A new day dawned, and the Hokage's signed order to mobilize for war was issued.
Konohagakure was instantly shrouded in the clouds of war. Everywhere, ninjas could be seen darting across the rooftops at breakneck speed, like clockwork machines whirring into action.
Mist Village, Cloud Village, and Iwagakure had all begun preparing for war.
"It's about time I changed identities. If I keep living like this, those little Main Family brats might get impatient."
"It's decided, then. I'll find a chance to die once the war begins. It's time to change this old, decrepit appearance, too." Hyuga Shin lay on a recliner in the courtyard, quietly plotting to himself.
"The last remnants of the Warring States Period are just you and me now, Madara! I wonder if you've realized you're already mired in a quagmire?"
Hyuga Shin decided to meet Uchiha Madara one last time under this identity and confirm a few things.
He acted as soon as the thought came to him. Hyuga Shin vanished from the courtyard and left Konohagakure like an invisible man, without anyone noticing.
He also missed Father and Son Dai, who came by to visit that day.
Hyuga Shin's sudden disappearance caused quite a stir among the senior members of the Hyuga Main Family.
After all, he had no Caged Bird seal on his Byakugan. If he died outside the village, there was a real chance the Byakugan could fall into enemy hands.
At the same time, it made Hyuga Hiko realize his father had been right: there was no way to know for sure whether the old man had lost his power.
After leaving Konohagakure, Hyuga Shin rose into the air and flew like Ōnoki of Iwagakure—at incredible speed!
He didn't look the least bit like a man on his last legs.
A little over ten minutes later, Hyuga Shin landed on a relatively flat mountaintop and took a small tuft of black hair from his pocket.
"Let's see where you're hiding, Madara!"
"Trace Origin!" Hyuga Shin said calmly, pinching the hair between two fingers.
A mysterious power surged between his fingers. It seemed like Natural Energy, but was somehow different.
This was a result of Hyuga Shin's research into Natural Energy, inspired by Impure World Reincarnation, after he reached the realm of Union of Man and Nature.
Using personal information as a medium and Natural Energy as a resonance, this method could locate the host's true body.
It required an extremely high level of control over Natural Energy.
"I'm near the northern border of the Land of Fire. So that's where you are."
"Madara! I'm coming!"
Hyuga Shin rose into the air once more and sped off.
An hour later, Hyuga Shin dropped from the sky. His figure instantly became hunched, returning to the state he'd been in at Konohagakure: an old man on the verge of death.
"Hiding underground, huh? As I thought. With this many White Zetsu, it looks like you've fallen into the trap."
Hyuga Shin used his own power to mimic Earth Release and headed underground.
In a dim cavern deep below the surface, Madara sat before the enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, thin as a skeleton.
His cheeks were sunken, and branches extended from the statue were inserted into the back of his head.
They were what kept him alive.
Farther underground, White Zetsu filled the space, growing beneath the enormous roots like fruit hanging from branches.
"Who's there?" Uchiha Madara, who had been sitting on a stone bed with his eyes closed, raised his eyelids. His crimson Mangekyō Sharingan turned silently.
"Madara, long time no see!" An old voice came from the darkness.
Hyuga Shin emerged from the shadows, his body frail with age. The dim light suddenly brightened.
"It's you? Hyuga Shin!" Madara's aged voice was full of disbelief.
"It's me. Surprised to see an old friend?"
"A little. But how did you find this place?" Madara was indeed surprised.
He was surprised that Hyuga Shin had found him, and that he was still alive!
"I have my ways."
"What brings you here? Surely you didn't come just to reminisce." Madara's voice was cold.
"Even you, the proud Uchiha Madara, are afraid of death?" Hyuga Shin teased, eyeing the tubes inserted into the back of Madara's head and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"Hmph! My affairs are none of your concern. I have my own plans. Besides, aren't you about to die, too?" Uchiha Madara snorted, ignoring Hyuga Shin's taunt.
"That's true. When you're close to death, you start thinking about the past. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to reminisce with you."
"How did you know I wasn't dead?" Uchiha Madara's expression turned serious, and he asked at once.
"Knowing you, you never fought a battle without being sure of victory. And later, when your body disappeared, that confirmed my suspicions." Hyuga Shin, who had long since seen through the truth, spoke with confidence.
"Even if I hadn't died back then, how did you know I'd still be alive now?" Uchiha Madara's expression turned grave, and a powerful aura radiated from him!
"I have to say, Tobirama Senju was a genius. Before he died, he invented a Forbidden Jutsu called Impure World Reincarnation! That's how I confirmed you weren't dead." Hyuga Shin immediately shifted the blame onto Tobirama Senju.
That brought them back to the original question. "How did you find this place?" Madara still had confidence in his hiding spot.
"I have my ways." Hyuga Shin repeated himself bluntly, refusing to answer.
Uchiha Madara's face turned cold. His blood-red Sharingan fixed on Hyuga Shin, a dangerous light flickering in his eyes.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew awkward.
"Hyuga Shin! Do you want to die before your time?" Madara was now ready to kill the riddle-speaking Hyuga Shin!
"Do you think I'd do something without being sure of the outcome, Madara?" Hyuga Shin showed no fear. His lips curled upward, deepening the wrinkles on his face.
"So the rumors that you'd lost your power were false. You even managed to fool Tobirama Senju." Uchiha Madara grew even more curious about Hyuga Shin, but the killing intent in his eyes subsided.
Hyuga Shin neither agreed nor denied it. Let Madara guess. A man of riddles was the hardest to see through.
"State your purpose. I don't like guessing games." Madara's poker face hadn't changed in decades, and his tone was just as cold and hard as ever!
"Madara, do you remember your original dream?" Hyuga Shin's expression seemed to take him back to his youth.
"Did you come here just to ask me such a pointless question?"
"It matters!"
"What a pointless, childish question. I've long seen through this world's illusions. You're nothing but a thick branch in this filthy world." Madara's aged voice was full of disdain.
Since you won't say it, I'll say it for you.
"You once said you wanted peace in the world, with no more wars."
"You also said that uniting the Shinobi World was the only way to achieve that goal, and I supported your idea."
"Even Hashirama once decided to unite the Shinobi World and create peace because you and I stood firm."
"Why? Because we had all experienced the cruelty of the Warring States Period."
"Children as young as four or five had to train to kill. Kids barely ten years old were sent to the battlefield, and the average lifespan was barely over thirty!"
"Clans crushed one another, and Kekkei Genkai were stolen all the time."
"The Byakugan's strategic value and minor side effects made it a frequent target. Its users had no choice but to protect themselves with Sealing Techniques."
"Those born with bloodlines who were captured and used as breeding stock were forced to wipe out their own people."
"Countless small clans were destroyed as a result."
"Even the Sharingan, despite its more serious side effects, was often stolen."
"That was why you set aside your differences and joined forces with your enemy, hoping to build a peaceful world."
"You also promised every clan that joined: they would be required to return the Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques they held from other clans, and help would be given to recover anything that had been stolen."
"You established a defensive alliance and forbade the clans from killing one another!"
"On top of that, your and Hashirama's overwhelming strength attracted numerous ninja clans, and Konohagakure was founded."
"Later, at Tobirama Senju's suggestion, the Konoha Ninja Academy was established. It was decreed that no one could graduate before turning twelve, so children could have a proper childhood."
"After that, the other ninja villages followed Konohagakure's example and established their own academies. The Warring States Period came to an end, and the era of one village per country began."
"But we all knew that, despite the villages' founding, the one-village-one-country system was merely a new version of the Warring States Period."
"War was bound to break out again one day, and the tragedies of the Warring States Period would repeat themselves."
"You proposed uniting the Shinobi World, and I supported you, because becoming a single community was the only way to reduce the chance of war. You were overjoyed and talked with me late into the night."
Hyuga Shin recounted the events one by one.
"Enough! I don't want to hear about the pointless past." Uchiha Madara flew into a fury like a monkey whose tail had been stepped on!
"Listen to me first. You can get angry afterward." Hyuga Shin continued his speech, once more drawing Madara's memories back to the past.
"But everything changed overnight. It changed so much that I hardly recognized it."
"Hashirama abandoned the idea of uniting the Shinobi World and absurdly distributed the Tailed Beasts among the villages to maintain a balance of power."
"You abandoned your ideals, abandoned your clan, and exiled yourself."
"When did you die, Madara?"
"To find out whether you'd really changed, I once went to the Valley of the End and tried to stop your falling-out."
"But why did you and Hashirama both try to kill me?"
"We used to be friends, walking the same path!" Hyuga Shin spoke with deep emotion, continuing to challenge Madara.
"Enough! Those were nothing but ridiculous, foolish ideals. They could never be realized!" Uchiha Madara flew into another rage.
"Then, Madara, can you tell me why you and Hashirama both tried to kill me at the Valley of the End?" Hyuga Shin had always been deeply afraid of that. He'd come within a hair's breadth of losing himself completely!
"Hmph! You had no one to blame but yourself for meddling in something beyond your abilities." Madara's answer was unconvincing.
"Is that really the reason? Have you ever asked yourself?"
"I don't believe the Madara who once talked so enthusiastically with me about ideals would kill his own comrade for such a ridiculous reason."
"Even if that's what you would do, what about Hashirama? I got along well with him. Surely he wouldn't try to kill me for such a ridiculous reason, too." A faint smile hung on Hyuga Shin's lips. He clearly didn't believe Madara's explanation.
Uchiha Madara fell silent. He seemed to have remembered something, but he said nothing.
"Madara, have you seen yourself clearly? I hope you wake up soon and become yourself again." Hyuga Shin spoke calmly, then turned and walked into the depths of the darkness, slowly disappearing.
"Sometimes, death can be a kind of rebirth." Hearing the voice from the darkness, Uchiha Madara fell silent for a long time.
As soon as Hyuga Shin emerged from underground, his expression changed completely. He no longer looked like a man weighed down by sorrow, worried for his friend and devoted to his ideals.
He vanished on the spot and shot into the sky.
"Ugh! Damn it, going out at my age to trade speeches with the younger generation. I wonder if it'll even work. It's not like my name's Uzumaki." Hyuga Shin felt like he'd sullied himself.
Still, he could confirm that, besides being the reincarnation of Indra with his spirit carrying Chakra, Madara had probably been affected by something else that influenced his mind and will. What exactly it was probably had something to do with a Kekkei Genkai.
It was enough to plant the seed. Whether it bore fruit was another matter.
He'd spend the rest of his time wandering around the Shinobi World. It had been many years since he'd last been out.
Before you continue