Chapter 125: Madara’s Collapse—A Life Shaped by Lies

"It's over."Madara's heart sank.

Bound by an intricate web of suppression seals, he realized the situation was even worse than Gin had described. Every potential escape, every conceivable loophole—sealed tight.

They had foreseen his resurrection. Not only that, they had prepared for it in advance—down to the smallest detail.

"The plan... it was flawed from the beginning. My only hope now… Black Zetsu. He must sense my condition. He must come for me. He must..."

"Wait, you little pups!" Madara snarled, trying to cover his humiliation with rage. "When I rise again—at full power—I'll find you. I'll tear you apart limb by limb, one by one! Hmph!"

This was a humiliation he had never known.

Hashirama chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "Don't take it so personally, Madara. Once we deal with Black Zetsu, and you calm down a little, I'll convince Gin to lift the restrictions. Heck, maybe we'll even find a way for a proper resurrection."

He tried to sound comforting, but Madara only scoffed.

"You say that like you understand! You weren't the one bound, sealed, and caged like some wild animal! Try being in my shoes for once!"

Hashirama scratched his head again with a sheepish smile. "Well, you did try to destroy the world under Black Zetsu's influence. We had to stop you somehow!"

Madara glared. "You think I was deceived? By Black Zetsu?"

He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Black Zetsu was born of my will. My creation. My shadow. Others could betray me—but not him."

And yet… even as he spoke, doubt stirred within him.

The creation of Black Zetsu had always felt… strange. Like a mystery wrapped in illusion. Even Madara had never fully understood it.

Hashirama frowned. "Creating life isn't so simple, Madara. If Black Zetsu was truly your creation, then create another one. You can't, can you?"

Madara was silent.

"I… I can't. But that doesn't mean he's not mine! I awakened the Rinnegan, and only after that did Black Zetsu appear. He was born through a special process."

"Wrong."Hashirama's voice was firm now. "Black Zetsu isn't yours. He was created by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—mother of the Sage of Six Paths—through Yin-Yang Release, as a vessel for her will. He's been around for over a thousand years."

Madara's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? Kaguya? The Sage's mother?"

He turned to Gin. "You—how would you know any of this? You're ten years old. You think the Uchiha clan scrolls contained this? When I left Konoha, I took the real ones."

"It doesn't matter how I know," Gin replied calmly. "What matters is that you were deceived. Everything you did—leaving Konoha, seeking peace through the Infinite Tsukuyomi—was all based on a lie."

"You found out about merging Senju and Uchiha chakra from that stone tablet under the Naka Shrine, didn't you? That's where you learned about the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Madara's pupils shrank. He turned to Hikari. "How do you know about that tablet? Did you awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"No," Hikari said coolly, activating her Mangekyō. "I haven't. Even with my power, I can't read the full tablet. Black Zetsu altered it. Subtly, but enough to twist your path."

"Impossible…" Madara whispered.

Hikari's voice turned cold. "Black Zetsu had the power of Yin-Yang Release and has lived through centuries. He tricked Indra—the Sage's own son. Changing the tablet? That was nothing to him."

Madara clenched his fists. "Then… the Infinite Tsukuyomi… was a lie?"

"It is a path to peace," Gin interrupted with a grin. "But only in the most horrifying way."

Everyone looked at him sharply.

Gin shrugged. "Infinite Tsukuyomi puts the world into an illusion. People stop fighting because… they fall asleep. And then… they slowly become White Zetsu. All life—human and animal—wiped out. No conflict, because no one's left alive."

Madara and Hashirama stared in stunned silence.

Uzumaki Mito chuckled darkly. "That's one way to bring peace. End all life."

"Conflict is inevitable as long as people exist," she continued. "Real peace needs unification—through power, governance, and… immortality."

She looked at Gin meaningfully.

Madara's voice cracked. "Immortality? Is that possible?"

"You doubt it?" Mito smiled. "Look at Hikari. Look at me. Our lives were prolonged—by Gin. The Ōtsutsuki clan are all long-lived by nature. Kaguya would still be alive if not sealed."

Madara's face contorted. "Then why did the Sage of Six Paths die? He was half-Ōtsutsuki—shouldn't he have lived forever?"

Gin folded his arms, expression serious. "I believe the Sage chose to die. He extracted the Ten-Tails from himself, lost his power, and passed on. Perhaps to escape his limitations. Or…"

He paused.

"Or… he created the Pure World himself, seizing control of the afterlife to continue training. He couldn't grow stronger in the living world, but as a soul—unbound by the limits of flesh—maybe he could."

Everyone went quiet, digesting this.

"...So the Sage is still out there?" Hashirama muttered.

"Possibly," Gin replied.

Madara's eyes burned again, this time with hatred. "Black Zetsu used me… all of it… the betrayals, the murders… even your death, Hashirama…"

Gin narrowed his eyes. "We'll capture him soon. He's slippery, yes—but not invincible."

Madara hesitated. "Why not just destroy him now?"

"Because," Gin said, smiling faintly, "Black Zetsu's chaos will push the other villages to unite. If only Konoha becomes powerful, they'll band together against us. But if he gathers the Tailed Beasts, causes destruction—they'll unite under necessity."

"And when I rise in power…" he added with quiet certainty, "the Ninja World will welcome unification."

Madara fell silent, the hatred in his heart twisting into something darker—resignation.

Everything he had believed in… a lie. His dreams, his war, his legacy—all twisted by a being born from the will of someone else.

He looked at Gin, then at Hashirama.

In that moment, for the first time in decades… he felt the weight of his own humanity.