The cave was quiet for a long time.
White Zetsu people huddled in the corner, not daring to breathe.
Mahoraga and Black Zetsu are consumed in Kamui Dimension, and the result will not be determined for a while.
This underground cave was so quiet for the first time in decades, so quiet that you could hear the crisp sound of water droplets hitting the stone surface in the cracks.
Uchiha Madara is sitting on a stone chair, with dozens of pipelines behind him connected to Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The hum of chakra is particularly clear in the silence.
He stared at Shaoyu for a long time, scanning Three-Tomoe Sharingan from the pair of young Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and then from the Gunbai pattern to the face that was as crazy as when he was young.
Then he spoke, his voice was hoarse and low, but every word was pressed firmly.
"You are indeed strong, young man."
Madara's voice echoed in the cave, with a certain condescending scrutiny, but not completely arrogant.
"You can pass through my barrier, you can find me here, you can take in Black Zetsu in one breath. The grandson of Kagami Uchiha - you are closer to me than any other descendant I have ever met. But like me, you have not seen the truth of this world."
Shaoyu said nothing, waiting for him to finish.
"The ninja world has never been a problem that can be solved by strength."
Madara's fingers slowly rubbed the armrests of the stone chair, and his dry knuckles scraped a subtle rustling sound on the rocks.
"I have experienced the Warring States Period. At that time, Uchiha Kazu Senju Clan were fighting each other every day. Children went to the battlefield, children died on the battlefield, and then another group of children came in."
"My three younger brothers all died in front of me. The youngest was only seven years old. He couldn't even hold Kunai firmly, and was stabbed through the stomach by the Senju Clan's ninja."
"I held his body and sat by the river all night, and went to the battlefield the next morning."
His voice didn't rise and fall, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"From that day on, I understood. As long as the ninja system still exists, and as long as ninja families continue to fight each other for missions and interests, the war will never stop. It is useless no matter how strong an individual is."
"Senju Hashirama is stronger than me. He established Konoha, thinking that uniting the families would end the war. What happened? First Shinobi World War broke out immediately after his death."
"The second time, the third time. The blood shed between Konoha, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure--Five Great Shinobi Villages was only a lot more than during the Warring States Period. Hashirama's plan simply won't work."
He looked at Shaoyu and Three Tomoe Sharingan turning slowly.
"You have not experienced that era. You are strong, but you are too strong. You have never lost the most important thing, and you have never been hit rock bottom."
"So you don't understand - war cannot be ended by force. It is part of human nature. As long as humans have desires, hatred, and fear, war will always exist."
"Do you think you can unify Shinobi World on your own? What happens after you unify? How long can you live? Fifty years? One hundred years? When you die, everything you built will fall apart within ten years, and then Shinobi World will return to the starting point. This is the fate of ninjas."
Madara raised his hand and pointed at Mangekyō Sharingan of Shaoyu.
"So I gave up the idea of using force to unify Shinobi World. I found another way - Infinite Tsukuyomi. Pull all humans into illusion and create a perfect world without pain, war, or death."
"In that world, everyone can reunite with the person they want to see most. You will not lose anyone, and no one will lose anyone."
"This is true peace. It is not a false peace that relies on force to suppress it, but the ultimate peace that fundamentally eliminates human desire itself."
After he finished speaking, the cave became quiet again.
White Zetsu held their breath, and dozens of pairs of eyes jumped back and forth between Shaoyu and Madara.
Shaoyu After listening, the corner of his mouth curled up.
"Ancestor, after you have said so much, I will ask you a question."
Shaoyu crossed his arms in front of his chest, and the sleeves of his white robe dropped slightly.
"When you were at Valley of the End, did you lose because Hashirama was too strong, or because you weren't ruthless enough?"
Uchiha Madara's brows moved slightly.
He didn't answer immediately and lowered his eyelids half a minute.
Shaoyu didn't wait for his answer and continued speaking slowly.
"I know all about your plan. Eye of the Moon Plan, God Tree, Kaguya. Do you think Infinite Tsukuyomi is the ultimate peace? Put an illusion on all human beings and let them live in a dream for a lifetime and call it peace?"
"That's not called peace, that's called pasture. You raise humans as livestock and let them wait for death in their hallucinations. This is not saving the world, you are giving up on the world."
Shaoyu took a step forward.
"You said Hashirama's plan won't work? If it doesn't work, it doesn't mean that it won't work for me, Uchiha Shaoyu. His plan of Senju Hashirama's alliance, ninja village, and balance of great powers is indeed not very good - because he is not strong enough and ruthless enough."
"He could obviously unify Shinobi World, but he still wanted to create Five Kage Summit, divide Tailed Beast, and spread all his power, laying a lot of trouble for the subsequent one, two, and three Shinobi World wars. His biggest mistake was not that his ideals were wrong, but that he was too soft-hearted."
Shaoyu took another step forward, less than five steps away from the stone chair.
"You too. Uchiha Madara, the strongest Uchiha in the Warring States Period, the pinnacle of Sharingan, together with Hashirama are called Shinobi World Twin Gods. What's the result? You were just one breath away in Valley of the End. After losing to Hashirama, you didn't admit defeat or start over, but you hid under the ground."
He glanced at the pipes and seats behind Madara.
"You relied on Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to survive for decades. You pinned your hopes on a teenage child. To put it bluntly, ancestor, you couldn't defeat Senju Hashirama at that time, so you hid here with your last breath."
"If you had been stronger or more ruthless back then, the result Valley of the End would have been hard to say. If you say now that strength cannot solve everything, it is because your strength is not enough."
Uchiha Madara looked at Shaoyu's withered face, Three-Tomoe Sharingan's rotation speed was slightly faster, and his fingers stopped on the armrest of the stone chair.
He didn't get angry or refute, he just looked at this extremely arrogant junior and remained silent longer than ever before.
Then he laughed.
There was some displeasure in his smile. The young man in front of him was really too arrogant. He was even more arrogant than he was back then. He was indeed better than his predecessor.
"Young people should not be too arrogant."
Madara's voice was hoarse, but it was stronger than before. It was no longer as plain as waiting for death, but with a hint of anger.
Shaoyu faced the pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan without taking a step back.
"If you're not angry, what else can you call a young man?"