Garfield was leaving.
Naturally, Izuna had to leave as well.
Madara… could not accept it.
Even after days of persuasion, when the moment of departure finally arrived, Madara's resistance was laid bare.
Beneath the great tree in the courtyard of the Uchiha estate, the two brothers stood facing one another.
For as long as Madara could remember, Izuna had always been by his side. Now, that constant presence was about to vanish, into another world entirely.
Madara seized Izuna by the shoulders, his eyes red. "O-Dōdō… Oni-chan doesn't want you to go."
Izuna let out a quiet sigh. He placed his hands over his brother's, his voice gentle but firm.
"Oni-chan, don't be like this. It's not as if we'll never meet again."
"I know how these things work." Madara shook his head.
"Crossing time and space isn't simple. Who knows how long it will be before I see you again?"
Izuna hesitated, then continued softly. "I know."
"We've never been apart since we were children. But this isn't a farewell. I will come back."
Madara stared at him. "…You promise?"
Izuna met his gaze without wavering. "I promise."
"Tch. What's all the fuss about?"
The brothers looked up. Perched lazily on a branch above them was Shirayuki, the patriarch of the Ninja Cat Clan.
By this point, the Uchiha clan had formally signed a summoning contract with the Ninja Cats.
As their patriarch, Shirayuki had been residing at the Uchiha estate, paired by rank and temperament with Madara himself.
Cats were proud creatures. Ninja Cats even more so.
Shirayuki would bow before Garfield without hesitation, but to no one else. That was simply how cats viewed the world.
And from the records passed down in the Ninja Cat Clan, from ancient cat-language tablets to the testimonies of elder cat sages, one truth was indisputable…
His Majesty Garfield was no ordinary being.
"Shirayuki." Madara said sharply.
Shirayuki glanced down at him, unimpressed.
"If the God of Death hadn't given Garfield face, your brother would have already returned to the underworld."
"You'd never see him again."
Madara fell silent.
He understood. Rationally, he had always understood. But understanding did nothing to ease the pain of separation.
After a long pause, Madara placed a heavy hand on Izuna's shoulder. "Go."
"And when you have the chance… come back."
"I will, Oni-chan." Izuna nodded deeply.
"Go on."
"…Goodbye."
Madara stood beneath the tree, unmoving, watching Izuna's retreating figure until it vanished from sight.
His fist slammed into the trunk.
A deep imprint cracked into the bark as the tree shuddered violently. Shirayuki, nearly shaken loose, dug her claws into the wood with a sharp hiss.
"Madara, are you insane?!"
"…Sorry. I'm not in a good mood."
"Hmph. I'll let it slide, this once."
Shirayuki leapt down, clearly intending to find a quieter place. She had no interest in staying near an emotionally unstable human.
"Shirayuki. Wait."
She paused and glanced back. "What is it now?"
"There's something I want to ask."
"Then ask."
Madara looked up at the fading sky beyond the branches and spoke slowly. "How do you create a world without war?"
"…" Shirayuki hadn't expected that. After a moment, she frowned and replied plainly,
"I've lived a very long time. Long enough to know that war never truly disappears. Madara… you're thinking too much."
Shirayuki's answer was clearly not what Madara wanted to hear.
He remained silent for a moment, then asked again. "Then what about your Cat Sage? Does it know?"
Shirayuki flicked her tail and replied flatly, "No cat has ever asked such a question."
"I don't know whether the immortals know the answer either. Madara, honestly, this question of yours is naïve."
She paused, then continued with a faint note of irritation, "Our Ninja Cat Clan is already peaceful compared to most races."
"And yet even we still have disputes, grudges, rivalries. They're not fatal, but they're more than enough to annoy a cat."
"Then wouldn't you want to solve it?" He asked quietly.
"To end those disputes entirely, so everyone could coexist without chaos or conflict?"
Shirayuki considered this seriously. After a moment, she nodded.
"If such a thing were possible, of course I'd think about it. But tell me, what can you do?"
"…Nothing." Madara answered quickly. His eyes flickered for an instant.
He thought he hid it well.
He did not.
Shirayuki noticed immediately, but she did not expose him. Instead, curiosity flickered behind her calm expression.
"Then tell me when you've figured it out." She said lazily. "I'm going to bask in the sun."
"Fine."
Shirayuki walked away with an unhurried cat's gait. Only after she had completely disappeared from sight did Madara allow himself to exhale.
He had nearly revealed too much.
That night, Madara quietly left his room and headed toward the Uchiha clan's ancestral shrine, unaware that two pairs of eyes were silently watching his departure.
Inside the shrine, he stopped before a strangely shaped stone altar. Thick ropes and paper talismans hung from it, weathered by age and reverence.
Madara stared at the stone for a long time, his expression conflicted.
"Sharingan… activate."
Blood-red Mangekyō patterns bloomed in his eyes.
Where the stone had once been blank, words and symbols slowly emerged… forbidden.
After reading them for a while, Madara deactivated his Mangekyō and covered his eyes, rubbing them harshly.
The curse of the Mangekyō was well known… use it too often, and blindness was inevitable.
There were only two paths forward.
Abandon it.
Or evolve.
For now, Senju Hashirama still stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
With no great war on the horizon, Madara had no reason to force his eyes further. Even if his vision could not recover, at least it could remain stable.
Yet reopening them after so long sent waves of discomfort through his skull.
"…Damn it." He muttered. "My eyesight is getting worse."
"Tsk tsk. Want to get rid of that problem?"
"Who's there?!" Madara's body tensed instantly. A strange voice echoed through the shrine.
From the ground beside the altar, a black figure slowly rose, its grin stretched unnaturally wide.
"You can call me Black Zetsu."
"…Who are you?"
"I'm not human."
Madara frowned. For a moment, he wondered if the strain on his eyes had caused hallucinations.
Black Zetsu chuckled. "I was born from your resentment."
"That's impossible," Madara snapped. "What resentment do I have?"
"Oh?" Black Zetsu tilted his head. "Resentment that you cannot defeat Senju Hashirama."
"Resentment toward Senju Tobirama, for injuring your brother."
"And resentment toward yourself… for being powerless enough that Izuna had to leave."
Madara's fists clenched.
Black Zetsu continued smoothly, "You should thank me, Madara."
"Without my subtle hints, you would never have understood how the mask of death truly works."
From his body, Black Zetsu produced a pair of blood-red eyes… Sharingan, pulsing faintly with chakra.
He held them out.
"So, do you want them?"
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream