"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 167: Death of a Sage (Part 2)
In truth, Madara Uchiha's actions at this moment could only be called an accident. When facing the current Madara, life itself seemed to have become incredibly fragile.
But undeniably, in the instant Madara attempted to stop Uchiha Kensuke, he truly hadn't considered the man's life or death.
It was as if he'd subconsciously eliminated a clansman—like a Super Saiyan casually disposing of a weakling.
Yet how could a clan leader disregard his own people's lives? This was an extreme ethical violation.
When Uchiha Kensuke collapsed lifeless to the ground, Madara himself was momentarily stunned. At that moment, his emotions wavered between indifference and bewilderment...
But neither emotion should ever be a clan leader's first response after accidentally harming his own clansman. Therefore, Sasuke's diagnosis—"You're already insane"—wasn't entirely incorrect.
But regardless of Madara Uchiha's true psychological state—whether his actions stemmed from some deep, unconscious projection he himself couldn't perceive, or were simply the result of a momentary lapse—none of it mattered...
In any case, this scene delivered a massive psychological shock to the other Uchiha ninja—that much was certain.
They were already... well, Uchiha ninja were naturally prone to emotional extremes, so how could they withstand such trauma?
After all, they were the "Clan of Love"—and they truly loved too deeply.
An Uchiha ninja dying at enemy hands was one thing; being murdered within the clan was another; but being directly killed on the battlefield by the clan's own leader was something else entirely... Don't forget, Madara Uchiha had always been labeled as "great, glorious, and righteous."
The great, glorious, and righteous Madara Uchiha was only stunned for an instant before resuming his pursuit.
By now, he realized Sasuke was indeed extraordinary.
Previously, he'd considered Sasuke's claims of being "from the future" nothing but absurd deception. But now?
Sasuke's words had come to pass—Izuna really had died at Tobirama Senju's hands!
Thus, what Madara had previously dismissed as "demonic trickery" had transformed into precise "prophecy."
Now, Madara Uchiha's goal had shifted from killing Sasuke to capturing him alive—he desperately wanted another conversation with Sasuke... In fact, he secretly regretted not being more thorough in their previous exchange.
Trust—why was it so difficult?
If only he'd chosen to believe this "Hawk" back then, perhaps everything would have changed... But there were no "ifs."
Uchiha Kensuke's death was certainly regrettable, but in Madara's view, the correct way to remedy this mistake was to capture Sasuke.
However, this thinking severely underestimated Sasuke.
You could underestimate Sasuke's strength, but not his temperament... Don't be deceived by Sasuke's outward rationality—his personality had always been incredibly stubborn, more obstinate than a bull terrier.
You wanted separation, so we separated. Now you want to use force to call me back?
Dream on, Madara Uchiha—did you really think the entire Shinobi World revolved around you?
If Sasuke had initially harbored thoughts of cooperating with Madara Uchiha, Uchiha Kensuke's death made him completely abandon such notions.
Facing Madara's relentless pursuit, Sasuke changed formation, positioning himself at the rear to shield the other organization members from this "formidable enemy."
Madara pressed forward single-mindedly, failing to notice that of the Uchiha ninja who'd originally followed him, only half remained in pursuit.
The other half of Uchiha ninja still couldn't shake their shock. They remained frozen in place, staring blankly at Uchiha Kensuke's corpse as if unable to accept reality.
After some time, the violent sounds from the distance finally snapped them back to awareness.
These ninja quickly approached Uchiha Kensuke's body. The leader knelt down, observing Kensuke's vacant expression, his blood-and-mud-stained face, and his dim, lifeless eyes. His chest began heaving violently.
This was what it meant to die with eyes wide open.
At this thought, the Uchiha ninja's eyes reddened with overwhelming emotion, and unknowingly, he'd activated his Sharingan.
He simply felt it was...
Worthless.
The man was definitely dead—death meant never returning to life.
After crouching there in a daze, the ninja finally calmed his emotions. He reached out to lift Uchiha Kensuke's corpse, glanced at the nearby ninja, and said:
"Let's go."
"Go? To pursue the clan leader?"
However, the lead ninja didn't answer his companion's question. He stepped away from this place—neither toward where Madara Uchiha had departed nor toward the Uchiha village.
Once, he too had been a ninja who firmly believed in Uchiha glory and honor. Looking back, the times spent eliminating "parasitic elders" for clan interests seemed like yesterday...
Everything remained vivid, yet felt like a lifetime ago.
"Hey, you..."
His companion's words remained unfinished, because that lonely, departing figure had already explained everything.
"Clan interests" could sometimes control everything, and sometimes be worth absolutely nothing.
These four words could represent genuinely unified strength, or be the emptiest of rhetoric.
When they felt like empty words, individual "self" thoughts would emerge.
Everyone had their own thoughts and would be governed by them.
The other ninja hesitated greatly at the spot, but ultimately, they followed the figure carrying the corpse.
Meanwhile, Sasuke found himself unable to shake Madara Uchiha's pursuit. After attempting an exchange of blows, Sasuke discovered Madara's current strength was somewhat excessive—he was completely outmatched.
Most terrifying of all, Madara Uchiha seemed not to be using his full power.
Sasuke sensed certain developments, realizing today wouldn't end peacefully.
"Two matters. First, the support plan is terminated—you must go silent and avoid using the Uchiha name before this chaotic era ends. Second, if absolutely necessary, remember the final escape route I arranged... Understood?"
Sasuke took advantage of barely managing to create distance from Madara again to hastily arrange future plans for his subordinates.
"Lord Nameless, you..."
"Just follow orders... Madara Uchiha is targeting me. I'll hold him back while you escape the battlefield."
"But..."
"Act according to orders—don't make me repeat myself... Your remaining here would be useless anyway."
"...Yes, Lord Nameless!"
These Hawk Organization Uchiha ninja had no choice but to accept Sasuke's orders, because Sasuke's words were correct—ordinary Uchiha ninja couldn't interfere in battles of this level.
They obeyed orders and quickly withdrew from the area.
These people trusted "Lord Nameless's" strength and were willing to believe he could hold back Madara Uchiha.
However, unexpectedly, the Uchiha ninja Madara had brought didn't pursue them either—they simply watched them depart.
The escapees proceeded unimpeded, growing increasingly distant from the battlefield, yet the combat sounds reaching their ears became increasingly outrageous...
The massive tremors made these ninja involuntarily halt their steps.
"Let's go—don't hesitate. Right now, we can only choose to trust Lord Nameless."
"Yes, Lord Nameless will achieve victory."
...
Several days later, in the Senju Clan's village.
"Haha, Yūshin did excellently! I didn't expect him to stabilize the Land of Fire's western border so quickly. The war against the Ishikawa was also well-fought, but..."
"The subsequent advance into the plateau—wasn't that a bit excessive? Trading chaos beyond our borders for stability along our border lines—doesn't this seem like diverting trouble eastward?"
Hashirama Senju held detailed battle reports from the Fireflies, alternating between joy and concern.
Beside him, Tobirama Senju's views were exactly opposite to his elder brother's. He was extremely satisfied with Yūshin's disruption of the plateau ninja clans—even felt it should have been more thorough—but wasn't entirely pleased with Yūshin's detailed border demarcation actions.
"Elder Brother, Yūshin acted somewhat independently. The border he demarcated doesn't match our plans..."
"Between us and the desert forces, we should establish a small nation as a buffer zone. Additionally, the northwest now only has the Land of Waterfall as a single power—there should be at least two or three forces to oppose each other while serving as buffer zones."
"Moreover, though we haven't yet decided this country's title, the name 'Land of Fire' has already spread throughout the Fireflies organization... There are serious procedural issues."
"Doesn't Tobirama like the name Land of Fire? I think it's excellent and very appropriate. Or do you have other suggestions?"
Hashirama Senju felt somewhat baffled. The Land of Fire was a perfectly good name. Tobirama was fine in every other way, just sometimes psychologically dark and petty.
Tobirama Senju was rendered speechless. Was this about whether it sounded good? Shouldn't this country's title be decided by Elder Brother and the Daimyo? Strictly speaking, Yūshin's behavior constituted overstepping authority.
"This has nothing to do with personal preference, it's just..."
"Regarding border issues, if we can maintain good mutual trust with the Kujii Clan, we indeed don't need any buffer region between us."
"Even if we needed a buffer zone, it shouldn't be overly fragmented. A mid-sized country would theoretically be more suitable as a buffer than many small nations."
"This mid-sized country wouldn't even need to obey our will—as long as its controller is sufficiently rational... As long as he's rational enough, he should strive to maintain relationships with us, because we'll treat them as equals."
Hashirama Senju's thinking aligned with Yūshin's—one could say they were in perfect accord.
Tobirama Senju clearly disliked this approach filled with uncertain factors. The "everyone benefits" mentality was too idealistic—in reality, "I benefit while others don't" was more practical.
He still disliked Yūshin's methods and his elder brother's views, yet he could influence neither Hashirama's thinking nor Yūshin's actions... Thinking carefully, he was actually playing the role of the frustrated party.
"Forget it—what's done is done. I just hope no further complications arise on that border."
"Of course there won't be complications. By the way, I must write to thank Daimyo Kiyosu for his support—otherwise we'd have long since fallen into supply shortages."
Though Hashirama Senju didn't manage logistics, this didn't mean he ignored them—otherwise he couldn't serve as alliance leader.
But these words made Tobirama Senju frown again, as he'd already detected certain hidden dangers.
As the saying goes, "Heaven has no two suns." The Senju Clan had always received Daimyo Enshi's support, so according to this era's conventional thinking, the Senju Clan belonged to the Enshi family's subordinates.
After the Land of Fire was pacified, theoretically Daimyo Enshi should become the Land of Fire's Daimyo. But now Daimyo Kiyosu was interfering, and without question, the Fireflies organization would definitely support Daimyo Kiyosu.
Didn't this mean the nation would show signs of internal strife before it was even established?
"Yūshin completed the mission of pacifying the northwest border. What should we have them do next?" Tobirama asked.
Hashirama considered, then said:
"Recall the Four Clans' ninja. For the Land of Fire's internal war's main battlefields, we don't really need Yūshin and his team—our forces are more than sufficient... Soon we'll settle matters with the Uchiha."
"Yūshin can handle the logistics work he excels at—organizing field hospitals, ensuring smooth supply transport, selecting the new ninja village's location, preparing the new village's various departments, and so forth."
"Hmm? Tobirama, you look rather unwell. What's wrong? Was there something problematic about what I said?"
Tobirama wanted to punch his biological elder brother. Damn it, is Yūshin the real elder brother here?
Look at the work he assigned Yūshin—all the tasks a true alliance leader should handle! And the result? The leader threw away real power like garbage and only busied himself with warfare.
Yūshin handled logistics and ninja village preparation while Hashirama focused on fighting—what was this? Executive deputy leader and his Conquer-the-Uchiha general?
But Tobirama couldn't say anything about this. Should he start competing for power at this point?
He also understood that many matters weren't really important to Elder Brother or Yūshin, yet he himself, like someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, desperately wanted to clearly distinguish "this is yours, this is mine"... Frankly, this was unnecessary worry.
Nothing could be done—it was all due to personality. The evil Senju old ghost was just like this.
As the two brothers earnestly demonstrated their personality differences, a Senju ninja hurried before them.
"Lord Hashirama, Lord Tobirama, urgent situation!"
Though this reporting ninja appeared very urgent, his face still couldn't hide an exceptionally strange expression.
He could barely contain himself, yet found it unbelievable and completely unreasonable.
"What happened?" Tobirama asked.
"Someone has surrendered to us... More precisely, a team of Uchiha ninja has defected from the Uchiha Clan and surrendered to us as individuals."
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