The only one who truly wanted to tear away Aizen's mask and look upon the horror beneath it seemed to be Kagami Uchiha.

Yet before Aizen, that hostility seemed so insignificant, so utterly worthless.

He knew very clearly, understood completely, and had even broken everything down for them, telling them all that they could do whatever they wanted. He simply did not care.

Faced with someone who laid everything out so plainly, understood him even better than he understood himself, yet explicitly declared that he did not care at all, Kagami Uchiha truly did not know how to face such a world or such teammates.

So he could only run. Hatake Sakumo escaped reality by pretending not to care about anything, avoiding further emotional investment. But as a sentimental Uchiha, Kagami could only physically leave Aizen's side and seek an answer from his own perspective.

And this mission was a good opportunity. At first, Kagami Uchiha had simply assumed that some ninja village was coveting Konoha. He thought he could kill them all, then wander outside for a while. But after seeing the puppets created by Wood Release, the strange Chakra on them, and their bizarre words and actions, Kagami Uchiha ultimately continued his investigation.

The result was that he had arrived before this Graveyard of Mountains in the Land of Iron.

Just by looking at the enormous mountain and sensing the nearly riddled internal structure and its various energy zones, Kagami Uchiha knew that this was likely a large research base.

Though it was vastly inferior to Aizen's Unseen Court, judging by its research and energy levels, this Testing Ground was not to be underestimated. After all, one was a joint research facility built by Konoha, while this place had been constructed independently.

Another person like Aizen... If I can deal with him, it would be best to do it early.

"I think I can still be saved. We can discuss how to dance between us—"

"..."

Looking at the towering mountain, Kagami Uchiha frowned and reduced the babbling gray-white puppet in his hand to ashes.

These Wood Release puppets were extremely difficult to detect. By using the earth veins and Nature Energy, they could move swiftly underground. But Kagami Uchiha could fly through the sky as well, and he was not slow.

Though he could not understand the nonsensical ramblings of those gray-white puppets, after some investigation and research, Kagami Uchiha used the unique properties of his soul-body and Energy System to locate the area where these Wood Release puppets were most densely concentrated.

By normal logic, Kagami Uchiha should have returned and reported directly to Aizen that he had discovered traces of possible research here. But Kagami Uchiha did not want to. He truly did not want to see more people like Aizen appear in this world. One Aizen was enough.

Besides, though it was because of Aizen, he was confident that there were probably not many people in the entire Ninja World who could truly harm him.

So it seemed he had only one choice left.

Looking at the enormous mountain, Kagami Uchiha's Three Tomoe pupils rapidly spun and spread, finally condensing into a triangular symbol.

The Withered Branch-like Zanpakuto in his hand began to beep. Countless flames ignited out of thin air in every direction, the sky gradually darkened, and specks of ash like snowflakes drifted down.

To oppose Aizen, Kagami Uchiha had concealed far too much. Yet likewise, to prevent a second possible Aizen from appearing, he decided to release certain things and ultimately bury their ambition and terror completely beneath the flames of the Ninja World.

Only the Will of Fire could reform this world.

This was Kagami Uchiha's path.

"Pseudo Bankai..."

"Cough, cough, cough. Attacking someone else's home the moment you arrive... isn't that a bit excessive?"

As ash gradually fell from the sky, a series of coughs slowly sounded from within the Graveyard of Mountains.

The massive mountain seemed alive. Under Kagami Uchiha's gaze, its interior continuously writhed before an entrance passage finally emerged.

An Old Man who looked frail and near death stood trembling at the entrance, leaning on a cane and coughing. A huge fan-like object was strapped to his back. Squinting, he raised his head to look at Kagami Uchiha floating in midair.

"An Uchiha Clan ninja... Being played in the palm of a junior like Aizen all the time must feel awful, huh?"

"Who are you?!"

"If you are from the Uchiha Clan, there is no way you have not heard my name."

The old man coughed and raised a hand to tap his cane. Looking at the Uchiha ninja floating in the sky, he revealed a strange smile.

"You already have the answer in your heart, don't you?"

"...But weren't you already killed in the battle at the Valley of the End?"

"Heh heh. Kagami Uchiha, is it? Didn't you also die during that encirclement, together with that fellow Tobirama?"

"The Second Hokage and I sacrificed ourselves for the Will of Fire. We are not like someone like you, who betrayed the village and betrayed his own beliefs!"

"I betrayed the village? You really dare say that, you Uchiha brat."

The old man coughed, emotionally striking his cane against the ground. His damaged single eye looked toward Kagami Uchiha floating in the sky.

Though he was still arrogant and still conceited, anyone could see that this once-powerful man's life was now like a candle flickering in the wind. The slightest bump could send him into ruin.

Kagami Uchiha, high in the sky, fell into another struggle. The old man's identity was naturally clear enough, but the secrets of Konoha he spoke of, the various records buried in that past era, were important to Kagami Uchiha.

Many techniques had been lost in modern Konoha, and much of what had originally belonged to the Uchiha Clan had been preserved and taken away by this old man. For example, those legendary weapons and certain secrets within the Uchiha Shrine—only this old man knew of such things.

Facing this old man, who had nowhere to hide before the ash, Kagami Uchiha once again fell into hesitation.

"Then let us speak frankly, Uchiha brat."

The old man who had stepped out from the shadows looked at the uncertain Kagami Uchiha and spoke weakly.

"That Sosuke Aizen cannot save this world. Though you are not the best candidate, you will do. Come with me. I can show you some truths that truly exist in this world."

"...Who exactly are you?"

"Haha, what a joke. Aren't you already perfectly clear about who I am?"

"I only want to hear you personally confirm your identity."

Looking at the bent, frail old man who appeared powerless, Kagami Uchiha gazed at that back with a complicated expression.

"I only want to confirm whether it really is you."

"Ridiculous. Would anyone in this world disguise themselves as me?"

Slowly walking into the mountain, the old man sneered. He looked at the still-watchful Uchiha amid the ash-filled sky and revealed a disdainful expression.

"Who would dare pretend to be me? Even if I am about to die, no petty scoundrel would dare impersonate me. I, Uchiha Madara, am such an existence. You are still far too inexperienced to understand my existence."