That little speech had nearly left Madara Uchiha completely hoodwinked.
The Dance King was probably deeply shaken right now. If the timing had been right, he would have run straight off to share it with his buddy.
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you." The young Madara patted his shoulder excitedly.
Suddenly, as though remembering something, he told Kyosuke to wait and headed back to his own camp.
As the Clan Leader's son and the future ruler of the Uchiha, Madara had a unit of troops ready to obey his orders at any time.
He and Kyosuke would set out together in a week to resist the Uzumaki's increasingly fierce offensive.
Looks like Tajima is about to notice something off about his son, too.
No, more precisely, he's probably already suspicious. It just isn't time for him to act yet.
As Kyosuke pondered, a sharp whistling suddenly came from the distance.
Looking up, a gleam flashed through Kyosuke's eyes. He raised his arm and easily caught the incoming object.
It was a long sword in its sheath. He drew the blade, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
With a slight surge of chakra, a pale blue glow immediately spread over it-the distinctive appearance of manifested chakra.
Normally, metal weapons such as kunai could also conduct chakra.
Their transmission efficiency was simply very low. Of all the chakra poured into them, less than twenty percent actually took effect.
That was why few people bothered. It was far too inefficient.
Finding a special metal with high transmission efficiency could greatly enhance the power of chakra applied to a weapon.
The weapon in his hand, for instance, had a staggering sixty percent transmission efficiency.
With even a little study of nature transformation, the blade could express it perfectly.
Perhaps it could not raise the upper limit of Kyosuke's strength, but it could greatly improve his baseline combat power.
Simply put, he would have a much easier time dealing with ninja at his own level from now on.
Against those weaker than him, he could end battles as easily as slicing vegetables.
It amounted to a substantial increase in his minimum combat strength, helping him conserve energy in battle.
He couldn't alternate between the Body Flicker Technique and Chidori against everyone he met. No amount of chakra would be enough for that.
"Thanks." He accepted the weapon without hesitation, treating it as Madara's gift in return.
Ideological education wasn't free, either.
In the distance, Madara Uchiha walked toward him, clad in armor.
Hearing that utterly insincere thanks, he smiled faintly and said, "Don't thank me. Father ordered me to fetch this weapon from the clan treasury."
The Uchiha Treasury... Kyosuke's expression shifted slightly. That place was a treasure trove with countless items in its collection.
There was no way Madara had gone in there just to fetch him a blade.
He eyed Madara suspiciously from head to toe, only slowly withdrawing his gaze once the Dance King's body had begun to stiffen.
Madara Uchiha let out a long breath, feeling as though Kyosuke had seen right through him.
Having visited the Family's treasury, he certainly wasn't going to leave empty-handed.
In fact, Kyosuke's arrival had already changed many things.
In the original story, Madara's strength towered over his peers. Though he had never slacked off, his drive to grow stronger had always been somewhat lacking.
Now, spurred on by Kyosuke, he felt an unprecedented sense of urgency.
He had to train hard, work to develop his bloodline abilities, and make sure he didn't fall behind in weaponry, either.
During his visit to the treasury, he quickly chose a gift for Kyosuke, then began rummaging through everything in search of a powerful weapon for himself.
In the end, the Mythical Ninja Tool passed down through the generations, the Uchiha Gunbai, had emerged some six or seven years ahead of schedule.
Unconsciously touching the Storage Scroll at his waist, Madara Uchiha gave a light cough, made up an excuse, and ran off.
Somewhat puzzled, Kyosuke simply abandoned his attempt to investigate. After a little thought, he decided to catch up with Izuna, whom he hadn't seen in quite a while.
That night, intense noises reportedly rang out again and again from the second son's training ground.
The clansmen marveled at what a hardworking boy Uchiha Izuna was, still training so diligently at such a late hour.
Little did they know that Izuna had become a punching bag, serving as Kyosuke's test subject for his new sword.
Once Kyosuke left, thoroughly satisfied, the bruised and swollen boy could only lick his wounds alone.
"You bastard. One day, I'll surpass you."
"And my big brother, too. I, Izuna, am the most talented of us all."
Had Kyosuke heard that bold declaration, he would certainly have regretted hitting him so hard.
How did I manage to knock him stupid?
The next day, with nothing to do, Kyosuke planned to find Madara for a Second Battle.
Izuna was far too weak to give him a satisfying fight. Fighting the Dance King was much more exhilarating.
But when he knocked on the door, the steward told him that the Clan Heir had gone into the mountains to train first thing that morning.
Something's fishy. Kyosuke narrowed his eyes and followed the clues in pursuit.
In the mountain forest, beside a small stream.
The young Madara idly skipped stones, his mind filled with Kyosuke's words.
It really is a good way to resolve our conflicts. Unfortunately, Father would never agree.
But that's all right. As long as Kyosuke and I are here, we can truly achieve peace in the future.
As he mulled it over, Madara suddenly felt the urge to urinate. He undid his trousers and began relieving himself into the stream.
Suddenly, a figure appeared silently behind him.
"Hey!"
The stream of urine instantly stopped. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it going again.
"Hashirama!!!"
Ignoring his buddy's furious shout, the good-natured young man with the Bowl Cut studied him in amazement. "Madara, you weren't lying. It really does stop against your will."
"I told you already! I'm the kind who can't pee with someone next to me, you bastard!"
"I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it!"
After bickering for quite some time, the two finally settled down, and Madara took the opportunity to explain Kyosuke's idea.
"Using time to dissolve hatred, huh?" Hashirama's eyes lit up, and he felt as though he had found a kindred spirit.
Until now, he had pursued his dream without a clear direction, not even certain whether peace was possible.
He had never expected one of Madara's clansmen to have such insight.
Rubbing his hands together nervously, Hashirama dearly wanted to meet that person face-to-face, even though he knew it would be a great risk.
Neither he nor Madara was a fool. There were simply many issues they tacitly left unspoken.
If an outsider really got involved, Hashirama feared it would destroy the friendship they had worked so hard to build.
As he worried to himself, the young man with the Bowl Cut suddenly tensed and turned toward the woods diagonally behind him.
Two seconds later, Madara Uchiha also sensed something and grew wary.
From the shadows of the woods, Uchiha Kyosuke stepped out, dressed in black combat gear.
At the sight of him, Madara relaxed a little. As long as it wasn't one of his father's men, they could work things out.
But he quickly tensed again, because Kyosuke's footsteps never stopped.
Resting his hand on the sword hilt at his waist, Kyosuke activated his Sharingan and fixed his gaze on Hashirama Senju, whose expression had changed drastically.
The next second, his blade was already upon Hashirama.
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