If Furukawa Ryu really grew into a major force in the future, then he would inevitably become a variable in the Eye of the Moon Plan.
And that was definitely not good news.
So Madara had only one choice.
He had to deny everything to the bitter end.
Besides, he had another thought in the back of his mind:
It wasn't even me who did it in the first place!
[Uchiha Madara]: What nonsense are you all talking about…
[Uchiha Madara]: Much as I hate to admit it, I really was killed by Hashirama back then. How could I possibly have lived all the way to the era of the Fourth Hokage and released the Nine-Tails?
[Senju Hashirama]: That… actually makes sense…
[Uzumaki Kushina]: No! That can't be right!
[Namikaze Minato]: Kushina, to be fair, the idea that it was Madara was only my guess. I can't say for certain.
[Senju Tobirama]: Hmph. My brother killing Madara back then is beyond doubt. But if I remember correctly, the Uchiha clan has an ocular technique that allows them to survive death by sacrificing one Sharingan.
In the Pure Land, the corner of Madara's mouth twitched.
He had not expected Tobirama to be this sharp.
The old fox had immediately connected the dots to Izanagi.
[Namikaze Minato]: Sacrificing one Sharingan…?
[Uzumaki Kushina]: Minato, I remember now! The masked man who broke the Nine-Tails' seal that night—he only had one Sharingan exposed!
[Namikaze Minato]: That's true. I thought it was strange back then. But looking at it now… so that's what it was.
[Senju Tobirama]: Hmph! Madara, what do you have to say for yourself now?
That did it.
Madara had just been hammered with "proof."
"…What the hell?!"
His brow twitched wildly.
Then came a wave of grievance.
Yes, I used Izanagi back then and lost an eye—
But that person really wasn't me!
That brat only showed one eye because he gave the other one away! What does that have to do with me?!
Even Ryu, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, was a little stunned.
Through a series of coincidences and wrong turns, they had somehow created the perfect misunderstanding.
But the funniest part was this—
Even though it was a misunderstanding…
Even though the logic had taken all kinds of detours…
The final conclusion had still landed on the correct answer.
Madara really was the mastermind behind it all.
Well, that settled it.
After this little mess, everyone now believed that the masked man had been Madara. Whether he admitted it or not no longer mattered.
Madara thought it over and suddenly realized—
Admitting it might actually be the better option.
No matter how much "he" had stirred up chaos before, he was now a dead man in everyone's eyes.
That meant these people probably would not stay too wary of him.
And if that happened, they would naturally overlook the fact that there was still a fake Madara out there stirring up trouble in the ninja world.
That was not a bad outcome at all.
[Uchiha Madara]: Hmph. I hid myself so deeply, and yet you still saw through me.
[Senju Hashirama]: Madara! You're seriously shameless! You used that kind of technique? What happened to a fair duel?!
[Uchiha Madara]: Hmph. The winner writes history. The loser says nothing.
[Senju Tobirama]: Despicable! Madara, you really are the kind of man who'll use any means necessary!
[Furukawa Ryu]: Alright, alright, enough already. You're all dead, so what's the point of arguing about this now?
[Uchiha Madara]: Hmph! Exactly! Trash Tobirama never stops yapping!
[Furukawa Ryu]: Heh. As for who really released the Nine-Tails back then… no one here knows better than I do.
Ryu stopped there and did not elaborate.
The others did not think much of it.
But after reading that line, Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
He felt that Ryu's words carried another meaning.
Could this brat actually know something?
No… impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Ryu curled his lips.
He had only said that for fun.
Mostly, he just wanted to rattle Madara a little.
As for the deeper secrets—
It still was not time to lay all his cards on the table.
…
As they continued down the road, the group saw more and more of Konoha.
Overall, they were quite satisfied with the village's development.
[Senju Hashirama]: Hm. Looks like this Third Hokage really did a good job.
[Senju Tobirama]: Hmph. Naturally. And why wouldn't he? He's my prized student. I trained him for many years.
"Pfft—"
Seeing the exchange between the brothers, Ryu really could not hold it in anymore.
He burst out laughing on the spot.
He could already tell—
Once those two fully learned what Sarutobi Hiruzen had actually been up to all these years…
They would probably want to slap themselves.
[Senju Tobirama]: Hey! Ryu brat! What are you laughing at?
[Furukawa Ryu]: I just thought of something funny.
[Senju Tobirama]: And what exactly was so funny?
[Furukawa Ryu]: My wife just had a baby—oh, wait. I don't even have a wife yet. Guess I should go find one first.
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