Interlude: Setsuna

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Forty-five years ago,

On the eve of Patriarch Madara Uchiha's departure from the village.

The young Uchiha Setsuna once asked him:

"What must a person do to possess the power of a god?"

Madara Uchiha gave him a cold glance and left him with a single sentence:

"Do you want to dance too?"

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Golden Flame tore through the air.

It ignited the writhing dome, and burning Molten Rubber came crashing down in a rain of fire.

Reflected in Uchiha Ci's eyes, the scene resembled a glittering sky as countless stars fell from the heavens.

Yet he no longer had the strength to move out of the way.

He could only stare at the falling fireballs growing larger and larger overhead, his eyes widening slightly.

Whoosh—

A black shadow leaped down, grabbed Uchiha Ci by the neck, and hurled him onto a nearby Earth and Stone ledge.

Sizzle—

The fireball crashed into the boiling spring, kicking up a shower of sparks that scattered in every direction.

Uchiha Ci froze for a moment, staring in astonishment at the Great Elder before him.

Uchiha Setsuna said nothing more, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

At this moment,

The volcano formed by Earth Rising Excavation was continuously drawing scalding boiling spring water from underground.

The water level surged wildly, the air compressed, and a world-shaking explosion was about to occur.

He raised his head and looked up at the burning dome, narrowing his eyes.

Then, he formed Hand Seals and unleashed several jutsu in succession.

Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique, Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet.

Several Fire Style techniques shot forth and slammed into the dome, but they only caused the inside of the volcano to shake violently.

Uchiha Setsuna frowned slightly and stopped what he was doing.

Uchiha Ci looked at him in utter shock, as though he had seen a polar bear in the Antarctic Circle.

"Great Elder, how are you here??"

Before the barrier had been thrown into the volcano, Ci had clearly seen that Uchiha Setsuna had not been within the range of this technique cast by Dodai, the Kumogakure Ninja.

Now that Kumogakure had lost its barrier ninja, the means restraining Uchiha Setsuna, he should have been able to leave the scene with ease.

Uchiha Setsuna snorted and said flatly:

"Nonsense. Of course I came to get you out."

Uchiha Ci was instantly dumbfounded. "Wait, Great Elder, you should have—"

Uchiha Setsuna shook his head and replied calmly:

"By your reasoning, this old man should retreat."

"I should fulfill my duty and head to Valley of Hell to stand guard, preventing Kumogakure from making trouble and sparing the clan tremendous losses."

He looked at Uchiha Ci's body, covered in bloody sword wounds and burns, one arm dislocated and hanging limply at his side, and frowned slightly.

Those injuries were even more terrifying than a ninja who had just returned from the Battlefield of the Land of Rain.

Uchiha Setsuna's gaze flickered as he let out a long breath.

"But—"

"What about you?"

"Me?" Uchiha Ci paused, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Great Elder, don't joke around. Compared to the clan, what value is there in saving me?"

"No." Uchiha Setsuna's eyes sharpened as he said in a deep voice:

"This old man thinks you do!"

"At the very least, compared to this old man, compared to a mediocre and useless man like me—"

"You, whose will is firm, whose vision is far-reaching, and who have more hope of reaching that distant shore this old man could never touch—"

"You should be the one to live!"

The smile on Uchiha Ci's face instantly froze.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Setsuna closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He placed a hand on Ci's head and ruffled his messy hair, which had become somewhat frizzy from the electric shock.

When he opened his eyes again, a pair of scarlet blood-red eyes lit up.

His calm gaze carried resolute determination.

"Ci, as you can see—" Uchiha Setsuna released his hand, stepped forward, and gripped the sword hilt.

"From the Warring States Period to this day, these old bones of mine should have long since stepped onto their destined path."

"To fade with age and march toward death."

"However,"

"This old man spent his entire life trapped in the filthy mire of power, unable to free himself."

"Yet I never experienced, as my name suggests, the brief yet brilliant instant life ought to have."

Uchiha Setsuna's gaze turned solemn.

"Until you appeared—"

"I knew that this was the guidance given to me by the Previous Patriarch, Madara Uchiha."

"I firmly believe that now is that moment!"

Uchiha Ci stared at Uchiha Setsuna, who looked as though he were about to sacrifice himself, and panic rose in his heart.

"No, wait, hold on, Great Elder, what are you even talking about?"

"Is what you understand really the same as what I understand?"

"I'm not as noble as you think. I—"

Uchiha Ci had just wanted to say something,

But Uchiha Setsuna suddenly tilted his head and smiled knowingly.

Then, his tone changed, and he spoke coldly without warning:

"This old man knows—"

"You want to die."

"You lost your parents young, suffered bullying from the clan, and lived in a pile of filth. You found the world utterly meaningless."

"You wanted to die long ago."

Uchiha Setsuna narrowed his eyes and sneered sinisterly:

"But you don't want to die in a laughable way."

"You want to wash away your shame. You want to die gloriously, to die as an Uchiha!"

"So—"

"This old man refuses to let you die."

Uchiha Ci opened his mouth to explain, but suddenly remembered something.

The background of this body really did match Uchiha Setsuna's words exactly, but the motive was completely different from what Uchiha Setsuna thought!

I'm the one who wants to die!

"Wait, you must have misunderstood something, Great Elder. Listen to my explanation."

"Hmph." Uchiha Setsuna snorted, his face arrogant and stubborn. "This old man has his own judgment."

"Then next—"

Uchiha Setsuna looked indifferently at the boiling spring about to erupt beneath his feet. Slowly drawing his long sword, he shouted coldly:

"You little bastard, watch closely."

"I will use the Uchiha Clan's Secret S-Rank Forbidden Jutsu Sword Technique Ougi—"

Hearing this, Uchiha Ci could not help but freeze.

Since when did we Uchiha have something like this besides Fire Style, Shuriken, and piloting Gundam while dancing?

An S-Rank sword technique Ougi? Even Konoha probably only has a few of those, right?

While Uchiha Ci was lost in thought,

No one expected it.

Uchiha Setsuna suddenly leaped backward and smashed the pommel of his sword into the back of Uchiha Ci's head with a reverse grip.

The blow was like a heavy hammer, sending stars exploding before Uchiha Ci's eyes as he collapsed to the ground.

"Fuck, you... you Bastard Old Man, you fucking ambushed me!"

Uchiha Ci could not help cursing in pain. His vision immediately went black, and he fell unconscious in a daze.

Yet vaguely, he heard Uchiha Setsuna give one final cold laugh:

"That's right. Hate me all you want! Resent me! Then live on, ugly as you are!"

Then, he leaped forward!

In his haze, Uchiha Ci seemed to see a Blazing Flame suddenly ignite, illuminating the entire volcano.

A blurred figure wielded a Heaven-Piercing Earth-Shattering Burning Flame Longsword.

With a light swing, the volcano instantly collapsed and shattered with a thunderous roar.

Like a deity!

Then came a splash, as though something had fallen into the Boiling Sea that was about to erupt.

After that, his consciousness sank into a murky darkness.

Only then did a talent notification sound in his mind.

[Dang!]

[You bravely retaliated against the enemy who taunted you. They are already dead and unable to retort.]

[The retaliation was particularly forceful, triggering a Critical Hit reward.]

[You obtained a random skill from the opponent: Deathmatch Barrier (Proficient, A)]

[The skill triggered a Critical Hit. Current attribute: Super · Deathmatch Barrier (Mastery, S)]

[Your Heart of Steel stacks increased.]

Uchiha Setsuna, male, was a male character in the Japanese Manga Naruto and its Derivative Works. A Jonin of the Uchiha Clan from Konohagakure Village in the Land of Fire, he was a member of the Konoha Military Police Force. He was a sinister and cunning man who inherited Madara's will. Extremely dissatisfied with the policies Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, used to govern the Uchiha Clan, he had always yearned to reclaim sovereignty from the Senju Clan. He was an Uchiha clansman of the Hawk Faction. —Book of Formation