Uchiha Chapter 76: Heartbreak
Several days passed.
Gōenji finally finished dealing with the aftermath of the battlefield. With all of Konoha's reinforcements now arriving, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
It wasn't because he had some deep emotional attachment to Konoha Village.
Even without such feelings, though, how could anyone remain indifferent after witnessing scenes like those?
It reminded him of the heartbreaking videos he'd watched on short-video apps in his previous life. Wouldn't anyone feel sympathy after watching them, perhaps even shed a few tears?
But the reality was even more brutal.
He had been forced to confront death directly.
Not just death, but death on a massive scale.
"No wonder Orochimaru is always saying how fragile life becomes later on. I finally understand what he means!"
Gōenji sighed and glanced back at the battlefield before leading a unit carrying wounded shinobi toward Konoha Village.
It was his third time returning to the village.
Every time he returned, he spent some time in the village and emerged stronger than before.
By the time he appeared again, he would most likely be even stronger than before.
Gōenji was looking forward to seeing what he would be capable of by then.
More importantly, he wanted to know what that old bastard, Uchiha Madara, would think when he saw a member of the Uchiha Clan as powerful as himself.
People had to admit that Gōenji was now capable of standing against the Tsuchikage.
Even Madara couldn't afford to ignore that kind of potential.
He would certainly have some ideas.
The only question was what he would do about it.
With the smoke-filled battlefield behind them, the troops looked particularly desolate beneath the setting sun.
…
Deep beneath the earth, in a place untouched by the light of day.
A white figure emerged from the darkness.
White Zetsu looked toward Uchiha Madara, who was sitting on a stone chair, a smile spreading across his face.
"Madara-sama, the Battle of Mount Kikyo is over. The fighting on the battlefield reached a whole new level of intensity, but an astonishing genius also appeared."
Madara slowly raised his aged face.
Using his cane for support, he spoke in the weary tone of an old man.
"A genius? In my eyes, there is only one true genius."
His voice carried absolute certainty.
"Hashirama Senju."
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Hashirama Senju is the only genius," White Zetsu said with a grin. "But the one I discovered is also a genius."
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're talking about that Uchiha Gōenji brat, aren't you? What? Has he done something earth-shattering again?"
There was a hint of disdain in his voice.
A reckless brat who didn't know his own limits.
White Zetsu had previously passed along information about Gōenji mocking Madara and his ancestors, but Madara hadn't taken it to heart.
Regardless, any intelligence that needed to be gathered still had to be gathered.
Otherwise, it could interfere with his plans.
And that was absolutely unacceptable.
"Well, here's what happened. That guy developed an extremely powerful Fire Release technique. And then there's the matter of the Tsuchikage…"
White Zetsu proceeded to recount the battlefield intelligence piece by piece, paying particular attention to the threat posed by Gōenji.
This was extremely significant to them and something they needed to take into consideration.
Gōenji's combat power had already reached a level capable of influencing the direction of the war.
When Madara heard that Gōenji had been able to contend with the Tsuchikage for so long, the deep wrinkles on his aged face twitched.
"So the Uchiha Clan has produced a genius like this."
Madara paused before continuing.
"However, unless he continues to grow, he won't pose much of a threat to us. And I don't think he'll have the opportunity to keep growing."
Madara understood better than anyone that a shinobi's potential had limits.
If someone wasn't born with sufficient potential, they wouldn't suddenly develop it later in life.
For example, Madara had already ruled out the possibility that Gōenji could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Otherwise, his target wouldn't be limited to that brat, Uchiha Obito.
Furthermore, judging from his intelligence and personality, Gōenji was extremely rational and clever.
A person like that wouldn't give Madara an opportunity to manipulate him.
Obito, on the other hand, was different.
Madara was confident that he could control Obito completely and use him to accomplish his objective.
Gōenji was another matter entirely.
But his potential ended there.
A shinobi's combat power couldn't increase indefinitely.
Unless he learned senjutsu or some other comparable technique, there was only so far he could continue advancing.
Such techniques had historically been passed down through the Three Great Sage Regions, and people naturally born with the constitution to wield senjutsu had always been exceedingly rare.
Madara didn't believe Gōenji possessed such potential.
He hadn't taken the young Uchiha seriously.
To Madara, Gōenji was merely an Uchiha brat who excelled at Fire Release but hadn't even awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Deep down, he didn't believe Gōenji deserved to be called a true genius.
"Madara-sama truly is the wisest. You've considered everything so thoroughly."
White Zetsu immediately began flattering him.
Madara ignored the praise.
"Have you gathered all the intelligence I asked for?"
"Of course. Konoha is frequently at war, and after such a major battle, it was easy for me to collect a large amount of information about Konoha, Uchiha Obito, and the people around him…"
White Zetsu paused before adding:
"And the Land of Rain is ready as well. The plan can begin at any time. It's all up to you now, Madara-sama. Just tell me how you want to proceed."
White Zetsu then recounted the intelligence he had gathered over the past several days.
…
Konoha — Root
In a darkened underground chamber, Danzō stared at the intelligence report in his hands.
A meaningful expression appeared on his face.
"Uchiha Gōenji. I never expected him to be able to contend with the Tsuchikage for so long. He's grown so quickly. The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai really is astonishing."
Danzō couldn't help feeling somewhat jealous of Gōenji's growth.
He had long anticipated that Gōenji would eventually become a powerful combat asset for Konoha.
But he had never expected that in less than a year, Gōenji would grow to the point where he could contend with the Tsuchikage.
This was completely beyond his expectations.
He had thought that Kakashi, the son of Konoha's White Fang, was already exceptionally talented.
He hadn't expected that the young man from the Uchiha Clan would possess even greater talent.
"And there's more."
Danzō's eyes narrowed.
"The Uchiha Clan doesn't only have Gōenji. They also have Uchiha Shisui. The Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai truly is extraordinary."
He thought of another member of the Uchiha Clan.
What an enviable power.
The intelligence report contained information about Uchiha Shisui as well.
According to the report, Shisui's eyes had already evolved to the point where he could unleash tremendous power through them.
He might even be stronger than Gōenji.
…
Konoha — Hokage's Office
"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence report in his hands, his eyes filled with delight.
"We won the Battle of Mount Kikyo, and a genius like this has emerged on the front lines. Heaven truly is watching over my Konoha."
"With the blessing of the First Hokage, I absolutely won't allow Konoha's Will of Fire to be extinguished during my time as Hokage."
The victory at Mount Kikyo, combined with the emergence of a genius like Gōenji, made Hiruzen feel exceptionally pleased.
But whenever he thought about the casualties suffered during the battle, a sharp pain gripped his heart.
The losses had simply been too great.
Even with Orochimaru holding the line, the ANBU launching surprise attacks, and Minato Namikaze providing support, a war on this scale would inevitably inflict casualties that were difficult for him to bear.
And even after the war ended, recovering from everything that had happened would take considerable time.
"Sigh…"
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair.
"I really wish those brats at the Ninja Academy would grow up faster. And Kakashi and Might Guy's generation, too. I wish they could grow up faster."
He sighed again. All he could do now was pray that the war would end as soon as possible.
That it wouldn't drag on any longer.
Hiruzen also knew that this would be difficult.
Wars weren't something that could simply be brought to an end whenever one wished.
Still, the fact that the other shinobi villages had suffered enormous losses in the fighting was his only consolation.