Uchiha Madara was no fool. On the contrary, he had always been an exceptionally intelligent man. But intelligent people have their own flaw—they are prone to arrogance.
He trusted his mind, his vision, and his judgment without question. Once he decided something was true, he would walk that path with absolute conviction, refusing to look back.
Yet even the most arrogant of clever men would eventually begin to doubt when reality no longer matched their beliefs. The deeper they thought, the more inconsistencies they would uncover, until doubt turned into genuine self-questioning.
Madara was experiencing exactly that now.
Natsuhiko's words had stirred something in him, but it wasn't Natsuhiko he trusted—it was Hashirama. The man would never joke about something like this. Combined with his own pride and his faith in Hashirama's character, Madara finally started questioning what he had seen all these years.
Still, that alone wasn't enough to shake him completely.
What truly shattered his certainty was the corpse Natsuhiko had shown him—the body of an Ōtsutsuki.
The moment he laid eyes on it, Madara understood. Even in death, even after being meticulously dissected, the overwhelming presence and the chakra still faintly active within the remains spoke of terrifying power.
"What kind of being was this…?"
Uchiha Madara felt somewhat shaken inwardly, but he had already believed what Natsuhiko said. This guy was of the same clan as the Sage of Six Paths.
Only someone of the same clan as the Sage of Six Paths could possess such terrifying pressure and such unbelievable power.
But then… why had this person died? And more importantly — had he even been a being of the shinobi world?
These questions kept circling in his mind. At the same time, one thing had become painfully clear to him:
This being's power was so immense that he wouldn't have needed any complicated schemes. He could have destroyed the entire shinobi world with his own strength alone.
In front of such an existence, the Tailed Beasts were nothing more than a joke.
Madara knew this better than anyone. Even back then, he had never truly placed the Tailed Beasts in his eyes. Hunting them together with Hashirama hadn't been particularly difficult. And when Hashirama had casually overpowered the Nine-Tails during their final battle, Madara had already understood that some powers simply existed on a completely different level.
He didn't know exactly how strong the Ten-Tails was, but he believed its power probably reached around that level — perhaps a little higher, but not by much. However, even if the Ten-Tails was stronger… would it even matter against someone like this?
"…Was I really deceived?"
Madara stared silently at the corpse, unable to speak for a moment. Being treated like a fool was something he could never accept — especially someone who had always prided himself on being intelligent.
But who had deceived him? Who had been deceiving the entire Uchiha clan all this time?
He slowly lifted his head and looked at Natsuhiko.
According to the boy, only those who had mastered Yin-Yang Release could alter the contents of the stone tablet. Madara could accept that part. The problem was that mastering Yin-Yang Release was extremely difficult. Even he had only managed to grasp it after obtaining Hashirama's power.
There was still one more question he needed answered.
"How did this one die?" Madara asked in a low voice.
"I killed him."
Madara's eyes widened slightly. He had expected many possible answers, but not this calm, straightforward reply.
This brat… killed an Ōtsutsuki?
He knew Natsuhiko was strong, but he refused to believe the boy possessed enough power to slay a being of this level on his own. There must have been something important he didn't know yet.
Natsuhiko noticed Madara's doubt and spoke calmly.
"His power was indeed terrifying. If Hashirama-senpai hadn't protected Konoha during the battle, the consequences would have been disastrous."
As he spoke, Natsuhiko walked over and placed a hand on Madara's shoulder. Madara frowned but didn't resist. He knew he currently had no ability to fight back.
In the next moment, space twisted. When Madara's vision cleared, they were standing on top of the Hokage Rock, overlooking the entire village.
"Flying Thunder God…" Madara muttered.
This was the place where he and Hashirama had once spoken about their dreams. Later, it had become the Hokage Rock — a symbol that the Hokage would forever watch over and protect Konoha.
Madara glanced down. He was standing on Hashirama's stone face. Next to it were the faces of Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato… and the Fifth — Natsuhiko.
Soon after, Hashirama and Tobirama also arrived. The four of them stood together on the massive rock.
Madara glanced at Konoha, though he no longer had any interest in it. The village was still the same village — the one he had helped create but later wanted to destroy. The one that appeared peaceful and harmonious on the surface, yet was filled with darkness.
Outside the village, however, peace and harmony seemed completely severed. The terrifying, hell-like devastation made even Madara frown. He knew these were traces left behind by battle, but he couldn't imagine what kind of brutal fight could have caused such destruction.
"However, that guy was careless. He viewed everyone in the shinobi world as insignificant ants, so he maintained his so-called arrogant attitude. His power was so overwhelming that he didn't need to put in much effort when facing previous enemies. This also meant he lacked real combat experience."
While Madara was observing the surroundings, Natsuhiko spoke again, his voice calm and steady.
"But we don't know what kind of enemy will appear next, so we need strength. Even one of these enemies could easily crush the entire shinobi world with their power. He was simply unlucky to run into us. Even if you don't believe what I say, and even if you don't believe the records we saw about the Sage of Six Paths, for the sake of your so-called dream, I think you should still do something. After all…"
Natsuhiko paused for a moment before turning his gaze toward Madara.
"If all the people in the shinobi world die, would your Infinite Tsukuyomi plan still have any meaning?"
If everyone was dead, there would indeed be no need to create a peaceful world anymore.
Whether Madara truly believed him or not, Natsuhiko didn't know. But he could use this method to pressure him into making a choice. If Madara still refused to believe, then Natsuhiko was essentially giving him two bad options — one still had some kind of future, while the other had none.
In such a situation, Natsuhiko believed Madara would make the rational choice.
And indeed, things went as Natsuhiko expected.
Although Madara's heart was filled with great doubt, and he still hadn't fully believed Natsuhiko because he hadn't personally seen the records on the moon, he had already agreed to cooperate.
Natsuhiko figured that if Madara truly believed them completely, he would probably reveal some of his own arrangements. Even if not to Natsuhiko directly, he would at least tell Hashirama.
However, this still required observation. Madara had only just been revived. He would need to see more information before making his final decision.
"However, since you want me to cooperate, at the very least you should let me have real power, right?"
But there was another problem troubling Madara. He noticed that neither the Fifth Hokage nor Hashirama had any intention of fully reviving him. Not only that, but his current strength was far from enough to handle high-intensity battles.
Although he knew that with his current power he could deal with most jonin without issue, he wasn't confident against those who had earned the title of Kage. After all, every Kage was a formidable opponent. Especially since he knew the enemies Natsuhiko wanted to deal with were existences of that level — what use would his current strength be?
Even though this was Edo Tensei, Edo Tensei still had its limits. Against opponents of that caliber, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to be revived again.
"Don't rush. First, get used to your current situation. To restore your strength, you'll at least need a suitable vessel."
Natsuhiko remained calm in the face of Madara's question. What he said was true — restoring Madara's full power wasn't simple.
In the original timeline, Madara had only been able to display such overwhelming power right after revival because Kabuto had specially prepared a body for him. Without a proper vessel, even Madara's strength would be heavily restricted.
After all, Madara wasn't Hashirama. Natsuhiko could easily restore Hashirama to near his peak strength using just a White Zetsu body. But Madara was different. During his lifetime, in order to reach an unprecedented level of power, he had fused Hashirama's cells to awaken the Rinnegan. Because of this, a normal White Zetsu body could raise his strength to a high level, but it still wouldn't be enough for him.
To create a proper body for Madara, Natsuhiko would need to find a suitable Uchiha. Fortunately, the entire Uchiha clan now listened to Natsuhiko without question, especially after Fugaku submitted. Some of their internal members were still under surveillance. As long as there was a reasonable pretext, Itachi would likely act without hesitation. Natsuhiko only needed to change the order from "kill" to "capture alive" to get what he wanted.
Of course, there were other ways that didn't require as much trouble. In the original timeline, Kabuto hadn't used an Uchiha body either, because by that time there weren't many Uchiha left, and the ones who were alive weren't easy to deal with. If necessary, using some clever methods was also possible.
Natsuhiko liked to do things thoroughly, but only when he fully trusted someone. Since he hadn't gained Madara's trust yet, he had no intention of going all out. Leaving himself some room to maneuver was the smarter choice.
"While that may be true, you're not taking any action right now. Are you actually serious about this?"
Madara raised an eyebrow. Although he wasn't satisfied with the answer, he was still able to control his emotions.
"Besides, didn't you say you found records about the Sage of Six Paths inside the moon? Aren't you planning to take me there to see them?"
"Isn't that your real goal?"
Natsuhiko heard Madara's words and let out a light chuckle.
At this moment, only the two of them were in the underground laboratory. Hashirama and Tobirama had gone to prepare the supplies they would need after leaving Konoha. This trip to the moon would likely take quite some time, since they needed to handle and research the Ōtsutsuki corpse up there.
However, Natsuhiko didn't plan to stay on the moon for too long. As the Hokage, he couldn't leave a Shadow Clone in Konoha for an extended period. This time, aside from checking the start of the experiment and completing the evolution of his Jōgan, he had nothing else that required him to stay.
That meant once he finished evolving his Jōgan, he would return to Konoha. Therefore, he didn't need to prepare too much. Leaving a Shadow Clone behind would be enough to handle things in the village for now.
"We're about to depart, but since you're a dead man and we're alive, we still need to make the necessary preparations."
Natsuhiko said this with an indifferent chuckle. Madara's expression changed slightly, but he still held back from arguing. "Alright, don't worry about that. We're leaving soon anyway. This time, it might completely overturn what you believe. Be prepared to understand a brand new world."
Indeed, for Madara, this was a completely new world.
In fact, it wasn't just Madara. Even for Hashirama and Tobirama, this was a brand new world.
...
When they arrived on the moon, the first thing they did after setting up the experimental facilities was search for relevant records. These records were extremely important to them, especially to Madara. They could almost determine whether he had truly been deceived.
Upon first arriving on the moon, Madara had already started to somewhat believe everything. The battle traces outside Konoha and the Ōtsutsuki corpse had already proven many things. Combined with the teleportation method used to reach the moon and the inconceivable environment inside it — especially the golden eyes enshrined in the temple that constantly radiated terrifying power — Madara could no longer easily deny what he was seeing.
Such power and such an environment could only have been created by beings on the level of the Sage of Six Paths or entities beyond the shinobi world. If someone with this kind of power truly wanted to drag the shinobi world into the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it wouldn't be difficult at all.
"It seems… I really was deceived."
This thought surfaced in Madara's mind once again, filling him with anger and frustration. Being deceived was something he hated more than anything. Although he still didn't know exactly how he had been deceived, he had already begun seriously thinking about the truth of the matter.
Especially after they used Shadow Clones to find the hidden records stored in Hagoromo's temple on the moon — records about the past and about the Sage of Six Paths — Madara had completely started to believe that he had indeed been deceived.
These records were largely consistent with what Natsuhiko had said, although there were still some differences. Madara himself hadn't paid much attention to these kinds of records back then. He wasn't an archaeologist, after all. That was why he hadn't taken the slight inconsistencies too seriously at first.
However, these records held immense value for Madara, Hashirama, and Tobirama.
Especially for Madara. He now understood that what he had learned from the stone tablet was completely different from the truth. He learned about the Sage of Six Paths' past, the stories of Indra and Ashura, and the Sage's true power. After understanding all of this, he fully believed that he had been deceived. Even if some parts were true — such as how to obtain the Sage of Six Paths' power — the core of it was still a lie meant to push him into destroying the world like a fool.
"Damn bastards… Don't let me find out who you are!"
Inside the moon, Madara angrily punched the table. The rage on his face could no longer be contained. He had endured Tobirama and Natsuhiko the entire way without truly exploding, but at this moment, he could no longer hold back.
He felt like he had been nothing more than a puppet being controlled by strings, forced to perform a clownish act for the world. This was something he could no longer tolerate.
"Alright, don't get angry. We'll find out who was behind this."
Hashirama smiled as he tried to comfort him. Although smiling at Madara right now wasn't the best idea, Hashirama was genuinely happy.
"Besides, I never expected that our clan bloodlines were still connected even after all these centuries. Turns out we really are brothers, huh?"
"Hmph."
Tobirama snorted coldly. He was clearly unhappy with the "brothers" talk. From a historical perspective they were brothers, but so many years had passed. What was the point of saying that now? Especially after all the wars and deaths between their clans. And if Hashirama considered Madara his brother, then what did that make him?
"That was a thousand years ago. The families split long ago. There's no point in bringing it up now."
Madara actually somewhat agreed with this. He had always felt a strange connection with Hashirama since they were young — like brothers, yet also like friends. That bond had been an important part of their relationship. Even though many problems had arisen later, their bond had remained strong for a long time. It was only because of their differing beliefs and certain hateful deceptions that they had ended up like this.
Madara had also come to realize that Natsuhiko — the kid who combined the strengths of both Hashirama and Tobirama — actually had a rather good impression of Hashirama. Especially since Natsuhiko supported his ideas and theories, Madara felt somewhat favorable toward him. In particular, this kid had made him aware of the truth and shown him that he had been deceived like a fool. Deep down, he felt some gratitude.
However, he would never admit it out loud. Even if he did, it would only be toward Hashirama. He hadn't forgotten the losses both clans suffered during the wars, nor could he forget that Tobirama had killed his last younger brother.
"If we're really going to count it that way, even the Hyūga are our brothers. I think there's no point in discussing this anymore. By the way, where's Natsuhiko? Now that I know the truth, I also need to prepare to restore my strength."
As he said this, Madara's expression turned cold.
"Not only do we have to deal with the problems in the shinobi world, but I also need to find traces of the one who deceived me. I must figure out exactly who was deceiving me — who was deceiving the Uchiha."