"Impossible!"
"If the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' recorded on the stone tablet was a technique for destroying the world, then why would the 'Sage of Six Paths' or the ancestors of my Uchiha Clan deliberately leave the tablet behind to deceive future generations?"
Madara was shrewd. He immediately grasped the heart of the matter.
"The reason is simple: someone altered the tablet!"
"Who?"
"Black Zetsu. An ambitious schemer who wants to destroy the world, and a creation of the will known as the 'Rabbit Goddess.'"
"Why does he want to destroy the world?"
"Destroying the world is merely a side effect of casting the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi.' His real goal is to use it to revive his mother..."
"..."
Madara fell silent, stunned as he absorbed the revelation.
The greatest conspiracy and secret in the entire Ninja World had been laid bare by Natsu Yuu with ease. The revelation was a serious shock to Madara.
Especially since—
In Madara's eyes, didn't that make him a fool?
A gullible idiot, manipulated and deceived by Black Zetsu?
How could a proud man like him tolerate that?
"Do you have any proof?"
Madara did his best to suppress his emotions and stared at Natsu Yuu, hoping he could offer compelling evidence.
No matter how convincing the other man sounded, Madara couldn't simply believe everything he said.
"I can take you to the future and let you witness with your own eyes the lies and consequences that follow the casting of the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi'!"
"You can really travel through time?"
Madara was both wary and excited.
As an ambitious man, he naturally wanted a glimpse of the future.
And if he could see for himself whether the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' was a conspiracy, all the better.
"Of course. But it won't be free."
Natsu Yuu's lips curled slightly as he revealed his true motive.
"What do you want?"
Madara suddenly felt much more at ease. He wasn't afraid of the other man making demands. He was afraid he might want nothing in return.
A gift given for no reason would only come at a greater cost.
"Go destroy 'Iwagakure.' If you succeed, I'll take you to the future to see for yourself."
"Destroy 'Iwagakure'?"
Madara was secretly startled. He couldn't understand why someone who seemed to be a Sage would want him to destroy Iwagakure.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"My goal is for 'Konoha' to unify the Ninja World and bring about peace."
Madara: (O_o)??
Well, well. You want to make the world "peaceful" too?
And you've specifically chosen 'Konoha'?
Do you really think I'm that easy to fool?
"Hah! What a clumsy lie..."
Madara snorted. He didn't believe Natsu Yuu at all.
Natsu Yuu didn't bother explaining further. Once the Ninja World was truly unified, Madara would understand that he hadn't been lying.
For now, Madara could think whatever he liked.
"Whether it's a lie or not doesn't matter."
"Just think of it as a deal."
"If 'Iwagakure' is destroyed, I'll take you to witness the future. That shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"
Natsu Yuu knew Madara's ambitious nature well. Apart from Hashirama and his younger brother Izuna, he wouldn't easily trust anyone in this world.
Even Naruto, the Child of Destiny, wouldn't be able to talk him around one day.
How could Natsu Yuu possibly win Madara over with just a few words?
Actual proof was more convincing than talk.
And besides, it was a perfect opportunity to get Madara to destroy Iwagakure first.
Given Hashirama's temperament, convincing him to destroy other countries and Ninja Villages in the near future would be nearly impossible.
But Madara was different.
As long as the deal was fair and Natsu Yuu offered him a tempting enough reward, Madara wouldn't feel the slightest qualm.
And he was powerful enough to destroy Iwagakure.
As for whether Hashirama would overreact afterward, Madara could deal with that himself.
Given the bond between Madara and Hashirama, as long as Madara didn't destroy Konoha, they would eventually calm down after a brief quarrel.
Surely they wouldn't fall out completely over an enemy village?
Of course, Natsu Yuu hadn't been lying.
At present, he could only take the leader of a bound faction with him when traveling to other parallel worlds.
There were only two ways he could take Madara to another world:
Either Hashirama stepped down right now, allowing Madara to take the Hokage Position and become the leader of a bound faction.
Or the current world's Unification Progress advanced considerably, reaching over 50%. Then Natsu Yuu could bring along two additional members of the bound faction to other worlds.
Considering that only 'Konohagakure' and 'Iwagakure' had been established among the Five Great Hidden Villages, while the others had yet to be founded, destroying 'Iwagakure' might raise the Unification Progress of the 'Number One Hokage World' above 50%.
Then Natsu Yuu could take Madara to another world and let him catch a glimpse of the future.
It was a fair and reasonable deal.
After a brief moment of thought, Madara accepted Natsu Yuu's offer.
Just as Natsu Yuu had expected, it truly wasn't a difficult task for Madara.
At this stage, even all of Iwagakure together wouldn't be a match for him.
In fact, compared to destroying Iwagakure, the bigger headache would be explaining things to Hashirama afterward and dealing with the questions and suspicion from the Land of Earth and other great nations.
But Madara didn't need to care about any of that.
He could just leave it all to that annoying Tobirama.
Could Tobirama really dare to turn against him?
Come to think of it, he'd heard that an Iwagakure envoy was due to visit Konohagakure in a couple of days. He could use that opportunity to make his move and find an excuse to launch a surprise attack on Iwagakure!
"Excellent. I look forward to seeing what you can do."
"Until next time."
With that, Natsu Yuu vanished from the underground shrine chamber.
His sudden, effortless departure made Madara's pupils contract.
"He vanished without warning. Space-time ninjutsu. Interesting!"
"What a mysterious 'Sage of the Dao Path.' I'll see what you're really after."
"Whether you can actually let people travel through time..."
"And if that so-called 'Black Zetsu' really did alter the tablet and try to deceive me..."
"Hmph. Then he can wait to die!"
Madara stared at the ancestral stone tablet. He gradually left his Mangekyō Sharingan state, but the killing intent in his eyes had never been stronger.
The proud Uchiha would never allow anyone to deceive him! Never!
Elsewhere, after leaving the shrine's underground chamber, Natsu Yuu teleported back to Hokage Rock.
It was already late at night, and all of Konoha lay in silence.
After a busy day, Master Natsu was ready to get some rest.
First, he activated a 'Modern Item Redemption Voucher' and redeemed a luxury motorhome from the modern world.
Even though he was in the Hokage world and on the road to becoming a Sage, he couldn't make life hard for himself. When he had the means, he ought to treat himself well.
After enjoying a hot shower and a late-night snack, Natsu Yuu finally lay down on the smooth velvet bed and began sorting through the day's gains and accomplishments.
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