The Thing He Feared Most Had Happened

At night, Renye lay in bed, thinking about the cause of the Battle of the End Valley.

After Konoha was founded, the Uchiha Clan found itself in an awkward position within the village.

The two men's ideals had diverged.

Madara predicted that after Hashirama, Tobirama Senju would inherit the position of Hokage, and the Uchiha might face annihilation.

He was worried about Konoha's future and believed that only his own methods could protect the Uchiha Clan.

Years of war had made the Uchiha Clan Members hate war and fear power.

Madara, who had always worshipped strength, failed to gain the villagers' approval. Even the Uchiha Clan Members neither trusted nor supported him.

This left Madara feeling isolated and helpless, prompting him to leave Konoha in search of "true peace."

This so-called peace was the Infinite Tsukuyomi—Black Zetsu's alteration of the contents of the Uchiha Stone Tablet.

A ninjutsu that immersed everyone in an illusion.

To Madara, wasn't that also a kind of peace?

And the Battle of the End Valley was crucial for Madara Uchiha's awakening of the Rinnegan.

According to the Stone Tablet's contents, to awaken the Rinnegan, he had to obtain Hashirama's cells.

So Madara controlled the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha and fought Hashirama.

This battle was also his way of bidding farewell to the past.

"The Shinobi World's peace is about to end..." Renye murmured softly.

After the Battle of the End Valley, he did not have much time left to grow stronger.

If nothing unexpected happened, Hashirama Senju would be severely injured in this battle and pass away within a few years.

By then, once the other shinobi villages that had long coveted the Land of Fire learned of Hashirama Senju's death, they would undoubtedly launch a war without hesitation, hoping to seize that fertile land.

The First Shinobi World War would break out.

War was cruel. Without sufficient strength, surviving would be difficult.

If Renye remembered correctly, the First Shinobi World War lasted many years, and several Kage-level experts died during it.

Tobirama Senju died in that war...

The war lasted a long time. Renye only knew of a few major battles and could not affect the overall course of the war.

For example, the Second Raikage launched an attack on Konoha, and Tobirama Senju resisted. After the fighting continued for some time, both sides decided to form an alliance.

At the alliance ceremony, the Gold and Silver Brothers launched a coup, killed the Second Raikage, and seriously wounded Tobirama Senju.

To cover his subordinates' retreat, Tobirama Senju stayed behind alone to hold off the Gold and Silver Brothers.

In the end, both sides perished together.

Additionally, the fighting between the Mist Village and Stone Village was also intense. The Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage perished together in battle.

Knowing these things was useless to Renye. With his strength, he simply could not change the course of the war.

At most, he could warn Tobirama Senju in advance that the alliance was dangerous, allowing him to prepare beforehand or avoid attending the alliance ceremony...

It would be nice if he could change Tobirama Senju's fate.

That Old Man's political abilities were at least better than Hiruzen Sarutobi's.

With him leading the village, Renye's chances of surviving on the battlefield would be a little higher.

Still, he could not rule out the possibility that the Old Man would deliberately assign him a suicidal mission.

Based on Renye's understanding of Tobirama Senju, the odds were low, but not impossible...

To Tobirama Senju, the village's safety outweighed everything.

If Renye's death could bring value to the village, Tobirama Senju would likely send him to his death without hesitation.

When all was said and done, personal strength was what mattered most!

"I still have a few years. I'll definitely become stronger!" Renye clenched his fists. "Starting now, I'll double my training!"

Elsewhere, in Tobirama Senju's room.

Tobirama Senju tossed and turned in bed. Though he had always slept well, he was unusually sleepless tonight.

His Elder Brother's abnormal behavior today had left him confused and uneasy.

He did not know what his Elder Brother was worried about.

The village was flourishing, and the villagers lived happily.

Under his Elder Brother's deterrence, other countries did not dare start wars, and the Shinobi World had achieved its first peace since the Warring States era.

In such an environment, he could not understand what his Elder Brother was worried about.

Tobirama Senju fell into thought. "What could possibly make Elder Brother unable to eat or sleep?"

Suddenly, someone flashed through his mind.

If there had been any change, it could only be that Uchiha Madara.

Tobirama Senju's expression turned grave as he murmured softly:

"Could Uchiha Madara be plotting something?"

Ever since Uchiha Madara defected from Konoha, Tobirama Senju had heard nothing more of Madara's whereabouts. It was as though he had vanished from the world.

He had even specifically sent people throughout the Shinobi World to search for Madara's trail, but unfortunately, they found nothing.

Tobirama knew how terrifying Uchiha Madara was.

If Madara did something extreme, only Elder Brother could stop him.

"I hope my guess is wrong..." Tobirama Senju said.

The Uchiha Clan was a group of dangerous lunatics, and Uchiha Madara was the most dangerous among them.

There had originally been two of them, but he had accidentally killed one.

So only the last one remained.

It was hard to imagine how many innocent people would be caught up in it if Uchiha Madara attacked the village.

With that thought, Tobirama Senju immediately sat up from the bed and strode toward the door.

Tobirama Senju was a suspicious man. As long as something was possible, even if the chances were low, he would not stand by and ignore it.

To prevent this from happening, he needed to gather the Sealing Squad and reinforce Konoha Village's barrier, preventing Uchiha Madara from breaking into Konoha.

The dusk sky was stained blood-red.

As though it foretold that something bad was about to happen.

Just as Tobirama Senju opened the door, he suddenly heard a deafening roar from the distance, so piercing that it made his eardrums ache.

It was followed by a powerful and violent surge of Chakra.

He instinctively looked toward the sound.

A massive crimson fox was walking toward Konoha Village. Its nine enormous tails swept through the forest, snapping every tree in their path in half.

"Th-That's the Nine-Tails?" Tobirama Senju leaped onto the roof.

The moment he saw the Nine-Tails, his pupils constricted sharply.

He had heard rumors about the Tailed Beasts.

He had also heard that the Cloud Village wanted to capture the Nine-Tails, but it was too powerful, and nearly everyone sent there had died.

Two of them had accidentally been swallowed by the Nine-Tails.

Inside the Nine-Tails' stomach, they survived miraculously by devouring its flesh and blood.

The two lasted for two weeks in the Nine-Tails' belly before it finally defecated them out.

Yet misfortune had turned into fortune for them, as they gained the Nine-Tails' Chakra.

Tobirama Senju was deeply puzzled. "Why would the Nine-Tails appear here?"

At that moment, the Nine-Tails' scarlet vertical pupils turned toward Konoha.

Tobirama Senju noticed the Nine-Tails' eyes, and his breathing abruptly stopped.

"Sharingan?!"

He saw the Three Tomoe Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes!

Not only that, but a familiar figure stood atop the Nine-Tails' head.

Clad in Red Armor and holding a sickle and a War Fan.

"Uchiha Madara!" Tobirama Senju's expression darkened.

He had not expected that the thing he feared most had still happened...

Uchiha Madara... had truly come!