Chapter 5: Clan Heir Madara Uchiha
His gaze fixed on Madara Uchiha, Kyosuke remained dazed for a long time.
Memories were memories, but when he saw a familiar anime character with his own eyes, the feelings in his heart were naturally quite different.
I didn't expect the Dance King to be rather handsome when he was a child.
Coming back to his senses, Kyosuke bowed to Clan Leader Tajima, displaying his silent and introverted personality to the fullest.
Far from finding fault with this, Tajima was actually very satisfied with his performance.
An introverted personality was good; poor conversational skills meant the boy could at most only become an excellent tool.
Unfortunately, Tajima forgot that the eldest son upon whom he pinned such high hopes did not seem like a particularly eloquent person either.
"Come, sit down quickly. You've had a hard journey." Tajima's aged face was plastered with hypocritical smiles.
To say nothing of Kyosuke, even Lord Madara at the side found it painful to watch.
If not to witness this rising genius, he would never have taken the initiative to come to his father's side.
Whether it was his father's methods or his philosophy of dealing with people, Madara deeply disagreed with them from the bottom of his heart.
In his view, the factional divisions within the clan were something his father bore primary responsibility for.
If he took power, he would surely suppress all factions and unify their strength to contend against the Senju Clan.
Sigh. With an internal sigh, Madara Uchiha suddenly stepped forward and asked in a detached tone, "You're Kyosuke, right? How is your mastery of the Sharingan?"
"Reporting to the Clan Heir..."
"Just call me Madara."
Seeing this, Tajima hypocritically chimed in from the side, "That's right, you're all brothers, why be so polite?"
What the fuck, why didn't you say you were brothers when you sent me to the front lines, old man.
Kyosuke rolled his eyes in his heart, thinking that this clan leader really was quite a rare piece of work.
No wonder even his two sons couldn't stand him; if he didn't have terrifying strength, this bit of capability would have gotten him killed a hundred times over.
"My Chakra is still insufficient, and the Sharingan cannot be kept active for long periods." As he spoke, Kyosuke quickly gathered Chakra, and his pitch-black eyes suddenly underwent a transformation.
Witnessing his performance firsthand, Tajima Uchiha fell into a rare silence.
Setting aside other factors, on this point alone the boy was worth him going to great lengths to win over.
After a few insincere words of praise, Tajima then told him to go home and rest first.
"Settle in with peace of mind and rest well for a few days. I will arrange an outstanding teacher for you."
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Clan Leader."
"Madara, he's about Izuna's age. From now on, you must look after him like a younger brother."
"...I know."
Kyosuke sensibly took his leave first; if he stayed any longer, it would truly be a test of the clan leader's acting skills.
Unexpectedly, after a short while, the Dance King actually chased after him from behind.
"Kyosuke, you don't have many relatives within the clan. Tonight I'll gather some people to welcome you and wash away the dust of travel."
Seeing that the boy wanted to refuse, Madara scratched his head in distress and added in a low voice, "This is my father's arrangement."
"Then thank you... Madara." Kyosuke twitched the corners of his mouth, barely holding back from shouting out the title of Dance King.
The two youths looked at each other and smiled, that sense of unfamiliarity dissipating quite a bit invisibly.
Kyosuke was a youthful genius who had taken to the battlefield at the age of seven, making him worthy of Madara Uchiha's respect.
The two had a two-year age gap, which could be considered roughly peers.
Since the Dance King had previously said the other party lacked relatives in the clan, how could he himself not also lack friends?
The people around him mostly gathered for his father's position as clan leader.
Most of them were good-for-nothings, so the arrogant Lord Madara naturally couldn't view them as friends.
Only Kyosuke was different; even though the other party acted very modest, he could clearly sense one thing.
The two of them were true kindred spirits.
"Didn't come in vain today." The Dance King strode away, looking like he was in a pretty good mood.
"I wonder where that kid Izuna ran off to. Let's call him over tonight too."
Watching the Clan Heir leave, Kyosuke turned and walked toward the home in his memories.
When he was five years old, his parents perished in a mission, and he survived entirely thanks to the clan's help.
After receiving ninja training, he quickly displayed extraordinary shuriken-throwing techniques.
Because of this, he was conscripted into the Southern Army as a reserve for the combat sequence.
In short, the Warring States version of a suicide squad.
"Someone has cleaned." Kyosuke returned to his room without changing his expression, discovering that even the bedding smelled fragrant.
Needless to say, this was definitely another of Tajima's methods to win people over.
Packing his carried luggage, the sky soon darkened, and Madara Uchiha arrived as promised, bringing someone else along with him as well.
His own younger brother, Uchiha Izuna.
Stepping into his home, Madara's brow couldn't help but furrow slightly.
There was no help for it; even after tidying up, the living conditions at Kyosuke's place were truly wretched to a somewhat excessive degree.
To put it this way, little Naruto's run-down apartment was leagues better than this place.
Madara Uchiha was not someone who focused on self-indulgence, yet even he felt the environment here was unworthy of his newly acquainted good friend.
"Hey!" While Lord Madara was pondering where to procure a proper house, Izuna-who still looked completely like a little brat-started clamoring beside him. "You must be Kyosuke. Brother says you're very strong, but I just don't see it."
As a top-tier brother complex, he refused to acknowledge that anyone could be stronger than his brother.
Lately, rumors concerning Kyosuke had been circulating everywhere within the clan, making him want to meet the other person from early on.
He's only a year older than me, nothing special about that. This was what Izuna was thinking.
Looking at the little brat who was half a head shorter than him, Kyosuke paused for a moment and directly ignored him.
"Let's go, I'm already starving."
"Alright." Madara nodded, pointing at the surroundings as he spoke. "Would you like to change places? I know a few good spots."
"Forget it, as long as it's livable it's fine." Kyosuke shook his wayward head, not wishing to act too high-profile right after returning to the clan.
There was no need to guess what the Dance King meant by good spots; they were bound to be those wealthy noble mansions.
What was the point of a seven-year-old brat like him living in such a spacious place anyway? Besides, the backyard had a large open ground, which was more than enough for everyday training.
The two of them walked side by side toward the outside, while Izuna at the side pouted his lips and clamored with severe dissatisfaction. "Hey, hey, don't ignore me."
"Cut it out, let's eat first." A single sentence from his older brother instantly made Izuna quiet down.
Witnessing this scene, Kyosuke couldn't help but feel emotional that the Uchiha were truly a gathering place for brother complexes on both sides.
Fortunately, he didn't have any similar relationships, or else he would still have to worry whether the other person might covet his own eyes.
Just as he was lost in thought, he heard Madara Uchiha beside him say, "That's right, Kei-kun has also returned to the clan. You two brothers haven't seen each other in a few years, have you?"
Kei-kun?
Hearing this name, Kyosuke genuinely froze for quite a while.
Amidst churning thoughts, he finally remembered the existence of this person.
Uchiha Kei, a paternal cousin four years older than him. In terms of bloodline, the two sides truly belonged to close relatives.
The reason he hadn't been able to remember him involved reasons that were rather complex.
Associating it with a certain thought from just now, the corners of Kyosuke's mouth couldn't help but curve up slightly as he muttered softly to himself, "Yeah, it's been many years since we last met."
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