Tobi's heart was torn. On one hand were the memories of his bonds with Kakashi, Rin, and the other Leaf ninjas. On the other, the brutal reality of war and Kakashi's death deeply pained him.
Pulled in two directions, his body was being ripped apart. The memories of his friends were slowly being dragged into darkness. In the end, Tobi was defeated by the cruel reality.
"So… what is your choice!"
Uchiha Madara's voice echoed in Tobi's mind. Tobi shakily stood up, his disheveled hair making him look like a madman. Yet, Uchiha Madara sensed a tremendous amount of pupil power from Tobi's eyes.
These eyes… were extraordinary! If he implanted his Hashirama cells, which he had researched for years, Uchiha Tobi would become even stronger than he was now.
"Come, join us, and let's create a beautiful, peaceful world of our own!"
Tobi's eyes still held confusion, but his expression was ferocious. Slowly, he raised his hand. Just as the two were about to clasp hands, a voice rang out.
"Tobi, what kind of world do you intend to create?"
Tobi's eyes blinked slightly, then he blurted out, "I want to create a world with Kakashi!"
"Bingo! That's right! Then let me help you!"
Uchiha Madara suddenly had a bad premonition, but he thought of the stakes… and fell silent!
Lin Yu turned to face Kakashi's corpse, spiral patterns appearing in his pupils.
"Temporal Barrier: Reverse!"
With a sound like "pop," a transparent barrier appeared around them, followed by the crisp sound of a clock's hands ticking backward as if time were flowing in reverse.
The surrounding scenery flowed backward like a revolving lantern. Kakashi's head, which had been severed and rolled away, reappeared and reattached to his now-standing body.
The gruesome, flesh-torn gash on Kakashi's neck vanished as if erased by an eraser, becoming smooth again.
All this only affected Kakashi. Tobi and Uchiha Madara, within the temporal barrier, watched this scene in stunned silence.
Even Uchiha Madara, who had seen much, murmured, "This is the true Time-Release Eye technique! Uzumaki Lin Yu…"
As for Tobi, he had already reached Kakashi's side, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch Kakashi's chest.
"Thump, thump!" came the sound of a heartbeat. Tobi's voice, already hoarse with emotion, managed to utter a few words: "Ka… Kakashi?"
"Hmm?"
As if hearing his name being called, Kakashi opened his eyes. Hiss! His entire body felt excruciatingly painful.
Kakashi remembered being ganged up on, then having his arm pierced by a blade and pinned to the ground. Afterward, due to an unknown flame left by Teacher Lin Yu, he had retaliated against the attacker. The events that followed were hazy, unclear.
"Tobi, why do you look so messy? Where are the enemies? Teacher Lin Yu is here too?! Did Teacher Lin Yu save us? You really are a useless dropout!"
Facing Kakashi's incessant chatter, Tobi had never found anything more pleasant to hear, especially that last insult of "useless dropout." He, Uchiha Tobi, wanted to hear it his entire life!
"Kakashi! It's so good that you're back!"
After saying this, Tobi fainted. He had used Kamui several times right after opening his eyes, which had severely drained his mind and pupil power. Now, with the overwhelming joy of Kakashi's resurrection, he completely lost all strength and collapsed.
*Plop!*
Kakashi let go of his pierced left hand and, with his right arm, held Tobi's blood-soaked body. Although he didn't understand what had happened, Kakashi could sense that Tobi had endured unimaginable pain.
Seeing Tobi's blood-stained face, Kakashi felt a pang of heartache. He gently smoothed Tobi's messy hair and thought, *The dropout has grown too!*
"Teacher Lin Yu, can you stop standing there watching?!"
Kakashi glared at Lin Yu with his dead-fish eyes. Didn't he see his left hand was still injured? Why wasn't he coming over to help!
"Alright, alright!"
Lin Yu responded with a wry smile, then turned to Uchiha Madara and said, "Do you consider this me winning?"
Uchiha Madara remained silent. Logically, he should be furious, as Uzumaki Lin Yu had ruined his years of planning. He should want to tear Lin Yu to shreds right now.
Yet, Uchiha Madara was silent. Perhaps after their first encounter, he had already foreseen this outcome. This era truly was no longer his. It was no longer an era he could control single-handedly.
But Uchiha Madara was not in a hurry. Black Zetsu, who stood behind him, couldn't hold back and whispered, "Lord Madara, we…"
"There's no need to say more!"
Uchiha Madara interrupted Black Zetsu. He knew what Black Zetsu was going to say, but he didn't want to hear it!
After all these years of scheming and plotting, he was tired. This was not in line with his past ambitions. When had he, Uchiha Madara, ever needed to resort to schemes and tricks?
If someone was displeased or defiant, he would simply crush them. That was the Uchiha Madara he knew!
"Would you mind coming to my place for a bit?"
Uchiha Madara's deep voice came, and Lin Yu smiled, "I couldn't ask for more!"
…
At Uchiha Madara's base, Lin Yu placed the bandaged Kakashi and Tobi onto a wooden bed. He then glanced at Tobi, who was staring at their butts, and said coldly, "Don't wake them up, and don't do anything strange!"
"Yes!"
As Uchiha Madara's first guest, Tobi was very enthusiastic and obedient.
*Hmm, I really want to see how they poop!*
In the hall, which was originally used to store the Gedo Statue, Uchiha Madara sat on the empty steps, watching Lin Yu approach. He said,
"Do you want to know my story? I can…"
"No! I don't want to!"
Lin Yu quickly waved his hand. He had no desire to hear about the love-hate relationship between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama!
The anger that Uchiha Madara had suppressed flared up again. He snorted and said no more. *Listen or don't listen! Damn Uzumaki Lin Yu!*
Lin Yu sat next to Uchiha Madara, patted him heavily on the back, and said with a smile, "You're a dying man, why get so angry!"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Uchiha Madara coughed violently from Lin Yu's pat. He picked up the flame fan behind him and swung it at Lin Yu, but Lin Yu snatched it away.
"Thanks! I didn't expect you to be so generous, giving gifts to your guests! I'll reluctantly accept them!"
Uchiha Madara coughed again, almost spitting out all the curses in his stomach. After a long while, he calmed down and said softly, "Was that the Rinnegan you used earlier?"
"You could say that!" Lin Yu's answer was ambiguous. After all, his Rinnegan was a test product. However, he believed that soon, he would truly possess the Rinnegan!
Uchiha Madara shook his head and said, "You must have seen the Uchiha clan's ancestral tablet, right? It records…"
"Sorry, I haven't!"
Uchiha Madara: "…"
"But I know what it says!"
Uchiha Madara: *Damn it! I'm taking back my eyes and fighting you to the death!*