A few days later, at a certain tributary of the Naka River, Madara was skipping stones alone.
A small pebble hopped across the water, making four ripples before sinking.
He was a little gloomy, and picked up another small stone.
How could he make it reach the opposite bank?
As he was thinking, a stone suddenly flew out from behind him and landed on the far bank.
Madara reacted and quickly turned around, only to see a bowl-cut boy in a green kimono reaching out to him.
“My name is Hashirama.
For certain reasons, I can’t say my surname.”
Hashirama gave a foolish grin, like some landlord family’s silly son.
“Hashirama, huh?” Madara looked toward the opposite bank and changed his posture.
“Watch carefully.
This time, I’ll definitely succeed!”
Seeing clearly the way Madara threw the stone, Hashirama’s eyes widened, and he muttered to himself, “That hand motion…
just as I expected, it’s shurikenjutsu.”
It seemed he, too, was a ninja from some clan, just like himself.
The small stone splashed up several sprays across the water, but in the end, it did not land on the other bank.
Madara was somewhat embarrassed.
Then, thinking of something, he shouted at the boy behind him, “You bastard!
You deliberately stood behind me to distract me, didn’t you?”
“I’m really sensitive!
The kind who can’t pee if someone stands behind me!”
Hashirama was startled, then squatted dejectedly where he stood.
“I’m sorry!”
Madara, who had still been angry, immediately froze.
He blinked and reflected on whether he had been too fierce.
“I mean, you don’t have to get that depressed, do you?” Uchiha Madara sighed and helplessly held his forehead.
“Sorry.
I shouldn’t have forced an unreasonable argument!”
Hearing Madara take the initiative to apologize, Hashirama buried his head even lower.
“I really didn’t know you had such a disgusting self-aware symptom.”
“I seriously can’t tell whether you’re kindhearted or just have a foul mouth!” Uchiha Madara was filled with anger again.
Hearing this, Hashirama stood up and burst into laughter.
“Anyway, one thing is clear: I’m better than you at skipping stones!”
Having already lost face in front of an outsider, Madara truly could not endure it.
He pointed at Hashirama and threatened, “Believe it or not, I’ll skip you across the water!”
Hashirama squatted down sadly again.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry.
As an apology, I’ll mentally prepare myself to be thrown into the river.
Go ahead and throw me!”
Uchiha Madara wondered if he had been cursed with bad luck lately.
“You—do you know how annoying your problem is?”
“But still, I hope you can throw me to the opposite bank.” Hashirama looked up with sincerity.
His blessing was truly grating.
Uchiha Madara clenched his fists.
“You’re an eyesore.
Move aside!”
After passing a pleasant time skipping stones, Madara walked along the road back to the clan grounds, thinking about what a true dream really was.
Not far away, he encountered two unexpected people.
Your gaze toward Ryoei was gentle, and just as you were about to touch Ryoei’s eyes, you were interrupted.
“What are you doing!” Uchiha Madara did not know why, but his heart was filled with anger and sourness as he walked toward you with a dark expression.
You withdrew your hand.
Being interrupted made you somewhat displeased, and your eyes returned to their icy state.
Uchiha Ryoei still did not know what was going on, and hurriedly greeted his big brother.
Though he did not know why Madara looked so unhappy, he said, “Nii-san!
Elder Nagi is helping me check whether my eyes are healthy!”
Hearing his second brother’s explanation, Madara breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt a little uncomfortable inside.
You did not seem like someone who would easily show that kind of look to others.
It was enough to drive him mad with jealousy, yet you…
seemed not to care about him.
Once this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to restrain.
“Nii-san, your eyes!” Ryoei could not help exclaiming.
When you saw the single tomoe in Madara’s eyes, you were also slightly surprised, but very quickly calmed down.
Madara saw every change of emotion on your face clearly, and the desire to get closer to you grew stronger and stronger.
Although you did not know how Madara had awakened the Sharingan without experiencing loss, you were still happy for him from the bottom of your heart.
After all, he was also the Uchiha’s future clan head.
“So your eyes opened so easily.
It really makes one envious.” Though your mouth spoke of envy, there was no fluctuation in your eyes.
“Elder Nagi, my eyes feel a little uncomfortable.” Uchiha Madara’s tone carried a meaning that allowed no refusal, and his eyes stared straight at you.
After thinking for a few seconds, you still decided to help Madara take a look.
Your cool fingertips brushed across his cheeks.
The places they passed over were as scorching as if burned by fire, and Madara knew clearly that his feelings for you were no longer ordinary admiration and curiosity.
Madara had a pair of very sharp eyes.
After awakening the Sharingan, they became unusually deep and unreadable.
Your chakra was transmitted from your fingertips into Uchiha Madara’s eyes.
Every reaction was normal.
“You just opened your eyes and aren’t used to it yet.
There is nothing wrong with your eyes.” Your hand left Madara’s eyes.
After a long silence, “So…” you suddenly said, “you thought I would hurt him?”
Madara froze for a moment.
The reason his eyes had opened was somewhat hard to say aloud, but hearing your guess, he still kindly answered, “No.”
You did not know why the clan head family’s little brat was so stubborn.
He was clearly worried about Ryoei, yet still obstinately acted tsundere.
What an unlovable guy.
“Even if the moon fell from the sky, I would never hurt him.” You made this promise in front of both of them.
As for whether they believed it, that was not within your consideration.
Madara and Ryoei were not fools.
If you wanted to, you could attack them at any time.
They were also troubled by your misunderstanding.
“I believe you won’t hurt Ryoei, but isn’t your metaphor a bit too exaggerated?
What do you mean, the moon falling from the sky…” Madara felt you were truly strange, speaking without any sense at all.
You glanced at the sky and suddenly remembered that you still had to go investigate Naka Forest.
You looked deeply at Ryoei, then answered Uchiha Madara.
“Exaggerated?
If you say so, then it is.”
You turned around and waved to them.
“Nii-san, you…” Uchiha Ryoei was about to say something, only to discover that Madara’s eyes were still watching Uchiha Nagi’s back.
Your figure grew farther and farther away, and Madara withdrew his gaze.
“What is it?”
Seeing his big brother like this, Ryoei vaguely guessed something.
“What does Nii-san think of Elder Nagi?”
Hearing his question, Madara’s heart tightened.
Were his thoughts actually so obvious?
Uchiha Madara lowered his eyes.
“I can’t really say what this feeling is.”
With the help of the Kurosawa Clan, the battle situation was quickly brought under control.
“Just as Lord Nagi said, the Senju suffered a crushing defeat this time!” One of the surviving Uchiha clan members put down his weapon and shouted in place.
At least for the next few months, the Senju would not go to war with them.
This brief peace made them relax quite a bit.
On the other side, in the Senju Clan of the Forest, the atmosphere was extremely solemn.
Looking at his son Kawarama’s corpse, Senju Butsuma was overwhelmed with grief.
The bowl-cut boy in the green kimono held his five-year-old youngest brother and wailed loudly.
The only emotionally stable one was a white-haired, red-eyed boy, staring blankly at the corpse in the coffin.
“Father, is this the meaning of war?” the bowl-cut boy loudly questioned.
He was the young clan head of the Senju Clan, Senju Hashirama.
Seeing that Senju Butsuma was about to lose his temper, the white-haired boy immediately stopped him.
“Big Brother!
Now is not the time to say these things.”
Senju Butsuma immediately woke from his anger and looked at his second son, Tobirama, with complicated eyes.
“Kawarama was surrounded and attacked by the Kurosawa and the Uchiha on the battlefield.
The Senju must never forget our hatred toward them!” Senju Tobirama said through gritted teeth.
“As a father, I am equally pained by Kawarama’s sacrifice, but the cost of war is nothing more than death and loss.
The Senju and the Uchiha will have a battle sooner or later.
What you should do now is only grow stronger.”
After Senju Butsuma finished speaking, he left on his own.
He wanted to sit before his late wife’s grave and reflect on whether all of these mistakes had originated from himself.
Senju Hashirama still could not accept Kawarama’s death.
He placed all his hope in Tobirama.
“Tell me, is there really no method in this world to bring people back to life?”
“Resurrection?” Hearing his big brother’s question, Senju Tobirama did not find it laughable.
Instead, he suddenly thought of something.
“We must accept the fact that our loved ones have passed away.” Senju Tobirama was silent for a moment, then said only this.
Hashirama swept away his earlier depression.
“I will definitely become stronger and realize true peace, so that all children will no longer die in war.”
Senju Tobirama did not respond, but the gentleness in his eyes expressed his approval of Hashirama.
Naka Forest was already shrouded in darkness.
Inside the council hall, the atmosphere had originally seemed somewhat noisy and restless because of victory.
Clan members gathered in small groups, talking about heroic deeds on the battlefield, their faces brimming with proud smiles.
The instant you appeared, the entire hall fell into dead silence.
Your steps were heavy and powerful, each one seeming to tread on the hearts of the clan members.
Your expression was gloomy, your gaze like a torch as it swept over every clan member present.
“Who gave the order?
Who killed those innocent children?” Your voice was icy, carrying anger that could not be suppressed.
The clan members looked at one another.
Though they felt dissatisfied, under your majesty, no one dared speak easily.
According to intelligence, many children had died in this war against the Senju.
Five years ago, Asuku’s death had become a taboo in your heart.
On the night you returned to the Uchiha, you had only one demand: on the battlefield, children absolutely could not be killed.
“Elder, this is war, not a game.” One Uchiha clan member mustered his courage and stepped out.
“We only did it to protect ourselves, for the family’s glory.”
“Protect the family’s glory?” You sneered and took a step forward.
Your powerful aura pressed down until everyone involuntarily stepped back.
“Glory bought at the cost of killing innocent children is nothing but bloody disgrace.”
Your words were as sharp as knives, every word striking the clan members’ hearts like a heavy hammer.
Still, some radical clan members refused to lower their heads.
They discussed in low voices, unconvinced by your accusation.
“Elder Nagi, please calm your anger first.” Outside the door, Uchiha Yasumichi rushed over.
You did not turn around, only tightened your grip on the long blade in your hand.
The voice behind you continued, “This was Lord Clan Head’s intention.”
After a long time, only the sound of the long blade falling to the ground could be heard.
All sounds were silent.
Moonlight poured like mercury over the staggered rooftops.
You tightly held that jade flute in your hand.
Under the moonlight, the flute gave off a cold, dim luster, just like your frozen heart.
Slowly, you brought the flute to your lips.
The sound you played was like the cry of a cold crow in late autumn, cutting through the silent night sky.
The flute music wept and complained, as if telling of the endless sorrow and longing in your heart.
Notes drifted through the night sky, passing through silent streets and alleys, touching every corner.
At this moment, Uchiha Madara, who likewise could not sleep, was drawn by the sorrowful flute music.
Following the direction of the sound, he came beneath the roof where you were.
Madara quietly stood there and looked up at you.
He did not make a sound to disturb you, only lightly leapt onto the roof, slowly walked to your side, and sat down on the spot.
Listening to the flute, his heart also rose and fell with your emotions, as if he could feel pain that went deep into the bones and could not be spoken.
You were immersed in your own world and did not stop playing because of Madara’s arrival.
Your thoughts seemed to drift with that melodious flute sound toward the distant past, back to the warm times you had spent with your little brother.
It was a spring afternoon.
Sunlight passed through mottled leaves, scattering fine pieces of gold across the ground.
“Big Sister, how big do you think the ninja world is?
Are there different scenery and different people in places very, very far away?” Asuku reached out to catch a falling petal and asked softly.
You pondered for a moment, then slowly said, “The ninja world has danger, protection, and responsibility.
The Uchiha Clan bears a special mission: to use our own strength to protect the people beside us.”
Your gaze became deep and distant, as if crossing time and space to see the Uchiha Clan’s past and future.
“Then I want to learn lots of powerful ninjutsu and become a hero in the clan like Big Sister.” Uchiha Asuku waved his arms excitedly, as if he had already seen the day he became a hero.
“Becoming a hero is certainly important, but what is more important is holding fast to your own heart and not being corroded by darkness.” You looked at Asuku, your eyes full of expectation and warning.
You deeply understood the hardship and temptation of the ninja path, and hoped your little brother could always keep a pure and kind heart on the road ahead.
“Big Sister, I will.
I will always be with you, protecting the Uchiha and our home together.” Asuku leaned tightly into your arms, his tone firm and sincere.
When the song ended, you slowly lowered the flute, and only endless silence remained in the night sky.
Your gaze still looked into the distance, but the longing in your heart had not lessened at all.
Uchiha Madara’s hand unconsciously clenched slightly.
He wanted to pull you into his arms, but still held himself back.
After a moment, you stood up, nodded slightly to Madara in acknowledgment, then said nothing and lightly leapt away.
“Uchiha…
Nagi.” Madara softly called your name.
An inexplicable sense of ambiguity and attachment spread between his lips and teeth, lingering for a long time.
From the first time he saw you, Uchiha Madara had known he was already beyond saving.
The more clear-headed he was, the more painful it became.
He wanted your gaze, and your world, to contain only him, Uchiha Madara.
The next day, Madara’s deep eyes focused intently ahead.
His hands rapidly formed seals, and powerful chakra flowed around him.
As the final seal was completed, a ball of flame flew forward.
The flames exploded at the end of the training field, raising a cloud of dust.
Madara panted slightly, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, yet this did not lessen his innate heroic air and dignity at all.
Just as he was preparing to use ninjutsu again, a faint sound of discussion drifted into his ears with the wind.
Though the voices were not loud, in his highly focused mental world, they were like stones dropped into a calm lake, sending out layer after layer of ripples.
His brows furrowed slightly, and he turned his head to look.
He saw several Uchiha clan members standing in a corner not far away, whispering to one another with somewhat panicked expressions.
He strode toward those clan members.
They had originally been speaking with full concentration, and had not noticed Uchiha Madara approaching at all.