Mountain Graveyard.
"Rin... Rin... Kakashi... Kakashi..."
Obito mumbled in his delirium.
Uchiha Madara sat on a throne of intertwined roots, his crimson eyes watching the boy with anticipation.
He didn't find the chanting irritating. On the contrary, it was music to his ears.
Bonds are the fuel for despair. The deeper the love, the more explosive the hate.
"The seal is set," Madara noted, watching Obito's consciousness flicker back.
The fusion with the Hashirama Cells was successful. The boy's crushed right side was now a mass of cultivated Senju flesh.
And deep within Obito's heart, a Forbidden Individual Curse Tag (Cursed Individual Tongue Seal) was now embedded. He could never betray Madara's plan, nor could he remove it himself.
"...Where is this place?"
Obito's eyelids fluttered open.
The room was dim, illuminated only by candles and the faint glow of the Gedo Statue in the shadows.
"This is the Seam Between Life and Death... Child of the Uchiha."
Obito started. He saw a decrepit old man staring at him. An IV line connected the man to the massive statue behind him.
Obito looked down. He was naked, wrapped in bandages.
"It hurts..."
Pain radiated from his right side.
"If you can feel pain, you are still alive," Madara rasped. "You collapsed in my tunnels. I saved you."
"Old man... you saved me? Thank you."
Obito's first instinct was gratitude. He was a good boy, after all.
"Don't thank me yet," Madara said darkly. "I require repayment."
"I can't, old man," Obito said, trying to sit up. "I can help you with chores for a few days, maybe change your bedpan, but I have to go back. My comrades are waiting."
"With your body, you can no longer return to the past," Madara said indifferently. "Face reality."
"No! I just awakened my Sharingan! I have to go back!"
"Not everything goes as you wish," Madara lectured. "The longer you live, the more you realize that reality is just pain, suffering, and emptiness."
As he spoke, memories flashed through Madara's mind.
Hashirama promising him the Hokage seat. Tobirama stealing it with "democracy." The clan turning their backs on him.
'Democracy... heh. Tobirama didn't even let the Guard vote. He just handed the hat to Sarutobi.'
"Listen well," Madara continued. "In this world, where there is light, there is also shadow. Winners imply losers. Love breeds hate."
"Where is this place?!" Obito interrupted. He thought the old man was senile.
"This is the seam. Leave if you want... provided you can."
Obito paused. He realized something.
He knew every elder in the Uchiha clan. He had never seen this man.
One eye covered. A scythe. A Sharingan.
"Old man... you're a Rogue Ninja, aren't you?"
"Who are you?!"
Madara leaned back, resting his hand on his scythe.
"I am the ghost of the Uchiha... Uchiha Madara."
The name echoed in the cavern.
Obito's eyes widened.
The legendary traitor. The man who fought the First Hokage. The boogeyman of Konoha history.
"Madara..." Obito whispered. "My ancestor?"
Then his face hardened.
"Even if you are an Uchiha, if you betray the Village, you are my enemy!"
"What is your motive for saving me?!"
"I want to sever the causality of this world," Madara proclaimed. "A world of only winners. Only peace. Only love. I will create such a world."
"I don't care about your philosophy! I just want to go back to Rin! And Kakashi! And Minato-sensei!"
Obito shouted, his patience gone.
'If I don't hurry... that bastard Kiyohara might make a move on Rin!'
"Do you remember what I said?" Madara smiled faintly. "You can no longer return."
'You are my best piece, Obito. You must withstand the despair.'
'I will force you to see the hell of this world. Starting with that girl.'
'Watch closely as she slips through your fingers.'
Konoha.
"Kiyohara! New mission!"
Kurenai knocked on the gate.
Kiyohara opened it, bare-chested and sweating. He had been training his new lightning reflexes while waiting for the next Last Words Letter.
"It's Kurenai," he wiped his face with a towel. "What's the mission?"
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