Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Unlike Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Madara was an adult—a mentally mature one at that.

For years, he had been striving for his ideals, hiding behind the scenes. Whether taking direct action or pulling the strings from the shadows, he had done a great deal.

With a heart of iron and a will of steel, it was impossible for him to blindly believe someone based on a few words.

However, if that person was Hagoromo Otsutsuki, then his words carried an entirely different weight.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki was the founder of Ninshu, the progenitor of chakra, a figure of myth. Every word he spoke was worth pondering.

Madara stood there, looking at Otsutsuki Hagoromo in long silence.

His mind was churning, thinking, analyzing.

He finally spoke, his voice deep. “Hagoromo Otsutsuki, what do you mean by all this?”

His words carried a hint of probing.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at him, seemingly seeing through his vigilance.

Complex emotions swirled within those Rinnegan eyes. He sighed once more. “Child, I have seen everything you have done over the years. The Eye of the Moon Plan is a lie. Someone behind the scenes manipulated you into believing it all.”

Madara’s brows furrowed into a tight knot. He stared at Otsutsuki Hagoromo, falling silent.

“I don’t believe it.”

His voice was deep, his tone heavy.

Had it been anyone else, Madara wouldn’t have been this resistant, as he always had absolute confidence in his own strength.

But the one saying this was Hagoromo Otsutsuki, forcing him to overthink.

His mind raced, recalling everything from the past.

He thought of that stone tablet, the text carved into it, and the contents he had read in the basement of the Uchiha’s Naka Shrine all those years ago.

It detailed the Eye of the Moon Plan, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the method to save the ninja world.

The text on it was left behind by Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

If it was fake, what did that mean?

His expression turned incredibly grim.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at him and spoke again. “I have slumbered in Yomotsukuni, yet I have always watched over you. Not just you, but Senju Hashirama as well. In truth, both of you are my children.”

Madara’s eyelids twitched.

He looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo without saying a word.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo remained silent for a moment before briefly explaining the history of Asura and Indra.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki’s two children: the eldest son, Indra, and the second son, Asura.

Indra inherited the Sage’s Eyes and became the ancestor of the Uchiha clan.

Asura inherited the Sage Body and became the ancestor of the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan.

The brothers were at odds, fighting for their entire lives.

After Indra’s death, his chakra did not dissipate. Instead, it reincarnated into genius ninjas of later generations, continuing the battle against Asura’s reincarnations.

Uchiha Madara was Indra’s reincarnation.

Senju Hashirama was Asura’s reincarnation.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo finished speaking and looked at Uchiha Madara.

Madara’s eyes were wide, his pupils shrinking.

His lips parted slightly as if to say something, but no words came out.

Countless thoughts surged through his mind in that moment.

Indra’s reincarnation.

Asura’s reincarnation.

Him and Hashirama.

No wonder.

No wonder they could become friends, and then enemies.

No wonder they fought for so many years without a clear victor.

So that was it.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at him and spoke again.

“Your ideals are noble. You already possess a love for the ninja world; there is no issue with that.”

He paused.

“But your actions are wrong, because you were deceived. The stone tablet that drove you to enact the Eye of the Moon Plan was altered long ago.”

He looked into Madara’s eyes.

“And the one who did all of this was Black Zetsu.”

As he spoke, Otsutsuki Hagoromo raised his hand, flipping it palm up.

A pitch-black mass rested in his palm.

The mass writhed and struggled in his hand, like thick ink or a living shadow. It constantly shifted shape, sometimes shrinking into a ball, sometimes stretching out.

A hollow void occasionally surfaced on it—an eye.

A white eye with no pupil.

A mouth also appeared from time to time, opening to reveal a pitch-black maw that let out a shrill voice.

“Damn it, Hagoromo, let me go!”

The voice was sharp and piercing, like nails scratching across a chalkboard.

“You traitorous son of Mother!”

Its body struggled violently.

“I am Mother’s most beloved child!”

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at it, his expression unchanging.

“Black Zetsu is not your will, but the will of my mother, Otsutsuki Kaguya.”

He paused.

“He is essentially Mother’s third son.”

He looked at Uchiha Madara.

“Everything you are doing now has been secretly guided by him.”

Madara’s pupils shrank violently.

His expression changed drastically, shifting from heavy to shocked, and from shocked to pure disbelief.

His hands suddenly spread open, as if resisting something.

“Impossible!”

His voice was loud, echoing throughout the cave.

“Absolutely impossible!”

His body trembled slightly, and the tomoe in his eyes spun frantically, reaching their absolute limit.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at him and shook his head helplessly.

“Child, having reached this point, you can naturally see that I have no reason to deceive you.”

Madara’s expression was somewhat dazed.

He stared at the mass of Black Zetsu in Otsutsuki Hagoromo’s hand, watching it writhe and struggle, looking at its eye and mouth.

He then looked down at his own hands, staring at them for a long time.

His mind was reminiscing, thinking about every single event that had happened over the years.

He thought of that stone tablet.

He remembered the shock he felt the first time he saw those words in the basement of the Naka Shrine.

He remembered how he had been drawn in by those words, how he had gradually come to believe in the Eye of the Moon Plan, and how he had walked down this path step by step.

He thought of so many things.

And then he realized that everything he had done over the years was like a joke.

He thought he was saving the ninja world, thought he was creating a peaceful world.

And the result?

He was merely a tool used by others, a pawn kept in the dark.

The skeletal frame of his Susanoo dissipated around his body. Blue fragments of chakra drifted through the air, falling to the ground like snowflakes before vanishing.

His hands dropped to his sides, the chakra in his palms dissipating as well.

He stood there, head bowed, staring at the ground, completely motionless.

Like a stone statue.

Uzumaki Naruto leaned close to Otsutsuki Hagoromo, looking up at him, and spoke in a low voice.

“Weird old grandpa, what’s wrong with the old guy?”

His voice was so quiet that only Otsutsuki Hagoromo could hear it.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked down at Naruto and sighed.

“Let him figure it out on his own.”

His voice was soft, carrying a sense of helplessness.

A good while passed.

The cave was so quiet that the crackling of the burning lamps could be heard—*crackle, crackle*.

Madara’s hands hung loosely by his sides.

His head was still lowered, obscuring his expression.

But his breathing had steadied, shifting from rapid to even, from chaotic to orderly.

His body no longer trembled. He then raised his head, his gaze refocusing as he looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

The tomoe in his eyes had stopped spinning. Three black tomoe rested quietly on the red irises, like three congealed drops of blood.

His expression had returned to a state of calm.

He had stepped out of his shock, awakened from his daze, and recovered from his loss of control.

He looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo. “So, everything I did was wrong?”

Otsutsuki Hagoromo looked at him, stayed silent for a moment, and then shook his head.

“There is no point in discussing that now, child. You know Uchiha Taiga. His existence is the greatest threat to the ninja world. I need you, and the ninja world needs you.”

His tone was incredibly sincere.

“Only by uniting together can you restore peace to the ninja world.”

Uchiha Madara looked at him without speaking.

His brows were furrowed as he thought, weighed his options, and made his judgment.

This was a long-standing habit of his.

Otsutsuki Hagoromo didn’t say anything else either, simply watching him and waiting for his answer.

The cave fell silent once more. Uzumaki Naruto stood to the side, looking back and forth between the two, his mouth slightly agape, completely clueless as to what had just happened.

He only sensed that the atmosphere was incredibly heavy.

‘Should I say something to lighten the mood right now?’

‘Brain, hurry up and work! Think about what to do if I ran into this situation back in the village!’

And then, he gave up thinking.

“Ahahaha, I really am important after all!”