The sunset painted the surface of the Naka River in shattered gold and crimson, outlining Uchiha Madara's hard, rocklike profile. After hearing Cang's almost rebellious answer, he sank into an even longer silence. It wasn't empty silence, but one filled with a suffocating weight, like the air frozen before a storm.
After a long while, Madara finally spoke, his voice low, as if it came from deep underground. "Trees stand in the sunlight, but their roots sink deep into the dark soil. Hashirama only wants to see the leaves flourish, while deliberately ignoring the... nourishment of hatred and conflict that feeds them." His gaze remained fixed on the water, though his focus had long since drifted from the scene before him. "He thinks the 'Will of Fire' can illuminate every shadow. Ridiculous."
Cang listened in silence. He could feel the near-desperate loneliness radiating from Madara, along with the cold fury of someone betrayed by the only person who understood him. Those feelings resonated powerfully with Cang's hatred of Tobirama and his doubts about the status quo.
"That Stone Tablet..." Madara's voice was barely audible, as if he were only muttering to himself. "The path it reveals is the only way to true peace. Infinite Tsukuyomi... That is the ultimate illusion, the one that will end all conflict."
Infinite Tsukuyomi? Cang's heart gave a sudden jolt. He had also tried to decipher the ancient Stone Tablet beneath Naka Shrine, but its contents were obscure and seemed to require a special kind of Dojutsu Power to fully unravel. Madara had clearly deciphered more of it. A massive illusion that would envelop the whole world? The idea sounded insane, yet it eerily cast a stone into the lake of Cang's utter disillusionment with reality.
Madara said no more, seeming to realize he had