Although he still had plenty of strength, he couldn’t avoid sweating.
The cliff face…
“Go back!”
Uchiha Madara looked down at Kiyoi Gen from above.
“Go manage your territory properly.”
Kiyoi Gen adjusted his breathing and looked up at Lord Madara with a smile.
“That won’t do!”
“A man’s dream must be fought for with his own hands!”
Hmph!
What does your dream have to do with me, Uchiha Madara?
Thinking this, Lord Madara prepared to turn and leave.
Churi Village was not far from here; Kiyoi Gen would have enough time to return.
“Clang!”
“Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!”
Suddenly, the sound of a pickaxe rapidly striking the rock wall came from behind.
Uchiha Madara looked back and saw Kiyoi Gen rapidly climbing upward, alternating hands to strike the cliff with his pickaxe at high speed.
It is necessary!
Is it really necessary to chase after me!
Moreover, that look in his eyes seemed to say that it was absolutely impossible to shake him off.
“Clang!”
Kiyoi Gen struck the cliff with all his might, the recoil making his arms ache.
He didn’t dare to slow down, relying on the near-infinite stamina provided by the system to hold on.
Sweat from his head was flung off; because he was sweating and wearing tight travel gear, his whole body felt like it was inside a furnace.
All of this could be overcome!
The opportunity to stand by Lord Madara’s side was rare indeed!
He absolutely could not give up this opportunity just because of fatigue!
“Clang!”
The pickaxe shattered the rock face.
It took nearly six minutes before Kiyoi Gen finally managed to reach the top of the cliff.
One more strike!
Just as Kiyoi Gen swung his final pickaxe strike, a gloved hand grabbed his wrist.
The next second, his whole body felt as if it had become weightless.
“Thump!”
His bottom landed directly on the ground, and the large backpack on his back emitted a dull thud.
“I agree to the deal.”
As soon as the words fell, Uchiha Madara started walking toward the Land of Lightning.
“Whew~”
Kiyoi Gen happily wiped away his sweat.
Is this what you call being tough on the outside but soft on the inside?
On Uchiha Madara’s status panel, the column representing favorability had finally reached eighty.
In other words, Lord Madara had already accepted him as a regular friend in his heart.
Getting to this point was truly not easy.
Kiyoi Gen quickly got up, checked his things, and hurriedly gave chase.
He had to seize this time to keep grinding Lord Madara’s favorability!
Having taken this step, things would be much easier from here on.
Under the starry night sky, Kiyoi Gen and Uchiha Madara couldn’t find a cave, so they had to just find an open space to rest for a while.
Although Kiyoi Gen’s backpack was large, he hadn’t brought anything like a tent.
Under the firelight, both of their faces appeared somewhat eerie.
“Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~”
Kiyoi Gen took out his palm-sized iron pot again and began to fry some meat bits.
The aroma of the frying meat softened the somewhat chilly atmosphere.
“Madara, here.”
The small iron pot was offered to Uchiha Madara, who looked at it and ate a few bites with chopsticks.
These meat bits had been concentrated by the Research Institute, and their effect was much better than a soldier pill.
Kiyoi Gen glanced at the gunbai lying on the ground and asked.
“Why not store it in a sealing scroll?”
“I don’t want to.”
Uchiha Madara’s answer was very simple.
“Oh.”
The air froze again.
After hesitating for a moment, Kiyoi Gen decided to be straightforward and just have a chat with Madara.
However, when he spoke, Uchiha Madara looked at him.
“Gen, why do you want to unify the Ninja World?”
To think Lord Madara would be the one to speak first.
“The reasons are quite simple.”
Kiyoi Gen’s gaze drifted downward, looking at the dancing flames.
“There are probably three.”
“Ai and the others are my foster sisters; they were all war orphans to begin with.”
“When I manage my caravan and travel back and forth between the Five Great Nations for business, I’ve seen too many war orphans like them.”
“In war, the ones most deeply hurt are always the common people.”
Uchiha Madara nodded.
“So you want to end the chaotic times.”
“Yes.”
Kiyoi Gen smiled.
“That is one.”
“Secondly, don’t you think becoming the world’s only Daimyo would be an amazing thing?”
He raised his head, his pupils seemingly shimmering with light.
Uchiha Madara finally nodded in agreement.
“Indeed.”
“Madara, although I am not yet fifteen years old, I have confidence that I will definitely do better than the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations.”
“The common people under my rule will not have to worry about being displaced by war, nor will they have to worry about going hungry due to famine.”
“Safety and food are my promises to the people under my rule.”
Kiyoi Gen propped himself up and looked at the sky.
Having traveled between the Five Great Nations and the smaller nations for a year or two, he truly realized how vast the gap in development was between various regions.
The most prosperous Daimyo City in the Land of Fire had already begun popularizing electric lights.
While people in small nations like the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass were still struggling just to fill their stomachs.
It seemed that nothing beautiful could be preserved, leaving only tragedy to spread among them.
‘He is serious.’
Uchiha Madara could feel the sincerity in Kiyoi Gen’s words.
If he could really achieve that, it would indeed be truly remarkable.
“As for the third…”
Kiyoi Gen rubbed his chin, his expression somewhat shy.
“It could be considered my own selfish desire.”
“I want to take more wives so that my home can be a bit livelier.”
Uchiha Madara’s expression froze; he never expected the last reason to be this.
“Hahahaha!”
“Gen, you are quite interesting!”
“You are indeed different from Hashirama!”
Kiyoi Gen rubbed his nose; making Lord Madara laugh like this was quite an accomplishment.
After laughing, Uchiha Madara looked at Kiyoi Gen with profound eyes.
Rarely, he actually wanted to ask this youth some questions.
“Gen, you have specifically learned about me and Hashirama, haven’t you.”
Kiyoi Gen smiled and nodded.
“Yes.
If I want to realize my ideals, force is necessary.”
“Naturally, I would learn about you and Senju Hashirama, who stand at the pinnacle of the Ninja World.”
Uchiha Madara nodded, then asked.
“Then what is your opinion of Hashirama?”
Chapter 19: Gen’s Counter-Question
“Senju Hashirama, huh.”
Kiyoi Gen smiled.
“A remarkable, but overly idealistic saint.”
Uchiha Madara watched Kiyoi Gen quietly, as if wanting to see more from his words and expressions.
“Ending the Sengoku era with his own hands and establishing the one-village-one-country system almost single-handedly, his achievements are indeed very impressive.”
“He always believed that people would eventually understand each other and achieve true peace.”
Thinking of this, Kiyoi Gen seemed to scoff.
“To be honest, I don’t believe for a second that most people can achieve that.”
“There will always be barriers between people, even among family members.”
“After all, the vast majority of people in this world are ordinary, not saints like Senju Hashirama.”
“As long as conflict exists, strife will always be an eternal topic for humanity.”
“And with only one or two Senju Hashiramas, is it possible to make everyone understand each other?”