“W-what are you talking about?”
“As thanks, I’m in the middle of granting your wish. But judging by that reaction, I suppose that wasn’t it.”
At Madara’s words, Issei’s eyes fell on the cold corpses of the Angels strewn across the ground. Up until now, while invading Devils and Fallen Angels, there had been one rule he had always kept: destroy the buildings, but never attack defenseless civilians, and never kill anyone. But the Madara before him had slaughtered everyone without distinction—civilians, soldiers, all of them. No, [Akatsuki] had stood by and allowed it.
“You... don’t tell me... you’re really Uchiha...”
“I am Uchiha Madara. Wasn’t that why you summoned me, knowing that?”
“....”
At least now he knew the thing in front of him was the real Uchiha Madara. Which meant the clone had used Edo Tensei and [Rinne Rebirth Technique]. If it had vanished because of a chakra shortage, the information should have returned to him. In other words, if it hadn’t returned...
“What did you do to my clone!”
“Your reaction just now confirms it. It seems there’s been some kind of mistake.”
Madara closed his eyes as if in acceptance. Then, when he opened them again, they had become the exact same Mangekyō Sharingan as Issei’s, and at that instant, information flooded into Issei’s mind.
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.
Time rewound to the day before.
The clone Madara, dissatisfied with the main body Issei, had summoned one of the subordinates whose crimes were vile enough to deserve death into the underground. Then he seized that subordinate and used him as a human sacrifice for a certain technique.
“Edo Tensei.”
His power’s foundation was Uchiha Madara’s strength, and so the Edo Tensei built upon that power was...
“....Where am I...?”
The being who rose by opening the lid of the coffin was a man with the exact same appearance as himself. Seeing that, the other existence stared back and said,
“Edo Tensei... Who are you? Why do you look exactly like me?”
“I am Uchiha Madara. I share the same power and the same name as you, and you know exactly what that means.”
Across the five great ninja continents, the name Madara was a symbol. Just as he himself understood the meaning behind the name that had been used to make Uchiha Obito call himself Madara, this Madara knew it well. And when he saw the Mangekyō Sharingan that matched his own, he asked,
“Did you transplant my Sharingan or something?”
“Something different, but you could say it’s similar. From this moment on, I’ll give you life once more!”
“What did you say?”
Summoned out of nowhere and told he would be given life, the original Madara stared at the clone for a moment.
“What is your goal?”
Before awakening, his final consciousness had been his farewell to Senju Hashirama, who had been brought back by Edo Tensei. He had believed he had raised the [Infinite Tsukuyomi], the technique that would save the world, and that he had saved it. But it had all been Black Zetsu’s scheme. By the time he realized he too had been used by them, it was already too late, and regret had filled him. If it was going to end like this, perhaps it would have been better to stand with Hashirama after all—that was what he had thought. And with that thought as his last, Madara had awakened again. If the one before him was now trying to use him to drag the world into evil...
“World peace and salvation.”
“....”
The clone Madara spoke the same words he himself once had. Madara stared at the fake Madara for a while, then said,
“It’ll be faster to show you than to explain it.”
Information poured from the clone Madara into him: the circumstances that had led to him obtaining the same Sharingan, knowledge of the other world, and fabricated information about the founding of [Akatsuki] in this world. It was not an organization created to protect precious people, but a fabricated organization meant to maintain peace through battle, and the Three Factions were framed as the forces obstructing that peace.
“I can’t believe it. So an other world really does exist.”
Even Madara, who had obtained the power of the Rinnegan, had never imagined that another world existed. As expected, the world was far larger than he had thought, and there were still countless unknowns left in it. Thinking that, he said,
“So that’s why you summoned me.”
“That’s right. I’m impersonating you for a reason, but to be honest, my strength alone isn’t enough. If you still have the will to save the world, then help me.”
The clone Madara tried to persuade him. It was, in truth, a choice made both to screw over the main body and to make life easier for himself. In any case, he had already finished speaking with all the clones of [Akatsuki], and he intended to keep this secret from the main body for a while. As the clone Madara dreamed of committing the perfect crime, the original Madara said,
“Save the world, huh...”
“That’s right. Even if many people will hate you for it, a ninja is one who endures. If it’s for the salvation of the world, then I don’t care what happens to this body.”
To save the world, even at the cost of sacrificing himself. It was like looking at Hashirama from the past. Hashirama had protected the village by abandoning family, friends, and even himself. And though it was only a false appearance, that figure also resembled himself, the one who had concentrated all hatred upon his own shoulders.
“More than anything, this world has plenty of strong people. There’s no doubt something enjoyable is waiting for you too.”
Even beyond the Three Factions, there were other mythological factions—Olympus, Asgard, Mount Sumeru, dragons, and even the two Dragon Gods. Madara would surely look forward to fighting them, he thought. And as expected, Madara...
“It isn’t the original world, but if this is my atonement for what I’ve done... fine. I like those terms.”
The original Madara, while serving as the vessel of the progenitor of chakra, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, had come to understand many things. He had nearly led the world to ruin through his own mistaken judgment. The very foundation of his actions had been wrong, and if he had the chance, he wanted to make amends. And more than anything, he liked the idea that he could atone while enjoying battle. Most beings that bring harm to the world are evil and possess great power. Against such opponents, he would feel no hesitation in killing them, and he could enjoy himself while doing it. A two-for-one deal.
“Then I’ll ask you to do this. I’m entrusting this organization to you. [Rinne Rebirth Technique].”
As he entered a Rinnegan state and cast [Rinne Rebirth Technique], once again, just as in the five great ninja continents, heat surged through Madara’s split body and gradually reconnected it.
“My body...”
Like before in the five great ninja continents, he regained his living body and looked at it with complicated feelings. In the past, he had seized life with his own hands in order to become the axis of the world’s destruction and salvation. But now, he had obtained life in order to cooperate with the boy who had inherited his power.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
With that, the clone Madara vanished. Then...
“A Shadow Clone...? Don’t tell me he used [Rinne Rebirth Technique] with a clone...?”
Even Hashirama would have found that impossible. Of course, it had been impossible for him too—at least before he obtained the Ten-Tails. And Madara, just as the clone Madara had wished, said,
“Then, as he wished, let’s begin the world’s salvation.”
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“No way... something like that...”
He had never imagined that a clone would stab him in the back. On top of that, the clone had erased the information just to screw him over, and had even gone so far as to persuade the other clones. Issei could only marvel at that level of thoroughness.
“Then... those bastards...”
It wasn’t that they had been attacked by something; they had refused to share information of their own free will. Realizing he had been completely played, Issei immediately said,
“Shadow Clone Technique, dispel.”
He forcibly dissolved all the clones, and only then did all the information flood back in.
“You little...!”
While he had been unaware, his clones had been doing things he could never have imagined... no, things he himself had done. He was stunned by the clones acting on their own without the main body’s permission, and this incident taught him a lesson: he could not leave clones unattended for long. Though before that, he probably needed to fix the thoughts of his own self that had caused the clones to act that way...
“I can’t believe a Shadow Clone would fool the main body. What an interesting guy.”
Their clumsiness and stupidity in being outplayed by their own clone made them look like Hashirama or Uzumaki Naruto, or rather...
“Y-you bastard! How dare you do that to Lord Michael!!”
Before Madara could sink any further into sentiment, several Angels who had escaped the battle with [Akatsuki] glared at him with fury.
“Pathetic. You’re not even worth my time.”
The flames that burst from Madara’s mouth turned them into roast meat on the spot. At that, Issei looked at the dead Angels and said to Madara,
“Hold on, I’ve got something I want to revise in the contract...”
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