Mischief × Protectiveness

Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Residence.

Lunch ended in a delicate atmosphere.

Madara wore a serene expression from beginning to end, while Izuna tried to maintain an "I'm fine, nothing's wrong" expression, even as his thoughts churned with anxiety.

It was only after they finished eating, when Izuna was about to clear away the dishes, that Madara spoke as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, right, Izuna, you haven't put your eye back in yet, have you?"

Izuna: "..." I'm doomed!

He had been so focused on getting through lunch that he had completely forgotten about it!

He looked down at the eyeball lying quietly on the table, then looked up at Madara's teasing expression. A rush of mortification at being toyed with welled up inside him.

"Brother Madara, you—!" Izuna's cheeks puffed up in anger. "You did that on purpose! You were watching me make a fool of myself!"

Madara looked at his fuming younger brother, a trace of amusement flashing in his eyes, though he kept the composed expression of an elder brother. "Of course not. I just thought that, since Tobirama has already examined it, it would be better to put it back sooner rather than later, in case something else goes wrong."

As he spoke, he walked up to Izuna, picked up the eyeball with one hand, and held out the other, palm up. His meaning was obvious.

Izuna glared at him, but in the end, he reluctantly lifted his head and closed his eyes.

Madara's fingers brushed gently past Izuna's temple, and he lifted Izuna's chin. A cool halo of Chakra lit up at Madara's fingertips, precisely guiding the eyeball back into place and connecting its nerves and blood vessels.

The vision in his left eye cleared again. Izuna blinked and looked at Madara.

Madara was looking down, carefully examining the area around his eye socket, his brow slightly furrowed and his gaze intent.

Looking at his younger brother's eyes, "whole" once more, Madara felt little relief.

Seeing how naturally his brother had ignored the issue with his eye, as if it really were just an insignificant little object, brought that painful feeling surging back into Madara's heart.

He wanted to seize Izuna by the shoulders and ask him exactly what had happened in his world.

But he couldn't. He mustn't upset Izuna.

Don't ask, Madara Uchiha. You only need to know that the person in front of you is your younger brother. That's enough.

Madara withdrew his hand and ruffled Izuna's hair. "All done. Remember to put it back promptly next time."

"I know..." Izuna muttered, rubbing his still slightly itchy eye socket.

Madara said no more and turned to clear away the dishes. Izuna hurried over to help.

In the small kitchen, there was only the faint clink of dishes.

Silent understanding and warmth flowed between them, temporarily dispelling the heaviness in Madara's heart.

However, the peace did not last long.

That afternoon, Madara attended an internal Clan Meeting of the Uchiha Clan.

The atmosphere at the meeting was far worse than he had expected.

Although Hikaku had laid the groundwork in advance, and most ordinary clan members had accepted the story that "the second-in-command faked his death, went away to recover from his injuries, and has now returned," the elders who held power and the radical young core members were not so easily fooled.

Especially after the incident at the training ground that day.

"Clan leader! How do you explain what happened at the training ground today?"

An elder with white hair and a white beard and sharp eyes was the first to speak out. "Lord Uchiha Izuna's 'return from the dead' was suspicious enough! Today, he displayed Taijutsu techniques that appeared to be those of the Senju Clan and severely injured several of our clan's elites! How can this be brushed aside with excuses?"

"That's right!" a young man with livid bruises still on his face chimed in heatedly. "His fighting style is nothing like Lord Izuna's! And from beginning to end, he didn't even activate his Sharingan! Is he looking down on us? Or is he unable to activate it at all?!"

"The Sharingan is the symbol of our Uchiha Clan's glory and power!" another elder said in a deep voice. "If he truly were Lord Izuna, he should have shown his Sharingan long ago! If he didn't show it even when questioned, there can only be one possibility..."

He left the sentence unfinished, but his meaning was clear: the only possibility was that he was not Uchiha Izuna.

"Clan leader, this must be thoroughly investigated!" "Better to kill the wrong person than let him go!" "If this truly is a plot by the Senju Clan, we Uchiha must not stand by and do nothing!"

Questions, angry voices, and demands for verification and action rose one after another.

Madara sat at the head of the room, his face dark, a terrifyingly oppressive aura radiating from him.

His hands rested on his knees, his knuckles clenched white, while the fury in his heart churned like magma.

Just as the clamor of the clan members reached its peak—

"Enough!"

Madara's voice exploded like thunder, and the Meeting Room fell silent in an instant.

"Do you think I could fail to recognize my own brother, Uchiha Izuna?!"

His scarlet Sharingan lit up in the dim Meeting Room, its three Tomoe spinning wildly as his gaze swept over every hesitant-looking clan member present. The killing intent in his eyes was almost tangible.

"He didn't activate his Sharingan?" Madara sneered. "That's because you're too weak! You're not worthy of making him use it!"

"If anyone dares say another word against my brother in front of me—" Madara's voice rose sharply, each word forced out through his teeth with a bloody edge. "I'll twist his head off and hang it at the entrance to Naka Shrine!"

Violent Chakra erupted with a torrent of killing intent, howling past everyone in the room.

Several of the younger clan members turned deathly pale, barely able to breathe.

Even the most senior clan elders fell silent as cicadas in winter under Madara's undisguised rage and defense of his brother, not daring to speak again so readily.

Everyone present knew Madara's temperament. Since he had said it, he would do it.

In the end, the Clan Meeting was hastily concluded amid suffocating silence and Madara's icy stare.

However, suppressing things on the surface could not solve the underlying problem.

After the meeting, Uchiha Hikaku stayed behind, his heart heavy with worry.

"Lord Madara..." Hikaku began carefully. "The elders' doubts aren't entirely baseless. The way Lord Izuna returned was indeed... and there's the matter of the Sharingan..."

"I know." Madara cut him off, his voice still cold, though less violent than before and more irritated. "But Izuna is Izuna. As for his eye... I'll take care of it."

He paused and looked at Hikaku. "Keep the other voices in the clan under control for now. If anyone dares spread rumors, deal with them according to the Clan Rules."

"Yes." Hikaku agreed, but the worry between his brows did not fade.

He knew Madara's defense of Izuna was absolute, but if the clan's suspicions went unresolved for too long, they would cause even bigger trouble sooner or later.

Perhaps... it would be better to speak directly with Lord Izuna? After all...

He raised his head and quietly gazed at Madara's back.

If that really is Izuna, then showing his Sharingan should be the simplest thing in the world for him, shouldn't it?

Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Residence.

Izuna knew nothing of the uproar at the Clan Meeting. While Madara was out, he wandered into the study.

Looking at the small stack of clan affairs files that had piled up on the desk again, he flexed his wrist and took a deep breath.

"All right! While my head's clear, let's get this done!"

Before, he had been somewhat constrained in handling clan affairs because he was unfamiliar with the specifics.

But after making a long circuit of the clan compound that morning and talking with Hikaku and the others, he had gained a more direct understanding of the Uchiha Clan's current situation, its membership, and its main points of conflict.

Looking at the files now felt completely different.

Neighborhood disputes? With the background clear and a general understanding of the personalities and family circumstances of both parties, his comments were much more targeted.

Financial budgets? Having seen the shops and training ground firsthand, he had a sense of actual needs and market prices, so he reviewed them at lightning speed.

Dealing with other clans? With an understanding of the general relationships and competing interests among Konoha's clans, his suggestions were more practical and feasible.

More importantly, the modern thinking and management methods he had brought were practically a dimensionality reduction strike when it came to handling these "grassroots affairs."

But the clan must have had its own set of rules to have functioned until now. After thinking it over, Izuna decided to write his suggestions for managing an organization, based on modern society, in the margins.

By the time Madara returned home under the night sky, weighed down by frustration, the light in the study was still on.

He pushed open the door and saw that the files originally piled on the desk had been neatly sorted and arranged by category.

Izuna was sprawled over a corner of the desk, his head resting on his arm as he breathed softly and evenly. A writing brush with half its ink used up lay beside him.

Clearly, he had fallen asleep like that after finishing the work.

The gloom in Madara's heart eased a little, without his realizing it, when he saw his brother's peaceful sleeping face.

He walked over quietly, took off his haori, and gently draped it over him.

Then his gaze fell on the files that had been dealt with.

Madara picked one up at random.

It was a letter of intent to expand the herbal medicine trade in cooperation with the Nara Clan.

Izuna's comments analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the Uchiha's current self-operated medicinal herb shops, estimated the profit sharing and risks of the cooperation, and suggested several different models of cooperation, with a simple comparison of their advantages and disadvantages.

Another was a proposal for organizing clan members into teams and allocating resources in response to the new squad system Konoha had introduced.

Based on what he had learned that day in the clan compound about the clan members' strengths, fighting characteristics, and personality traits, Izuna had written down the positions where each of them could be most effective.

His morning tour of the clan compound and conversation with Hikaku had actually allowed him to grasp the clan's affairs to this extent. Madara thought that he seemed very good at integrating this information and turning it into practical solutions.

He continued reading and found that Izuna had drawn up a table.

Vanguard, close guard, mage, heavy armor, medic, special operations... Hmm... Even though it's the first time I've seen these, I can tell at a glance what they mean.

Izuna's analysis was fairly accurate, but the descriptions were a little... how should he put it? Too vivid.

Uchiha Takuma, special operations, good at sneak attacks. Suggest letting him keep being a "lao liu"... Does special operations mean he's good at assassinations? What's a "lao liu"?

Uchiha Kenjirō, close guard, stop relying on traps. That's not your style. Suggest continuing to hone your swordsmanship and striving to become a "god of illusion."

Hmm, very fair, but ninja are bound to use traps. And "god of illusion"? Does that mean a god of Genjutsu? It doesn't seem like it...

Uchiha Takashi, mage, a big shot who uses fire and concealed weapons. The only problem is that his Fire Style can't burn anyone to death (crossed out). I know how to fix it. I'll try it tomorrow first.

Looking at the words "his Fire Style can't burn anyone to death," Madara thought helplessly, Only you would think that.

And what's this solution?

Madara pondered. I'll follow Izuna and take a look tomorrow.

As Madara read through the files one by one, the frustration and anger in his heart gradually faded.

Izuna... even after being stranded in another world, even though he might be burdened with a past no one knows about... he's still trying hard, earnestly, in his own way, to do what "Uchiha Izuna" should do.

As expected, no matter where he is, he's still the younger brother who makes me proud.

The corners of Madara's mouth softened without his realizing it.

Madara put down the file in his hand, his gaze falling on the center of the desk, where a brand-new scroll lay open by itself.

At the top of the scroll, written in neat characters, were the words: "Draft Proposal for Uchiha Council-Based Management and Optimization."

Madara raised an eyebrow and picked it up, a little curious.