"Rinnegan…"
Madara murmured to himself.
"Yes, the Rinnegan,
"If my hypothesis is correct, when the power of the Uchiha and Senju truly merges, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan will evolve even further, transforming into the Rinnegan."
Madara's thoughts swirled in chaos. His heart a bit confused.
"All of this," Madara finally spoke, his tone measured, "is nothing more than your conjecture. There's no evidence. And if your claims are true, why have I not yet awakened the so-called Rinnegan despite wielding the power of the Senju for so many years?"
Madara steadied himself. Hui's confidence was unnerving.
If not for his own prolonged experience with Senju DNA yielding no such results, he might have believed Hui outright.
Hui, however, smirked and wagged his finger. His calm, knowing expression was infuriating yet, at the same time, convincing.
"You're aware of my extraordinary sensory abilities, aren't you?" Hui began.
Madara nodded silently. Hui's sensory capabilities were known across the shinobi world, some even called him the strongest sensory ninja.
"But what you don't know," Hui continued, "is that my sensory abilities extend beyond the perception of chakra or natural energy. My senses include something… deeper, a profound intuition, you could say."
Madara was skeptical, yet, Hui continued making up the story.
"I can sense not just energy but also latent changes in the world. I can feel it, your eyes are nurturing an immense, terrifying power. Once this process is complete, your eyes will evolve to their next stage," Hui was really convincing at the moment.
Madara almost instinctively reached for his eyes, pausing just short of touching them.
"How can you prove such a claim without any proof?" Madara asked, but the confusing in his face was slowly giving way to understanding.
Hui shook his head "Proof? Such a phenomenon can't be demonstrated at will. But I can share my own experience.
"My eyes weren't always like this. They only transformed when I was eleven years old. However, that transformation had been happening for years, and it took several years for it to complete."
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"Similarly," Hui continued, "I sense that your eyes are undergoing a similar development. It's an exceptionally prolonged process, one that may not complete even within your lifetime. Or perhaps… it could happen abruptly, within the next few years."
Hui's words planted a seed in Madara's mind.
"Your explanation sounds no different from a guesswork," Madara retorted with a cold snort.
Hui shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps. But I can't help it. Transformations like these are rare, too rare for me to test my theory on others. It's not as though I can scour the world for someone in the same situation as you."
Madara fell silent.
"Let's leave the discussion of opposing forces here for now," Hui said, steering the conversation, to plant another seed, "What intrigues me more is another matter entirely."
Madara raised an eyebrow.
"Just now, my other Shadow Avatar encountered the figure who orchestrated this meeting," Hui said, "And my intuition tells me that this individual is deeply connected to the secrets of the Uchiha and Senju clans' origins."
Madara's lips parted to respond, but Hui cut him off sharply.
"Don't be so quick to dismiss it. While the Uchiha and Senju clans boast centuries of history, the shinobi world is vast, filled with anomalies that defy common logic.
"For ordinary people, a hundred years is considered a long life, and none can escape the cycle of life and death. Yet for some, the boundary between life and death is a line they can cross at will. Immortality may sound mythical, but in the shinobi world, it's a reality.
"A person living for a thousand years may sound a bit ridiculous, but even more ridiculous things have happened across the shinobi worlds history.
"For example, Tobirama's Edo Tensei can summon the souls of the dead back from the Pure Land. Isn't that absurd?
"And let's not forget Kakuzu, a rogue ninja who uses a technique to implant five hearts into his body, rendering himself practically immortal. Given enough time, such a man could theoretically live for a thousand years."
Madara's gaze flickered as he remained silent. The shinobi world was indeed filled with mysteries and powers that defied conventional understanding.
Things may sound absurd, but it wasn't impossible.
Hui's voice grew sharper.
"You know my strength, don't you? There are few in this world who can force me into a stalemate. Yet today, I encountered someone who could.
"This 'figure', even under my full power assault, escaped unscathed. My attacks, or my sealing techniques—none of them worked on him.
"Such an individual, capable of eluding me, could very well have lived for a thousand years."
Hui looked at Madara.
Madara knew the strength Hui's shadow avatar possessed.
To make someone like Hui feel powerless… Madara was noe deeply interested in the figure.
"If uncovering the truth about the Uchiha and Senju clans is your goal," Hui continued, "then this mysterious figure is the key. My instincts tell me they know far more than anyone else."
"Perhaps you should focus your efforts on finding this figure. After all, they may hold the answers you seek," Hui suggested, subtly nudging Madara.
Hui intended to let Madara fight Black Zetsu.
But Hui knew he couldn't stop there. If Madara fell for Black Zetsu's manipulations, it could spell disaster. He needed to sow doubt in Madara's mind, to plant another seed.
"One more thing, If my intuition is correct, and this figure is indeed a being who has lived for a thousand years and had deliberately concealed the origins of the Uchiha and Senju clans, then it's likely they have plans for you as well.
"As the former leader of the Uchiha clan, you're an obvious target. I suspect you've been under their watch for a long time.
"Think about it; why did they lure me here, to this very location? This isn't just any place; it's your hiding spot.
"Is it not possible that your decision to sever ties with Hashirama all those years ago was influenced by this very figure?"
Hui said meaningfully to Madara.
He was well aware of the truth: Black Zetsu was the one who instigated Madara's final battle with Hashirama, assisted Madara in using Hashirama's cells to awaken the Rinnegan, and altered the information left by the Sage of Six Paths in the Uchiha Naka Shrine to steer Madara toward the path of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Now, by dropping this hint to Madara, Hui hoped he wouldn't let himself be completely fooled by Black Zetsu again.
But that wasn't enough—something more had to be done.
Hui still felt uneasy, but an idea quickly came to him, and his eyes lit up.
Black Zetsu's goal was to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. And Kaguya had been sealed away because she transformed humans into White Zetsu, which were meant to counter the Ōtsutsuki clan.
So, if Black Zetsu were to discover that another Ōtsutsuki—Isshiki Ōtsutsuki—still existed in this world...
That would certainly be interesting, wouldn't it?
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