Early the next morning, Kyosuke received a summons from the clan leader.
When he arrived and saw the expressionless Madara and a furious Izuna, he had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
Ah, he found out after all.
It was hardly surprising. If Tajima Uchiha couldn't even uncover something like this, he would probably have lost his position long ago.
"Kyosuke!" Izuna immediately began demanding answers. "My brother was being foolish, but why did you go along with his nonsense?"
Hearing that, Kyosuke picked at his ear with his little finger, not bothering to answer some brat's questions.
"Hey, you..."
"Enough!" The clan leader stopped his younger son. He understood that Kyosuke had nothing to fear now and wouldn't give such a trivial matter a second thought.
Accuse him of colluding with the enemy?
What a joke. He had only been at the front for a few days. How could he possibly have established secret ties with the Senju?
The clansmen weren't idiots. They would never believe that story.
Even if he produced evidence of their meeting, Kyosuke could casually say he had gone there to follow Madara. Then things would become truly troublesome.
Tajima understood all of this perfectly. Last night, he had merely been trying to frighten his son.
He knew his own child best. Madara was excellent in every respect, but concern for others often clouded his judgment.
In the past, it had been Izuna. Now, unexpectedly, Kyosuke had joined that list.
But on reflection, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If his son could bring Kyosuke under his control, perhaps he would no longer need to keep targeting him.
"Kyosuke." Tajima made no mention of his involvement and instead asked him directly, "I've discovered a member of the Senju Clan, a boy about Madara's age. Would you like to come along?"
What a pointless test. Meeting everyone's gazes, Kyosuke nodded indifferently. "Of course. If we capture him, we can certainly force Butsuma Senju to withdraw his troops."
Just look at him... At that moment, Tajima desperately wished Kyosuke were his son, too.
If he had known the boy was so gifted, he should have adopted him back then. That would have solved every problem.
"Exactly." Tajima clapped appreciatively and praised him. "As expected of a commander who rules his own territory. Your reasoning is sound, Kyosuke."
"That's settled, then. We'll capture him and use him as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Senju."
With that, the group set off immediately for the river where the previous meeting had taken place.
It was near Konoha's Hokage Rock.
To protect his son's reputation, Tajima hadn't brought any subordinates. He had thought nothing could go wrong, but he soon regretted that decision.
By the river, Madara and Hashirama gazed at each other across the water, communicating through their eyes.
"Madara, do you remember the first time we met?"
Something stirred in Madara's heart. Smiling, he picked up a pebble and slowly carved into it with a chakra-coated finger. "Of course I remember. You lost to me at skipping stones."
"Oh, come on. You were the one who lost."
Another stretch of wordless silence followed. Suddenly, both boys threw their stones, then caught the ones flying toward them from the opposite bank.
"Run!"
"It's an ambush!"
In the woods behind them, Kyosuke sighed with feeling. "What a deeply touching scene."
Tajima turned and shot him a fierce glare, then leaped out of the brush with his sons. To their surprise, two figures emerged on the other side as well.
On one side stood the Uchiha father and sons: Tajima, Izuna, and Madara.
On the other stood the Senju father and sons: Butsuma, Tobirama, and Hashirama.
As the only outsider, Kyosuke couldn't help feeling excluded.
By the time he strolled out, the two reigning clan leaders had already begun exchanging insults about each other's families across the river.
Ignoring the two clan-leader-level loudmouths, Kyosuke looked at the gray-haired figure.
Tobirama Senju, the finest theoretician in the Naruto world, creator of countless famous ninjutsu.
He was also someone Kyosuke rather disliked.
In his view, even without that scheming bastard Black Zetsu stirring up trouble behind the scenes, Tobirama Senju would have moved against the Uchiha sooner or later.
This man was the true hardliner. Even after the village was founded, he had never let go of his hatred for the Uchiha.
Of course, he was clever and knew how to justify things by portraying them as a threat.
He had ordered the Senju Clan to disperse and integrate completely into Konoha, successfully preventing them from being singled out in the future.
It was a bold idea. Not only did it protect the few remaining clansmen, it also directed hostility straight toward the Uchiha, who refused to bow their heads.
One could say that Obito and Danzo had merely carried it out. He was the true culprit behind the Uchiha's destruction.
Across the river, Tobirama Senju frowned slightly. He kept feeling that the fellow harbored deep malice toward him.
People often said that when you vaguely sensed someone disliked you, there was no need to doubt it. Deep down, they were already utterly sick of you.
But Tobirama couldn't understand. This was clearly their first meeting. Where had such groundless resentment come from?
Perhaps that's just how the Uchiha are.
Soon, both clan leaders decided to end their war of words at the same time.
Butsuma Senju was considering retreat. The enemy had the numerical advantage. He wasn't worried about himself, but he feared his two children might get hurt.
Tajima, on the other hand, simply chose to attack.
"Madara, Kyosuke, Izuna, capture those two brats!"
Fire Release: Great Fire Whirlwind!
Several fire tornadoes roared toward them, their terrifying power bringing the entire river to a boil.
"Attack!"
Under his father's pressure, Madara gritted his teeth, drew his short sword, and charged.
Across from him, Hashirama couldn't help shouting, "Madara, don't abandon our promise!"
This idiot. Kyosuke's mouth twitched as he raised his hand and hurled a Special-Made Kunai.
His target was Tobirama Senju.
"Kyosuke!" Hashirama still had the presence of mind to shout. He knew how strong Kyosuke was. Honestly, Tobirama was probably no match for him yet.
What he hadn't expected, however, was how abruptly Tobirama would lose.
Tilting his head to dodge the oddly shaped kunai, Tobirama sneered and formed hand seals. A massive torrent of water suddenly gathered around him.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
In his hands, the defensive Water Formation Wall could also be used to attack.
Standing on the opposite bank, he had a natural terrain advantage.
Thud!
Yet before he could strike, a heavy blow from behind nearly knocked him unconscious on the spot.
The water wall shattered. Kyosuke clamped one hand around Tobirama's neck, his stance radiating wild arrogance.
"Tobirama!" The First's heart lurched. His chakra surged, and he gathered monstrous strength into a kick that sent Madara Uchiha flying.
"Let him go, Kyosuke." Hashirama used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of him and threw a punch.
In truth, Kyosuke could easily have taken Tobirama Senju off the battlefield.
After a period of diligent training, he could now use Flying Thunder God to teleport with another person, at least at a basic level.
But after a moment's hesitation, he abandoned that tempting idea.
Hashirama Senju needed to remain alive to deal with the potential threats.
Before you continue