Madara!!!

"You should have already sensed it, right? The Cursed Seal on your heart. Since you can guess that it was Madara who played these tricks, you should also know what kind of arrangements he would make."

Yun casually caught a leaf drifting past his eyes between his fingers; with a change in Wind Release Chakra nature, the leaf was sliced in two.

If this space weren't only accessible during their transactions, it would actually be an excellent place for cultivation.

Beside him, Obito pondered Yun's words. If it were Madara...

Yun continued, "The Cursed Seal placed within a puppet's body restricts your actions to a certain extent, for instance... removing it from within your body. Or, for example... committing suicide."

"Come to think of it, you, who cannot even control your own life and death, are truly both pathetic and hateful."

Obito waved a hand, cutting Yun off. "I don't need your evaluation. The content of our trade is merely the method to remove this Cursed Seal!"

Yun shook his head slightly. "That is why I sometimes feel that the Second Hokage of Konoha wasn't just spouting nonsense; the Uchiha Clan, due to the requirements for awakening the Sharingan, is indeed prone to producing a few psychopaths."

"The method to remove the Cursed Seal is actually quite simple: gamble with your life! Although the Cursed Seal suppresses your actions, it cannot suppress the actions of others."

As he spoke, Yun looked at Obito, then toward the Memorial Stone of Nohara Rin nearby.

"You... in this world, is there still anyone you can trust?"

As the words fell, Obito looked toward the Memorial Stone.

That's right... in this world, is there anyone left that he can trust?

To open one's heart and allow another to strike at it—does he truly still possess that kind of trust?

Zetsu? One is an idiot and the other is the will of Madara; he would have to be a fool to trust them.

Nagato? Konan?

Having dragged them into hell himself, how could there be any trust? Even in his previous battle against this Uzumaki Sora before him, wasn't he also guarding against them?

Uchiha Obito's gaze returned to the Memorial Stone. Rin, if it were you...

After falling into hell, whether it be Teacher Minato or Kakashi, they were already his enemies.

And Rin... was no longer there.

Does he have anyone he can trust now? Is there anyone he can trust?

Yun's voice rang out: "How pathetic... I have always believed that humans are social animals, and you, who have buried yourself deep underground and view the world as hell, are already sick."

No one can remain alone in the darkness for long; no one can. The only few who do are all more mentally deranged than the last.

In his memories, Pain constantly compared himself to a god, wanting the world to feel pain.

Obito vented his desire to destroy the world and have everyone dream with him—a dream where everyone's wishes could be satisfied, and then they would quietly pass away in their sleep.

Madara spent years underground, and the moment he appeared, he laughed maniacally about saving the world, with the solution being that everyone should just go to sleep. Fair enough; wash up and go to bed, everything is in the dreams.

Danzo spent his days firmly believing that if he became Hokage, Konoha could unify the shinobi world; one wonders where that old dog got his confidence.

Yun looked at Obito and asked, "So now that you know the method, what will you do?"

Obito, no longer daring to look at Rin's Memorial Stone, turned his head and said in a low voice to Yun, "What I do is no concern of yours. This world, which has already died in my heart, truly has no one I can trust. But so what?"

"It's just gambling with my life! That old man is merely worried that I won't follow his plan. When he emerges, I will let him know the consequences."

Yun smiled. "That old man was very strong in his youth; he was known as one of the Two Heroes of the Shinobi World and was one of the power ceilings of that era."

"Speaking of which, I am curious about one thing: the place where Nohara Rin died shouldn't have been close to Konoha, so why did her body return to Konoha?"

Obito wore a mocking expression. "Do you also have a bargaining chip for me?"

Yun felt slightly awkward, but Madara's medium was indeed quite important.

Hashirama's Sage Body, Madara's Eyes of the Sage. Things are likely difficult on Nagato's side now, so he can only set his sights on the dead.

"You have believed from beginning to end that Konoha is the best resting place for Rin, right? If you were to take her body away, Rin, who is already in the Pure Land, probably wouldn't be happy, would she?"

Obito's face darkened. "Uzumaki Sora, the next time we meet, I will kill you!"

Yun exhaled and spread his hands. "That would require you to be capable of it. If you haven't changed, who knows, I might be the one to kill you."

After a long while, Yun received no response.

The scene began to shift.

The transaction had ended...

In the dark cavern, Obito, waking as if from a trance, shook his head slightly.

"Zetsu, have I been here the whole time?"

The White Zetsu beside him nodded. "You've been here the whole time. What's wrong? Did you sneak off to take a dump without me?"

"Obito! You actually didn't call me to take a dump; I still wanted to know what the urge to defecate feels like!"

Ignoring White Zetsu's trash talk, Obito unwrapped the bandages on his right arm, which was made of Hashirama Cells.

An eye on the arm slowly opened; the Three Tomoe in the iris rotated and connected, eventually forming a different pattern.

And this eye was none other than one of Fugaku's Mangekyou.

The truth behind Rin's death? If one must break through a surface with a single point, then let this be that point—let me take a look at the future!

As the thought settled, the pupil of the Mangekyō Sharingan on his arm spun rapidly, and a vast surge of ocular power poured out; for a moment, even Obito, bolstered by Hashirama Cells, felt as though he were being hollowed out.

The ability activated, and a series of blurred images flashed past so quickly that not a single detail could be discerned.

Finally, a specific scene appeared within Obito's mind.

He saw Madara, possessing a single Rinnegan within the Kamui Dimension, clutching the throat of a person with one hand... and that person was none other than himself?!

"I have placed Cursed Seal marks within your bodies, so naturally, you cannot commit suicide, for you are my important pawns."

"You... plural?"

"Indeed, you! I know not what kind of causality led to it, but you both used the exact same method to erase it; how truly interesting!"

"Rin?"

"That is correct. The plan to make that little girl the Jinchuriki of Isobu and cause her to go berserk in Konoha was one I orchestrated."

The scene slowly faded from his mind, but Obito's fists were already clenched tight.

It was Madara!

Whether it was the Cursed Seal within his own body or the truth behind Rin's death, it was all Madara!!!

How utterly foolish...

Heh... just as he had engineered Nagato, Madara had used the exact same method to engineer him.

If you want to cast someone into hell and leave them in the darkness, you simply make them lose the person most important to them.

How could there be so many coincidences?

Everything! Everything was done solely to make him cooperate with his plan...

Madara!!!

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