There was a pause through the entire area. Of them all, only Sasuke, Sakura, Hiruzen, and the Bijuu even knew what Naruto was talking about.

Everybody else just had to deal with having that dumped on them.

"You know... I'm not sure what I was expecting, but you definitely aren't it." Naruto commented, his head tilted to the side.

Behind him, Sakura's head dropped into her palm. "Naruto, why?"

"Show some respect-"

Hagoromo raised a hand, and Kurama went silent. Amazing. "It is quite fine, Kurama." He turned to Naruto, directing a curious glance over him. "Indeed, it's quite refreshing... It's been a very long time since I was treated with anything less than total respect. Nostalgic, really."

He looked around, gaze panning across everybody present. His eyes lingered for a brief moment upon myself and the Shinigami, and again on Madara and Nagato.

"Though, what an odd situation I find myself in." He smiled, shaking his head. "A zombie, a god of death, six of my nine children, a shadow made real, a sharkman, a pair of old enemies made allies, and four long distant descendents. It sounds ridiculous."

"What." Onoki asked.

"In order: Madara Uchiha; myself; the Bijuu; Drich; Kisame Hoshigaki; you and Hiruzen Sarutobi; then Madara and Sasuke Uchiha alongside Nagato and Naruto Uzumaki." The Shinigami supplied.

"Descendents?" Onoki stressed the word.

"It's not as uncommon as you might think." Naruto said, shrugging.

"My sons were certainly rather prolific." Hagoromo agreed. "Alongside their sons. And theirs."

"Your bloodline founded three of the most well known clans in the world. 'Prolific' is an understatement."

Hagoromo shrugged. "It is what it is."

His gaze turned to Naruto. His eyes narrowed as he looked him up and down, carefully studying him.

Then, he smiled, letting out a slow chuckle. "Ninshū." He smiled. "How relieved I am to see another practice it."

"I am pretty new at it." Naruto shook his head... humble?

"True. But it was entrusted to you by the child of mine who trusts the least." He smiled, petting Kurama's floating head. "That bond you forged with him... That gives me hope. Maybe peace truly is possible, after all."

"They destroyed it." Madara spat.

Hagoromo glanced in his direction.

"They destroyed it!" Madara repeated. "I was going to do it! A world of peace! They ruined it..."

"Your goal was laudable." Hagoromo turned to him, his entire body rotating in the air. "It is your methods that deserve condemnation. A world caught in illusion is not a world of peace, it is a world of decadence and decay."

"Humanity deserved that." Madara argued. "Time and time again, it was proven, there was war, conflict, pain, and those born from war and conflict and pain would go on to make new war, conflict, and pain. There was only one way to stop it."

"Peace cannot be forced." The Shinigami stated. "To force peace breeds resentment, and resentment inevitably breeds conflict."

"That's why I wanted the Infinite Tsukuyomi!" Madara stated. "There would be peace, and everyone would live their happiest lives! There would be nothing to perpetuate the cycle. With happiness, there wouldn't be any resentment."

"There wouldn't be any living people, either, after a century or two." I said.

"And what's wrong with that? Haven't you seen all of history? What's the point if all there's ever going to be is more pain?" He said, bitterness colouring his tone.

I paused for a moment.

And shook my head.

"You are a fool." I said.

He scoffed. "And you are ignorant."

"Ignorant?" I asked. "Get over yourself. I want you to understand something. I am immortal, and not the simple kind where neither age nor disease will touch me. My immortality is the immortality of those who cannot ever die. No violence, no time, no disease, no poison, will ever kill me. Long after everybody here, even the Shinigami himself, has withered into dust, I will still be here."

He was silent.

"Can you imagine, even for a moment, what something like that is like? I will outlive and outlast everyone and everything. I will see everybody here on the death beds, and their children, and their children's children, and their children's children's children. I will watch my friends and companions waste away, gone in a mere century. A century. That's all. So short a time for a being that will outlive the stars themselves. Even if I did find somebody as ageless as myself, they would not be as unkillable as I am. Chances are, I'll watch them die, too. Even if I can visit them in death, they will eventually fade even then, moving on and fading completely, or perhaps reincarnating. Do you know what I'll do, in response, knowing the pain of seeing everybody I know and love vanish forever?"

He was silent.

I moved forwards, my steps echoing heavily. I stopped just next to him, leaning over him so I could stare right at his face.

"I will be happy." I said. "And I will hold that pain close. I will mourn, and then I will move on. Do you know why, Madara Uchiha?"

He stared straight up, unblinking.

"Because life is not just pain. Life is happiness, and sadness. Life is joy, and despair. Life is proof that things can always get better. Wounds heal, scars fade, and eventually, inevitably, pain passes, and what's left is memories of everything you've done, the legacy you've left behind. I will remember my friends, and I will hold them dear for the rest of eternity. It doesn't matter if they're gone, because I will still be here. Their legacies will continue. I will make new friends, and I will have more good times with them. I will bear that weight, and I shall do it gladly."

"You'll break." Madara said, softly.

Hmm...

Oh, I see.

Something as simple as that?

"It was you who broke, Madara."

He flinched.

Madara, one of the most powerful Shinobi who had ever lived, second only to Hashirama Senju in his time, flinched.

I straightened up. "You saw your clansmen and family die, and you broke. You came up with your ridiculous fantasy. Helped along by Black Zetsu, certainly, but you were making your plans long before you met him. It was still your choice in the end. You think that just because you broke, everybody else will? You're wrong. All throughout history, there are countless people who accepted it, who stayed true to themselves, and who worked to improve things."

What turmoil I can feel inside of him. Those words had cut him deeper than any blade ever had.

"And you? You're not one of them. You're not helping. You're just throwing a tantrum, like some toddler who isn't getting what he wants. Just stop already, would you? Leave the future in the hands of those it belongs to; the next generation. You've caused enough trouble already. Stop making things more difficult than it needs to be."

I shifted the Proof of Courage, placing the end of it against Madara's chest, holding it in a reverse grip. Madara didn't even try to stop me, frozen completely. I felt for the connections that led from him to the other Edo Tensei victims, grabbed hold of them, and then...

Pushed.

"Izuna?"

The Proof of Courage pierced his chest, and the connections broke. Thousands... no. There were only about eight hundred left, now.

"What took you so long, Madara?"

Madara's form dissolved, breaking apart into dust and detritus. I pulled the Proof of Courage back.

"I'm sorry, Izuna. I won't be leaving again."

Finally...

"Don't worry, brother. I know."

And now... Just a few things left.