Chapter 147: Catching Up
When Masahiko saw Madara, he was prepared to face a thunderous strike. Unexpectedly, after Madara's remaining Sharingan spun, he slowly sat back down.
"It has indeed been a long time, old man."
Masahiko paused slightly. Gravitational force erupted, naturally raising a flat slab of rock beneath his feet. He sat down as well, looking at Madara Uchiha at eye level.
"What's wrong? You know you're not my match, so you won't even attack? Madara, you've fallen. The old you would never fear an enemy's strength." Masahiko put on a look of heartbreak and disappointment.
Madara's face was full of wrinkles, and his hair was nearly all white, but the throbbing vein on his forehead proved he still had plenty of vitality... perhaps.
After a long while, Madara let out a long breath. "Old man, you still have such a punchable face."
Masahiko smiled. "Don't call me 'old man.' Between the two of us now, it's not certain who the real old man is."
Then came a long silence. Madara closed his eyes tight, seemingly lost in thought, while Masahiko watched him with a smile.
"Old man," Madara finally spoke up, "I have some questions that need your answers."
Masahiko paused, then nodded slowly, not refusing.
"Does the Infinite Tsukuyomi truly exist?"
Madara's question startled Masahiko, but then he felt it was only natural. Because of him, Black Zetsu had exposed flaws multiple times; he didn't believe Madara wouldn't have noticed anything at all. What surprised him was why Madara would ask him, as if he assumed Masahiko knew what the Infinite Tsukuyomi was.
"What is the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" Masahiko asked with a confused face, acting very convincingly.
"Old man, stop hiding it..."
"You seemed to know long ago that Izuna would die, that I would leave Konoha, and even that I would attack Konoha..." Madara spoke slowly. "With a personality like yours, you can't hide anything. Only an idiot like Hashirama would fail to notice!"
Masahiko: "..."
He felt that over the years, he hadn't shown too many abnormalities. He didn't expect that sometimes, his overly calm reaction to plot events would also arouse Madara's suspicion.
"Is that so?" Seeing Masahiko fall silent, Madara spoke again. "So this time, you also knew beforehand that I would send Zetsu to find Nagato?"
Masahiko paused and sighed.
"So that's where the flaw appeared."
Masahiko composed himself and smiled. "That was just a coincidence. You can only blame your bad luck."
"Blame my bad luck?" Madara stood up, enunciating each word. "So, you know the abilities of the Rinnegan clearly? You even know my goal."
Masahiko's expression changed several times. He covered his mouth with his hand, then let go after a while with a bitter smile.
"Madara, when did you become so smart? If you had been like this earlier, you wouldn't have ended up in this situation today. You and Hashirama might have created a true era of peace and prosperity."
"True era of peace and prosperity..." Madara muttered. "So, is the Infinite Tsukuyomi fake?"
Masahiko hesitated, then shook his head. "It's real, but that isn't peace."
After explaining just this one sentence, Masahiko changed the subject, unwilling to say more.
"After being apart for twenty-four years, don't you want to know more about the Uchiha clan's situation? Or have you already learned about it through Black Zetsu?"
"What does it have to do with me?"
Madara sat down again.
Masahiko smiled bitterly in helplessness. It seemed Madara had already learned about the Uchiha's situation from Black Zetsu but just wasn't good at expressing his inner relief.
Even if Madara himself didn't care much about the clansmen, Izuna Uchiha's dying words asking him to protect the clan should have had a great influence on him.
Seeing that Madara had absolutely no intention of fighting and instead closed his eyes to rest like a weary old man after speaking a few words, Masahiko shifted his attention as well. More than half an hour had passed since he saw Madara, and his attention had been entirely on him. Only now did he have time to observe the surrounding environment.
The underground space was vast. Entering from the bottom of the Valley of the End, Masahiko had traveled a full ten-plus kilometers southwest before seeing Madara. If his sense of direction wasn't wrong, the place above their heads should be the Warring States period's Kazama Valley, later renamed by Masahiko to Kazama Plains.
And underground, not far from Madara, stood a bizarre stone statue dozens of meters high with multiple round protrusions on its back. It should be the Gedo Statue, the husk of the Ten-Tails.
After examining the surroundings carefully, Masahiko looked at Madara with a smile. "The living environment is quite spacious, but not seeing sunlight for so many years must be tough. Yet, your skin hasn't turned pale..."
Madara didn't respond. Masahiko paused, then continued, "Since the hope of resurrection is gone, do you want to die here in obscurity?"
Madara opened his single Sharingan again, gave Masahiko a deep look, expressionless, and spoke again.
"One more question. What exactly was that black thing?"
Masahiko smiled. "That was your will. Hashirama is the Will of Fire, and you are the Black Will. One red, one black—quite a match..."
Madara frowned and stopped talking. After all, he was old; he feared that if he talked to Masahiko any longer, he might have a stroke or high blood pressure attack.
"Here, your stuff back to you!" Masahiko hesitated, then took out the box containing the Rinnegan and tossed it back.
Madara reached out and caught it. This time, his face finally showed some expression. "Old man, your guts are as big as ever."
Masahiko shook his head. "I just don't want to miss the last chance to beat you. Without the Rinnegan, the current you is truly vulnerable. Even if I won, it wouldn't be a glorious victory."
Madara clenched his right fist tightly, then slowly released it after a while and began to swap his eyes.
"Old man, you still have such a punchable face." Madara repeated his opening line.
Masahiko looked nostalgic. "In my memory, we fought three times, and I lost all of them. The first time, I was 49, and you were 17; the second time, I was 62, and you were 30; the third time, I was 67, and you were 35."
"But now," Masahiko sighed deeply, "I am 100, and you are 68. Do you still have the strength to fight me?"
Madara didn't answer. The power of the Rinnegan returned to his body. His chakra fluctuated slightly, and his white hair slowly turned black. The wrinkles on his face smoothed out, and two minutes later, the familiar Madara Uchiha appeared before Masahiko's eyes.
Masahiko was stunned, then laughed. "Back during our second battle, when you saw my youthful appearance, you thought I had overdrawn my life force to deal with you. I didn't expect you to have such a day too."
"Old man, don't blame me if you die!" Madara didn't answer directly. He didn't want to end up dying in obscurity either.
"Me, die?" Masahiko pursed his lips. "I'll accompany you for one last fight. May you have a safe journey!"
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