"Kosuke! Th-this... what happened?!"
Madara stared fixedly at his father's slightly turned head, his voice shaking so badly it nearly failed him.
"Older brother, don't panic. Father is still alive—look!"
The four of them followed Mina's pointing finger and saw Tajima's chest rising and falling faintly. Their tightly clenched hearts abruptly relaxed.
"It seemed he had merely fallen asleep."
"All right, since the Clan Head is fine, I'll head back and catch up on some sleep."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kosuke tipped back his head and yawned.
Only then did Madara, Izuna, and Mina notice Kosuke's deathly pale face and the dark circles beneath his eyes, deep as ink.
"I'll take you back."
"No!" Before Madara could even turn around, Kosuke cried out in alarm.
Before Mina could react, Kosuke had already vanished from the room.
"What's this..." Mina looked at Izuna in confusion, seemingly hoping for an answer from him.
At that moment, Madara's expression returned to its cold, arrogant mask. He said in a low voice, "Izuna, take Mina back to rest. I'll watch over Father."
Izuna caught sight of the exhaustion in Mina's eyes, and a trace of heartache flickered through his gaze.
He paused before quietly agreeing, then left the infirmary with Mina, who was still full of questions.
In the blink of an eye, two months had quietly passed since Butsuma and Tajima returned to their clans severely injured.
Unlike Tajima, who had survived, Senju Butsuma had passed away, leaving the world forever.
During that time, the leaders of both clans quietly changed hands.
Uchiha Clan Council Hall.
Uchiha Tajima forced his weakened body to hold an emergency clan meeting.
All Five Great Elders were present, and Uchiha Madara and Kosuke also attended the meeting.
Tajima's gaze slowly swept across the crowd as