Kai's sudden appearance hit Madara like a cold gust of wind.
No sound. No chakra surge. No signs of jutsu.
He had simply appeared—right there in the Uchiha's sealed ancestral shrine—without so much as a ripple in the air.
Even the Flying Thunder God Technique required a marked space and had its spatial traces. But this? This was something beyond technique. This was divine stealth.
Madara's battle instincts screamed.
If this so-called "wandering god" wanted to, could he have appeared behind him? Slit his throat? Plunged a blade into his spine?
Is this... the power of a god?
Madara's blood rushed. He hadn't felt this kind of thrill in years. The urge to unleash Susanoo, to fight this mysterious being in a whirlwind of chakra and steel—it surged through him like wildfire.
But...
He remembered Hashirama's warning.
Don't act recklessly. Not with this one.
So he held himself back.
Barely.
If Hashirama hadn't mentioned Kai in advance, Madara would've swung his blade first and asked questions later.
"Yeah," Kai said casually, as if he didn't just materialize in the most secure chamber of the Uchiha clan. "Nice to meet you, too."
He looked unbothered—almost bored. And deep down, he was relieved Madara hadn't rushed him with a sword. He wasn't afraid of the man's power, but dodging a flurry of Susanoo strikes just to avoid a misunderstanding would've been... irritating.
Madara remained coiled like a spring, Sharingan spinning slowly.
"Why did you trespass in our clan's sacred ground?" he asked coldly.
"I thought you wanted to meet me," Kai replied.
Madara's eye twitched. "You heard that?"
"Was I supposed to miss it?" Kai smirked. "You were practically shouting."
Madara clenched his fists. He hadn't sensed a single presence. No chakra. No flicker of intent. Had this man really been there the entire time, listening to everything?
This only deepened his sense of unease.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"You've got it backward," Kai said, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve. "The real question is—what do you want?"
Madara narrowed his eyes. "Is this the kind of game you used to fool Hashirama?"
Kai's smirk faded. "Fool him? You think anyone can awaken the Rinnegan just by talking pretty? Or activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi through empty words?"
"You—!!"
"And tell me," Kai added, walking forward, "have you actually deciphered the full contents of the Uchiha stone tablet?"
Madara's breath caught.
How did this man know?
He hadn't told anyone about that. Not even Hashirama. The last part of the stone tablet could only be read by someone who possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—someone like him.
How could this stranger possibly know?
"What, don't believe me?" Kai said. "Do you think these eyes are fake?"
The glowing ripple of the Rinnegan shimmered in his gaze.
Madara took a step back, uncertain whether from caution or awe.
Kai, in truth, couldn't fully unlock the secrets of the stone tablet. His system hadn't granted him the full usage of the Rinnegan yet. But he didn't need to decipher it.
He already knew what was written there.
The stone tablet's messages had been twisted long ago by Black Zetsu, the hidden manipulator of history. Kai didn't need the tablet—he needed Madara to wake up from its lies.
Madara steadied himself, voice low. "Yes. I want to realize the Moon's Eye Plan. To bring lasting peace to this world."
"Then let me ask you," Kai said calmly, "what makes you think Infinite Tsukuyomi will bring peace?"
"It's written on the stone tablet," Madara snapped. "Passed down through generations of Uchiha. Only those with the Eternal Mangekyō can uncover its final truth. It's our clan's legacy. Our fate."
Kai walked over to the stone tablet, leaned against it casually, and sat on it.
Madara's eye twitched again. Rage bubbled in his chest. He wasn't the type to be baited by cheap provocations—but this was different.
That stone tablet was sacred. It carried the vision of their ancestors, the words of the Sage of Six Paths. It wasn't just stone—it was history.
Before Madara could speak, Kai cut in again.
"The tablet is right about one thing," he said. "Combining the chakra of Uchiha and Senju... does lead to the Rinnegan. That part is real."
Madara's eyes widened.
Of course he believed that was true. The stone tablet said so. But now hearing someone else confirm it—someone with the Rinnegan—shook him.
Still, Kai wasn't done.
"But the last part," he said. "The part about Infinite Tsukuyomi bringing peace? That's a lie."
Madara froze.
"What did you say?"
"I said," Kai repeated, "that part was altered. The real purpose of Infinite Tsukuyomi isn't peace—it's extinction."
Madara's rage ignited.
"You lie."
"I don't," Kai replied, voice hardening. "Infinite Tsukuyomi does exactly what it says—it casts the world into an illusion. But while people dream... their bodies are consumed by the roots of the Divine Tree. They become White Zetsu. They die."
"That's not peace," Kai said. "That's a slow, beautiful genocide."
Madara was stunned silent.
It felt like someone had taken a brush and scratched a big red X across a painting he had spent his life perfecting.
This wasn't just doubt—it was a crack in his very reality.
"You expect me to believe that over the word of my ancestors?" he spat.
Kai raised a brow. "Do you even know who wrote the tablet?"
"The Uchiha ancestors."
"Try again."
Madara paused. "...Who then?"
"The Sage of Six Paths. Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. He left it for Indra's bloodline—you."
Madara blinked. "Then it's even more credible."
Kai's gaze sharpened. "Really? Then let me ask you something. If Infinite Tsukuyomi was really the answer to world peace—why didn't the Sage use it himself?"
That hit like a punch to the chest.
Madara opened his mouth—and nothing came out.
He had never asked that question. Not once.
He had always assumed the world was not ready. That others had failed where he might succeed. But he had never truly questioned why the one who could have used Infinite Tsukuyomi—didn't.
"You think he lacked the power?" Kai asked. "He was the original god of this world. He created the moon. Don't insult him."
Madara staggered back a step, mind racing.
He had trusted the tablet. Trusted it blindly. Because it was written in their sacred place, because it spoke to his deepest ideals. Because... he needed it to be true.
But now...
Now the cracks were showing.
Kai stepped closer. "I'm not here to play prophet. I don't care about riddles or prophecies. But if you go down this path—if you activate Infinite Tsukuyomi—you won't create peace."
"You'll end the world."
Madara's fists trembled.
His entire plan, everything he had sacrificed... was it all based on a lie?
And if it was—then what now?
He didn't have an answer. Not yet.
But for the first time in years, doubt had found its way into Madara Uchiha's heart.