Madara Uchiha

Utsusemi stood on the bank of the Naka River, staring blankly at its clear water. Her Tenseigan told her that, in this seemingly clear river,

Rotting fish carcasses, duckweed, and unidentified insect eggs floated, while several decaying corpses and skeletons lay on the riverbed.

She forced herself to reach into the water, but jerked her hand back the moment it touched the surface.

This water... She stared at the oily sheen on the swirling water. As her emotions fluctuated, the clear river became a foul, rotting purgatory in the full-powered vision of her Tenseigan.

The stench rose with the water vapor. Insect eggs wriggling beneath the duckweed resembled a thousand festering eyeballs, while schools of fish darted among the bones on the riverbed, gnawing at rotting flesh.

She clenched her handkerchief. This was the main reason she hated river fish; before, she had simply disliked Japanese-style grilled fish.

That was until she first saw a river near a battlefield, where countless river fish fought over the bodies of fallen ninja in the water.

Her five senses had become exceptionally acute under the Tenseigan's enhancement. The fishy smell of the river fish mingled with the rusty odor of blood.

The stench left her dizzy and muddleheaded, and even her Tenseigan's vision blurred.

"Urgh~" Utsusemi couldn't help retching as she recalled the firsthand horror of the battlefield.

She clutched the handkerchief Izuna had given her and looked at its embroidery, trying to recall the courage she had just mustered.

She might as well go to a nearby hot spring inn and book a private bath, starting with the easiest thing to overcome her fear.

"Ha... that's enough to make you give up?" a mocking whisper came from behind her.

Utsusemi spun around to see a young man with black hair stepping out of the shadows.

His thick, jet-black hair stood out wildly, covering half his face, but she could still make out his exceptionally handsome features.

His tall frame was clad in a dark linen work outfit, with a battle haori over it. A ninja tool pouch hung casually at his waist, and he exuded an air of danger and nonchalance.

"Who are you?" Utsusemi was shocked that she had been so absorbed she hadn't noticed a ninja appearing nearby.

She couldn't help growing wary. She had actually been careless enough to overlook him!

She was ready to enter Six Paths Mode or return to the Spacetime Tower.

"What's it to you?" He casually snapped off a twig and played with it. "What, you don't even dare cross a river?"

Utsusemi narrowed her eyes. He was clearly testing her. "I was just observing the current. What about you? Why were you following me?"

The man's laughter held undisguised contempt. "Following you? I saw you didn't even dare get into the water and thought you must be some important person."

"Since you're so afraid of getting dirty, you might as well go back to your clean place." He shook the leaves on the twig. "Who gave you that handkerchief?"

Utsusemi narrowed her eyes. "You know him? The owner of the handkerchief?"

She studied the man's face and found many similarities to Izuna.

The man suddenly slashed diagonally across the water with his scabbard, bursting apart a floating corpse that had drifted down from upstream with a muffled thud of metal striking rotting flesh. Foul-smelling fluid splashed into the air.

Maggots crawled out of a rotting fish's gills, and Utsusemi recoiled a step in fright.

"Oh, you know my little brother." He tilted his head, revealing a bandage around his neck, blood spreading across the linen in dark patterns. "But instead of worrying about me..."

"You'd better look at your own legs, shaking because you're afraid of a corpse." The tip of his sword suddenly pointed at her trembling knees. "Forget it. Don't push yourself."

"Someone as 'clean' as you won't live long anyway." He shook the muddy water off his sword and turned to leave. "Stay away from him. If you die, you'll only make him sad."

Utsusemi gritted her teeth and tried to step into the water again. This time she planted her foot directly in the rotting mud, its sticky touch creeping up her ankle like a living thing.

Her whole body went rigid. "I... can do it."

The man paused, but soon continued walking.

Utsusemi noticed that he limped slightly as he walked. The hem of his deep crimson battle haori brushed against the branches, and the fan pattern at his waist appeared and disappeared in the sunset.

She realized that this seemingly carefree man might be far more dangerous than she had imagined.

"To thank you two brothers for helping me deal with my psychological problem, I'll treat you for free. The offer won't last."

Her voice rose as she remembered a Japanese netizen. "Sir, you wouldn't want your little brother to know, would you?"

The man suddenly stopped, half his face visible through his wild black hair. "Free treatment?"

"Has no one taught you..." As he chuckled, sharp lines stood out on his neck, and the blood at his Adam's apple had already clotted dark red, though it was still wet. "That probing someone can get you killed?"

His scabbard pressed against Utsusemi's throat, its metallic chill seeping through her collar.

The ornament tied to the sword tassel brushed her pearl earring, still bearing wet blood. When it embedded itself in the trunk behind her, it shook loose a rustling shower of leaves and left a sweet, bloody streak of moisture on the pearl.

"No one told me. They're all in another world. This is my first time coming to the outside world." Utsusemi's sudden candor left them both silent for a moment.

"You smell like Izuna." He suddenly let go, an uncharacteristic look of surprise visible through his wild black hair.

Madara sized up the girl before him. With her delicate features and cool, aloof bearing, she was indeed a beauty.

Izuna actually likes this kind of pampered noble girl?

So this is my little brother's taste?

Utsusemi saw black blood seeping from the wound that went through his lower back and stubbornly held out her hand. Chakra glowed softly, enveloping the man's wound.

The lingering warmth of Chakra hung between them. His long-standing hidden injuries gradually healed under its nourishment, and even the deepest scars began to fade.

He looked down at his arm. The old injuries that had once made it ache had now miraculously recovered.

"Are you all right?" Utsusemi asked softly.

He suddenly looked up. Her calm face was reflected in his pitch-black eyes, and deep in his pupils, a flame seemed to be still burning.

The tension between them eased subtly.

The setting sun brushed the man's profile, twilight flowing over his sharply defined features. His deep voice broke the silence. "I'm Madara."

Utsusemi noticed his resolute jawline and his full face.

Delicate beauty and striking beauty blended together, especially now that he had softened and no longer radiated killing intent.

"The Five Peaks of Northern Shinshu?" Her gaze swept over the hem of Madara's battle haori, where traces of blood remained wet. "Togakushi, Kurohime, Myoko, Madarao, Iizuna... no, Izuna?"

The corner of Madara's mouth twitched slightly, and the subtle change in his expression made Utsusemi think to guess his surname.

Are these the Uchiha, the Senju's archenemies?

Although she had only met two Uchiha, their bearing and looks rivaled those of Earth's top stars.

"Now only Madara and Izuna are left." His voice was frighteningly calm, like a drawn sword, yet unexpectedly devoid of killing intent.

Utsusemi's pupils contracted sharply. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm truly sorry." She saw the flickering light in his eyes go out.

The corner of Madara's mouth finally curved upward. "It's not your fault."

His smile reminded Utsusemi of the first snow melting on Myoko's summit, a tenderness edged with a sharp chill.

The iceberg in his eyes, frozen for ten thousand years, began to thaw, and this small friendship began to warm.

Madara gripped Utsusemi's wrist, carefully sensing the faint fluctuations of the remaining Chakra.

"You're a medical-nin?" he sneered. "Has no one told you that medical-nin shouldn't treat strangers at random? You could be abducted."

His fingers brushed the web between Utsusemi's thumb and forefinger. These hands bore no marks of grueling training, not a trace of what a ninja's hands should have shown.

Her skin was as white as fresh snow, with only pale blue veins visible beneath it.

A noble girl who was almost unreal in her cleanliness, skilled at healing, and ignorant of danger.

She hadn't even thought to guard against him or dodge.

Was she a woman raised in seclusion from childhood? Displaced by war, had she wandered into this wilderness fraught with danger?

"Come with me." His voice was steady, carrying an almost imperceptible concern. "At least... don't make Izuna worry about you."

Utsusemi smiled faintly. "I'm not a ninja. I barely qualify as a doctor." She gently withdrew her hand. "I'd rather be free than tied down."

As she stepped back, the sound of her boots crushing dry leaves was like some unspoken rejection.

Madara didn't insist. He suddenly laughed, revealing his Sharingan as he took a long look at Utsusemi.

"In that case, Utsusemi." He walked away without looking back. "The next time wild dogs are chasing and biting you... remember to call my name. I'm the Uchiha clan leader, Madara Uchiha."