"Don't believe it, do you?"
Seeing the look on Madara's face, Dak knew that he was skeptical of everything he'd heard.
Indeed, without his Eternal Mangekyo evolving into the Rinnegan, Madara would never imagine that he could wield such power.
"What's going on?"
Though Madara doubted Dak's words, he was intrigued enough to consider that it might indeed have happened.
"Don't rush. Walk with me, and I'll explain. It's a long story. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Dak, a Pokémon Breeder, and the founding leader of the Pokémon Alliance."
After saying this, Dak began leading Madara toward the Land of Fire.
"The leader of an Alliance?"
"Yes, the leader. Thirty-eight years from now, you'll see what kind of force the Pokémon Alliance has become."
"…"
Madara fell silent.
He had no idea what a Breeder or Pokémon was.
"You're from 38 years in the future?"
"Yes, I came from that time. Due to my mistakes, I inadvertently triggered the Fourth Great Ninja War. This time, the Five Great Ninja Villages went to war with a determination to destroy Konoha. By the time I traveled here, the war had already reached the Land of Fire."
Dak didn't hesitate to admit his mistakes.
"So I decided to destroy the Ninja World because Konoha and the Uchiha clan were wiped out?"
Madara considered this, finding no other motivation that would drive him to such an action.
"Oh, no. This has nothing to do with you; by then, you'd been dead for nearly a decade, and the Uchiha clan soon followed."
Madara was stunned.
He had always feared that Tobirama would wipe out the Uchiha clan. Yet with Tobirama already dead, how could this still happen?
"Who?"
Madara was curious about who had caused the Uchiha clan's demise.
"Well… the ones who carried it out were two members of your Uchiha clan."
Dak hesitated, finding it hard to explain.
The extermination of the Uchiha clan was a complicated story.
"…?"
Madara's mind raced with questions.
Of all the possibilities, he hadn't considered that his own clan members would be responsible.
He felt his fists clenching involuntarily, his frustration palpable even for him.
"As a matter of fact, the Uchiha clan's destruction is closely tied to you. You could say half of it was your doing."
"…?"
Madara unclenched his fists and stopped walking, looking skeptically at Dak. He had a hard time believing this.
Though he no longer had strong feelings for the Uchiha clan, he still cared enough due to his promise to his brother, and he would never harbor thoughts of wiping out his own clan.
"Don't look at me like that. Everything I said is true."
Dak waved his hand and motioned for Madara to keep walking.
"What exactly happened?"
"To explain that, I have to go back thousands of years to the Rabbit Goddess…"
Dak placed his hands behind his back, taking on the air of a wise sage. But then he paused, realizing something.
"Wait, why are we walking?"
Madara gave him an annoyed glare, despising half-finished sentences.
"Don't move."
Dak placed a hand on Madara's shoulder.
Instant Transmission.
The next moment, Dak and Madara appeared within the borders of the Land of Fire.
"Flying Thunder God?"
Madara looked curiously at Dak.
"No, it's Instant Transmission. It's a bit complicated, but you can think of it as a special jutsu without hand seals."
"…"
Accepting Dak's answer, Madara decided not to press further.
Since believing that Dak was from the future and listening to his strange tales, Madara felt he could accept just about anything at this point.
"Where's the Naka Shrine?"
"…?"
After a few moments, Dak finally brought Madara to the stone tablet inside Naka Shrine.
"Alright, let's start. I'll tell you about how this tablet was altered and how you were deceived into almost destroying the world."
As Dak began explaining Zetsu's manipulations, he simultaneously extended his Observation Haki, psychic abilities, and Aura to sense his surroundings. If Zetsu appeared within range, Dak would catch him immediately.
Dak realized that everything he needed to do was straightforward—the only difficulty was finding Zetsu.
At this time, Dak had no idea where Zetsu was. But as long as he stayed close to Madara, he knew Zetsu would eventually show up. Zetsu would never abandon Madara, his best chance at fulfilling the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
Madara stood quietly.
Listening as Dak recounted the story of the Rabbit Goddess, the Sage of Six Paths, the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra, and Black Zetsu's centuries-long attempts to deceive each reincarnation of Indra to achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
By the time Dak finished, Madara was seething, his forehead veins throbbing.
This was the angriest Madara had felt in the twenty years since leaving Konoha.
"Now you understand why you're considered one of the main culprits in nearly destroying the Ninja World. You also see why the Uchiha clan's downfall is partially your fault."
"…"
Madara's mind was a whirlwind of emotions. His pride made it difficult for him to accept that he had been so thoroughly deceived.
"Why should I believe all of this?"
"Deep down, you already do, don't you?"
Dak wasn't fazed by Madara's reluctance. "On the final battlefield, you once said something to one of the last surviving members of the Uchiha clan."
Madara fell silent, his mind racing through everything Dak had told him, barely registering Dak's words.
"Losing yourself… is the true end. I don't know if you said that to him or to yourself."
"That future will not come to pass."
With Dak's words, Madara unclenched his fists and looked up again.
Whether or not that future was truly meant to happen, he was now determined to prevent it.
Madara could accept a world on the brink of ruin, but he would never accept his complete and utter failure. The thought made him feel like a fool.
"Madara, I came to find you not just because of your strength, but because of your unyielding pursuit of true peace. Even when you were alone and manipulated, you never lost that resolve."
Dak turned to face Madara.
While Madara's power was advantageous, Dak was willing to help him even if he were an ordinary person.
"…"
Madara looked at Dak, struggling to trust anyone. "So you intend to use me to achieve your peace?"
"No, I'll help you build an organization that stands above the Ninja World. Then, I'll offer some advice and step aside. How you choose to pursue peace, what kind of peace you wish to create—that's up to you. And in the future, I'll find you again."
"…?"
Madara looked at Dak in surprise.
He hadn't expected Dak to remain hands-off, even as he helped establish a powerful organization.
'Is this man really here for peace?'
Madara couldn't help but think.
"I believe we share the same vision of peace."
Dak explained his reason for trusting Madara. "That's why I trust that when I return to the future, I'll see a peaceful Ninja World, no matter how you achieve it."
"Why trust me so completely?"
Madara found it perplexing.
Even his own clan didn't trust him, yet this stranger did?
"I know your past and your future. Hashirama's peace was an idealistic vision; he couldn't see what you did. You understood that the other four nations maintained peace only because they feared the two of you. True unity is the only way to secure lasting peace."
"…"
Madara was silent for a long time, feeling something strange in his heart.
For the first time, he'd found someone whose thoughts aligned so closely with his own—and, on top of that, a powerful individual who affirmed his beliefs.
The problem wasn't him; it was Hashirama and everyone else.
"Do you believe me now?"
"What do you plan to do?"
Madara sighed, choosing to believe.
There seemed to be no other choice.
In the past twenty years, Madara had realized one thing:
One person alone couldn't save the Ninja World or bring peace.
"First, let me tell you a story about my experiences in another world. There's a lot you can learn from it."
Dak began sharing his story about unifying the Grand Line.
As Madara absorbed the idea of other worlds, he learned about Pokémon, trainers, and the methods Dak used to lead a chaotic world into an era of peace.
Madara even started to reconsider some of his beliefs.
"Unification" didn't mean merging all villages and countries into one single entity.
Rather, it meant that they must all recognize one "leader" and follow a common set of rules.
"Madara, join the Pokémon Breeders' House. Not as a subordinate in the Alliance, but as my ally. Together, we'll bring true peace to the Ninja World."
After briefly recounting his journey in the Grand Line, Dak extended his hand to Madara.
Just as he had once done in the Grand Line, Dak was setting forth on a similar path in the Ninja World.
But this time, he was more confident than ever.
"…"
Madara looked down at Dak's outstretched hand, feeling a sense of déjà vu. After a few seconds of hesitation, he extended his own aging hand.
'Not many years left anyway. Might as well make one final gamble.'
(End of Chapter)
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