"I had my reasons for standing aside."
Jin's tone was steady—neither apologetic nor cold.
"Obito, the world doesn't revolve around you. Not everyone's actions are meant to align with your wishes."
He knew Obito was unstable right now—angry, defensive, wounded. Soft lies and comforting platitudes would only feed the delusion. What mattered wasn't soothing him.
It was forcing him to face himself.
"Konoha's higher-ups never asked your opinion when they assigned you to Minato's team. They didn't ask when the war began. Madara didn't ask when he chose you as a pawn."
"That is reality."
"If you want to sever causality—then you must first understand it."
Obito fell silent.
The words struck deeper than he expected.
He had seen enough of the world by now to recognize its cruelty. He had believed in Madara's solution because he had witnessed its ugliness firsthand.
He lifted his eyes.
"So you agreed with Madara. That's why you let it happen."
"No."
Jin shook his head.
"Madara's goal—peace—was understandable."
"But his method was fundamentally flawed."
"I didn't intervene for other reasons."
Obito didn't ask what those reasons were.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes.
"Then explain him. His ideals. His plan."
Jin studied him carefully.
"Did Madara ever tell you about his own journey?"
Obito hesitated… then shook his head.
"He told me his vision. Not his past."
"Then I'll tell you."
Madara was born in the Warring States Era—a time when children buried siblings before they learned to write.
He lost family again and again.
Peace wasn't philosophy to him.
It was desperation.
He met someone who shared that dream—Senju Hashirama.
They were enemies by blood.
Friends by heart.
Hashirama imagined a world where clans laid down arms and formed villages together. Madara, at that time, had no better idea. And so he believed.
But belief without power is noise.
So they became strong.
Stronger than anyone else.
Eventually they led their clans. Eventually they grew tired. Madara's last brother, Izuna, died on the battlefield.
Peace became necessity.
Madara accepted Hashirama's proposal. Together they founded Konoha.
For a time—peace held.
But other nations saw the structure of power shifting. They copied the system. Villages formed across the world.
And Madara saw it.
The village system did not erase conflict.
It centralized it.
Larger blocs.
Larger wars.
Hashirama believed in negotiation.
Madara believed in overwhelming force.
Their philosophies split.
At first it didn't explode—because Hashirama promised Madara leadership.
But when Hashirama became the First Hokage instead—
Madara felt betrayed.
Not just personally.
Ideologically.
He foresaw Konoha's compromises leading to greater wars.
He tried to leave.
Tried to take the Uchiha with him.
But they chose stability over conviction.
He was abandoned.
That was the second betrayal.
And from that fracture—
extremism grew.
Jin gave Obito time to absorb it.
Then continued.
"After leaving Konoha, Madara traveled. Observed."
"He realized something simple."
"As long as individuals exist—so do perspectives."
"As long as perspectives exist—so does conflict."
"When conflicts escalate, smaller differences unite against larger threats."
"That becomes war."
"It's not unique to humans. Even animals behave this way."
"So true, eternal peace…"
"Is nearly impossible."
Obito's jaw tightened.
"And then he discovered the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"And that," Jin said quietly, "was the turning point."
Obito couldn't hold back.
"Why is that extreme? A world with only victors. Only love. No suffering. What's wrong with that?"
Jin gave him a look that was almost disappointed.
"Do you even understand its foundation?"
Obito opened his mouth—to repeat Madara's doctrine—
Then stopped.
He shook his head.
"Enlighten me."
Jin's voice cooled.
"The Eye of the Moon Plan traps every living person in an individualized illusion."
"Yes, it sounds beautiful."
"But humans have finite lifespans."
"No new children would be born."
"No real world would progress."
"It doesn't solve suffering."
"It eliminates the sufferers."
"It is euthanasia for civilization."
His gaze hardened.
"That's not peace."
"That's extinction with anesthesia."
"Tell me, Obito."
"Is that not extremism?"
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