"You're saying the person behind you wants to meet me?"
"That's right." Tobi nodded in confirmation.
"I'm not interested in meeting someone who only hides in the shadows." With that, Uchiha Yuan turned to leave.
Tobi raised his arm. "Wood Style: Cutting Technique!"
Several wooden spikes shot from Tobi's arm, flying toward Yuan.
Yuan instantly teleported away, dodging the attack. He then feigned surprise. "Wood Style? How can you possibly use Wood Style?!"
"Any questions you have, the person behind me can answer. Now, will you come with me?"
Truthfully, Uchiha Yuan had long wanted to meet the legendary Uchiha Madara. He wanted to confirm Madara's current state—and more importantly, obtain part of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
A portion of the Gedo Statue's shell was vital for his future plans.
Right now, Yuan believed he had the strength to protect himself. With teleportation and the speed granted by Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he could at least retreat unscathed.
With that in mind, Yuan decided to go meet Madara.
Over two hours later, White Zetsu led Yuan to a cave.
The cave was dark, but Madara's pride meant he wouldn't stoop to sneak attacks. Yuan knew this well, so he merely activated his Sharingan and followed White Zetsu closely.
At the deepest part of the cave, Yuan finally saw the true final boss of the Naruto world—Uchiha Madara.
Now full of white hair, his face covered in wrinkles, Madara sat on a stone chair, a tube at the back of his neck connected to the Gedo Statue to sustain his life.
And yet, even in his twilight years, Madara exuded an overwhelming aura. His three-tomoe Sharingan still radiated terrifying eye power.
Madara studied Yuan with great interest, then spoke in a near-decaying voice: "It's been a long time since I've seen a young man with your talent."
"I didn't expect the legendary Uchiha Madara to still be alive," Yuan replied, deliberately avoiding his gaze.
"Heh." Madara chuckled and said no more. He stood up from his stone chair—and a blue skeletal arm appeared around him.
"Lord Madara, your body—" White Zetsu tried to stop him when he saw the Susanoo form.
"It's fine. It's been a long time since I've seen someone interesting."
"Uchiha Yuan, let's see if you can take a punch from me."
With that, Madara swung his Susanoo's arm toward Yuan.
Yuan originally intended to dodge, but since Madara expressed the desire to see if he could withstand the blow, Yuan figured he might as well try.
He activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode, gripped his horizontal blade tightly, and met the Susanoo's arm head-on.
Crack—! The blade clashed with the giant fist. Yuan was blasted back ten-plus meters and smashed into the cave wall.
But he wasn't injured—he'd managed to take the hit.
To be fair, it was thanks to the weapon's durability that he managed to block the Susanoo's punch. Still, he held his ground, which meant he now had the right to counterattack.
"Returning a favor is only polite. Guess it's my turn now?"
Without waiting for a reply, Yuan formed hand seals and poured a large amount of chakra into his next move.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
"Majestic Destroyer Flame, huh? How nostalgic…" Madara said as he formed Susanoo's ribs to defend, letting the fire attack scorch its surface.
About a minute later, the flames dissipated. Madara remained seated, unscathed.
With that exchange, both parties silently agreed to end the probing. They stood facing each other in silence.
Yuan was impressed that Madara could still use Susanoo so easily despite his age.
Meanwhile, Madara had formed an assessment of Yuan's strength.
Honestly, Yuan was stronger than expected. Taking him down would likely require a heavy cost—one that might disrupt Madara's plans. Not worth it.
Yuan also knew well that Madara summoned him for one of two reasons:
To use him—to make him the Eye of the Moon Plan's proxy.
To kill him—because his rapid growth might become a threat to the plan.
Having anticipated Madara's thoughts, Yuan didn't want to waste time.
"Uchiha Madara, why did you bring me here? What do you want?"
Madara paused, then asked, "Boy, what do you think of the current ninja world?"
"It's a complete mess—what else is there to say?" Yuan replied.
"And if you were given a chance… how would you change the world?"
"I'd probably start by uniting the ninja world through overwhelming power. Only then would I consider the next step."
"But don't you admire Senju Hashirama? He never sought to unite the world."
"I admire him, yes. But that doesn't mean I agree with him."
"Hashirama founded Konoha to keep children off the battlefield. But now, Konoha relies on children to defend the village."
"He's already proven his methods failed. I won't—and don't want to—repeat his mistakes."
Hearing that, Madara chuckled again. "Then… are you interested in helping me?"
"Nope."
"You're not even going to hear my plan?"
"No need. Our philosophies clearly diverge. My gut tells me we're not the same type of person."
"You and Hashirama, in your own ways, both seek peace."
"But me? I don't care about peace. At most, peace is just a byproduct of what I aim to accomplish."
Madara's expression grew solemn.
This junior was far more insightful—and ambitious—than he had anticipated.
Someone like that could very well become his future enemy and jeopardize the Eye of the Moon Plan.
At that moment, Madara's killing intent surged once more—and Yuan braced himself for a breakdown in negotiations, ready to escape at any moment.
(To Be Continued...)