After hearing what White Zetsu said, Madara Uchiha fell silent for a long while before finally speaking with a hint of disdain:
"Even if that's true, so what?
The Uchiha Clan is a cursed clan to begin with. Once someone awakens the Mangekyō Sharingan, their eyes slowly become sealed, until they lose their sight entirely and become useless."
At this point, Madara Uchiha raised his head to look at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path again, his voice growing quieter.
"Unless-unless two biological brothers both awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and one of them is sacrificed. Only then can the eternal Mangekyō Sharingan be obtained.
Otherwise, even awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan amounts to nothing more than an illusion, leaving its wielder to sink into an abyss of suffering."
As he said this, Madara Uchiha's tone grew unusually subdued, as though he had recalled some unpleasant memories.
But upon hearing Madara Uchiha's words, White Zetsu looked toward Obito Uchiha nearby. He hesitated for a moment, but continued anyway:
"But Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha are biological brothers!"
Seeing Madara Uchiha's expression darken, White Zetsu swallowed, but still admitted:
"The reason I was watching them was that Obito had told me to.
He said those two brothers were the ones in the Uchiha Clan most likely to obtain the eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
He told me to keep a close eye on them.
That's why I knew things were bad when I saw them dueling."
Hearing White Zetsu's explanation, Madara Uchiha frowned slightly, then turned toward Obito beside him and ordered:
"Obito, explain this to me."
Although Madara Uchiha had laid out many plans beforehand, he had only just returned, after all, and did not have a clear grasp of the current situation in the shinobi world.
At Madara Uchiha's command, Obito's expression