Madara walked down to the great river of Uzushiogakure wearing a lighter robe, he wore his robe a little open to feel the nice breeze and cold air on his skin.

Mito said she wanted to meet him at the river in the morning but he was unsure if he was a little underdressed, she wore an elegant dress the last night who's to say she won't show up wearing something similar? Would she think him a savage for wearing such a light robe and exposing his chest so openly?

Madara sighed, he didn't quite know why he was questioning himself like this. Was he... nervous? No. That's impossible, he'd been to war since he was eleven years old, nothing could cause him fear. Well, maybe not fear but there was something strange happening to him.

"My, I was unsure if you'd show. I felt like I gave off the wrong impression of who I was." A woman's voice said from behind Madara. Madara turned and stood face to face with Mito, "Oh, Princess Mito. You startled me."

Mito giggled slightly, "How did I startle a great and experienced Shinobi such as yourself? Am I simply getting better in the art of silent step?"

Madara seemed to laugh as well, "I would assume it's the latter. But then again, my sensory abilities may be dulling as I'm growing older."

"Perhaps. Though it would seem odd if it were so. You're roughly in your twenties, right?"

"Twenty-seven," Madara answered. "But it's only downhill from here on for me."

Mito turned around and looked at the river, "It's beautiful isn't it?"

Madara found the serenity of the river comforting, "Yes."

Mito decided to speak her mind, "Do you have many Shinobi women in the Uchiha?"

Madara merely sighed, "No. It was a tradition long ago to prevent any woman from becoming a Shinobi. I don't see the point in it anymore. If someone wishes to fight for something they should. But I doubt my clan's elders would be pleased if I made such a change."

Mito was happy he wasn't a sexist man who only cared for war, "Uchiha-sama, I know what I may ask sounds strange, but could you teach me to be a Shinobi?"

Madara was caught off guard, "I thought the Uzumaki clan allowed female Shinobi?"

Mito sighed, "It does but my father won't allow me to be a Shinobi. And no one in Uzushio will go against his word."

Madara thought for a moment, he was unsure of training anyone let alone the daughter of a respected clan leader. He sighed, "Alright, I will teach you the basics. But I should warn you that I do not like people standing behind me, both physically and metaphorically." Madara first had to begin with something very basic, "Chakra. It is something that exists in all living things. As Shinobi we can mold our chakra into any number of things, from the elements to healing, to enhancing one's strength, or even using it to enhance how we traverse landscapes. Let's start with a simple lesson on chakra control. Water walking." Madara stepped away from Mito and to the river, walking on it like he was a deity. "Water walking is all about chakra control. You must first put chakra on the bottom of your feet. However, you must put the proper amount, or else you'll fall if you've put too much or too little. Now you try."

Mito seemed nervous, "If I get wet then my father will surely know what I've been doing, maybe we should do something else."

Madara stepped closer to land, "I'll make sure you don't fall if you would like."

Mito smiled, "That's mighty generous of you."

Several hours passed and Mito got the hang of her chakra control, most likely due to her Uzumaki heritage. Mito was able to walk on water with no difficulty, she was ecstatic. "Thank you, Uchiha-sama. I didn't think I could've done this in my lifetime."

Madara chuckled, "Just Madara is fine, princess."

Mito stared into Madara's onyx-colored eyes and decided that she had to give Madara something for his generosity. She kissed him on the cheek, "As a token of my gratitude."

Madara was left dumbstruck, he was just given a kiss from the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He tried to respond but nothing left his mouth, he just nodded.

Mito stepped away from Madara and back onto the side of the river, "It's almost noon, I must be going. Hopefully, you can get whatever it is that you ventured to Uzushiogakure for. Goodbye, Madara."

Madara simply said, "Goodbye, princess..."

He stood there in the midday son, he didn't what to do for the day, everything seemed so dull when Mito wasn't around. But her words did remind him of why he was here, war. He hated war but he hated Senju more.

"She's nice isn't she?" A man said to Madara.

"Yes," he said calmly not realizing someone had been watching them. Then reality came crashing down on Madara, he turned around to the owner of the voice. His eyes were in shock, and then the shock settled into anger. The man wore a tight-fitting green shirt and loose brown pants. His hair was long and brown, his skin was tanned like caramel.

Madara gripped his fist in anger, "You..." There was only rage in his words, "What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, I forgot you hated people standing behind you. That was my mistake, I'm sorry about that." The man said.

Madara shook his head, "No. I don't care about that. I want to know why you're here?!" He began scowling at the man.

The man put his arms to his sides and his head down, "Okay okay. You don't have to be so mean about it." He went back to normal with a boisterous laugh and smile, "I've been reaching out to clans for treaties and trying to establish our dream from so long ago, a place where no kid has to fight in an adult's war, a place of peace and prosperity."

Madara folded his arms, "Are you sure you're not enlisting alien clans to crush the Uchiha in one fell swoop, Hashirama? That is what my scouts have reported."

Hashirama seemed saddened by his friend's apprehensiveness, "Oh come on. We're so close to achieving what we've dreamed of. We're both the most respected members of our clans. We can put an end to all this death and war, we can do it only if we work together."

Madara snarled, "You can have your peace when you drag a sword through my body or I drag one through yours." He walked to the other side of the river. "You and I both reside on opposite sides, and my side has an abundance of fire. We will burn you down where you stand, but not now. I respect the Uzumaki too much to instigate a fight on their land."

Hashirama was saddened, "At the very least you could hear me out."

Madara spun his eyes into the Sharingan and into his Mangekyou, "I will listen when I am dying on the floor, then and only then will I listen to you." Madara walked away, Hashirama couldn't tell but just activating Madara's Mangekyou he felt immense pain.

Seven hours later, Madara was annoyed. He was summoned by Ashina who wanted to have dinner with his guests. Which forced Madara to have lunch with Ashina and Hashirama.

Madara would rather not be in the same room as Hashirama, though he would try to act impassive for courtesy to the Uzumaki.

The food prepared was pork and rice, with an adorning dressing that was tangy and sweet. It was a standard dish but it was more than what the Uchiha could make. They weren't farmers, and those that did know how to farm were very poor at it. But when the Uchiha did have good ingredients they would eat happy knowing they wouldn't have good food for several more weeks.

Madara simply closed his eyes as he ate, the less he saw Hashirama the more at ease he would be.

Ashina spoke up, "I've come to a conclusion. The Uzumaki will help neither clan."

Madara just nodded, he expected that response. However, he found it shocking that he denied whatever Hashirama had asked.

Hashirama stopped eating, "But Ashina sir, the more clans that join our treaty the better chances of creating a Shinobi village. Sure it may be ignorant now, but think about it twenty years from now. The next generation will not have to live like us."

"No. Like you two." Ashina pointed to Hashirama. "I'm sorry but here in Uzushio, we don't have the same problems as your clans on the mainland. It would be better if it stayed that way."

Madara finished his pork and rice and was about to excuse himself when Ashina spoke out to him, "Uchiha-sama, I respect you very much but I take grave insult in you teaching my daughter how to use chakra when I forbade her."

Madara bowed his head, "My sincerest apologies, I did not know. If I had known I would have respected your word."

Ashina closed his eyes and bowed, "I hope that someday you will learn what parenting is like so that you understand my decision for Mito."

Madara chuckled, "I very much doubt I will get the chance. I'm not a very loving man, nor do I expect to perform a political marriage. I will leave Uzushiogakure tonight so as to be out of your hair."

Ashina bowed, "Then you must know that we enjoyed your company. Farewell, Madara Uchiha."

Madara bowed, "Goodbye, Ashina Uzumaki."

Hashirama felt bad for his friend but he knew he could do nothing. He tried to continue to negotiate with Ashina while Madara left the room.

The next week Madara grieved Izuna's death and obtained his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

Three days later and Madara engaged Hashirama and a battalion of Senju with his Perfect Susanoo. After twenty-four hours of pure battle, Madara was the one lying on his back while Hashirama was the victor. But Hashirama could not bring himself to kill his former friend, he opted for mercy.

Madara did not want mercy, he just wanted to be with his family in heaven, hell, or whatever afterlife he would go to.

And it wasn't until Hashirama accepted an ultimatum to kill himself in the hope of peace between Uchiha and Senju. Madara stopped Hashirama's kunai from piercing his flesh.

What followed next was the creation of Konohagakure and Hashirama became the First Hokage. But as Hashirama's life got better, Madara's descended into loneliness. And as Madara was in his isolation he reflected on Konoha's politics and what it could mean in the future for his clan. He determined that if the Senju stayed in power the Uchiha would be neglected and eventually snuffed away. When he voiced his concerns to his clan members he was called a madman and shunned out of it entirely. He spent the rest of his time reading the naka tablet, the idea of the Infinite Tsukoyomi would be ideal but he thought it a fairy tale. But the more he thought of it the more it appealed to him.

Some months later, Konoha had engaged in a treaty with Uzushiogakure and as a result, The Hokage was engaged to the Uzumaki princess.

Madara left the very next day and hunted for the rumored nine-tailed fox. He tamed the nine tails and returned to Konoha declaring war on everything. However, that was not Madara's true intention. He only needed Hashirama's cells to awaken his Rinnegan for the infinite Tsukoyomi.

Madara lost the battle at the valley of the end, but he got a stable portion of Hashirama's DNA. However, he faked his death and was left to stay in hiding for years. Madara didn't awaken his Rinnegan until he was a seventy-year-old man.

Madara hated the thought of having to entrust his ideals to another, but he had no choice. He searched far and wide to find a suitable being for his Rinnegan and a young Uzumaki boy seemed perfect. But he couldn't reveal himself to a young Uzumaki boy. He needed someone more trustworthy, someone who could fully share his vision and ideals. An Uchiha. But getting an Uchiha roughly around Nagato's age was going to be hard, especially in Madara's current condition of being connected to the Gedo statue.

And then there's a gap in Madara's memories like he was hiding something from Obito. And then a white Zetsu brought the gory body of Obito to Madara. Madara tried reconstructing Obito's body using Hashirama cells, but reconstructing whole limbs required time.

As the young boy struggled to train his new limbs, Madara felt something in his heart seeing the boy train. Was it something that all mentors felt? Or was he feeling empathy for the poor boy? It didn't matter to Madara he just hoped the boy would be good enough to continue his dream.

And then the dreaded day for Obito when Rin died, Madara didn't know what happened but could tell Obito was a different soul from before he left. Madara could tell that Obito was the perfect person to continue his dream. He placed a tetragram seal on Obito and poured all of his chakra into it. Madara disconnected himself from the Gedo statue shortly thereafter.

And then total darkness...

A young Obito Uchiha was sitting on his apartment building rooftop, he just stared up at the Hokage mountain. He was going to have his face carved on it someday after he awakened his Sharingan though.

His daydreaming about becoming Hokage was interrupted by his sensei, Minato. "Obito, what're you doing laying out here in the sun? You could get a horrible tan if you stay out too long."

Obito stood up and turned around to his sensei, "What're you doing here, sensei?"

Minato had a slight smile on his face, "I'm gathering my students to meet with my master's students. You're the first I've come to pick up."

Obito scratched his head, "Your master's students?"

Minato chuckled, "Oh, I never talked about my master, huh? Well, my Sensei is Jiraiya the gallant, a member of the legendary sannin. He's a very good man and an author. He trained me when I was your age, and he trained me in the art of the toad."

Obito had heard of the toad sage but he still didn't quite understand, "But what does this have to do with me, Rin, and Kakashi?"

Minato expected the question, "Well, sometime during the second great Shinobi war Jiraiya-Sensei trained a couple of war orphans from the Hidden Rain. It's been quite some time since then and his students reached out to him recently and met up with him. He decided to bring them here to Hidden Leaf, and the both of us thought why not have our students meet?"

Obito sighed, "I guess it's better than doing nothing."

After having gathered Rin from the library and Kakashi from the training grounds, they made their way to Hidden Leaf gate. There they saw a man with long white spikey hair, a boy with short orange spikey hair, a boy with short red straight hair that covered his right eye, and a girl that had short blue neat hair.

Obito thought that the blue-haired girl looked pretty, and then his cheeks flushed. She looked just as pretty as Rin in his mind.

Kakashi noticed Obito's nervousness as did the red-haired boy, but the red-haired boy wasn't happy about it. He seemed apprehensive about... whatever really.

The white-haired man spoke aloud with a friendly greeting, "Minato! My prized pupil. I see you're still keeping yourself healthy."

Minato smiled brightly, "Of course. If I want to be Hokage someday I've gotta be in shape."

Jiraiya laughed and then set his eyes on Minato's students, "So how about you introduce me to your students, Minato."

Minato tapped on Kakashi's shoulder which caused the young boy to sigh, "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I hope to one day be a Shinobi as renowned as the White Fang." Kakashi said unenthusiastically.

Rin smiled brightly towards Jiraiya and his students, "My name is Rin Nohara and I hope to one day be a medical ninja to surpass the slug princess Tsunade."

And finally Obito's turn, "My name is Obito Uchiha, and I want to be the Hokage someday. Having my Sharingan peer down on everyone will give them a reason that I'm not trash."

Everyone felt a little sorry for Obito, all except Kakashi. Jiraiya nudged his student with red hair, "Oh. My name is Nagato, I wish for nothing more than to help my friends reach their dreams."

the blue haired girl was next, "My name is Konan and I wish to be a respected kunoichi and stay by my friends' sides."

Yahiko spoke next, "My name is Yahiko and someday I want to create peace, for everyone. There's too much hate in the world, and someone has to make that first step toward peace."

Obito felt like his goals were petty and selfish compared to Jiraiya's students. They all seemed selfless.

Kakashi seemed like he didn't care but he had a modem respect for them and their goals.

Jiraiya looked among Minato's students and noticed the cloud of sadness surrounding Obito, he could tell what was going through the boy's mind. "Minato, maybe we should get somewhere more private so our students can train."

Minato nodded and walked toward the edge of the village where they'd go to a training ground. His students and Jiraiya's followed him. Obito hadn't moved yet, he seemed to have sulked in his own self-doubt.

"Obito, right?" Konan asked still standing where she already was, "As silly as your dream sounds, I found it nice and wholesome. I hope you can reach your dream." She followed after her friends and master.

Obito stood there for a moment, surprised that a girl he just met was kind to him. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought...

Obito tried catching up to everyone when an old man dropped a grocery bag, Obito looked between his sensei shrinking into the crowd and the old man struggling to bend over. He sighed and helped pick up the grocery bag, "Here you go, Mister." Obito said handing it to the man.

The old man's greyish-white hair hid one eye, "Thank you very much, young Uchiha." The voice sent a shiver down Obito's spine, "But I think it's time for you to wake up to reality."

Obito felt darkness encroaching on him from the old man's words, and suddenly he jolted forward.

Waking up from his bed with a terrible headache, Obito looked around and remembered the previous night.

"You drank too much," Madara scowled from the corner of Obito's eye. "So much so that someone was forced to carry you to your apartment. I would assume it was Konan or your old friend Kakashi, as they both have a nearby apartment."

Obito gripped his head in pain, "Gahh!" It felt like his head was banging against his skull.

Madara understood why Obito was engulfed in pain, "You're experiencing your first hangover. The first time is always the worst."

Obito stumbled out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, he struggled to the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of milk. He removed his mask and chugged some milk.

Madara began laughing, "You need a lot more than just milk to cure your headache. I suggest something horrid to aid your mind, though your taste buds may die in the process."

Obito placed the carton on the kitchen counter, "I'll manage. But first things first, I need to go meet up with Kakashi and Rin." The words left his mouth without him realizing it, but Madara noticed.

"Rin? Don't you mean Konan?" Madara teased.

Obito hit himself mentally, "Yes, of course. I need to meet Kakashi and Konan." He pulled out a bowl and grabbed a box of cereal from on top of the refrigerator, poured some cereal into the bowl, and then milk followed.

He stood at the kitchen counter eating his cereal when he looked at his clothes and realized they would not suffice for whatever Kakashi had planned today, he was surely going to have to take a shower and wear his Konoha Jounin uniform. He hated that uniform almost as much as he hated the Kiri Jounin uniform. He had to wear that one quite a bit when controlling the Fourth Mizukage, otherwise, someone would've paid attention to the cloaked masked man.

That reminded him, after his tenure in Konoha he would return to Kirigakure and possibly recruit a new member of the Akatsuki. Maybe a seven-ninja swordsman? Yeah, that sounds perfect.

"Ahem. Shower? Or are you too busy fantasizing about yourself with Rin?" Madara spat out.

Obito hissed at Madara, "I'm going." He made his way to his bathroom, taking off his clothes on his way. "You know, as much as you say you hate love you still fell in love with Princess Uzumaki."

If Madara was able to he would feel his skin crawl in annoyance. "Love is a curse. You and I both know that. My past feelings regarding Mito Uzumaki are irrelevant. Bringing them up means nothing to me."

Obito threw his shirt onto the floor, "If they meant nothing then you wouldn't have responded."

Madara was left unable to say anything, he just disappeared in annoyance.

"That's right, flee you old bastard." He stepped into his bathtub and swung the curtain shut.

Kakashi stood at the cemetery staring at Minato Namikaze's grave, it was next to Kushina's.

"Hey, sensei. It's been a couple of weeks since my last visit, but recently I've been assigned a team of Shinobi. Tobi and Konan. They're fine teammates but after last night I'm left with too many questions that I don't even know where to begin." Kakashi was distraught just thinking about why Obito took so long to return and why he went under an alias. Or was his mind just filling in some blanks and what he didn't see was Obito?

"Well, maybe start at the source." An older and more experienced man said from behind Kakashi.

Kakashi turned around and saw the legendary toad sage, "I thought you wouldn't arrive until sometime next week?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "I was in a small town nearby. What can I say, your letter piqued my interest."

Kakashi turned back to the gravestone, "Do you know how Minato-Sensei felt when he was in charge of my team?"

Jiraiya stepped forward looking at Minato's tombstone, "Well, I think he was very nervous. After all, he was in charge of young kids with their whole lives ahead of them. Who wouldn't be scared about that? But of course, as a sensei he couldn't be there all the time, and because of that he lost two students. I think it was taking its toll on him, he was depressed. Though he seemed to have a sense of renewal when he found out that Kushina was pregnant. But you and I know what happened next..."

Kakashi wished he was stronger then, maybe he could've saved Rin and helped Minato-Sensei and Kushina seal the nine tails. And then Obito wouldn't be hiding behind that mask...

Jiraiya could tell that Kakashi was beginning to sulk in his depressing past, "Hey, you don't have to be so hard on yourself. There's nothing you could do."

"But maybe I could've done something... Anything..."

"Stop it! You're not doing any good wallowing in your grief."

Kakashi sighed and walked toward the fire shrine in the center of the graveyard, he looked at a pair of goggles. "How would you react if someone you thought was dead wasn't?"

Jiraiya seemed confused by the question, "Well, I mean it depends on who the person is and how close we were. Why are you asking?"

"I had a dream where my teammate Obito Uchiha was still alive but he wasn't like how he once was. It's gotten under my skin."

"Does your dream have to do with reality perhaps?"

"Not that I know of. It was just a bizarre dream that's got me thinking is all" Kakashi lied. He turned around to Jiraiya, "Come on, it's time you meet my team."

Konan looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, "Last night was... something. I wonder if Lord Madara is agitated about last night. He seemed to drink quite a lot of sake, which is most likely because he was annoyed." Which was true but not because of anything she would know of.

She proceeded to put her hair up into a bun, she looked at herself in the mirror and thought she was adequate for the day. Konan was already wearing her Jounin uniform for the day, she was kinda thankful that the jacket hid her bust otherwise she would have more people staring than normal. She hated people staring at her body, it made her feel like less of a person.

She stepped out of the bathroom and saw him sitting there on her new futon, wearing his Jounin uniform and the swirly mask she'd given him. "Konan, I'd wish to speak with you about last night."

Konan walked to the kitchen and started making some coffee, "You know it's rude to come in announced, right?" She was going to be a little playful with him.

Madara adjusted himself on the futon, ignoring her snark. "When you kissed me on the mask, you didn't have to but you did. Why? Was it the alcohol, or are you growing feelings for me?"

Konan began pouring water into a coffee pot, "Well, I thought it would be disingenuous if we both had to lie about it. But neither did I want to take your privacy. Did I overstep your bounds?"

Madara sat back, "No. I thought you were fine but it just caught me off guard."

Konan placed the coffee pot on the stove and turned the stove knob on, "Do you want some coffee?"

"Hmm, sure. I need to broaden my tastes a bit more." He prompted to walk into the kitchen, "Kakashi left a note on both our doors, it said to meet him at Ichiraku at eight-thirty. We have twenty minutes until then."

Konan finished boiling the coffee and grabbed two mugs, she placed them next to the stove and poured the coffee into each mug. She added a little bit of milk and sugar into hers, "Do you want anything in your coffee?"

"No, I want to try it bland first and then adjust my preferences from there."

Konan grabbed both mugs and walked over to Madara, she handed him the mug that had been untouched.

"Thank you," Madara said. He adjusted his mask to the right and drank, he cringed from the taste of the bland coffee.

Konan promptly sat on the futon to Madara's right. Konan had curiosity from last night, "Sorry for my asking, but how did you get those stretch marks near your right eye?"

Madara stopped drinking his coffee, "I was crushed under a boulder in my final fight with Hashirama Senju. I barely survived but my body was mutilated. In order to get my body back to what used to be I had to use what DNA I had obtained from Hashirama to regenerate what was damaged. However, my scars stayed no matter what." He returned to the bitter coffee, and he stopped drinking it again, "This tastes like dirt."

Konan chuckled, "Of course it does. Beans are grown straight from the Earth's soil."

"I know that," Madara replied. He proceeded to make a muffled sound of pain by burning the top of his mouth.

Konan chuckled, "I thought the Uchiha had heat resistances?"

Madara put his tongue on the roof of his mouth, "We doth." He tried saying but his voice was neither Tobi nor Madara, it was that in-between voice she heard before.

Madara seemed to realize that his voice wasn't the intended voice and Konan could see his body tense up. He gulped, readjusted his mask, and said, "Sorry, my voice gets like that sometimes. Doing the Tobi voice and all." He seemed nervous.

Konan knew what she was going to be seen as an insult if incorrect, "Are you really Madara Uchiha?" Her voice was full of uncertainty.

Madara sat there staring at his coffee, he was unsure how to respond.

"Be true to yourself, Obito."

There was something deep in his mind that told him to answer honestly. "No." His voice was just like it was at the river. He turned to face Konan, "I am not Madara Uchiha, but he entrusted his dream unto me."

Konan was left unsure how to react, she felt a little more comfortable because he sounded closer to her age than the resident ghost as her partner. Was he telling the truth about his age? Was he really twenty?

Madara, or Tobi, stood up holding his coffee mug. "I may not be the real Madara but I am an Uchiha, so if you think less of me then you will regret it. You are to tell no one about me, not even Nagato." He walked away, adjusting his mask he drank the rest of his coffee and put the mug in the sink. "We must go, I don't want to be late. Late is for the foolish and the naive."

Konan shuddered, the masked man intrigued her even more now. "May I at least know your real name?"

He readjusted his mask tightly as he stood in front of the door, "You know that I am not Madara, that is all you will get out of me." He said returning to his Madara voice.

Konan sipped the rest of her coffee, she stood up and placed her mug in the sink. She walked to the door and stared him straight in the eye, "For now." She opened the door and walked out the door. "Catch." She said throwing her keys to Madara. He caught them as nothing could get past his reflexes.

Obito's eye twitched, how could she think he would reveal more to her?

Laughter erupted from behind Obito, "She's getting under your skin, isn't she Obito?" Madara's spirit walked through Obito, "Though it strikes me as odd that you would reveal to her that you're not me when she is one of the few who truly believe you to be myself. Why would you do that?" He asked annoyed.

Obito walked out of the apartment and closed the door, he began locking the door. "I don't quite know. There was just something telling me to be honest, I just listened to it."

Madara scoffed, "And now we're in a place where the Infinite Tsukoyomi could be endangered. I prefer to stick to the plan, but you're straying down a strange path."

Obito chuckled having a thought, "Hey, what if me and Konan... ...you know?"

Madara sighed, "If it was any other woman I would approve. However, Konan isn't just a woman, she's Nagato's best friend. I doubt he would be too thrilled if he found out you fornicated with his best friend that almost seems like a sister to him. How do you think he would feel when you ask him to perform Rinne rebirth after such an event? I would assume not favorably."

"Oh, you're right. I just wanted to mess with you." Obito said walking away.

Madara's spirit just stood there annoyed, "Damned brat," he muttered.