"Exactly." Now that things had come to this, Black Zetsu saw no need to hide the truth any longer. "I am Mother's third child, besides Hagoromo and Hamura."
A third child... Wait a minute! The stone tablet clearly stated that Kaguya Ōtsutsuki only had one son—Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki! How could there be three children?!
Madara Uchiha recalled the inscriptions he had read on the tablet and retorted loudly in disbelief.
"Don't tell me..." Madara suddenly paused, his expression darkening as a terrible realization began to dawn on him.
"Hahaha... Are you still clinging to the words written on that stone tablet left behind by Hagoromo?" Black Zetsu mocked openly.
"To carry out my plan, I made a few small 'corrections' to Hagoromo's clumsy writings, deliberately misleading every generation of the Uchiha clan into believing that the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the true path to salvation!"
Finally, Black Zetsu revealed the thousand-year-long scheme he had orchestrated right in front of Madara. How he had manipulated Indra—who had lost the succession struggle against his younger brother—fueling his resentment and hatred.
How he had altered the ancient stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. How he had waited patiently for the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura to fight against each other generation after generation, until the conditions were met to awaken the Rinnegan and summon the Gedo Statue.
And even how he had used Madara's own Yin-Yang Release to create his current form and manipulated Obito Uchiha from the shadows, pretending to be Madara's loyal servant.
"The Ten-Tails is none other than the Divine Tree, which is also Mother herself. The great war in ancient times wasn't fought to reclaim the stolen Chakra Fruit... It was fought to gather back all the chakra that was scattered across the world by her own two sons! The altered tablet successfully set the Uchiha and Senju clans against each other in a never-ending struggle for power. It was a shame that the Rinnegan didn't appear for such a long time... until you came along..."
As he spoke, Black Zetsu looked maliciously at Madara, who was now standing frozen in shock and horror.
"You were very clever, Madara. You awakened the Rinnegan just as I hoped you would, and everything was progressing exactly according to my plan, up until the point of Mother's impending resurrection... But like I said before, the end goal has always been all that matters—the revival of Lady Mother. Everything else is just details, merely stepping stones along the way."
"The tablet was altered... All this time... The path the Uchiha clan has sought... My ideals... everything..." Madara muttered incoherently, his voice trembling and broken. Having narrowly escaped death, the truth he had just heard struck him harder than any physical blow. He looked completely devastated.
"Precisely. Everything you believed in was fabricated by me! The so-called history of shinobi... all the wars and conflicts throughout the ages... were all created solely for the purpose of guiding the world toward this moment—the resurrection of Lady Mother!"
Everything was made up... It was all a lie...
My brother and friends who died in battle when we were young... even my own beloved younger brother, Izuna... The moment I parted ways with Hashirama because of the ideals I believed in... Everything... absolutely everything was orchestrated just so Kaguya Ōtsutsuki could be brought back to life...
"Heh... Hehehe... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Madara slowly began to chuckle, which quickly turned into wild, hysterical laughter. Tears streamed down his face as he laughed maniacally.
Everything Madara had ever known, fought for, or sacrificed for was built upon a foundation of lies. All the pain he endured, the battles he fought, the lives he lost—all of it was just part of a grand plot designed solely for the sake of reviving another being. How bitterly ironic! And how utterly tragic!
Standing nearby, Kaoru let out a soft sigh. Perhaps... it really would have been better for Madara if he had just died without knowing the truth... Ignorance really might have been a mercy compared to facing such cruel reality...
"DIE!!!"
Amidst his fierce, desperate laughter, Madara's expression twisted into a mask of rage, despair, and utter ruin. He lunged straight at Black Zetsu in a blind fury, but...
BAM!
An invisible force violently threw him backward. Madara was sent flying through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground far away.
"Lady Mother!" Black Zetsu beamed with joy, looking reverently at the white-robed woman who had silently moved to stand beside him.
"Madara... you were nothing more than a pawn I used and manipulated freely to bring about Mother's return. This world is filled with mediocrities... or people like you who foolishly believe they are special. But there is only one truly special existence... and that is Lady Mother, the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"
"Shut... up..."
Madara slowly pushed himself up from the ground, struggling desperately to contain the overwhelming rage and despair threatening to erupt from within him. He glared intensely at the two figures standing before him.
Black Zetsu... and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!
"I sense Hagoromo's aura within your body as well..." Kaguya spoke softly, looking at Madara. Veins bulged wildly around her eyes as she focused her gaze upon him.
"Mother, pay him no mind. Right now... he is nothing more than a raving lunatic," Black Zetsu said with a light laugh. He looked at Madara with utter disdain—completely different from the cautious, wary attitude he held before.
"I told you..." Madara whispered hoarsely. Cracks seemed to appear across his eye as if it were shattering like glass. With a roar, he launched himself toward Kaguya and Black Zetsu once again!
"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!!!"
Shinra Tensei...
As the wielder of the Rinne Sharingan, Kaguya possessed the abilities of both the Rinnegan and the Sharingan. She simply raised her hand, her long, sharp, manicured nails glinting menacingly as she pointed her slender fingers toward Madara.
A massive repulsive force exploded outward instantly! The sheer power was leagues above anything Nagato, the Six Paths of Pain, or even Madara himself had ever been capable of wielding.
Madara's body was blasted backward once more! Immediately after, several silver, glowing chains shot out from Kaguya's back, wrapping tightly around Madara and suspending him helplessly in mid-air.
Chakra Chains!
"How foolish you mortal humans are... Even you, Indra..." Black Zetsu scoffed. He then turned his gaze toward Kaguya. "It is time to absorb his chakra, Lady Mother!"
Kaguya remained silent, looking thoughtfully at Madara trapped in mid-air. After a momentary pause, she slowly raised her hand, spreading her fingers wide toward him.
"Lady Mother, do not hesitate! Madara Uchiha is just a minor pawn. After you finish him off, that Uchiha Kaoru over there is going to be our biggest problem!"
Observing Kaguya's actions closely, Black Zetsu urged her relentlessly. Useless pieces left on the board were nothing but potential instability—it was far better to eliminate them completely and quickly.
Still silent, Kaguya stared intently at Madara bound by her chakra chains, seemingly lost in deep thought.
Madara's face was contorted with rage, pain, and despair. He remembered the brothers and friends who died in wars when he was just a boy... and the day he failed to protect his last remaining brother, Izuna.
He remembered choosing his own path toward peace based on the words written on that tablet... And now he realized it was all part of Black Zetsu's scheme. What meaning was there to the grief he felt when he lost his kin?
What meaning was there to the resolve he held when he parted ways with Hashirama? And what meaning was there to the hope he felt upon awakening the Rinnegan, believing he could finally create the world he dreamed of?
Everything he had gone through was merely planned and orchestrated by others solely to serve the purpose of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's revival... Madara simply could not accept such an ending!
Then... revenge and correcting these mistakes became his sole reason to keep fighting!
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki..." Madara chuckled darkly as he struggled against the chains binding him, causing them to jingle and rattle loudly. "Never underestimate humans... Never underestimate the Uchiha clan... And most of all..."
Blood began to trickle from the corner of his only remaining eye, which looked as if it was shattering completely under immense pressure. But against all odds, the powerful chakra chains holding him captive slowly began to stretch and loosen!
"You must never underestimate ME, Madara Uchiha! The only person capable of defeating me is Hashirama Senju! Whether you call yourself human... or a goddess... you are still far from being qualified!!!"
It was Madara's cry of defiance... and also his cry of despair! He admitted he had been foolishly deceived and manipulated, but he absolutely refused to accept the tragic outcome that was forced upon him.
Because he was Madara Uchiha—the King who once stood at the very pinnacle of the world! And the only enemy he had ever truly acknowledged as his equal and rival was Hashirama Senju!
CRACKLE!!
Like dry paper tearing apart, the chains snapped and shattered completely! Madara was free once again!
Seeing Madara completely broken yet still fighting desperately against fate, Kaoru couldn't help but feel genuine sympathy for him deep inside. To dedicate your entire life to an ideal, only to realize in the end that you were nothing more than a tool used to revive someone else... Truly, it was a sorrowful fate indeed...
Just as Kaoru was preparing to step in and intervene, a loud roar stopped him dead in his tracks.
"KAORU UCHIHA!!! THIS IS MY OWN STRUGGLE FOR REDEMPTION... STAY OUT OF IT!!!"
Madara roared fiercely toward Kaoru, then charged once more at Black Zetsu—who looked stunned and confused—and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, whose expression remained as calm and serene as ever.
But... As Kaguya slowly opened her palm facing Madara, yet another terrifying power belonging solely to her was unleashed.
Bansho Ten'in!
Madara, caught mid-charge, was instantly pulled toward her by an immense gravitational force far greater than anything he had felt before.
Simultaneously, from the center of Kaguya's free hand, a long, gleaming white bone spike slowly extended outward, sharp and deadly...
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