"Haha, it seems I've been away for a long time. It's rare that you, old man, still remember me."
Madara Uchiha appeared uninvited, smiling with delight, but the more he smiled, the more the atmosphere filled with an overwhelming sense of dread.
Elder Itachi felt a severe danger, and sweat began to drip as he took a defensive stance. "As expected, you are still alive."
Unlike Itachi's cautious stance, Madara Uchiha calmly walked over and found a chair to sit on, crossing one leg over the other with a tone of serene confidence, showing no anger. This absolute confidence came from his immense power: "It seems you're not surprised that I'm still alive."
While Elder Itachi was catching his breath, he noticed Madara's right eye, which had turned white due to blindness. He froze slightly, and his expression grew more serious: "As I thought, you used Izanagi."
"Oh~ Just by seeing my right eye, you managed to guess what I did?" Madara Uchiha said with a tone of slight admiration and a faint smile: "You really are special... No wonder you were my teacher in the past."
Elder Itachi responded with clear sarcasm: "I don't deserve to be a teacher to a butcher like you, who didn't hesitate to kill his own brother for power."
Madara Uchiha didn't get angry at the criticism from his former teacher. Instead, he replied coldly: "Then who was it that gave me this information indirectly? If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who told me in the first place."
Those words made Elder Itachi feel deeply ashamed, as if all his strength had been drained. His hands started to lower slowly.
Yes, the person who had told Madara Uchiha how to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan was indeed him.
Because he didn't have the ability to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan himself, he had placed his hopes on someone else to fulfill his desire.
But after doing all of this, he felt great pain. Only now did he understand why his ancestors had stored this information and shared it with only a select few. But it was too late; Pandora's Box had already been opened.
And after that, Izuna followed Madara Uchiha's steps and killed his close friend with his own hands to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Madara Uchiha continued calmly: "But even so, I am grateful to you, because thanks to you, I was able to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan, stand on top of the world, and see things I had never seen before."
Elder Itachi took a deep breath to calm his emotions and said: "You've chosen a special time when Tobirama is out of the village. What do you really want? And it seems you anticipated defeat and planted Izanagi in your eye. What is your true goal? What do you wish to achieve?"
"You seem more nervous... unlike your calm self from the past... Well, as thanks for being my teacher, I'll answer you."
Madara smiled slightly, having maintained control of the conversation from the beginning. The person in front of him wasn't the type to lose his cool easily, but in the face of Madara's overwhelming power, there weren't many who could stay composed.
"Explaining in detail would take a long time, but to sum it up, my only goal from the beginning has been peace."
"Peace?"
"You've seen it yourself; once Hashirama died, wars broke out again in this world. Humans truly are ignorant creatures. I believed in Hashirama, but the truth is, I was naïve. People like Hashirama, who bear no selfishness and are purely good, are extremely rare. So rare that I've never met another like him in my entire life."
As he spoke about this, it seemed as though Madara Uchiha was reminiscing about the past. He slowly raised his head, looking at the ceiling, pausing briefly before collecting his thoughts and asking the elder before him a question: "Do you know why it's impossible for humans to fully understand each other?"
Elder Itachi replied seriously: "Why?"
Madara Uchiha's lips curled into a small smile: "It's greed. Human desires are endless. No one feels they have enough food; no one feels their house is big enough. When someone has a small house, they desire a bigger one. When they get a big house, they wish for a mansion. Human desires are like a boulder rolling down a mountain; once they start, they can never stop."
"But the world's resources are limited, and when everyone wants a mansion, conflicts naturally arise, starting with arguments and ending in killing. Once the seeds of hatred are sown, they can never be eradicated, and eventually, war is born naturally. By the time everything reaches the end, people forget the original reason for the conflict, and only hatred remains."
After finishing, Madara stood up and extended his hand, saying: "How about now? It's a good opportunity. Do you want to lead the Uchiha Clan back under my command? This place, Konoha, isn't suitable for the Uchiha. I've found a better place, perfect for our clan's development."
Madara Uchiha had left Konoha but had kept some ninja cats as spies to monitor the village. He was fully aware of the targeted harassment the Uchiha Clan was facing.
If the Uchiha Clan were to move to the Land of Water, the likelihood of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan would significantly increase, given the country's tough graduation exams. The abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan are diverse and strange, and perhaps some interesting powers might emerge.
Elder Itachi remained silent for a moment, but his eyes showed a certain resolve: "The only constant in this world is change. I am changing, and so are you. The era of constant killing has passed, and although nations still clash, things are much better than in the past. The average lifespan is visibly increasing. You can't achieve everything at once, but I believe humanity will continue striving for peace."
"Wrong, and gravely so".Madara Uchiha stood up, speaking solemnly: "The only thing humanity has learned from history is that humanity hasn't learned anything from history. A ninja's child will remain a ninja, a daimyo's child will remain a daimyo, and a commoner's child will remain a commoner. That's why humanity keeps repeating history."
"Perhaps you're right", Elder Itachi replied steadily, unflinching under Madara's sharp gaze, "but how can we know if we don't try?"
Through years of research, Elder Itachi had gained a new understanding of the Sharingan. The power of the Sharingan doesn't actually come from hatred, but from love.
That child possesses a different character from all other Uchiha. Although it sounds vague, years of intuition tell him that this child might be able to change the Uchiha Clan's fate.
"Foolishness. It seems temporary peace has clouded your judgment. Beauty is merely a fleeting sensation, while reality is eternal, and reality is never beautiful!"
At this point, it seemed that Madara had seen through Itachi's intentions, smiling sinisterly as he said: "Or perhaps you've placed all your hopes on a mere ten-year-old?"
"You…"
Having his thoughts exposed so directly, Elder Itachi lost his composure and could no longer maintain his calm demeanor.
Seeing his flustered expression, Madara Uchiha smiled darkly and said: "Heh… you've lived all these years and yet lack the same awareness as this young child."
Elder Itachi's eyes widened: "What do you intend to do with Tōshirō?"
"I need a useful tool to assist me when necessary in the future. That's all."
Madara Uchiha's tone was as casual as talking about the weather, but the meaning behind his words was as chilling as falling into an ice-cold abyss.
(End of Chapter)
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