Uchiha Madara turned the question back on him. Why had Qianyu not reported his survival to Konoha?
Qianyu's voice was light, almost teasing. "And why would I? In my view, it's a simple exchange. Konoha provides lodging. I do work for them. A contractor's agreement. I'm not obligated to report everything."
A low snort. "So your loyalty to the village is just surface deep."
"I'm not Konoha's dog. Konoha isn't my master. Loyalty doesn't enter into it." The snake's slitted pupils shifted, gazing past Madara. "More importantly… I'm curious about that statue behind you. The one Nagato summoned, wasn't it? You saving Obito… it has a purpose, doesn't it?"
Madara's tone darkened. "Do you really think I would tell you? You know I'm here. You know Obito lives. What is your intent?"
A smile seemed to bleed through the serpentine connection. "I find your stated goal… intriguing. A world where causality is severed. A world of only victors, only peace, only love. You claim it's a world where only these things exist."
A flicker of curiosity entered Madara's aged voice. "Oh? Does such a world appeal to you as well?"
"Isn't it obvious? Look at the world we have. A world of endless, pointless slaughter. Anyone with sense would yearn for something else. For what you're describing."
A dry, humorless chuckle. "Hah. It seems we have a point of common interest."
"Then, Uchiha Madara," Qianyu pressed, "care to share your grand plan? I'm terribly curious. If it's viable… I might just want in."
"I do not," Madara stated flatly, "trust creatures who lurk in shadows and watch from the dark."
"Says the man hiding in a sunless cave," Qianyu shot back, his tone sharpening. "The great Uchiha Madara, who once looked down upon the world, now skulks in a hole. And now… now I know. I've guessed your little scheme. You intend to use Uchiha Obito as your pawn. Your errand boy."
"And what of it?" Madara's voice was ice.
"I have a proposal. We cooperate. I'll keep Obito's survival a secret. I might even… assist him."
Madara's lone visible eye narrowed to a razor slit. "The price?"
"I want to kill you. Personally."
A flash of killing intent, cold and sharp, bloomed in Madara's gaze.
"Don't look at me like that," Qianyu chided, his voice returning to that casual, almost playful tone. "Think about it. Once Obito is willing to work for you… your role here ends, doesn't it? You'll die. I'm not wrong, am I? If you're going to die anyway… what's the difference if you do it yourself, or if I do it for you?"
"If there is no difference," Madara rumbled, "why demand it?"
"Call it a… personal quirk. The thought of the legendary Uchiha Madara, a man who once stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world, dying by my hand… it's an exciting notion, don't you think?"
Silence stretched in the cavern. Finally, Madara spoke again. "If you know my role ends with my instructions to Obito… why would I trust you to hold your end of the bargain afterward? My death would free you from any obligation."
Qianyu's next words were a quiet detonation. "Uchiha Madara… you plan to be resurrected, don't you?"
Whoosh.
An invisible pressure erupted from the old man's frail body. A suffocating, primal aura of malice. Even through the distant link of the snake, Qianyu felt a chill spear through his core.
Madara's killing intent focused, a physical weight pinning the serpent in place. His voice was a deadly whisper. "What. Do you. Know?"
"It's not hard to deduce," Qianyu replied, forcing his mental voice to remain steady. "You've clung to life this long, tethered to that statue. You'll use Obito to execute your plan… but you're not the type to simply hand the future to a successor. A man of your… control… would never leave the final outcome to another. You'd want to hold the reins yourself."
The logic unfolded, cold and clear. "So it's obvious. This body has reached its limit. Your design… is for Obito to bring you back. This world is full of bizarre jutsu. If the Second Hokage could create a forbidden technique to drag souls back from the Pure Land with the Impure World Reincarnation… why not a jutsu for true resurrection?"
Qianyu paused, letting the implication hang. "And… Uchiha Madara. I want you to be resurrected."
Madara stared, genuinely taken aback.
A wild, almost manic grin threaded through Qianyu's projected voice. "I want you to come back. So I can fight you. Openly. A real battle. To see who is stronger… the legend of the old era, or the pinnacle of the new!"
For a moment, Madara was silent. Then, a low rumble built in his chest, erupting into full, roaring laughter that echoed in the cavern. "Qianyu… I find myself… appreciating you. It seems you and I are cut from the same cloth. That burning desire for combat. The craving to test yourself against true strength. Of all those who bear the Uchiha name… you may be the one who most resembles me."
"I am not an Uchiha," Qianyu retorted, disdain dripping from the words. "Your clan disowned me. I disown them in return."
"The Uchiha of Konoha ceased to be true Uchiha the day I left," Madara declared, his pride a tangible force. "I am the Uchiha clan. Where I stand, that is where the clan exists." His momentary amusement faded, replaced by calculation. "I find you intriguing, boy. But that is not enough for trust."
"What more do you want?"
"Because we are alike, I could never fully trust you," Madara stated plainly. "But I can believe you won't interfere with Obito. You are not a man who follows rules. You chafe against them. So… this 'cooperation'… I will consider it. Once Obito returns and I have set his path… you may come to the Mountains' Graveyard. Find me."
"Agreed," Qianyu said. "I'll look forward to our meeting."
The snake dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
In the Konoha encampment in the Land of Rain, Qianyu's expression turned grave.
Being discovered by Uchiha Madara was an unforeseen complication.
Now that he'd been forced into the open, he had to pivot. Turn this accident into an advantage.
His hastily formed plan? Infiltrate Madara's scheme from the inside.
The benefit was clear: every move Obito and that lurking shadow, Zetsu, made would be laid bare before him.
The risk was equally clear: he, too, would be exposed to their sight.
But on balance, the scales tipped in his favor. His mind held memories of a future that hadn't happened yet. The true initiative was still his.
This gamble with Madara… it was viable.
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