Chapter 571: Unexpected Harvest

Simultaneously, in the Valley of the End, two figures were locked in a stare-down.

"Are you also an Uchiha?" one asked.

"I've never seen you before," the other replied.

"What's your name?"

Anyone present would have instantly recognized the first voice. The moment they heard it, they would have known it belonged to Uchiha Madara.

Madara fixed his gaze on the figure before him. The man's attire looked ancient even to Madara, but what truly astonished him was the overwhelming chakra radiating from him – even more terrifying than his own.

Madara was also incredulous at the sheer ocular power the man possessed, so immense that Madara felt utterly overwhelmed in a contest of visual prowess. His ocular power surpassed Madara's own.

Madara had never encountered such an Uchiha before. Furthermore, he had never seen this individual in his life.

"Uchiha?" the man said, his tone calm yet tinged with confusion. "Is your name Uchiha?" He echoed the question back at Madara.

Madara was taken aback. How could anyone not know his name? He was Uchiha Madara, a figure renowned throughout the entire shinobi world. Could someone truly be unaware of him?

"It seems you haven't heard of me?"

"Why would I have?"

"Are you supposed to be famous?"

Madara laughed, looking at the man. "I am Uchiha Madara. With eyes like yours, you must be from my clan, right?"

"Uchiha?" Indra frowned slightly at the name. "Why do you assume I'm from the Uchiha clan?"

"Those eyes – the Sharingan – are the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha. No one else possesses them!"

Just then, both men froze. A terrifying presence descended from the sky. No, not just one, but three. Three overwhelming auras were rapidly approaching. In the next instant, one of them seemed to sense their presence and plummeted sharply towards them. Both men looked up.

BOOM!!

Sasuke crashed heavily to the ground from above. As the dust settled, he opened his eyes, staring in shock at the two figures before him.

'Uchiha… Madara!'

'And… Indra Ōtsutsuki!'

Had these two also been affected, pulled from the past into the present? Sasuke gritted his teeth lightly. This meant the scope of the disturbance was far greater than he'd anticipated. Not only recent-era shinobi, but even ancient figures like Indra had been dragged into this timeline.

If that was the case, then even the Sage of Six Paths himself might appear from the past. If that happened, the situation would become far more complicated, far more dangerous.

Sasuke had originally been heading to Otogakure to seek Orochimaru's help in examining the time-travel artifact, the "Karasuki." But now, halfway there, he had stumbled upon this shocking discovery.

Leaving these two unchecked was impossible. If they were allowed to act freely, the world would descend into chaos. For now, the only option was to restrain them.

With that thought, Sasuke stepped forward. At the same moment, Kimimaro and Jūgo descended from the sky, landing some distance away. Sasuke waved his hand, dispersing the surrounding dust.

Madara and Indra both stared intently at the man who had fallen from the heavens. Sasuke met their gazes.

"Uchiha Madara."

"Indra Ōtsutsuki."

The moment he uttered their names, both men were taken aback.

Madara, in particular, was confused. Why had Sasuke referred to this Uchiha as "Indra Ōtsutsuki"? Wasn't he from the Uchiha clan? What was this "Ōtsutsuki" lineage? It was a name Madara had never encountered before.

"Who are you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke answered Indra directly.

Hearing the name "Uchiha," Madara stiffened.

"You're from the Uchiha clan?"

"Correct."

"Then why haven't I seen you before?" Madara clearly recalled Sasuke's ability to descend from the sky; he possessed the power of flight. Yet, as a fellow Uchiha, how could Madara have no knowledge of such a clansman? It was impossible.

"The reason you don't know me is simple: I'm not from your era."

These words caused both men's expressions to shift drastically. If Sasuke wasn't from their time, then that meant he was from another era.

"Judging by your reactions, you've already realized it."

"This era isn't yours. To me, you are both shinobi from the past. And this world, to you, is the future."

Sasuke decided to lay out the truth. If possible, he wanted to avoid a fight. From the looks of it, this Madara had not yet assimilated Hashirama's cells. That meant this was before their final battle at the Valley of the End. Similarly, Indra was still alive, meaning he had not yet fought Ashura to the death. There was still a chance to salvage things.

"…The future?" Both men spoke in unison, exchanging glances. Though the idea was shocking, neither dismissed it outright.

"You claim this is the future. What proof do you have?"

Proof? Sasuke smirked, pointing behind them. The two turned to look. There, standing tall, were the stone statues of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

"Doesn't that statue look familiar, Madara?"

Familiar? It did.

"That's… Hashirama?" Madara recognized Hashirama's likeness first, before his own. Truly, a pair of fated rivals and the best of friends.

"Now look at the other one."

The other? Madara was puzzled. Who was that?

Indra glanced at him. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Correct."

What? That was his own statue? Wait, why was his statue facing Hashirama's, locked in what appeared to be a battle stance?

"This place is called the Valley of the End."

"Here, in the future, you, Uchiha Madara, will fight Senju Hashirama in a decisive battle."

"And these statues were erected to commemorate that clash."

Madara muttered under his breath, "Valley of the End…" A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Who won?"

Sasuke met his gaze. "In the battle, you lost. But in truth… you won."

Lost, yet won? How did that work?

"What do you mean?"

"The details can wait. For now, if you two want answers, come with me."

"This is the future, and I can't allow you to roam freely."

"If you follow me, I'll explain everything."

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