Kagami Uchiha sat down beside Madara and looked at his uncle. More than twenty years had passed, yet he looked just as Kagami remembered him: a cold face and a stern expression, as though he were always on a battlefield.
"Why haven't you left this place?" Kagami Uchiha asked. He knew this was the gap between life and death, a place only those about to die or already dead could enter on their way to the unknown world of the Pure Land.
Madara did not answer his question. Instead, he studied him carefully and said, "You've grown up. You look like you've been through quite a lot, too. Tell me about it. What happened after I died?"
"All right." Kagami Uchiha nodded, setting his earlier question aside for the moment to recount what had happened after the Battle of the Valley of the End.
Madara listened quietly, learning how the Shinobi World had changed after his death. When he heard that Hashirama's plan to use the tailed beasts as a balance of power had failed to prevent war, a hint of mockery appeared on his face, as if to say, I knew it would turn out that way. But when he learned of Konoha Ninja Village's performance in the war and the systems it had designed afterward, he could not help sinking into thought.
An unknown amount of time passed before Kagami Uchiha finished recounting everything up until his death. Madara looked thoughtful, apparently weighing something in his mind. Kagami asked again, "Why haven't you left this place?"
"Kagami, you've always been clever. Think about it. Why haven't I chosen to pass on?" Madara still did not answer directly, instead inviting Kagami Uchiha to guess for himself.
"After spending a little time here, I think I understand this place's rules.