Obito and Madara

Uchiha Clan Compound - Naka River

"On the shoulders of giants?"

Ban muttered to himself, his lips twitching slightly before he shook his head with a wry smile.

"Ha, compared to you, I can hardly be called a giant."

As he spoke, he looked towards the Uchiha Clan Compound in the distance, which had been swallowed by the night.

Those windows with their lights on seemed exceptionally distant now, as if they belonged to another world.

"The losers who serve as a warning are perhaps more aptly described in my own case."

"No, who said that about you?!"

Looking at the prisoner in front of him, who seemed to have misunderstood Prisoner Madara, his lips twitched slightly, and his expression switched back and forth between suppressing laughter and helplessness.

"That old man is incredibly narcissistic; he even knows how to pat himself on the back..."

He silently complained to himself, but seeing Ban's relieved look, he ultimately didn't say those teasing words, and his expression gradually became serious.

"I've said everything I wanted to say."

Looking at Ban, standing on this riverbank they had visited countless times, facing this former Teacher, later enemy, and now old friend, he earnestly spoke:

"Now, it's your turn."

"Tell me your... answer."

"The answer...?"

Ban softly repeated Kou's words, slowly raising his head to meet Kou's gaze.

"To change this corrupt Ninja World..."

Ban's gaze slowly moved across Koko's face, looking at the young man before him who had grown to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, or even surpass him. Something in his heart slowly began to soften.

"Ha, this is an even more difficult path than Infinite Tsukuyomi."

He muttered to himself, his gaze already fixed on Kou's eyes.

Deep within those Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, a pair of boyish black pupils were gradually reflected.

The boy's eyes were very clear, yet they also carried a heaviness unlike that of a boy, as if he always carried heavy worries and a deep-seated lack of confidence.

He remembered those eyes.

He remembered the first time those eyes looked at him.

But now--

Ban looked at the confidence in those purple eyes and smiled silently.

There was relief, and also a sense of relief.

The current method of knocking might actually be able to achieve that.

He walked the path that his Teacher had once tried to take, but because he couldn't see the end, he chose a shortcut...

"Knock, you're prepared for this, aren't you?"

Ban stared at the young man before him, his voice no longer cold and harsh, nor carrying a condescending scrutiny, but calm and composed:

"Be prepared, and be prepared to shoulder everything."

Kou didn't say anything, but simply nodded solemnly.

Having received the expected reply, Madara smiled silently, slowly opened his mouth, and uttered his final words...

--

Land of Fire - Valley of the End

Night had fallen.

The moonlight poured down from the night sky, making the Valley of the End appear even more desolate.

The two statues were already broken and damaged in the impact. The statues Hashirama and the one with the swastika had collapsed. The waterfall was still flowing, pouring down from the gap in the collapsed mountain wall, but the water flow had changed direction.

Is this... reality?

Ban lay amidst the ruins, slowly opening his eyes.

He instinctively tried to move, to raise his hand, to prop himself up, but the command he gave was like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving no response.

As if he understood something, Madara reluctantly turned his gaze to look at his own body.

Its once crimson body had turned to charcoal, and its dark skin was covered with cracks, as if it would crumble into dust at the slightest touch.

(Uchiha Madara, Nigo appears.)

"Ha, you can't even feel pain anymore?"

"What a mess..."

Ban chuckled to himself, seemingly accepting his fate. He gave up struggling and shifted his gaze from his skeletal body to the starry sky above.

The night sky was dotted with stars, and the cool, soft moonlight bathed the entire valley in a silvery glow.

As he recalled what had just happened in Kou's inner world, a faint smile crept onto his lips.

"I haven't felt this relaxed in so long... Is this what death is like?"

Ban spoke softly, gazing at the bright moon that quietly shone upon this land he had once wanted to change but ultimately failed to achieve:

"This ending isn't as bad as I thought."

"But if there's any regret, it's that I wasn't able to see you one last time."

"Hashirama..."

"If this is your last wish before you died, then you can rest in peace."

A dark figure appeared beside Madara without anyone noticing.

He stood beside Ban, looking down at the ruthless warlord below, his voice devoid of any emotion:

"Knock, I just used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave this place."

If I'm not mistaken, he probably wanted to bring the First here so he could see you one last time.

"After all, he's such a gentle guy."

"... Hmph, just meddling in other people's business."

Ban spoke weakly, barely managing to turn his gaze to the face of the dark figure beside him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"But you, as a traitor, how dare you show your face in front of me?"

"You've got some nerve, Obito."

Obito calmly met Madara's disdainful gaze, without a trace of shame in his eyes:

"Aren't you going to question me? Ask me why I did what I did?"

"Hmph, I was somewhat interested before, but there's no need for that now."

"A defeat is a defeat. Being overly concerned with trivial matters is not the style of Uchiha Madara."

Madara said calmly, his gaze lingering for a moment on Obito's empty left eye, before he said meaningfully:

"Moreover, regarding the reasons why you chose to do this..."

Now, I can roughly guess some of it.

"... Yeah."

"It seems you've gained some new insights during the time we've been working separately."

Obito looked at Madara's calm expression and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"After all, the you I know has always been a petty, narrow-minded old man."

"Tsk, what an annoying brat."

"Compared to you, even that kid Kou is quite likable."

"Hmph, that's certainly true."

"After all, that's what I think too."

"You're not entirely naive, kid."

Alright, enough of the nonsense.

"You came to see me, surely not to say a final goodbye to me, your betrayed collaborator?"

Madara looked at Obito and said impatiently.

His voice was growing weaker and weaker, as if he were about to die on the spot.

Madara gave Obito a deep look and whispered meaningfully:

"If I'm not mistaken, your purpose in coming before me is for the Rinnegan in my left eye, isn't it?"