Last Time...
Itachi Uchiha fell silent. A simple mental calculation was enough to show him that Madara Uchiha was right. Cubed, then cubed again, and cubed-it would go on infintely. No wonder they had to resurrect themselves using the Edo Tensei technique; the possibility of undoing the Infinite Tsukuyomi was greater than the possibility of finding Sasuke and the others, without better filtering and posititoning methods.
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Uchiha Itachi finally said:
"I will research the Infinite Tsukuyomi with you, but Sasuke and I are brothers by blood. Is there a bloodline tracking sealing jutsu that can help confirm Sasuke's location?"
Minato Namikaze and Tobirama Senju exchanged glances, then Minato spoke:
"In fact, the Second Hokage and I were considering developing this jutsu. Naruto is my son, and so that means we are also direct blood relatives. However, the Second Hokage is also preoccupied with researching the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so the progress on this jutsu hasn't been very fast. But with your participation in the Infinite Tsukuyomi research, we should be able to dedicate more time to developing the bloodline tracking jutsu. We already have some leads."
Uchiha Itachi nodded. For Sasuke's sake, he, along with Hashirama and Kakashi, dedicated themselves to the research of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Minato and Tobirama also accelerated the development of the bloodline tracking jutsu. Obito's job was to continue searching for Naruto and the others in other dimensions, and Madara also spent most of his time using his Rinnegan to search for them, only joining Hashirama to attempt to dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi when necessary.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, although he was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, he was not proficient in invention and creation, nor did he have the ability to search other dimensions. His task was to patrol the entire world, search for usable resources, record the condition of the people enveloped by the Divine Tree, and how many lives had been drained of chakra and died by the Divine Tree, thus reminding others how much time they had left.
Another slow and agonizing week passed, during which two things happened.
First, the alternate dimensions that Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito were searching were getting further and further away from their current world, gradually reaching a point where it was impossible to travel back and forth in a single day. As the distance gradually increased, it was foreseeable that their round-trip time would eventually change from days to weeks, then months, and finally even years, provided that the Divine Tree hadn't killed all the people affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi by then.
This news wasn't good for anyone. It meant their hopes of finding Naruto and Sasuke were dwindling, forcing Minato and Tobirama to accelerate their development of bloodline tracking jutsu.
Secondly, even with Itachi's involvement, there was still no progress in dispelling the Infinite Tsukuyomi. As Madara had said, Infinite Tsukuyomi and Tsukuyomi were completely different things.
Itachi considered whether Shisui's Kotoamatsukami could dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi, since Kotoamatsukami was said to be able to permanently and completely alter someone's will. However, he quickly dismissed the idea. First, it was questionable whether this will alteration could free someone from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and secondly, its range of effect probably couldn't extend to the entire world; a single village was likely the limit. Furthermore, he couldn't find Shisui's body or obtain his cells to perform the Edo Tensei jutsu on him.
Then, Itachi and Tobirama considered that the Infinite Tsukuyomi was activated by Uchiha Madara's eyes, but his eyes weren't actually his own, but his younger brother Uchiha Izuna's. Therefore, fundamentally, it was Izuna who activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Since Izuna wasn't an Indra reincarnation, did this mean that only when Madara regained his own eyes would he truly be an Indra reincarnation?
But Madara's own eyes were buried with Izuna. Even with Edo Tensei, the eyes Madara used were still Izuna's. His Rinnegan, strictly speaking, was a combination of Izuna's eyes and Hashirama's cells. If Madara could retrieve his own eyes, evolve them into Rinnegan, and then release the seal, would it be possible to succeed? But to do this, they would need to perform Edo Tensei on Uchiha Izuna, and then the two would have to exchange eyes.
Upon hearing this idea, Madara immediately became furious. He crossed his arms, his gaze sharp.
"I disagree. I don't think Izuna is the key to dispelling the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He's been dead for almost a hundred years. Isn't it too much to blame everything on someone who died so long ago? How useless are we that we have to disturb the peace of the dead?"
Tobirama also crossed his arms and scoffed.
"Besides Kakashi, everyone here is dead, yet we're still here trying to save the world. Ultimately, isn't all of this your fault?!"
Madara's brow furrowed, his gaze icy. "I will take responsibility for my mistakes, but this has nothing to do with Izuna. He shouldn't have to bear this. Anyway, I don't agree!"
Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know what to say. Kakashi sighed, Obito was silent, and Hashirama looked at Madara, then at Tobirama, his expression conflicted, clearly unsure of what decision to make.
Itachi Uchiha remained silent. If Madara didn't agree, no one would know where Izuna Uchiha was, but he could understand Madara's feelings. However, even a slim possibility offered a glimmer of hope, and he was unwilling to give up.
Tobirama raised his eyebrows, and just when everyone thought he was about to erupt, he took a deep breath and suddenly bowed deeply in apology.
"Yes, I killed Izuna, and I don't regret killing him. However, Izuna's death became the catalyst for all of this. I admit this is my original sin, and I won't shirk this responsibility. If possible, I'm willing to do anything to appease you and Izuna, but I hope you can consider the fate of this world and allow Izuna to be resurrected through Edo Tensei. Perhaps he still won't be the ultimate answer, but this is one of the few remaining hopes."
Madara stared at Tobirama in shock. This was the first time he had seen Tobirama bow his head, and the first time he had admitted his guilt. For a moment, he didn't know what to think.
Minato and Kakashi looked at the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, with complicated emotions. Hashirama's heart was also filled with mixed feelings.
During the Warring States period, the Senju and Uchiha clans were opposing factions, each serving their own lord. Honestly, no one could say that Senju Tobirama was wrong for killing Uchiha Izuna. Later, when Konoha was founded, all his measures regarding the Uchiha were for the stability of Konoha. His policies might have been misused by later generations, but his original intention was absolutely not to target or exclude the Uchiha.
Throughout his life, Senju Tobirama had lived up to the reputation bestowed upon him, never failing his family or his country.
Now, he was willing to once again shoulder his responsibility for Konoha, for the ninja world, and for this world. Although Itachi was an Uchiha, he deeply understood the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
He also bowed, pleading with Uchiha Madara. "Lord Madara, I also beg you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was filled with shame. When the Second Hokage was in power, the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha was never this tense and irreparable. It was his leniency towards Danzo and his inaction regarding the Uchiha that led to today's tragedy. Now, he even had to let the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, step forward to bear the blame and the consequences.
He was too ashamed to face them, so he could only step forward and bow deeply, "No, it's all my fault. The Uchiha clan's annihilation, Itachi bearing the name of murderer and traitor, Obito starting the Fourth Great Ninja War—it's all due to my incompetence and weakness, which led to this situation."
Obito didn't have such deep resentment towards Tobirama Senju, after all, he wasn't good at history and didn't know that many policies were formulated by the Second Hokage, but the direction went wrong later. He initially hated the Konoha higher-ups, including the Third Hokage, Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado. Later, he unreasonably hated the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, for not rescuing him in time, and Kakashi for killing Rin. Therefore, Obito didn't feel much about the Second Hokage's apology, but the Third Hokage's apology gave Obito a sense of bewilderment, finally hearing his enemy admit their mistakes.
Hashirama looked at Madara, lost in thought. Why did they establish Konoha? Wasn't it to protect their younger brothers and their clansmen? But before Konoha was established, Izuna, whom Madara wanted to protect the most, was gone forever. This was an eternal void in Madara's heart, which led to their differences growing larger and larger, and finally, the battle at the Valley of the End ended everything.
Hashirama could only say helplessly, "Madara, I won't force you. This is all your decision, but if Izuna could truly see all this, I don't think he would want this world to end like this."
Uchiha Madara remained silent, took a step back, and disappeared. After that, no one disturbed him. The next day, Madara returned, holding a small jar in his hand. He handed it to Hashirama and said in a deep voice... "These are Izuna's cells."
Hashirama, holding the small jar, was first stunned, then overjoyed. Tears welled up in his eyes as he hugged Madara, thanking him repeatedly. Madara struggled to break free a few times, but couldn't, so he simply frowned and turned his head away.
Hashirama quickly handed the cells to Tobirama, and that afternoon, they resurrected Uchiha Izuna using the Edo Tensei jutsu.
Looking at the person before them, Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake, who both knew Sasuke quite well, were greatly shocked. Hiruzen, Minato, and Obito were also quite surprised. Aside from his slightly older age, Izuna Uchiha was practically a grown-up replica of Sasuke Uchiha, or rather, Sasuke Uchiha resembled him.
"This, Sasuke, I mean, is your family a direct descendant of Izuna Uchiha?" Kakashi whispered to Itachi, covering his mouth.
Itachi recovered from his shock, thought for a moment, and then shook his head.
"No, the family records state that neither Madara Uchiha nor Izuna Uchiha married or had any descendants. After their deaths, Uchiha Kagami, who was the closest blood relative, took over as head of the family. His father and the father of Madara and Izuna were brothers. We are direct descendants of Uchiha Kagami. Actually, we are considered a branch family that rose to power."
Kakashi said with a wry smile, "That bloodline inheritance is truly terrifying, to be so similar. Considering the relationship, they're already five generations apart, aren't they?"
Madara, however, wasn't paying attention to what Kakashi and Itachi were saying. After nearly a hundred years, he suddenly felt a sense of trepidation upon seeing someone so familiar. Looking at Izuna Uchiha, whose eyes were slowly clearing, he still felt at a loss for words. After a long pause, he finally managed to call out his brother's name.
"Izuna."
Izuna Uchiha was completely awakened by this call. He looked intently, and then excitedly exclaimed,
"Brother Madara!"
The next moment, he suddenly realized something was wrong, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.
"Huh? Brother Madara, why do you look a little older? That's not right, shouldn't I be dead?"
Finally remembering that he should have died from his injuries long ago, Uchiha Izuna looked around, and his mind was completely blown.
"Senju Tobirama? Senju Hashirama? Why are you here?!"
He then looked at the terrifying scene around him—the Divine Tree covered in white cocoons swaying in the wind, and the desolate and ruined landscape—and was utterly bewildered.
"Where is this place? Is this the Pure Land? Is the Pure Land supposed to look like this? How can anyone find peace after death here?"
Uchiha Madara quickly comforted his younger brother and explained everything carefully.
"Calm down, Izuna, this isn't the Pure Land, it's the real world. Like me, you were resurrected from the dead and brought back to the human world. Almost a hundred years have passed since your death. I was quite old when I died, but after being resurrected, for some reason, I'm in my early thirties. When you died, I was only 26, so I'm a little older compared to then."
After hearing this, Izuna's first reaction was disbelief.
"Brother Madara, you died too? You said almost a hundred years have passed? How is that possible?"
After receiving Madara's confirmation, Izuna accepted the reality, but then became confused.
"Edo Tensei? What kind of jutsu is this? It can actually bring the dead back to the living world?"
"It was created by Senju Tobirama..." Uchiha Madara hadn't even finished speaking when Izuna interrupted him.
He glared at Tobirama with a wary and angry expression.
"Senju Tobirama! It's you! Only you could create such an evil jutsu! So, you summoned me and Brother Madara? What do you want? Let me tell you, even in death, I will never be used by you!"
Izuna immediately stood in front of Madara. Madara felt touched and nostalgic; after so many years, Izuna was still the same as before.
Tobirama watched Izuna, who was still as confrontational as he had been during the Warring States period, looking as if they were sworn enemies. While he didn't feel any nostalgia, the ingrained animosity from their years of fighting had become deeply ingrained. Without thinking, he snorted and retorted,
"So what if I summoned you? You're dead, not blind! Can't you see that I'm also in an Edo Tensei state?"
Izuna then took a closer look and realized that not only were the Senju brothers in the Edo Tensei state, but several other unfamiliar people were as well. Two of them were even from the Uchiha clan, though he had never seen them before. Izuna knew all the Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan; could these two be Uchiha from the hundred years after his death?
Izuna also noticed Kakashi Hatake, the only living person present, which confused him even more. This living person was neither a Senju nor an Uchiha. The other old man and the handsome blonde man weren't Senju or Uchiha either. When did the Senju and Uchiha start mixing with outsiders?
Izuna could only turn to his brother and ask, "Brother Madara, what exactly is going on?"
"It's a long story, Izuna."
Madara began to explain the events of the past hundred years in a low voice. He didn't hide his own schemes, his mistakes, or how he had been deceived by Black Zetsu and Kaguya. He also didn't hide the various changes and secrets of Konoha over the years.
The story was long, bizarre, and unbelievable. The changes in the world's political landscape over the past century were completely unimaginable to Izuna, who had lived in the Warring States period. He couldn't imagine a day when they wouldn't survive as a family unit, but instead live together in a hidden village, with several clans and a large number of ordinary people. His brother and Hashirama's dream had actually come true;
He also couldn't imagine that the existence of the hidden village, while ending the war between the Senju and Uchiha clans, would instead trigger larger-scale wars between hidden villages;
Even more unimaginable was that a hundred years later, the Uchiha clan would be completely wiped out, leaving only a single descendant who supposedly resembled him. This angered Izuna especially. Besides Madara, what he valued most was the prosperity and survival of his clan. Hearing that the perpetrators of the clan's destruction were also Uchiha members made him so angry he almost laughed. He immediately launched into a barrage of sarcastic remarks and furious accusations at everyone present.
"Without Konoha, the Uchiha clan existed for thousands of years, but with Konoha, they were wiped out? Didn't you say you wanted to establish Konoha to prevent more deaths?"
Hashirama immediately lowered his head, Tobirama wanted to retort but couldn't, and Madara looked slightly pained.
Izuna then looked at Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito, and sneered.
"What, have you two been brainwashed by Senju Tobirama and Konoha? The conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, isn't it due to the injustice of the higher-ups? Instead of striving for fair treatment and benefits for your family, you're thinking of eliminating your own people?
We Uchiha are truly fortunate to have you two! Killing your own family for outsiders, you think you're righteous, you love the village? Don't be ridiculous, how can anyone trust someone who doesn't even love their own family and can ruthlessly kill them? Protecting one's own family is human nature! You actually think that violating basic human nature is right? You're afraid that starting a war will kill more people? Then why should all the deaths be among the Uchiha? What did those women, children, and elderly do wrong? What right do you have to decide their life and death!"
Uchiha Itachi was filled with remorse and pain, and Izuna continued to scold Obito.
"As for you, how did the Uchiha offend you? You're so obsessed with a woman, if you had truly overthrown Konoha and killed all the Konoha higher-ups, I would have respected you! But what did you do? You wiped out the Uchiha clan, who had nothing to do with the death of that woman and who raised you! Madara might have planned this, but this was originally a problem with Konoha's system. You didn't solve the problem at its source, you only vented your impotent rage on unrelated people, and you couldn't even see the war through to the end. What have you been doing for the past 18 years? You couldn't figure it out before, but you've figured it out now? So weak-minded!"
Uchiha Obito knew he was wrong, but being scorned by Izuna for his inability to see things through, he was momentarily stunned. Tobirama initially let Izuna scold him, because he also disapproved of Itachi Uchiha's actions. Hashirama and Hiruzen both endorsed the Will of Fire, but the Will of Fire was absolutely not about one-sided tyranny and power, trampling on and overriding the will of others, especially since it's impossible to determine whether this Will of Fire is tainted with any personal agendas.
However, Tobirama disagreed with Izuna's last few words to Obito, and he frowned, interrupting him.
"What, do you still think Obito Uchiha shouldn't have ended the war?"
Izuna retorted angrily,
"I didn't say he was right to start the war, I just think his mentality is so childish and weak. He planned something for 18 years and then overturned it just like that, and he actually believes in the Infinite Tsukuyomi! As long as humans exist, there will always be conflict, there will always be selfishness, that's what makes us human! Nothing is ever unchanging, we always need to adapt to the times. If the system is wrong, reform the system; if there are problems with people, solve the personnel issues. To question the world and think it's unreasonable and shouldn't exist because of a small matter, is he a child who hasn't grown up yet?!"
Obito was so humiliated he couldn't lift his head.
Tobirama, however, smiled, "Hmph, Izuna, sometimes I really regret why we are enemies, when our ideals are so similar."
Unlike the idealist Hashirama and Madara, who was also idealistic at heart, Izuna was actually more similar to Tobirama—a realist, a rationalist. Perhaps it was because they both had similar types of older brothers. Izuna was indeed always a match for Tobirama. If it weren't for the lack of information that led to his careless death under the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could have accomplished much more. If Konoha had both of them, none of this would have happened. Izuna would have assisted Madara and could have also restrained Tobirama Senju's power, creating a more balanced power dynamic between the Uchiha and Senju clans.
Tobirama now truly regretted killing Izuna back then.
Uchiha Madara felt a little guilty, although Izuna didn't scold him, he knew it was only because Izuna couldn't bear to scold him, because the idea of creating a world without losers and loss was completely unrealistic.
Minato and Kakashi also didn't expect Uchiha Izuna to be such a person, completely different from Sasuke, more rational, more mature, and more in line with the thinking of a qualified politician and a person in a position of power.
After Izuna finished scolding, he felt that his anger had finally subsided after hearing all sorts of ridiculous stories from the past hundred years. He really didn't expect that without his companionship and assistance, Madara could still cause such a major event as the end of the world. Faced with this ultimate mess, what could Izuna do? He could only roll up his sleeves and get to work.
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna then exchanged their eyes. Izuna's eyes, which had become Rinnegan, returned to their original owner, Izuna's eye sockets. Not being an Indra reincarnation, he couldn't temporarily control this powerful force, and the Rinnegan downgraded to Mangekyo Sharingan. Madara, on the other hand, regained his nearly blind Mangekyo Sharingan and began the process of activating the Rinnegan again.
Izuna knew that his eyes had activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi against the whole world, and he was quite interested in studying his own eyes. Limbo was also a power of his eyes, and now it naturally became Izuna's ability.
Since Uchiha Madara temporarily didn't have the Rinnegan, Tobirama temporarily put aside the Infinite Tsukuyomi and instead worked with Minato to fully tackle the bloodline tracking jutsu.
Three days later, the bloodline tracking jutsu finally succeeded, and Minato and Itachi couldn't wait to use it.
Two bloodlines appeared out of thin air and then disappeared into the void. Everyone's spirits lifted; had they succeeded? Obito took Itachi, and Kakashi took Minato, attempting to follow the bloodlines' trajectory.
The four first appeared in the icy world of the primordial sphere. After passing through this icy land, they found themselves in a desolate world. The bloodlines still disappeared into the void, and the two continued forward. After passing through ten different dimensions or worlds, when they stepped into the next world, Obito and Kakashi's expressions suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?"
Minato asked, but then instantly fell silent.
Itachi's expression was also solemn, looking at the familiar initial icy world before them.
This wasn't just a similar world; it was the exact same initial world. Kakashi even crossed this world and returned to their own world.
"How is that possible?" Obito Uchiha refused to believe it and tried again, seemingly traversing worlds without repetition, but ultimately returning to the icy world.
Minato suggested another possibility, saying with a wry smile, "Or maybe they are in this world?"
The few remained silent, but they began to carefully search every inch of this world. Naturally, they returned disappointed.
When the four returned to the real world and told the others the results of that day, Tobirama was also baffled.
"Why is this happening? It shouldn't be."
He and Minato carefully checked the bloodline tracking jutsu again, but still couldn't find anything wrong. They could only hope to try again tomorrow.
The next day, Minato and Itachi tried the bloodline jutsu again. This time, the bloodline led to a completely different primordial sphere magma world than the day before. Minato and Itachi found it unbelievable, but they still traveled with Obito and Kakashi to search again. However, they still returned to the magma world they started in.
On the third day, the starting point became the gravity world of the primordial sphere. This time, Madara Uchiha, who had finally successfully evolved his Sharingan into the Rinnegan, took Itachi and Minato to search. The power of the Rinnegan was higher than the Mangekyo Sharingan, perhaps he could find something amiss. Upon their departure, Uchiha Madara did indeed notice something. After reaching a certain critical distance, the trajectory of the bloodline suddenly deviated inexplicably, returning to its original path. Minato and Itachi were both excited by this discovery, and Minato immediately began to deduce how this deviation occurred.
Naturally, this wouldn't yield results quickly. Tobirama later joined the deduction process, and another week passed without any progress.
On this day, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been inspecting the situation in various regions, brought even worse news: ordinary people's bodies were beginning to fail, and the bodies of ninjas were also continuously deteriorating. It wasn't just a matter of chakra being absorbed; their basic bodily functions were starting to break down.
It had been more than two months since the Infinite Tsukuyomi began. Those affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi weren't just facing the problem of having their chakra drained by the Divine Tree; how could they survive without food or water while trapped in the cocoons?
Tobirama had previously researched this issue and discovered that, in order to prevent people from dying too quickly, the Divine Tree was maintaining everyone's basic physiological needs. After all, people needed to be alive to continuously provide chakra, until their body cells reached their limit and could no longer produce new chakra. Tobirama and Minato had roughly calculated that, theoretically, this could last for several years.
However, for some unknown reason, this sustenance had recently begun to decrease drastically, no longer nurturing everyone like livestock on a farm, but instead entering an accelerated mode of unsustainable exploitation.
No one knew why this change was happening, but they knew that if they didn't take action, the world would be destroyed. However, there was no progress with either the Infinite Tsukuyomi or finding a solution. Finally, Kakashi suggested that since the Divine Tree wasn't providing nutrients, why not provide them themselves? The Divine Tree's cocoons weren't completely indestructible; they would simply regenerate after being broken. But that brief window of time would be enough for them to inject nutrients into the living.
Of course, while this suggestion was feasible, no one immediately agreed, because there were too many people. They couldn't possibly do this for everyone; it involved making difficult choices. Moreover, if they actively injected nutrients into people, they wouldn't have time for anything else, even with clones, their resources were limited.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Kakashi continued to ponder the various conditions required for this method.
"We need someone skilled in medicine and nutrition. I don't think ordinary feeding is feasible; it would be best to use intravenous injections or something similar, which would also eliminate the problem of excretion. If the Fifth Hokage and Sakura could solve this aspect, then, ideally, there would be a simple method to simultaneously inject many people without having to do it one by one. Ideally, it would be semi-automated and mechanized."
At the end of his statement, Kakashi Hatake chuckled wryly and rubbed his face, "Heh, I think I'm being unrealistic. Never mind, forget I said anything."
But then Itachi suddenly spoke. "Wait, if it's someone skilled in medicine and capable of semi-automated mechanization, I have someone in mind."
To Be Continue...