Song × Children

Madara was somewhat puzzled by Izuna's musical skill, which he had suddenly unlocked and quickly mastered.

How should he put it... It wasn't that it was bad.

Listening to the melody flowing from his younger brother's hands, now light and lively, now stirring and rousing.

Watching his profile as he concentrated on plucking the strings in the sunlight, Madara had to admit that it was a pleasing sight, and the music did indeed help him relax.

It was just... a little puzzling.

When had his Izuna developed such a keen interest in music, and acquired such... well, a unique playing technique?

In the past, Izuna had been calculating and diligent in his training, devoting most of his thoughts to clan affairs, strategic planning, and improving his strength.

In his spare time, he might have read scrolls or enjoyed some tea, but he would never have spent most of a day practicing with a Biwa in his arms, looking as though he enjoyed every moment of it.

Was this another difference brought about by that "parallel world"?

In that world, before everything changed, perhaps Izuna's life had been more... colorful? Perhaps he hadn't had to remain constantly on edge over war and the survival of his clan, allowing him to develop such a hobby and talent?

Madara did not dwell on it, nor did he intend to ask. As long as Izuna was happy, it didn't matter what he did.

Besides, when Madara saw Izuna playing by the training ground, the little Uchiha children who always gathered around him were drawn over by the music. They curiously asked, "Lord Izuna, what song are you playing? It sounds so nice!" The joy that instantly lit up Izuna's face, his eagerness to share, made Madara think that perhaps this hobby wasn't so bad.

So, one afternoon, as Madara watched Izuna enthusiastically study a new fingering technique while several children looked on eagerly, an idea occurred to him.

"Izuna."

"Hm? Brother?" Izuna stopped plucking the strings and looked up.

"There's a grassy meadow near the compound, beside a stream. The scenery is decent." Madara's tone was casual, as though he were talking about something trivial. "If you want to teach them, you might as well go there. It's quieter than the training ground."

Izuna's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great! Thanks, brother!"

He immediately called to the children. "Come on, come on! I'll take you somewhere nice! Brother Madara recommended it, so it's bound to be good!"

And so Madara led the way, with Izuna carrying his Biwa and a flock of chattering little kids trailing behind. They left the somewhat solemn Uchiha Clan Compound and arrived at an open riverside meadow carpeted with green grass.

The sunlight was just right, and a gentle breeze brought with it the fresh scent of grass and stream water.

Izuna found a large, flat rock to sit on, held the Biwa across his lap, and began his "lesson" in earnest.

"Music is actually very simple. It's just do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti~" Izuna played a simple scale on the Biwa, then began teaching the children the most basic of scale songs from another world.

His teaching was not systematic; it was more about learning through play.

He accompanied the children on the Biwa as they sang again and again, correcting them when they went off-key and encouraging them to sing loudly.

The children were a little reserved and shy at first, but Izuna put on no airs of a teacher, guiding them as though they were simply playing. Gradually, they began to sing out.

Their childish voices mingled with Izuna's clear singing and the Biwa's lively accompaniment, drifting over the meadow.

The novel and joyful sight soon drew other children who were playing nearby or passing through.

Not far away, some children from the Hyuga Clan Compound had been practicing the basic stances of the Gentle Fist. Drawn by the singing, they could not help stopping to peer curiously over.

Two children from the Inuzuka Clan passed by with their Ninja Dogs. The dogs pricked up their ears, and the children, too, could not resist stopping.

There was even a chubby little boy from the Akimichi Clan, holding a half-eaten snack as he stood a short distance away, staring in a daze.

Sharp-eyed Izuna spotted the "onlookers" at once. Far from feeling disturbed, he smiled even more happily and waved vigorously at the children.

"Hey! You over there! The handsome little guys from the Hyuga Clan! The little warriors from the Inuzuka Clan! The little gourmet from the Akimichi Clan! Don't just stand there watching! Come play with us! Do you want to learn how to make an instrument sing?"

The children he had called out to jumped, somewhat at a loss.

The older clan brothers and sisters behind them instinctively became wary, shielding their younger siblings as their gazes swept back and forth between the beaming Izuna and Madara Uchiha, who stood beside him with his arms folded and his face expressionless.

Madara's presence was undoubtedly an invisible deterrent. But Izuna's smile was far too harmless, and he was so enthusiastic that he was hard to refuse.

In the end, as Izuna kept beckoning encouragingly and calling, "Come on! It's lots of fun!" the children's curiosity and longing overcame their wariness and the slight barrier between strangers.

They looked at one another, then stole a glance at Madara, who did not seem to object. Finally, they edged over cautiously, pausing with every step.

Izuna welcomed everyone, ushering them into a circle before starting the lesson over.

He made no deliberate distinction between clans, treating them simply as a group of children who liked music.

And so, a remarkable sight appeared on the meadow: children from the Uchiha, Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Akimichi... and even children from the Aburame, Yamanaka, and Nara Clan who came later after hearing the music, all crowded together, stumbling through "Do-Re-Mi" as they learned to sing from the Uchiha second-in-command holding the strange instrument.

Though their singing was uneven and occasionally punctuated by the puzzled barks of Ninja Dogs, an atmosphere of innocent childhood joy truly spread among them, crossing the boundaries between clans.

Madara stood in the shade of a tree a little farther away, watching the scene with a profound gaze.

He watched his younger brother surrounded by little children with all sorts of eyes and hair, smiling so broadly his eyes had nearly disappeared. Sunlight fell on him as though gilding him in gold, making even the dark red Biwa look especially warm.

The corners of Madara's mouth curved upward almost imperceptibly.

Scenes like this played out more than once afterward.

It was as if Izuna had opened the door to a new world and discovered the joy of looking after children.

No longer confined to the meadow, he began leading his ever-growing "scout troop" on rambles through Konoha's streets and alleys.

They sang and danced as they ran from the main road to the outskirts of the training ground, laughing as they passed newly opened shops. Occasionally, they even put on an impromptu "choral performance" in an open square.

Izuna even incorporated Taijutsu training into these "games."

Using the Rhythm Game patterns provided by the system, he devised some simple games of chasing and dodging that required coordination and quick reactions.

He grandly called it "training reflexes and teamwork," but in reality, he was simply running wild around the village with a group of children, teaching them some basic dodging and force-exertion techniques along the way.

The results were unexpectedly good.

The children had the time of their lives. Amid laughter and sweat, they completed their physical training without even realizing it, while the unfamiliarity and barriers between them quickly melted away as they chased and played.

Konoha's villagers went from surprise and curiosity at first to gradually growing accustomed to the group, and some even began looking forward to seeing the lively procession of "little suns" pass by.

Their laughter and singing seemed to breathe fresh life into the newly built village, which still bore the lingering embers of war and an air of tension.

Once, Hashirama Senju managed to sneak away from his mountain of paperwork, a rare chance to get some air and see how construction in the village was progressing.

As he strolled along, he suddenly heard the familiar, rhythmic sound of a Biwa, as well as... a great, cheerful chorus mixed with children's voices?

Curious, Hashirama followed the sound through a grove of trees, and the view suddenly opened before him—a large, naturally formed lake on the edge of Konoha, its clear water shimmering with light.

Several simple little wooden boats floated on the lake.

On the largest boat, Izuna sat at the bow with his Biwa, playing a lively melody as he led the dozens of children aboard in song.

The children's faces shone with pure smiles as they clapped to the rhythm and swayed.

Sometimes a few little kids fell into the lake, but they had actually already learned how to stand on water. They paused only briefly before hurrying to catch up with the main group.

Then they squeezed back onto the boat, soaking wet, while the others looked at them with distaste.

Sunlight, lake water, song, smiling faces... They made a picture too beautiful to seem real.

At first, Hashirama smiled appreciatively, but soon his keen senses alerted him to something "unusual" nearby.

His gaze swept over the woods and bushes along the shore, and even the distant hillside...

Good grief!

There were more than just children and Izuna here!

In the shadows of the woods, behind the bushes, on the far side of the hill... no fewer than twenty or thirty adult shinobi were hidden there, in twos and threes, standing, crouching, or leaning against things!

Judging by their Forehead Protectors and clothing, there were Uchiha, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Ino-Shika-Cho... People from nearly every major clan in Konoha were "lying low" here.

Some wore stern expressions and deep frowns, clearly displeased or worried that their children were mingling with children from other clans and having so much fun.

Others studied the figure playing and singing in the middle of the lake with searching, appraising gazes, as though evaluating something.

Only a few wore gentle, relaxed smiles, looking softly at the children from their own clans and the others, as though they had merely come to watch an enjoyable outing.

But without exception, not one of them stepped forward to interrupt Izuna or this "music lesson" and "outing" that crossed clan lines.

Hashirama: "..."

He rubbed his chin, suddenly understanding why the mission hall had been so quiet that morning, with less than half the usual number of people taking missions.

I thought I'd come out for a stroll since there was nothing going on. So everyone's here "carrying out escort missions"?

Hashirama found it somewhat amusing, but he also felt a peculiar stirring.

His gaze returned to the center of the lake.

There were not only innocent six- or seven-year-olds there, easily drawn to new things.

There were also quite a few youths in their early teens, some even approaching fifteen or sixteen.

Many of these youths had already undergone their clans' preliminary training, and some had even accompanied their clans on simple missions.

The ideas of clan honor and opposing sides had long been instilled in them, and they might even have had disagreements with one another because of past friction or competition over missions.

Normally, it would have been almost impossible for them to stay together so peacefully, without provoking or glaring coldly at one another.

But now?

They too sat on the boats or stood on the shore. They might still look a little awkward and uncomfortable, but no conflicts had occurred.

When Izuna played a particularly stirring passage and got all the children shouting a certain syllable together, a few of the youths even called out along with them before they knew it. Only afterward did they realize what they had done, turning their faces away in slight embarrassment, yet unable to resist secretly checking the others' reactions.

Children from different clans, of different ages and temperaments, had been strangely "glued" together by Izuna's singing and Biwa.

The clan hatreds of the past, the bloody memories of the battlefield, and the hostility and barriers hidden in their bloodlines and teachings all seemed shut out beyond this sunlit lake, beyond the songs and smiling faces.

What an... incredible sight.

Hashirama stood there quietly and watched for a long time.

He did not show himself or disturb them.

It was just that the flame in his heart, the one concerning what Konoha's future would look like, seemed to burn brighter and more steadily because of the scene before him.

This is the village we truly want to build.

A place where children can make no distinctions between one another, where they can sing together, play together, and grow up together.

Hashirama turned and left without a sound.

He had to go back and continue dealing with those damned documents.

Still, he seemed to be in a much better mood than when he had come out.