You actually plan to... use me as a puppet?!!!

High above, chakra intertwined into a storm, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Yoru battled fiercely.

Destructive impacts exploded in the air, their residual ninjutsu crashing onto the earth like meteors, stirring up clouds of dust!

Suddenly!

Uchiha Yoru's figure abruptly paused.

Madara frowned, just about to attack, when Yoru before his eyes vanished without a trace!

--Without warning!

Black Zetsu's heart lurched. Before it could react, a chilling power had already descended silently.

"Wh--!"

Black Zetsu only managed to let out half a cry before a sharp pain struck its back!

Truth-Seeking Orbs, as if alive, transformed into chains, instantly sealing its entire meridians, draining all chakra!

"You... How could you--!"

Black Zetsu shrieked, its entire face contorted in terror.

Uchiha Yoru's figure slowly reappeared, reaching out to lift Black Zetsu into the air. The vortexes in his Rinnegan spun, like a judgment.

He remained silent, merely gazing at Black Zetsu, as if seeing through its skin to the thousand-year conspiracy.

The next moment, his Rinnegan suddenly glowed, and strands of chakra were pulled from Black Zetsu's body--

"What are you doing!? Stop!! Don't look--!"

Black Zetsu struggled violently, its voice hoarse, but it couldn't break free from the chakra chains' restraint.

"You... You'll destroy everything!!!"

Black Zetsu suddenly roared, its voice trembling, as if utterly terrified.

Uchiha Yoru remained silent, slightly lifting his hand.

Black Zetsu's memories, like shattered glass, were forcibly stripped from its body, manifesting in the void--

--The Infinite Tsukuyomi descends, the earth falls into slumber!

--The God Tree's roots pierce humanity, silently transforming them into White Zetsu!

--The White Zetsu army has been hidden for a thousand years, awaiting activation!

--Finally, at the top of the God Tree, Kaguya slowly opens her eyes, indifferently looking down upon the mortal world!

"This is... your way of achieving peace?"

Uchiha Yoru's voice fell like light ice, pressing down coldly.

Black Zetsu's eyes widened abruptly, then it struggled violently, its voice hoarse as it roared:

"You don't understand! You don't understand at all!!"

"Everything I've done... was to bring Mother back!"

"She is the beginning of the world! The true god!! The source of all life!!"

"Those humans--they betrayed her! Sealed her! She just wanted to bring peace to the world--!"

Black Zetsu's voice had gone mad, like a twisted obsession screaming:

"I've waited a thousand years... I've guided countless generations of war... I've awakened the Rinnegan...!"

"I'll do anything! Just to free her from that damned seal!!"

It threw its head back and roared, its voice tearing:

"I am the true will! The will of Kaguya Otsutsuki!!"

As it spoke, its breathing quickened, and it suddenly realized--it had revealed too much.

In the distance, Uchiha Madara's body trembled violently. He stared intently at the scenes unfolding in the void, his pupils contracting sharply.

He gazed blankly at the images of the God Tree and Kaguya appearing, murmuring in a low voice, a sound as if squeezed from the depths of his chest:

"...Everyone... turned into White Zetsu?"

"The Infinite Tsukuyomi... isn't for peace, but... to revive Kaguya?"

His voice trembled, as if unwilling to believe what he saw, yet unable to deny that every scene came from Black Zetsu's mouth.

Black Zetsu's entire body writhed restlessly like boiling black mud, its eyes filled with terror.

It opened its mouth, attempting to explain, but only a low whimper escaped.

Uchiha Yoru flung it to the ground, where it landed at Madara's feet, silent.

Madara slowly crouched down, staring at Black Zetsu's face, contorted with fear, and asked word by word:

"...You, from the very beginning... were lying to me?"

Black Zetsu's lips trembled. After a long pause, it finally managed to squeeze out:

"I... I just wanted... to bring Mother back..."

--Snap!

Madara slammed a heavy fist into the ground, sending shattered stone flying!

"You actually intended... to use me as a puppet?!!!"

In that instant, his aura changed completely.

It was not anger.

It was a bone-chilling, heavy coldness.

He stood up, his gaze landing on Black Zetsu like a blade.

Clang--!

Two black rods tore through the air!

One to the left and one to the right, they pierced viciously into Black Zetsu's body!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Black Zetsu's screams echoed through the high sky as he struggled in agony.

Uchiha Madara slowly withdrew his gaze, remaining silent for a long time.

The storm continued to roar, and it felt as if only the sound of his own breathing remained between heaven and earth.

He lowered his eyelids, and after a long while, he whispered to himself, as if asking himself or perhaps asking the heavens:

"What exactly... have I lived for?"

"Peace? Ideals? Order?"

He closed his eyes, and memories of the past surged like a tide—Konoha amidst the flames of war, the Ninja World with its collapsed order, the back of Hashirama, and that oath long since covered in dust.

Opening his eyes, his gaze was clearer than it had ever been.

He looked at Uchiha Yoru, his eyes devoid of battle intent, replaced only by coldness and scrutiny:

"You knew all along, didn't you."

"...About Black Zetsu's goal, about Kaguya, and even about the future."

Uchiha Yoru stood above the void, his black robes fluttering without wind. His expression remained as it always was, yet it exuded an oppressive force that one dared not look upon:

"You saw the ending of the Fourth Ninja World War with your own eyes."

"That was no deception of genjutsu, but the tragedy that once occurred in reality."

Madara slowly lowered his eyelids, his voice low:

"I thought I could end the war... but I was merely another pawn being manipulated."

"Leading you, and everyone else, down a path of destruction."

He raised his head, looking at the young yet composed descendant before him, a flicker of complexity and exhaustion crossing his eyes:

"And what about you, Uchiha Yoru."

"Why did you save me? And how do you intend to end this chaotic Ninja World?"

Uchiha Yoru spoke calmly:

"Unification."

"No more power struggles between the Five Great Nations, no more mutual suspicion between villages."

"No more false peace maintained by war, and no need to rely on gods or genjutsu to numb the masses."

His voice was calm, yet it contained an unshakable will:

"I will use true order and power to ensure the Ninja World no longer sinks into chaos and cycles of reincarnation."

"Not compromise, not idealism, but—true control."

Madara watched him, silent for a long time.

Those eyes, which had once looked down upon the masses on the battlefield countless times, now reflected a younger, yet clearer and more resolute version of himself.

He suddenly sighed softly:

"So, you have already surpassed me..."

Then, he raised his head, his eyes no longer holding arrogance, but a solemn recognition:

"Uchiha Yoru."

"Since you carry the will of unification and possess the power to suppress gods... then I have no reason to refuse."

"But there is one thing you must understand."

"Unification does not rely on power itself, but on whether the one who wields it—has the resolve to bear this 'loneliness'."

Uchiha Yoru nodded, his tone low:

"I understand."

"True peace is not the end of war, but the management of the desires and divisions that follow peace."

"I do not fear being abandoned by the world, nor do I fear the condemnation of the masses."

"What I fear is this world once again descending into the abyss that both you and I have witnessed."

Hearing these words, Madara smiled slightly, his eyes finally revealing a long-lost composure:

"That is good."

"I, Uchiha Madara—from this day forth, pledge my allegiance to your banner."

He slowly extended his hand, palm upward, just as he had when he forged the alliance with Hashirama all those years ago, and whispered:

"But should you ever waver or forget your original intent, I will also be the first to drag you down from your pedestal."

Uchiha Yoru smiled faintly and reached out to clasp his hand.

"Before that day arrives—the Ninja World shall first be taken under my control."

The storm finally began to dissipate.

The two Uchihas stood side by side, the heavens behind them already beginning to change.

A new era for the Ninja World had quietly begun.