Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

Three days later, the Akatsuki members showed up as a team—clearly having met beforehand to discuss their plans.

After all, the person they were about to see was the notorious "Shinobi Shura" whose name inspired dread across the land.

Although Madara had promised not to hunt them down, none of them dared take that gamble.

They alone knew that the Akatsuki's tailed beast plan involves capturing all the Tailed Beasts to craft an ultimate weapon.

Madara's claim might have just been a test. Besides, they were also extremely curious why Nagato's Rinnegan had ended up in Madara's eye sockets, and what secrets beyond the "ultimate weapon" might be hidden in the Gedo Statue.

Rational individuals like Uchiha Itachi and Sasori even suspected that these secrets touched upon the world's core truth: after all, it could be linked to the world-shaking powers once wielded by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

When Akatsuki's members had all gathered, Madara asked no questions about their choices. He simply used Yin–Yang Release to implant seals on their brains and hearts—curses that would trigger if they revealed what they learned.

Even if they died, no one, not even Konoha's Yamanaka clan, could extract the intel from their minds.

Moreover, Madara discreetly planted spores inside them, letting White Zetsu clones keep constant watch. If they dared leak any secrets, Madara could instantly end their lives.

"All right, the seals are placed. Now can you tell us the truth?" Sasori asked while readjusting his outfit.

Everyone else watched Madara silently.

"Of course," he said. "Let me show you the origin of chakra."

With that, Madara cast a Rinnegan illusion, pulling them into a fabricated mental world.

Sasori and the others suddenly found themselves in mountainous terrain beneath a dusky sunset sky.

Off in the distance, in the hills, two figures were locked in battle—one enormous, one small. The huge one towered over mountain peaks; the smaller one was human-sized like them.

Strangely, both figures were pitch-black silhouettes, each defined only by three major features. The larger silhouette had ten tails, each swing shaking the earth, its head showing a single eye: scarlet like a Sharingan, circled by the Rinnegan's rings plus nine tomoe. The smaller silhouette clutched a staff and sword, eyes the same purple Rinnegan as Madara's.

Before Sasori or Uchiha Itachi could guess, Madara's voice echoed in their ears:

"A thousand years ago, the ninja world faced a monster called the Ten-Tails (Jūbi).

"It was immortal and indestructible. As long as this planet still bore life force, no matter what injury it suffered, it would regenerate.

"To seal this Ten-Tails and protect the world, the Sage of Six Paths developed a sealing jutsu known today as the Jinchūriki technique.

"Inventing this sealing jutsu, the Sage became the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki himself—becoming the very first Jinchūriki: the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki."

At Madara's words, the two silhouettes on the battlefield changed: the human figure suddenly absorbed that colossal beast silhouette into his own body. The Akatsuki recognized that it must be the legendary Sage of Six Paths. Madara's voice continued:

"After becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, the Sage of Six Paths established ninshū—he shared chakra with humanity, birthing the ninja. His name and story spread eternally, worshiped like a god—truly a 'God of Shinobi.'

"But even someone as strong as the Sage would eventually meet his end.

"Fearing that once he died, the immortal Ten-Tails would emerge anew to ravage the world, the Sage, at death's door, split the Ten-Tails' chakra into nine parts—creating nine chakra-made beasts. These are the so-called Tailed Beasts."

Again, the illusion changed scenes. In a pitch-black space, that same black silhouette with a Rinnegan staff unleashed a vast ocean of chakra from his body, dividing it into nine lumps that morphed into bizarre creatures with varying numbers of tails: from One-Tail to Nine-Tails.

Lastly, the Ten-Tails reappeared. Having lost its chakra, that monstrous menace lost consciousness, reverting to a giant humanoid entity.

"Deprived of its chakra, the Ten-Tails became the Gedo Statue. The Sage of Six Paths created the moon and banished the Gedo Statue there, high beyond mortal reach.

"Logically, the ninja world should have entered an era free from the Ten-Tails' ravages."

"But as the Sage aged, he realized how chakra had fueled warfare and destruction; perhaps he regretted granting chakra to humanity. Hence, before dying, he inscribed how to obtain the Rinnegan, how to revive the Ten-Tails, how to become the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, and how to cast a certain ninjutsu that 'would create genuine peace.'"

"All that was set in stone on a certain stele that only powerful dōjutsu could read. Each level of ocular power reveals new text. Only an eye near Rinnegan-level can interpret how to acquire the power to command all creation."

The illusion changed again, placing the Akatsuki in a shrine containing a giant stone tablet. Spotting the Uchiha crest inside, Itachi turned pale. Madara's voice:

"One day, someone who'd awakened an 'eternal' ocular power arrived at that stele and learned how to attain the power of 'all creation,' as well as create 'true peace.'"

"Thus emerged the Battle of the Valley of the End."

"In that conflict, the man with Eternal Mangekyō obtained what he needed and feigned his own death, escaping under false pretenses."

"Decades later, Uchiha Madara—an old man—finally transcended mortal limits and acquired the power of 'all creation.'"

The scene shifted to a cave with an elderly man—sleeping more than awake—who suddenly opened a pair of purple Rinnegan.

The Akatsuki realized it was none other than Uchiha Madara in old age. Sasori and the others stared in realization: at last they understood why the two founders of Konoha, Hashirama and Madara, had ended up fighting that epoch-making battle.

The illusion dissolved, returning them to reality. Madara rested his chin on the back of his right hand, speaking casually:

"At that time, I was close to dying of old age. I couldn't bring about true peace myself, so I devised a plan to resurrect me in my prime. I transplanted the Rinnegan into a young Nagato. Now that everything's in place, the Rinnegan naturally returned to me."

"So you plan to collect all Tailed Beasts, resurrect the Gedo Statue into the Ten-Tails, become the second Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and the second Sage of Six Paths?" Sasori asked bluntly.

"Exactly."

"And what exactly is 'true peace'?" Uchiha Itachi asked.

"It's another ninjutsu." Madara pointed upward, smiling. "Once I'm the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, my dōjutsu will be beyond measure. I'll project my eyes onto the moon and cast a large-scale ninjutsu across the entire ninja world—Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"This ninjutsu drags everyone into a realistic illusion scene where each person is the protagonist. Whatever dream they desire becomes reality: no strife, no sickness, no aging. Their minds will live in that dream world, while I use the Ten-Tails' power to sustain their bodies until they die."

"…"

The Akatsuki fell silent. Their reactions varied. Deidara scratched his face, somewhat intrigued. "A world where everyone recognizes my art? That might be interesting!"

"Idiot, that's a fake world," Sasori scolded, yet internally he also felt tempted: if he could live in a world with his parents alive, he'd want that. For countless nights he'd dreamt of it being real forever.

Madara didn't know Sasori's thoughts but mused aloud, "You rebelled from your villages precisely because you couldn't accept the world's hypocrisy, right?"

Hearing this, Hoshigaki Kisame—usually stoic—chuckled, and Hidan exclaimed, "A world where everyone venerates Lord Jashin? Awesome!" Kakuzu was also tempted: he'd long been sick of the corrupt real world.

Only Uchiha Itachi retorted coldly, "That's not genuine peace. You're just running away."

"It is running away," Madara said calmly, "but in this rotten world, countless people want to run. I am their savior."

"Not everyone wants your dream world," Itachi persisted. "Aren't you ignoring how they feel?"

"War kills countless shinobi and civilians. Did the kage ever consider their feelings?" Madara gave a bitter laugh. "Infinite Tsukuyomi may strip them of life's real joys, but it also compensates them with better happiness in the dream—no fear of aging or death, no bereavement. Are you sure they'd refuse?"

"A fake world is always fake. It can't become real," Itachi shot back in the same unwavering tone as Nagato once did.

Amused, Madara waved the others away. "All of you, leave. Let me have a private chat with this Uchiha."

The Akatsuki, especially Deidara—who'd wanted to see an elder Uchiha thrash a young uchiha—reluctantly filed out. Once they were gone, Madara continued leaning on his arm, tilting his head to regard Itachi with an unreadable gaze. He asked, "I'm curious: why did you wipe out the Uchiha clan?"

"To test my capacity," said Itachi, giving the same response he once gave Sasuke.

"Heh…" Madara's smile grew mischievous. "And you spared your little brother only to harvest his eyes for the Eternal Mangekyō, right?"

"Yes," Itachi said flatly. "I left him alive so he'd awaken Mangekyō, and I'd then steal it to become a second you."

Madara didn't get angry or dispute how he got his own Eternal Mangekyō. Instead, with his Rinnegan seemingly reading deeper truths, he teased, "But the Eternal Mangekyō alone isn't enough. If you truly want to be the second me, you'd need the Rinnegan. I can offer you two ways: a method that doesn't require a relative's eyes to achieve eternity, plus how to unlock the Rinnegan."

"You were willing to kill your entire clan for Mangekyō, so presumably you'd do the same to your brother for the Rinnegan? Right now I can teach you those two methods—then you'd just need to return to Konoha and kill your brother. Deal?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Itachi's eyes turned to Mangekyō, tears of blood falling from his right eye. He shouted, "Amaterasu!"

Black flames burst into existence, cloaking Madara. Yet he remained motionless, supporting his chin as though bored. A crow flew from Itachi's ear with a special white-limned left eye: "Kotoamatsukami!"

The crow cast Kotoamatsukami, the "mind-altering" Mangekyō technique with a decade-long cooldown, while Itachi also used more eye power to conjure a scarlet swirling arm that brandished a red gourd and fired a sword of red flame at Madara.

But that flaming blade halted in midair, not even touching him. "Inextinguishable black fire, the mind-modifying Kotoamatsukami, plus the Sword of Totsuka documented in history… You sure lucked out with your ocular powers," Madara remarked as he easily absorbed the black flames covering him.

Then his voice turned contemptuous: "But your trifling Mangekyō means nothing before the ultimate dōjutsu!"

Boom! The sound of flesh being pummeled. Itachi's skeletal Susanoo soon shattered under an unseen assault. He was battered like a punching bag, bouncing every which way. In a matter of seconds, with his Susanoo dispelled, the badly injured Itachi lay sprawled on the floor.

Madara strolled over, planting a foot on Itachi's head. His voice dripped with contempt:

"As you see, you never considered your own family's feelings. The day you traded them for Konoha, you lost your right to lecture me about illusions."

Being the most gifted Uchiha, none knew the clan's pride or familial love better than Madara. And he despised how Itachi had chosen to butcher the clan for Konoha's sake.

If Obito was "the blackened who avenged Rin," Itachi was "the blackened who destroyed his own clan in the name of the village." Both extreme and self-righteous.

"Let me see what's in your head." Madara used a sealing technique to strip Itachi of bodily control, then knelt to lay a hand on Itachi's skull. "Human Path!" He tore out part of Itachi's soul, scanning reams of memory. Scenes flooded Madara's mind. After reading them, Madara returned the soul, leaving the pale-faced Itachi gasping on the ground.

"Three sets of Mangekyō in one generation, turned into that fiasco by a handful of novices? I now get how the clan ended up destroyed."

Madara shook his head. "Truly…like a father, like a son. The clan's greatest era ended with three worthless fools unlocking Mangekyō."

He replaced Itachi's spirit, then stood, gazing down at him coldly. "You're unfit to be an older brother. In deference to our shared blood, I'll spare your life so your eyes can remain for your brother. But don't posture about 'fake peace' to me. You had no qualms about annihilating your clan. This kind of hypocrisy…makes me sick."

As someone who doted on his younger sibling, Madara loathed Itachi for tormenting his own.

"Let me guess how you'd manipulate your foolish little brother—no wonder you tried Kotoamatsukami. So you'd mind-control him into protecting Konoha. You call Infinite Tsukuyomi a 'fake world,' but how's that any different from forcing illusions onto him?" Furious, he kicked Itachi away like rubbish. "Get out of my sight."

~~~

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