Naruto: The Clanless Prince

Uchiha Obito once again stood before Uchiha Madara in the dim cave.

Sora continued to observe everything through the snake she had left behind.

After Madara expressed his willingness to cooperate, he ignored the snake in the cave, seemingly allowing Sora to watch their interaction.

Sora understood that Madara wanted to influence Obito through her presence as well.

Obito looked at Madara seated before him and demanded, "Tell me how to create the dream world, Madara!"

Madara smiled, his ancient face crinkling. "No need to thank me. Come closer. From today on, you are the savior. Look into my eyes!"

Obito stepped forward and stood before Madara.

As Madara's Sharingan began to spin, both Obito and the observing snake controlled by Sora were pulled into a world of illusion.

In a pure white space, Madara explained to Obito, "This is my illusion space. Though it appears blank now, I can create and control everything by projecting my will. If I connect to the Gedo Statue and harness its power, anything can be accomplished, no matter how grand or small, just like this..."

In an instant, Madara's appearance transformed from that of a frail old man to his powerful younger self.

Obito's eye widened in surprise.

"Use this illusion to create the ideal world," Madara continued, "then apply it to all humans and bring them inside. Use the moon to replace the eye and expand the illusion's scale to create the dream world."

Obito frowned, clearly overwhelmed. "What you're saying sounds too far-fetched. I can't fully understand it yet."

"If I am to explain properly, we must start with the Sage of Six Paths and the Ten-Tails," Madara replied.

Using his illusion, Madara created a massive stone wall. On it appeared images of the legendary Sage of Six Paths and the Ten-Tails.

Obito looked skeptical. "Isn't the Ten-Tails just a legendary creature?"

"Myths are based on truth," Madara explained. "The tailed beasts scattered throughout the world were formed when the Sage of Six Paths split the power of the Ten-Tails."

"Is there any evidence that proves this is true?" Obito asked, still doubtful.

Madara spoke with absolute certainty. "Yes. After obtaining Hashirama Senju's cells, I transplanted them into my wound. Nothing happened initially, but as I approached death, I awakened the Rinnegan. At the same time, a certain seal was broken, and I learned to summon something—the shell of the Ten-Tails from the sealing stone."

"The shell of the Ten-Tails?" Obito repeated.

"I call it the Gedo Statue. And the sealing stone is what people refer to as the moon."

Obito's eye widened further, his face filled with disbelief.

Ignoring Obito's reaction, Madara continued his explanation. "Afterward, I immediately used the Gedo Statue's body as a catalyst to cultivate Hashirama's cells. These artificial humans," he gestured toward White Zetsu, "can be considered replicas of Hashirama, though significantly deteriorated."

Madara leaned forward slightly. "Without the combined powers of Uchiha and Senju, it's impossible to activate the Rinnegan, let alone control the Gedo Statue. Your right half is now equipped with Senju cells, so you should be able to control the statue even without awakening the Rinnegan."

He paused before adding, "My Rinnegan is currently in the body of a man named Nagato. I need you to find him, subdue him, and make him your tool."

After the illusion was lifted, Madara spoke again. "Obito, I will teach you the Uchiha's forbidden techniques, the Six Paths Technique, and the Yin-Yang Release."

Madara placed his hand on White Zetsu beside him. Instantly, half of White Zetsu's body turned black, and Black Zetsu officially appeared.

"I've poured my will into it, so you can consider this half as an extension of myself. It's another product of deterioration. You can use these beings created with Yin-Yang Release as your pawns."

Madara formed a hand seal, and a black rod emerged from the tree wall behind him. "Those black receivers are the physical manifestation of my consciousness. They can be used when performing the Six Paths Technique."

Madara stepped forward and tore off the tube connecting him to the Gedo Statue. Immediately, he became breathless and extremely weak.

"Now, go. During the period before my resurrection, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Madara died in his seat.

Obito stared at Madara's lifeless body, then allowed White Zetsu to cover his face once more.

"Let's go, Zetsu."

Obito and Black Zetsu left the cave.

After their departure, the supposedly dead Madara gradually became transparent until he disappeared entirely. What had died before Obito was merely an illusion Madara had cast.

The real Madara looked at the snake peering from the corner and said, "I'll wait for you here."

...

Sora deactivated the vision sharing and accessed her system.

A series of notifications sounded in her ears.

[Witnessing Nohara Rin's death: 500 witness points awarded.]

[Witnessing Uchiha Obito awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan: 500 witness points awarded.]

[Witnessing Uchiha Obito's descent into darkness: 1,000 witness points awarded.]

[Witnessing Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito's plan: 200 witness points awarded.]

...

The points weren't much individually, but they added up nicely.

Sora stood up and murmured, "Then I will come to see you."

She found Orochimaru, requested a leave of absence, and hurried to the Mountain Graveyard.

A few days later, Obito and Black Zetsu arrived at Amegakure, the Village Hidden in Rain.

"See that yellow-haired one with the strange eyes?" Black Zetsu asked. "Those are Madara's real eyes, secretly transplanted when he was still young. Nagato is from the Uzumaki clan, distant relatives of the Senju. Besides Madara, he's the only one who can summon the Gedo Statue."

Black Zetsu continued, "But that one is just a puppet, not the real Nagato. First, we need to conquer Nagato as Madara instructed..."

Obito walked directly forward without hesitation.

"Hey, what are you planning to do?" Black Zetsu asked in confusion.

"Just tell the truth," Obito replied simply.

"Well... shouldn't we formulate a strategy first?"

"Unnecessary."

Obito approached the yellow-haired Pain, who looked exactly like Yahiko. Of course, the real Yahiko was still alive. This was Nagato using his power to appear as Yahiko.

Pain frowned slightly as he noticed Obito. "Who are you?"

Using Madara's voice, Obito declared, "I am Uchiha Madara!"

Pain regarded Obito with cold eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Madara? You dare call yourself Uchiha Madara? What is your purpose in approaching me?"

"The Rinnegan," Obito replied. "Providing proper guidance to those who awaken the Rinnegan has been our organization's mission since ancient times!"

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