Madara's Rebirth

"We... too..." Uchiha Madara's eyes slowly closed, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips as his consciousness sank into darkness.

Hashirama, my old friend, I'm truly sorry!

"Where is this?" Uchiha Madara gradually regained consciousness. Seeing the lush trees all around him, he could not help but feel puzzled.

"It seems I'm already dead! But this doesn't look like the Pure Land of the Underworld!" Uchiha Madara looked at his translucent palm, growing even more confused.

As Uchiha Madara pondered, a powerful suction force spread from somewhere nearby, catching him off guard and making him stagger.

But years of life as a ninja had honed his bodily instincts. He immediately lowered his stance and resisted the force.

"The body's pull on the soul? Fine, I'll go take a look for now!" Uchiha Madara carefully sensed the familiar pull. It was very similar to the sensation of being drawn in by Impure World Reincarnation, so he gave up resisting and followed the suction force toward the distance.

"Hm? What's that?" Madara suddenly turned toward the depths of the forest, where he sensed several powerful auras soaring into the sky.

Madara licked his inexplicably dry lips, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit and excitement. "A melee between Kage Level fighters? I wonder how they compare to the Five Kage?"

Though Madara wanted to go over and see for himself, to test the mettle of those people, he was merely a soul and could not participate in battle. He could only lament the missed opportunity.

He was then pulled away into the distance, thinking regretfully, What a pity! I hope that one day, I, Uchiha Madara, can dance with such people again!

"Ah Yin! No! I want you all dead!"

As several heart-wrenching cries rang out, the battle deep in the forest came to an end.

A ragged middle-aged man emerged from the depths of the forest like a walking corpse, holding a baby in his arms.

"Hm?" The man noticed the sound of a baby crying from the grass nearby. A trace of life returned to his formerly dead eyes, only to fade again almost immediately. As though he had heard nothing, he continued walking out of the forest.

Anyone who abandoned a child here had never intended for the child to live. They merely wanted a Spirit Beast to kill it for them.

The baby's cries grew louder. The middle-aged man's steps faltered, and after letting out a helpless sigh, he retraced his path and picked the baby up from the grass. Beneath the setting sun, he slowly walked out of the forest.

Six years later, Douluo Continent, Sacred Soul Village.

On a small hill beside the village, which had been named after the Soul Saint once born there.

A ray of morning light pierced through layers of clouds and shone upon the greenish hill.

The hill was not tall. Two small, childish figures sat cross-legged atop it. Before long, the rising sun slowly climbed from the east. One of the children opened his eyes, gently exhaled a breath of stale air, then stood and said to the slightly older child beside him, "Brother, it's getting late. Let's go home!"

The slightly older child was Uchiha Madara. Six years ago, he had come to this world and been taken in by someone, who named him Madara and gave him a younger brother named Tang San.

Madara had not been named Tang Madara in this life. He had only one name: Madara. In Tang Hao's eyes, the Tang in his surname belonged to the Clear Sky Sect. He was not qualified to grant it to someone without the Clear Sky Sect's bloodline. As for a surname, Tang Hao, his adoptive father, had long told Madara, "You were adopted anyway. Use whatever surname you want!"

Madara later learned that this was not the Shinobi World, but an entirely new world. This continent was called Douluo Continent.

After hearing Tang San call him, Madara slowly opened his eyes. He could refine Chakra anytime and anywhere, but for some reason, his younger brother Tang San insisted on watching the sunrise here every morning.

Worried about his younger brother, Madara had made this his place for morning training.

Madara stood up from the ground and rubbed Tang San's blue hair. Tang San was half a head shorter than him, and for a fleeting moment, Madara seemed to see Izuna, who had possessed the same gentle temperament.

"Let's go!" Madara dusted himself off and followed Tang San home to Sacred Soul Village.

Sacred Soul Village Blacksmith Shop. Tang Hao, who had just awakened from a drunken sleep, frowned at the table before the two boys when they returned.

"Madara, did you go rob other children again?" Tang Hao asked as he looked at the food before them. It was not lavish, but there was plenty of it.

"It was just some pocket money. They offered it up themselves every time!" Madara said carelessly.

As the village blacksmith, Tang Hao's income had always been meager. On top of that, he drank heavily year after year, slept every morning, and only worked in the afternoon, leaving him with very little money to spare.

Madara and Tang San were growing boys, so naturally they could not deprive themselves. Besides, at his peak in his previous life, Madara had not hesitated to bully a junior like Ōnoki. Extorting his "peers" now was nothing by comparison.

Although he had opened his heart in his previous life and accepted Hashirama Senju's ideals about love, the belief that the strong ruled and the weak submitted was still engraved in his bones and had not completely changed.

No matter where you are, the strong rule, and the weak can only be controlled. That is the eternal truth! Madara thought silently as he ate.

Whether it was the several auras he had sensed that rivaled Kage Level fighters, or the things he had heard about Soul Masters, everything told Madara that this was far from a friendly world.

"Anyway, don't do this again in the future," Tang Hao said after a pause.

Madara glanced up at Tang Hao but said nothing. It was unclear whether he accepted it or simply let it go in one ear and out the other.

"Dad, Brother didn't mean it that way! He was just born with that sort of personality!" Seeing Tang Hao's expression darken, Tang San hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

Tang Hao's expression softened slightly, but then he felt an overwhelming headache. The two boys were like complete opposites: one arrogant and unyielding, the other humble and courteous; one cold-faced, the other gentle.

"What was I thinking when I brought this brat home?" Tang Hao felt a trace of regret.

After eating, Tang Hao turned and headed back into the inner room. With his back to Tang San, he instructed, "I'm going to sleep for a while. If there's any work, take it first. I'll do it this afternoon."

"Okay, Dad." Tang San nodded seriously. Madara merely grunted and went outside, beginning to refine Chakra again.

Tang San usually handled most of the chores. Tang Hao, being a drunkard, naturally had no objection, while Madara had been skilled at killing as a ninja in his previous life but knew nothing about housework.

Thus, the two had a clear division of labor. Tang San mainly cooked and did similar chores, while Madara went out to "work" and help support the household.

What neither Tang Hao nor Madara expected was that Tang San actually asked for a piece of raw iron, leaving Madara utterly baffled.

When Tang Hao heard that Tang San wanted to become a blacksmith, he casually pulled over a chair and sat down. He lazily asked Madara in the corner, "Madara, do you want to become a blacksmith when you grow up too?"

"Not interested. I want to become strong," Madara replied without even opening his eyes.

A mocking glint flashed through Tang Hao's eyes. "Strong? Why?"

Madara looked up at the star-filled night sky outside the window and murmured, "Perhaps because I want to stand a little higher and see the scenery below the mountain."

Those who had stood high above would instinctively climb back toward the summit even after falling from the clouds, because they had grown accustomed to the view from above.

"Do you want strength so you can travel the continent and see its sights?" Tang Hao opened his drooping eyes a little wider and scrutinized Madara.

Madara, however, thought of the start of the Shinobi World War, when he had stood atop a mountain and looked down upon the ninjas of nearly the entire Shinobi World, as numerous as ants.

What captivating scenery!

Tang Hao then returned his attention to Tang San. After giving him some instruction, Tang San received his father's task: hammer a large chunk of ordinary iron into Iron Essence the size of a fist.

Madara, seated in the corner, watched the excited Tang San with a furrowed brow. Somewhat displeased, he asked, "Xiao San, do you really only want to be a blacksmith? Don't you want to become strong?"

"Ah, Brother. I think being a blacksmith is fine too. Besides, no one said a blacksmith can't become strong!" Tang San answered breathlessly as he hammered the piece of refined iron, turning back to look at him.

Though his young body appeared exceptionally small, it was filled with unusual determination and confidence.

"Not bad. You were born with great strength, and you have that conviction too. You've got some mettle!" Madara folded his arms and watched Tang San swing the hammer continuously for half an hour. Though Tang San was exhausted, he still persisted, and a trace of emotion flashed through Madara's eyes.

I can't fall behind either! Madara then took several weights made from ordinary iron blocks from the yard and headed into the woods outside the village to begin training.