"I was... deceived?"
Madara raised an eyebrow, looking at Mirai in confusion.
"I awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, gained the power of the Kekkei Mōra, awakened the Rinnegan, and conceived the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan—all based on the stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths."
"You're not about to tell me that the Sage of Six Paths was wrong, are you? Do you think the Infinite Tsukuyomi is impossible?"
As a schemer, Madara had only ever deceived others. How could anyone have possibly deceived him?
From everything he had gathered, the Infinite Tsukuyomi was entirely feasible.
For Mirai to say something like this... It was simply because his understanding was lacking.
Had it not been for the overwhelming power Mirai had just displayed, Madara wouldn't have even bothered to argue with him.
Seeing Madara's expression, Mirai scoffed. "Madara, you're still as arrogant as ever."
"Do you really think you have control over everything? That you can manipulate everyone as if they're mere pieces on your chessboard?"
Madara folded his arms across his chest and said coolly, "That's exactly how it is."
"Hahaha..." Mirai couldn't help but laugh. "Madara, you're so naive."
"You're no different from Uchiha Obito or Nagato—you're just another piece on the board."
"You are not the one moving the pieces!"
The mocking tone in Mirai's voice made Madara's expression darken.
He wanted to refute it, wanted to demand an explanation, but the sheer confidence in Mirai's gaze made it impossible for him to speak.
Instead, he could only glare coldly at Senju Hashirama.
Hashirama was briefly taken aback before turning to Mirai. "Mirai, I know Madara well. He would never put so much faith in his plan unless he was absolutely certain of its success."
"If you're saying he's been manipulated... does that mean you know something?"
"That's right." Mirai knew Madara's personality well and didn't take offense.
"Madara, the truth about the shinobi world is far beyond what you learned from that stone tablet."
"Now, let me tell you everything."
At his words, both Madara and Hashirama became serious.
As former leaders of the shinobi world, they were privy to nearly every secret there was.
They were eager to see what so-called truth Uchiha Mirai had to reveal.
Under their intense gazes, Uchiha Mirai slowly began to speak.
"In ancient times, a man and a woman descended upon the shinobi world from the depths of space. Their names were Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki."
"They belonged to the Ōtsutsuki Clan, a race that roamed the cosmos, seizing planetary energy to enhance their own power."
"The Divine Tree and the Ten-Tails are products of their race."
"However, after witnessing the vitality of this world, Kaguya developed her own ambitions…"
"She betrayed and attacked Isshiki, taking the Chakra Fruit for herself. Her newfound power led the people of that era to revere her as the Rabbit Goddess."
"Blessed by humanity, Kaguya bore two sons—the elder, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, and the younger, Ōtsutsuki Hamura."
"Fearing the pursuit of her own clan, Kaguya activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi and created the White Zetsu as her army..."
"However, Hagoromo and Hamura, determined to stop her, joined forces and sealed Kaguya away."
"But just before she was sealed, Kaguya gave birth to a third son who carried her will—Black Zetsu."
...
As Mirai unraveled the story of Kaguya and Isshiki, both Madara and Hashirama were left in shock.
They had never imagined that beyond their world, out in the cosmos, there existed an entire race as powerful as the Ōtsutsuki.
The two of them had once fought in a brutal battle outside Konoha, a battle that lasted three days and nights and altered the landscape itself.
To commemorate that battle, the site had been named—
The Valley of the End.
They had believed that such a battle was the pinnacle of what the shinobi world could offer. Yet now, they learned that millennia ago, Kaguya, Hagoromo, and Hamura had battled for three whole months—devastating the world in ways they couldn't even fathom.
The sheer scale of such power was suffocating.
Madara, more than Hashirama, was utterly shaken.
Because from Mirai's words, he had heard a name that was all too familiar.
Black Zetsu!
Wasn't Black Zetsu supposed to be his will incarnate?
Yet according to Mirai, it was actually the will of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?
Seeing Madara's confusion, Hashirama quickly pressed further.
"Mirai, what happened after that?"
"If they were so powerful, why have we never heard of them?"
"What happened after Kaguya was sealed?"
"And what became of Black Zetsu?"
Madara shot Hashirama a look of approval.
Hashirama, seeing this, couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction.
The two exchanged a glance, their lips curling into slight smiles.
Watching this, Uchiha Mirai took a deep breath.
Could these two stop acting in ways that made people overthink things!?
After steadying himself, he continued, "After Kaguya was sealed, Hamura left with his people for the moon."
"Hagoromo, on the other hand, stayed behind to repair the damage caused to the world."
"During this time, Hagoromo founded the Ninshū, teaching people how to refine chakra."
"As more and more people gained power, Hagoromo himself became known by a revered title—"
"The Sage of Six Paths."
"What?!" Hashirama gasped. "So the Sage of Six Paths was actually Kaguya's son?"
"I never would have guessed…"
Madara's eyes flickered with emotion.
He had never heard these secrets before either.
If what Mirai said was true, then it meant he possessed knowledge that ordinary people could never access.
Had he truly been deceived all this time?
Hashirama pressed on, "Mirai, what about Black Zetsu? You haven't explained that yet."
"Surely it would have tried to find a way to release Kaguya, right?"
Mirai nodded. "That's right. Black Zetsu orchestrated countless schemes to achieve that goal. In fact, the centuries-old feud between the Uchiha and Senju Clans was largely due to its interference."
...
Hearing this, both Hashirama and Madara grew even more intrigued.
How did their ancient clan rivalry tie back to Black Zetsu?
Was their blood feud not simply the result of generations of mercenary conflicts?
What did Black Zetsu have to do with it all?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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