Although Cain had not slept well for several nights in a row, Uta's Devil Fruit ability allowed him to recover his strength even while fighting the Four Emperors in dreams.
And it was precisely within that dreamscape—where the power of her fruit intertwined with the plot of Naruto—that Uta's state of mind began to change.
Cain's original reason for letting Uta watch Naruto was simple: he wanted her to understand that parents are sometimes forced by circumstances to make painful choices, yet the trust and love buried deep in their hearts never fade.
But he had deliberately skipped over the Eye of the Moon Plan and concealed Obito's past, all so that Uta could more quickly come to understand Minato's feelings toward Naruto.
What he had not expected was that this "protection" would instead make the curiosity in Uta's heart grow all the stronger.
—An incomplete story is like a puzzle missing a corner, it always makes people want to search for the truth behind it.
Just as Cain had used a clone to battle the Four Emperors within the dream, Uta too, without Cain noticing in the slightest, created her own clone and tried to complete the true story of Naruto for herself.
And so she saw it.
Within a pure white space, the aged Madara Uchiha was explaining that earth-shattering plan to the Obito before him.
"The Eye of the Moon Plan!"
"This is my illusionary space. Though it's still only a blank white world, I can create anything here by projecting my will into it—and control everything as well. As long as I'm connected to the Demonic Statue and use its power, anything is possible, no matter how great or small. Like this."
Before the words had even finished, the wrinkles on Madara's body faded away, his white hair darkened, and the overwhelming aura of his prime radiated from him once more.
Uta stood at the edge of that white expanse, her fingers curling unconsciously.
A power so nearly identical to her own—wasn't this almost exactly the same as what her Sing-Sing Fruit could do?
"If one uses this illusion to create the ideal world, and casts the illusion over all humankind, drawing them into it… then by using the moon as an eye and expanding the scale of the jutsu, everyone can live forever in a perfect dream world."
Madara's words hit Uta's heart like a stone dropped into a still lake.
'Could such a thing really be done? Could all of humanity be drawn into a mental world where there was no separation, no pain, no regrets that came too late to mend?'
Uta's breathing grew faintly quick.
In an instant, countless images flashed through her mind.
'How painful and agonizing had those days of waiting alone in the dark once been?'
She lowered her head and looked at her own hands.
It almost felt as if warmth still lingered in her palms from the times she had woven her music world into being.
Madara's plan was like a bolt of lightning, splitting open her understanding of her Devil Fruit's power—and touching the softest and most fragile place deep inside her heart.
Driven by that surging curiosity and tremor of emotion, Uta continued digging through the concealed parts of the story.
Obito's past unfolded before her like a long painted scroll.
The Obito of old had been only an ordinary boy within the Uchiha clan, not especially exceptional.
A little clumsy, yet carrying the purest of dreams—wanting to catch up to his talented teammate, wanting to protect the people he cared about.
But fate's cruelty far exceeded imagination.
When Rin was pierced through by Kakashi's Chidori, when blood dyed the entire scene red, Uta suddenly clutched her chest, a choked sound slipping from her throat.
It was as if she could feel Obito's despair in that moment—that helpless agony of watching the person he treasured most die right before his eyes while being unable to do anything at all.
The pain nearly made her suffocate.
'If… if the one who died were Cain instead?'
The moment that thought arose, it wrapped around her heart like vines.
She could not imagine how she would face the darkness of the world alone if Cain were gone.
It was Cain's appearance that had stirred ripples in the deathly stillness of her world.
She did not dare think too deeply about what would become of her if something truly happened to him.
Then Obito's voice rang out through the void, broken and hollow:
"Look carefully. There's nothing left inside my heart anymore. I can't even feel pain now. You don't need to blame yourself, Kakashi. This hole was torn open by this hellish world."
Those words were like a key, perfectly opening the deepest resonance within Uta's heart.
Hadn't she also known that same kind of "emptiness"?
Across those ten long years, the despair of abandonment had clung to her like a shadow, until even she herself had become numb.
"What's so bad about an illusionary world?" Obito's voice carried a trace of self-mockery, yet was utterly sincere.
"It's only because reality is too cruel that the emptiness keeps growing bigger. Sometimes it brings people pain. Sometimes it leaves you too late to save anyone."
"Just like it did to me. Just like when I didn't make it in time."
He looked at Kakashi, and there was nothing but dead stillness in his eyes.
"If you stay in this world, how can that emptiness ever be filled?"
Tears slid down Uta's face before she even realized it.
At that moment, Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan no longer felt like some distant shinobi technique to her.
It became an alluring promise.
A world with no regrets. No pain. No "too late."
If such a world could truly be created—if everyone could live within the fulfillment they longed for most—then what would be so wrong with that?
Her Sing-Sing Fruit… perhaps it really could do it.
Without the Demonic Statue, without relying on tailed beasts—just by using the power of music to weave an illusion that covered the whole world.
There, Cain would never be hurt.
Everyone could find happiness.
And the emptiness in their hearts could be filled forever.
But still…
…
Once she had reached this part, Uta no longer had the courage to continue watching it.
Her clone returned to her main body at once.
The instant she learned of the Eye of the Moon Plan, Uta froze, then turned to look at the man in front of her—the one patiently explaining the story to her—and tears quietly welled in her eyes.
She was not like Obito.
Cain was still here at her side. That alone was enough.
The Eye of the Moon Plan might count as another possible development of her Sing-Sing Fruit's power, but she had no wish to carry it out.
Because the one she cherished was here with her now.
That alone was enough.
Obito's deeply moving speech had ultimately failed to shake her at all, and it never gave rise to any desire in her to enact such a plan.
Instead, it made her understand with absolute clarity just how irreplaceably important Cain was in her heart.
Cain was sitting beside her, watching the story together with her, patiently explaining things as they went.
Just as he finished speaking, he turned his head and found himself meeting Uta's gaze—
Her eyes were rimmed red, and tears shimmered there.
Cain could not help frowning slightly.
He reached out and gently laid a hand against her forehead, his voice full of concern.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
The warmth of his palm was steady and reassuring. Uta instinctively leaned into it, then shook her head lightly.
There was a barely perceptible catch in her voice as she answered.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly felt that… being able to listen to you talk like this is really nice."
She moved closer of her own accord, resting her cheek against Cain's shoulder.
One arm lightly curled around his, not tightly, but full of utter dependence and trust.
"Cain," she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder, carrying a faint, uneasy hope.
"No matter what happens in the future, you won't abandon me the way Shanks did… right?"
Cain's body stiffened slightly, his face turning red, but his answer came without hesitation.
"Of course not."