Madara suddenly chuckled, which then turned into a hearty laugh. Even so, the laughter still came from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its source.
After a while, Madara's laughter stopped, and he said with a satisfied tone, "Indeed, I cannot use the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan."
At this point, the invisible pressure Uchiha Kagami felt suddenly vanished. This was originally simulated by Madara using the power of his mindscape. Previously, this pressure had subtly affected Uchiha Kagami's movements, but ultimately, it was psychological. Since he now knew the truth, Madara no longer needed to expend mindscape power to simulate it.
"When did you realize?" Madara asked.
"From the beginning, I was wondering why you weren't using the Mangekyo Sharingan's genjutsu. I even thought you were deliberately holding back," Uchiha Kagami replied. "But just now, I noticed that even with the smoke obscuring my vision, this pressure still existed. However, the power of the Sharingan is primarily transmitted through sight, so unless it was chakra-based, there shouldn't have been any pressure."
"Yes, that was an illusion simulated by the power of the mindscape," Madara slowly said. "The foundation of all things is composed of Yin and Yang Release. Yin governs the spiritual power of imagination, capable of creating form from nothing; Yang governs the physical power of life, capable of infusing form with life. When combined, they can give birth to all creation. But with only the mindscape power of Yin Release, it's impossible to manifest a true Mangekyo Sharingan."
At this point, he couldn't help but let out a scoff, saying, "If it were the Impure World Reincarnation developed by Tobirama Senju, which pulls a soul back to the human world and reconstructs a body with clay, it could barely meet the conditions for Yin-Yang unity. The soul's mindscape could also partially restore the power of a Bloodline Limit. However, in the end, that is still a dead person, not a truly living one, and cannot fully unleash the power of a Bloodline Limit."
Uchiha Kagami also knew about the forbidden jutsu, Impure World Reincarnation, in his heart. Because the original intention was only to use puppets to achieve the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags jutsu, Tobirama stopped in the early stages of research, not needing further progress. And after Fumori masaki ascended to the position of Hokage, he completely destroyed this forbidden jutsu, stating that the future world would not need such cruel forbidden jutsu.
"However, that forbidden jutsu is no longer in this world. Masaki has already destroyed it along with the research materials," Uchiha Kagami said.
"Oh?" This minor detail hadn't appeared in Uchiha Kagami's story, and Madara's voice sounded somewhat surprised. "Indeed, that kid who supports the Shinobi Sect probably wouldn't want to keep such so-called inhumane things. And while Tobirama Senju wouldn't use it on his own people, he certainly wouldn't mind using enemies as sacrifices."
"Ah, to be honest, if such a forbidden jutsu were ever used on our own people, it could really become a problem. Destroying it might not be a bad choice after all," Uchiha Kagami said, throwing his kama towards a certain spot in the smoke.
The sound of metal clashing came from the smoke, and then Uchiha Kagami leaped forward, fanning his Gunbai to unleash a gale—although he couldn't use the Gunbai's ability to produce Wind Release of the same level as Madara, he himself had some proficiency in Wind Release.
The smoke quickly receded, revealing Madara's figure. After blocking the thrown kama, he had intended to shift his position before the smoke disappeared, but Uchiha Kagami pulled the chain, forcing Madara to counterattack and losing his chance to move.
The sound of metal clashing resounded once more, this time between two Gunbai. Madara and Uchiha Kagami were deadlocked, unmoving.
"Tsk, did I talk a bit too much?" Madara clicked his tongue lightly. "You've also become incredibly strong. Although you don't have the Mangekyo Sharingan, your other abilities are already very close to mine."
"Even so, the gap still exists," Uchiha Kagami said. "You would undoubtedly be more proficient with the techniques you taught me. I can only use some other methods."
As he spoke, Uchiha Kagami's body vanished with a 'poof'. This was merely a shadow clone, and at that very moment, a genjutsu had already assailed Madara.
Madara's gaze narrowed slightly. He was very careful not to look into Uchiha Kagami's eyes. It couldn't be a Sharingan genjutsu. In other words, this genjutsu was—
"Is it Tobirama Senju's genjutsu? Using close physical contact as a trigger, I didn't expect it to be applied to a shadow clone." Madara recognized the true nature of this genjutsu at a glance. Back in the battles between the Senju and Uchiha, Tobirama Senju specifically altered the genjutsu's trigger method to avoid direct eye contact with the Sharingan.
For members of the Uchiha clan, because their Sharingan naturally possessed the ability to cast genjutsu, they generally wouldn't learn other genjutsu techniques. After all, in their view, the Sharingan's genjutsu was the strongest, and there was no reason to learn ordinary genjutsu.
While occasionally there would be genjutsu masters like Senju Touka, the arrogance of the Uchiha clan would clearly not change their approach for one or two exceptions. Of course, there would also be one or two exceptions among the Uchiha clan who would learn, such as Uchiha Kagami before him.
"Senju Touka actually taught you even this kind of genjutsu." Madara said with a complicated expression as he dispelled the genjutsu before him. For him, someone who had been hostile to the Senju for many years, it was truly unimaginable for a Senju secret technique to be taught to an Uchiha. He had already felt this way when he heard that Uchiha Kagami had been taken as a student by Senju Tobirama.
As soon as the illusion vanished, a chilling gust of wind came from behind. Madara turned and blocked Uchiha Kagami's strike, which was not the kama secret technique he had taught Uchiha Kagami, but Tobirama Senju's sword technique, executed with a kama.
Next, every move Uchiha Kagami unleashed was a combination of his own years of experience and the secret techniques of others. This way, Madara couldn't predict Uchiha Kagami's actions based on his past experience and had to fight more cautiously.
Ultimately, having lost his Sharingan, Madara could only rely on his own experience and combat skills to face his opponent. His previous predictions were all because Uchiha Kagami was using the secret techniques he had taught him, allowing him to anticipate. But now it was different; he no longer had the Sharingan to predict.
Not only predictions, but also the dispelling of genjutsu. The Sharingan's ability to dispel genjutsu is almost instinctive. With Madara's Sharingan, Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan genjutsu could be dispelled in less than a second, let alone genjutsu passed down from Senju Touka—Uchiha Kagami's other genjutsu were not as powerful as Sharingan genjutsu—however, the current Madara no longer had the Sharingan. Dispelling genjutsu relied on his powerful mental strength, honed through experience.
It should be said that he was indeed worthy of being the strongest Uchiha clan head after the ancestor Indra. Even without the Sharingan, his immense spiritual power still rendered Uchiha Kagami's genjutsu-type Sharingan ineffective. Uchiha Kagami felt that even with the Mangekyo Sharingan, it would probably be very difficult to suppress Madara in the spiritual world.
People often say that when facing an Uchiha one-on-one, you should turn and run, but this rule was clearly useless on Madara. Even without the Sharingan, he could still gain the upper hand in a battle against Uchiha Kagami, who could still exert the power of the Sharingan. If this were told to others, they would surely find it unbelievable.
However, after losing the psychological pressure of the Mangekyo Sharingan and changing his traditional combat style, Uchiha Kagami gradually closed the gap in strength with Madara. Regardless, losing the Sharingan must have had a significant impact on Madara. Even with experience and combat skills to smooth over the disparity, being able to suppress Uchiha Kagami was already his best performance.
After several consecutive battles, both sides' mindscape power gradually began to wane, but Uchiha Kagami could tell that Madara still had reserves. If they continued to deplete their strength like this, he would definitely be the one to lose. If it were an ordinary battle, Uchiha Kagami felt that losing wouldn't be so bad, but this was a battle to decide his return to the human world, and Uchiha Kagami absolutely could not lose.
If Madara had other ways to return to the human world, Uchiha Kagami felt it wouldn't be a big deal. However, Madara wanted to use his body to return to the human world, which he could not accept, because he still had his wife, children, and friends in the human world. Even for his beloved uncle, there was no reason for him to give up.
—I must not lose, absolutely not!
Despite his extreme nervousness, Uchiha Kagami's mind became even calmer, and in the next instant, his attack made even the widely experienced Madara show a surprised expression. The fluidity of its execution even gave him a sense of desperation.
Senju Touka's genjutsu clone, Senju Tobirama and Fumori masaki's sword techniques, the Uchiha's traditional kama secret technique, and the use of the Sharingan, all combined—first, using the genjutsu clone along with Sharingan genjutsu to jointly delay Madara's movements. Madara, without the Sharingan, needed time to break the genjutsu. At this point, Uchiha Kagami closed the distance and swung with his kama technique, but this was also a diversion. Uchiha Kagami transformed into the kama with the Transformation Jutsu, appearing behind Madara as it was repelled. Before the opponent could react, the sword strike learned from the two, carrying a cold glint, descended, stopping the kama beside Madara's neck.
"The last person to stand behind me was Hashirama," Madara said quietly, stopping his movements. "That moment just now made me involuntarily recall when Tobirama Senju gravely injured my brother."
Those two incidents were undoubtedly painful memories for Madara, but somehow, a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face. He slightly turned his body, looked at the panting Uchiha Kagami, and said, "You won. Congratulations on surpassing your past self."
Although the current Madara still had surplus mindscape power, and the current Uchiha Kagami was at the end of his rope after that recent burst, he understood that Uchiha Kagami, with his Sharingan predictions, could slice through his neck in an instant, and he himself could at most drag him down to a mutual demise—of course, in this world, they wouldn't simply die like that.
"So, I can go back now, right?" Uchiha Kagami said, still gasping for breath.
"Hmph, you could have gone back anytime. You didn't even need to fight me," Madara said.
"Huh?" Uchiha Kagami was stunned.
"Earlier, you asked me why I wasn't using the Mangekyo Sharingan. One reason, of course, is that I can't use it. Another reason is that I never intended to stop you from going back," Madara's words greatly surprised Uchiha Kagami. "And ultimately, I don't even have the ability to replace you and go back. What I said before was just to trick you. Let alone my current self, even with the Mangekyo Sharingan, it would be impossible to do such a thing. While a spiritual body is free to some extent, it's not entirely so."
Madara said that the path for those who have not yet died to return to the human world is unique to each individual. It is the path connecting the soul and the body, which others cannot tread. While there are special reincarnation secret techniques that allow one's soul to enter another body, the prerequisite is to interfere with a living human body. However, as previously stated, a spiritual body cannot interfere with reality, unless there is chakra remaining in the human world. To perform a reincarnation secret technique, it must be done with chakra remaining in the human world.
"Then why did you say that...?" Uchiha Kagami asked, somewhat confused.
"There are several reasons for that," Madara mused. "Overall, I wanted to test you. You said you wanted to lead the Uchiha into a new era, but the Uchiha Setsuna incident made you realize, didn't it? This isn't so easy. You, my child, have a very kind heart, and that's what prevents you from unleashing your full power. Sometimes, you need a necessary ruthlessness. By saying what I did, I was pushing you, and the result satisfies me. Although I don't have the Mangekyo Sharingan, considering my spiritual power, it was a fair fight against you, who only has the Sharingan. And you defeated me head-on, you defeated me, the strongest Uchiha of the old era. That means you've drawn a clear line with the old era. So, you should also have the ability to lead the clan towards a new future, shouldn't you?"
Uchiha Kagami hadn't expected Madara to have such thoughts. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Madara had always been unrestrained. While others in the clan married and had children to continue their bloodline at sixteen or seventeen, Madara was the only one who didn't. Therefore, anything he did was possible.
Although Uchiha Kagami felt he should be angry, angry that the other party had deceived him on his own accord and dragged him into this battle that marked a new era, he found that he couldn't get angry at all. There was only one thought—as expected, Uncle Madara would always be Uncle Madara.
"The Sharingan, though a power born from pain, is born from the loss of love. In other words, the source of the Sharingan's power is indeed strong love," Madara said, looking at Uchiha Kagami. The latter saw a hint of fatherly warmth in this usually stern uncle. "Next, I will give you one last gift, but whether you can obtain it or not depends on you."
Then, Madara suddenly lunged at Uchiha Kagami. In his surprise, the latter instinctively thrust his kama forward, piercing Madara's neck. But Madara seemed to have the same intention, not dodging at all. He completely disintegrated, turning into countless shimmering points of light that passed through Uchiha Kagami's body.
It felt like only an instant, yet also like a long lifetime. Countless scenes flashed before Uchiha Kagami's eyes; these were Madara's memories: his childhood longing for peace, his first encounter with a like-minded friend, the two forced to become enemies due to clan feuds, constantly losing his loved ones, even his only brother passing away, establishing the village after reconciling with Hashirama, enjoying a period of peace, then parting ways again due to conflicting beliefs—
At this moment, Uchiha Kagami understood everything about Madara. He wanted to say something, but the pillar of light returning to the human world had already fallen upon him, pulling him back. When the light pillar disappeared, only Madara remained.
"See? I told you I couldn't go back," Madara said lazily. "I originally hoped to go back with you, at least to see what the future ninja world would be like. But, I'm tired now. It's time to go back and rest properly."
Madara looked up at the dark sky, as if peering through it towards the Pure Land. He murmured, "Izuna, wait for me—Hashirama, you bastard, you still won in the end."
Then, Madara slowly walked towards the end of the Yellow Springs Road, heading to the world of the Pure Land.