Chapter 14: Ghost of the Uchiha

A/N: I recommend watching YouTube "Madara and Hashirama's last words." for the beginning of the chapter. I play into that but with my thoughts of how Madara would be self-thinking at that time. I will bold a heading after the dream for those who may want to skip as they already know this. But I still suggest reading what I put down, its just the dialogue is the same as the video, not the entirety of it. Thank you and enjoy the story.

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< Madara POV >

In a desolate void surrounded by the Tailed Beasts, and strong chakra precenses, I could only look upwards. I lay here, my vision dazed, and unable to move. 

'What is happening' I felt anguish and unwillingness, I had just been betrayed by Black Zetsu, then I was reborn as a baby, and now I am here again. 

'Did I do something wrong' Any breathing I had at the start slowly started to leave my body...

'Is this a dream?... No, it feels all too real, what is happening to me' but this feeling... it's my past life body that I was so ever familiar with.

After some time that felt like an eternity, I suddenly realized, this 'was no dream... maybe I was just in a genjutsu before being a baby,' this thought even allowed me to let out a miserable smile.

'The Legendary Shinobi, Madara Uchiha trapped in a genjutsu.' knowing that this was real, I started to feel a different kind of tranquillity.

Maybe this was the death I originally wanted, one free of burdens, one after I tried my best and still lost.

I can go now back to the pure land with a clear conscience.

Faintly from the distance I heard "I am Hagoromo Otsutski, also known as the Sage of Six Paths" This voice brought a little more life in me, maybe I was brought here for a purpose a reasoning.

He seemed to be talking to someone, but I couldn't hear what the other people were saying. I felt a suffocating feeling of death again.

"I MISSED YOU" it was the loud voice of that brat with yellow hair... Naruto.. was his name, the man who foiled all my plans... but what does that matter, he won it seems, but I wonder if he can create true peace.

I heard footsteps approaching me, I thought this must be the purpose of bringing me here, but when that familiar chakra entered my perception of merely 5 meters. I felt a sense of relief and relaxation. It was Hashirama.

Faintly still hearing "Naru- ske- behold-predecessors" the same voice from Hagoromo Otsutski, but I no longer paid attention, it felt like a backboard, all I had in my eyes now was Hashirama, from the corner of my eye kneeling beside me.

With quivering lips from weakness, "Is that you, Hashirama?..." I asked knowingly, but I felt happiness when he responded with an 'mhm'.

Silence filled the air, and I remembered the time when we were kids and skipped the stones across the river to each other, I tend to think of this a lot, I could only imagine if we hadn't met, would our paths have been different? Or would we have found our way to becoming... friends... again?

Seemingly to find this the perfect moment to start releasing the true words I have been feeling, to my good friend.

"I guess, neither you nor I could achieve what we wanted." speaking slowly and intermediately trying to persevere my life as much as possible. 

"It's never that easy!" Hashirama sternly reprimanded my way of thinking "Our job is to do all we can, while we're alive. And then, bequeath the rest for future generations to accomplish." 

Those words touched me, but he was a fool after all, I can never understand how he trusts people so easily, but his way seemed to work better than mine, even after doing everything myself I finally ended up losing didn't I? That still wouldn't change my thought process,

'I was not wrong.'

"So naive... as usual" I felt happy talking to Hashirama, I even started to smile into a light chuckle "You... were always... the optimist... but perhaps that is the correct path." 

I started to reflect, I didn't even know why but I just wanted to keep talking to him.

"My dream...was squashed" I truly accepted my defeat. "But your dream... still lives on" thinking of those who stopped me, that cheerful yellow-haired boy, and the last descendant of the Uchiha clan working together. I ended up overlapping the characters of me and Hashirama, but this time they worked together and never split off like me.

I felt the weight of my words and loathing hurting more than the slow suffocating feeling of death. My dream ended, my goal gone. I felt alone until I heard.

"We were both too hasty. We didn't need to fulfill our dreams ourselves. It was more important to cultivate those who would come after us.. to whom we could entrust our dreams."

'Heh, so I am just a huge failure... obito failed... Nagato failed... and it was all from that optimistic yellow-haired kid.

"Which means I would have failed anyway" I reluctantly said. "Since I always hated someone... standing behind me..." I felt my voice choke, I was holding back my tears. I didn't want to feel so vulnerable in my final moments, but those words kept pouring out my mouth and I couldn't help but feel like a total loser.

"When we were kids. You once said we're shinobi and we don't know when we'll die" Hashirama's words sent me back to those memories. "And that for neither side to die, we'd both have to reveal what's inside of us and pour each other drinks to toast like brothers. But we're both about to die. So right now... let's drink together as war buddies."

By the end of his words, my vision and ears were fading, I knew this was my time. But I still struggled, I wanted to say I want to have that drink with you Hashirama, and we can still talk about our ideals and goals. But when I went to open my mouth and speak, I was only left with powerlessness. My time had come now. 

"War Buddies...huh... well... I guess... that's okay... by.." 

'me' 

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...Darkness... 

"It's time to leave, Madara."

I turned around at the sound of a familiar voice and saw Hagoromo Otsutsuki floating before me, his face had a peaceful expression all the while leaving that same enigmatic smile.

The void around me started shifting and changing, I watched as bright balls of fire flew by me, they were countless.

It was so beautiful until I saw a the void in front of turn into a sealed space, just a white room. I stepped forward, but I felt my sense of balance was changing, I looked down.

My adult form that I was just inside now started to crumble into paper, the flakes that left my body would soon disappear after a second.

My body shrank, the muscles I had built were slowly reverting, and my limbs were now softening and shortening, finally, at the end of the transformation, I was just the spiritual body of a four-year-old child.

This form however was the same body I have been living in for the last four years as a child in that strange world.

Looking at my small hands, then back up at Hagoromo. Questions surged in my mind, but before I could ask him anything, he spoke first.

"What you experienced earlier was a thing meant to happen" his tone had a mixture of sadness and relief. "After you were betrayed by Black Zetsu, my mother's other son, your soul was supposed to return to the established timeline. But it didn't."

His eyes grew distant as if weaving through the threads of time and space itself.

"When I channelled you in the scene you saw before, instead of you appearing, I felt a pull and followed it here. I have watched your journey, but only as a bystander. I wanted to intervene, but a man who called himself Brynden Rivers stopped me. At first, I was gonna force myself, but after I listened to his plea we watched your story together."

"During this time I was constantly testing and feeling the rules of this world, finally I succeeded. I now understand this ethereal feeling... they call it magic. Now I can take you back. I have come to do just that. Rest assured, my child, you are not abandoned. I would never leave you. You are my son, after all."

'Go back? Son? No...' Forgetting the son part, I only remember mine and Hashirama's talk on the cliff of Hokage Rock. Then the crying of the children that were slaughtered I saw when I first came here. I wanted to stay here, ALIVE to change this world. 

He stepped closer and his palm touched the top of my head, a simple motion that brought immense power. My vision blurred as my soul separated from the translucent child's body, floating before me.

I felt an odd detachment, yet something tugged at the core of my being. Hagoromo extended his hand, and at that moment, I saw it a blueish orb, glowing faintly, thrumming with life.

It pulsed, resonating with a deep familiarity.

The orb tried floating toward me, eager to reunite, but as Hagoromo touched it, I felt a slight tingling, a brush of energy that danced across my very essence.

Everything in me yearned for that connection again. I felt a mixture of eagerness and clarity, especially in my current state I felt it was something foreign.

"Indra," I heard him mutter softly, the name was something I had heard in the history books of the Uchiha Clan, and our eyes came from him.

I watched as Hagoromo's calm demeanour disappeared, his eyes watered with tears, a rare display of emotion that struck me deeply.

He looked at me again, his expression a mixture of sorrow and resolve.

"Your clan member... Sasuke Uchiha needs this half back for his complete transformation," he said slowly, his voice steady despite the brief hesitation of his words.

I realized that I didn't want to go back, and even if I was forced I was dead anyway. I wouldn't miss it, thinking of this I nodded calmly.

There was no point in clinging to what no longer held meaning in this new world. I had already attempted to extract chakra here, to no avail. If it served no purpose to me, then it could be a true gift for the last Uchiha of my old world...a final legacy for my clan.

'Hashirama, I did leave a legacy after all' I smiled in my heart.

"Thank you," Hagoromo said softly, a genuine gratitude in his tone.

Soon I felt a pulling sensation deep within me, as if part of me was being opened up.

A sharp, fleeting ache, followed by a sense of loss. But as quickly as it came, it passed, leaving me feeling strangely... whole.

My mind cleared, like a fog lifting after years of stagnation.

Thoughts that once felt heavy became light. I felt my past decisions were being guided...

'I guess even if I was played as a puppet by Black Zetsu, I was also never truly thinking of what I wanted.' I felt my connection to the ninja world ties fleeting, I felt my sense of mission to that world disappear.

There was a freedom in this detachment, a balance I hadn't felt before.

"Now let's go back," He said with an inviting tone.

"No, I won't go back" Shaking my head slightly, then with a mocking tone I replied, "I am a loser, I lost completely, Hashirama was right, his ideal won in the end and I am convinced, me going back I will have to stay in the pure land or I get summoned back to fight a war I never want to be a part of again." After saying what was on my chest I felt a sense of freedom wash over me.

Hagoromo didn't look too surprised at my words, but he still seemed slightly shocked, he opened his mouth, but the only words that came out of his mouth made me smile. "I thought you might."

He paused, his expression thoughtful. "I've grasped some connection about this new world, but that was because of Indra. This means that when I depart, I will not return for a long time, long enough that you will likely die. Unless, of course, you manage to step into my realm again."

He looked at me and applied pressure, but I stood strong, even if he destroyed my soul now I would not back down.

"Very well, since you will not go back, I can't leave you in good conscience on a foreign planet alone. For you parting with my son Indra, I shall leave you a debt of repayment. One that I shall fulfill now. I have enough power to give you something once, and it can't be something impossible"

The power of his words hung in the air, and I stood in contemplative silence, considering his offer.

What could I ask of the Sage of Six Paths, who shaped my world and its very foundations of power? My thoughts swirled, and my eyes slowly looked at the soul orb of Indra, my mind exploded with an answer.

Slowly, a smirk formed on my face. It grew, stretching into a grin before I finally began to laugh a deep, echoing laugh that bordered on maniacal.

It wasn't madness. It was clarity. After looking at Indra, I knew exactly what I wanted.

Raising my gaze to meet Hagoromo's, I spoke with the confidence that has defined me, though my voice betrayed my childish form, it was high-pitched and unpolished. "I want the power of the Sage's eyes."

The words made me blush, a flush of embarrassment rising over me as I remembered my current body.

The childish tone didn't match the commanding declaration I had intended, and the contrast felt absurd.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki's eyes widened in surprise.

He studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable, and then seemingly noticed my eyes on Indra's soul, he chuckled. It was a quiet, knowing sound, almost affectionate.

"You truly are the old Patriarch of the Uchiha," he said with a faint smile, his words carrying both admiration and a touch of resignation.

"Very well," Hagoromo said, his voice steady yet heavy with warning. "This will be a painful process, and you will need to start over again. But I do bring some good news, In doing this, the hidden bloodline within your new body will also awaken."

With that, he began moving his hands in deliberate patterns, forming what appeared to be a complex ritual.

As the energy shifted in the space around us, I felt a strange, foreign sensation travel through my ethereal form.

My body began to glow faintly, and where my chakra pathways once thrived, now coursed boiling blood, thick and searing, flowing with unfamiliar intensity.

The changes did not stop there.

My vision blurred as my Sharingan began to regress.

From three tomoe, it dimmed to two, then to one, before finally fading away entirely, leaving my eyes dark and ordinary, the colour being deep black, the eyes I have been familiar with in my past life, but for the past four years I still couldn't close my eyes even now. 

The loss of my sharingan did not make me frown, or make me feel insecure. No, it made me feel excited.

With these eyes, I no longer have to worry about the backlash or worry about anything stopping me from getting the Rinnegan back.

At that time I should be able to truly shape the world as I want.

When the ritual concluded, I looked up to see Hagoromo standing before me, but his posture was hunched, his face now marked by even deeper lines of age. He appeared drained, the toll of his efforts was shown on his face.

He sighed, his voice quieter now. "Oh yes, I almost forgot..." With a single-hand sign, a puff of smoke erupted before us.

As it cleared, I saw my good friend and rival, Hashirama.

At first, his expression was dazed, as if waking from a long dream. Then his gaze found mine, and our eyes locked.

A moment of silence stretched between us. Tension filled the sealed space. As I prepared a fighting stance, the silence was quickly gone when he... laughed.

It wasn't a chuckle or a restrained laugh, but a full, uninhibited boisterous laughter that echoed in the void around us.

My blood surged with indignation, the fire of my old pride roaring to life. "HASHIRAMA!"

However, this roar was far less intimidating coming from the mouth of a child.

His laughter only grew louder, his body twisting mid-air as he clutched his stomach. I couldn't stand it anymore.

My small fists clenched in frustration as I stormed forward and swung with all my might.

To my shock, Hashirama went flying, his body tumbling backward like a ragdoll.

I froze, staring at my fist in disbelief.

'Am I already this strong?' The question left me stunned, then pride welled up in my heart 'HAHA! Even as a child, I can still defeat Hashirama' I felt an immense amount of pride in my heart.

"Ahem..."

Hagoromo's voice snapped me back to reality. He stood to the side, his expression calm yet pointed, gesturing toward Hashirama, who was still tumbling mid-air with a ridiculous grin plastered across his face.

I felt a pang of embarrassment.

'Ah, he's just playing around...' I thought, though the realization only deepened my shame.

Watching this once great man act so childishly, I couldn't help but feel that if I stayed here any longer, I too might lose my composure... or worse, my sanity.

Turning to leave, I barely made a step before Hashirama appeared in front of me, faster than I could react.

His expression was serious now, with no trace of his earlier antics, but as the moment lingered, a soft smile broke through.

"Madara," he began, his voice firm yet gentle, "do you remember what I always said?"

'How could I not?' Shaking my head gently, with a sad smile.

My thoughts drifted to the two of us as children, sitting on the Hokage Rock, gazing out over the land.

"Together, we could create a world where no child would have to shed tears of war."

I remembered every bit of it. I always had.

Hashirama's voice brought me back to the present. "You know, Madara, I still believe in that dream. And more than that I still believe in you."

His words struck deep, stirring something buried beneath the layers of ambition and bitterness that had defined me for so long.

For the first time in what felt like lifetimes, I felt... seen.

Hashirama's expression shifted, a flicker of sadness crossing his face, though it remained tempered by conviction. "Maybe we failed back then," he admitted, "but the dream doesn't have to die... It can start again through you."

He reached out, pressing his hand lightly against my chest, over my heart. I could feel his resolve as he continued, his voice filled with the same determination I had admired and envied for so long. "Open your heart. Trust in yourself. That's all I've ever wanted for you, my friend."

The sincerity of his words hit me harder than any battle ever had.

My emotions swirled a tempest of pride, doubt, and something unfamiliar a flicker of hope.

My goal seemed to be here. But I still needed to better understand this world, to see what it truly had to offer.

Hagoromo interrupted our talking, "The time has come, Madara."

I saw Hashirama who was smiling now, seemed to have a sadness that transcended everything. And he stepped back, slowly with his head down.

Before I could respond, the ground beneath me shifted, and I felt the pull of an immense force a whirlpool dragging me into its depths.

I was tossed around like a ragdoll, disoriented, powerless to resist.

As the darkness closed in, the last thing I heard was Hashirama's voice, steady and unwavering, calling out to me one final time.

"MADARA!!!"

That voice. So familiar, so raw, it cut through the chaos of my fading consciousness.

A smile stretched across my lips, it was the most sincere smile I hadn't felt since we created Konoha together. One that came from the deepest part of me. For the first time in an eternity, I felt something beyond power, beyond ambition.

With those final words, memories surged like a tidal wave, overwhelming my mind. The clash of blades, the roar of battle, the dream of Konoha and the nostalgia of it all poured in.

Each fragment weaves itself into a tapestry of a life both bitter and beautiful. It all built toward one final scream, an echo of everything we were.

"HASHIRAMA!!"

My voice rang out, a defiant proclamation that carried the weight of my entire being.

It was my final farewell to the life I had lived, the choices I had made, and the bonds I could never sever.

As the darkness embraced me, I let the memories go, a silent promise on my lips.

'Goodbye, past.

Welcome, New World.

Welcome, to new beginnings.

Welcome me.

The Ghost of the Uchiha.'

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<Third POV>

As the whirlpool of energy closed behind Madara, sealing his departure into the world of Planetos, Hagoromo Otsutsuki stood tall within the void, as the sealing room started to fade away, he looked at the crying Hashirama, knowing he was being watched now and feeling embarrassed he sent him back to the Pureland.

Hagoromo then looked around for a bit showing an expression of unwavering authority. His Rinnegan scanned beyond the void, where the divine entities of this foreign realm lingered.

"I know you're watching," Hagoromo spoke, his voice making no sound, but he knew those watching could hear him.

"You who govern this world, shaping it through whispers and bloodshed, bending mortals to your will, it's disgusting. A fire god that burns innocents. A cold god that leaves a necromancer to slaughter all living. Do you take human lives as a game?"

A stillness filled the space, palpable and ominous as if the gods themselves hesitated to respond.

Hagoromo's gaze hardened, his aura intensifying into an ethereal radiance that even divine beings could not ignore.

"I have sent my son into your world," he declared. "Madara Uchiha is my champion, my priest. Just as you have your servants, your believers, your vessels of power, so do too now. I claim mine." His tone sharpened, each word challenging these gods.

He raised a hand, a swirl of chakra forming a black hole with a devastating gravitational pull.

"Know this if any of you dare to attack him directly, to wield your divine powers against him without going through your priests or followers, I will return. And if I do..."

His hand let go of the black hole, as it floated into seals tearing the very time and space. "I will not only destroy you but seal your existence for eternity, stripping you of all that you hold sacred."

The divine presence around him stirred, their silence heavy with resentment and unease.

Hagoromo's expression softened slightly, though his authority did not waver. "Your world is not mine to rule, but I will not allow my son to be a victim of your petty schemes. Let him walk his path, and let the mortals decide their fate."

"I also know I am not all your opponents, but I do know some that would love to have a new planet to harvest, and if I lead them here, I will be the least of your worries."

With that, Hagoromo turned, his luminous form beginning to fade.

As he disappeared, his final words left with an unquestionable resolve. "You have been warned."