Izuna forced an ugly smile onto his stiff face.
"Ha, haha... Brother, d-don't joke with me!"
Izuna clenched his fists tight and said through gritted teeth, "Because this isn't funny at all!"
Madara took a deep breath and slowly rose, his expression solemn. "Izuna, do you think I went so far as to manipulate life, death, and reincarnation, toy with space and time, and spend half my life wandering in hardship merely because I was obsessed with our feud with the Senju Clan and wanted revenge for the Uchiha?"
Izuna stared blankly at the brother who now seemed like a stranger to him and asked, "Wasn't that why?"
"Heh."
Madara laughed, a trace of bitterness in his smile, then spoke earnestly.
"Izuna, you're too young. Yes, you left this world far too early, in an age when we settled our grudges as we pleased. So your view of the world is still confined to right and wrong, good and evil, love and hate, victory and defeat. I can't blame you for that. You, too, are a victim of this cursed Ninja world!"
Izuna said, "Brother... what are you even talking about?"
Madara said, "You can't understand, can you? That's why I put off telling you for so long. I saw through the nature of this world of dualities long ago. Whether Senju or Uchiha, we're no different from the clans wiped out during the Warring States Period, from the people who died like ants! As long as the Curse on this Ninja world remains unbroken, countless more Senju and Uchiha will take the stage and fade away in the Flow of history!"
Izuna said, "A Curse? What Curse are you talking about?"
Madara said, "Do you still not understand? Wherever there are winners, there will be losers! To achieve peace,