At this point in time, arriving in this world might have been a blessing in disguise for Izuna.
Although this might have been the era in Naruto when life was worth the least.
But Izuna had arrived at an incredibly opportune moment.
It had happened right when Tajima Uchiha died and his predecessor awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
That meant he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan without any pain, since he had no real attachment to Tajima Uchiha.
After returning to the Uchiha Clan Grounds, there were other matters to deal with, but the most important thing to do first was naturally to hold Tajima Uchiha's funeral.
The Uchiha Clan Grounds were large enough to be called a small county, and in recent days, every household had hung white mourning banners.
In the mourning hall, the only two close relatives, Madara Uchiha and Izuna, knelt before the coffin in mourning clothes.
Other clan members wore white headbands and offered incense one after another.
After they finished offering incense, as they passed the two brothers, they would offer words of comfort such as, "Please accept my condolences," "Stay strong," and "You're the hope of the Uchiha."
Izuna kept his head lowered the whole time, so no one would see that he didn't look particularly grief-stricken.
Madara, meanwhile, kept his brows tightly furrowed as he stared at the coffin.
According to Warring States customs, children mourned their deceased parents for three days before burying them.
At least he didn't have to follow the troublesome custom from the ancient world of his previous life, where children mourned their parents for three years.
In this Warring States Period, there was no telling whether you'd even be alive three years later.
After the final burial rites were complete, the white headbands were still on, but they no longer had to keep vigil by the coffin.
A few days later, Izuna passed Madara's residence and asked the maids at the entrance, "Is my big brother in?"
Most of the clan's maids, servants, cooks, and other laborers were commoners who couldn't survive in these chaotic times and had sought refuge with a ninja clan.
Some were also descendants of minor ninja clans that had been wiped out.
The maid replied, "In answer to you, Young Clan Head Izuna, Young Clan Head Madara has been going out first thing in the morning lately and usually doesn't return until dusk."
Izuna's eyes shifted as he nodded. "I see. Thank you for your hard work."
With that, Izuna left without looking back.
"Lord Izuna is so kind."
Watching Izuna's retreating figure, the maids at the entrance began whispering among themselves.
"That's true. It's not that Lord Madara is bad, but he feels hard to approach."
"I heard the battle only ended thanks to Lord Izuna."
"Exactly. My husband, who was in charge of transporting supplies, said that if not for Lord Izuna, they'd have died on Mount Taihang."
After leaving Madara's residence, Izuna didn't go looking for him. Instead, he went to see Uchiha Kai.
Uchiha Kai was a generation older than Tajima Uchiha.
In the Sengoku era, where the average life expectancy was under thirty, he was a miraculous survivor who had lived to sixty.
He now held the position of Third Elder of the Uchiha, overseeing the growth of the younger generation of ninja.
The Elder Council of the Warring States Period wasn't like the people imagined: a group of civil officials who only sat behind desks, pontificating and doing nothing but stamping documents and holding meetings.
Because of their age, they no longer went to battle, but they still had to give the family everything they had left and help shoulder its burdens.
Uchiha Kai was essentially the principal of the Ninja Academy in later generations.
A teacher.
Most Uchiha ninja had benefited from his guidance when they were young, so he commanded great respect within the clan. It was also thanks to this that he had once become clan head.
There was no concept of a "school" yet. They simply "studied."
Every day, children under ten spent ten hours studying and practicing ninjutsu in an area set aside in the northwest of the clan grounds.
After Tajima Uchiha died, they continued studying as usual, except that each of them wore the same white headband as Izuna.
If anything, they studied even harder than before.
In this battle, the Uchiha had lost a total of thirty jōnin, elite jōnin, and peak-level jōnin!
The Chunin and Genin losses weren't even included.
This was undoubtedly the worst blow the Uchiha had suffered in decades!
And that was with Izuna having stopped Tobirama Senju's ambush.
In the original story, the Uchiha probably failed to stop it, further widening the gap between the already disadvantaged Uchiha and the Senju.
In other words, the Madara Uchiha of the original story had inherited a real hot potato!
When Izuna arrived at the "school," around two hundred Uchiha children had gathered on the training ground to listen to a speech from the teachers, led by Uchiha Kai.
These training instructors were all elderly or had suffered permanent injuries that kept them from the battlefield.
"I'll be frank. The sacrifices this battle has brought to our Uchiha are unimaginable. I'm sure some of you have lost your parents, your older brothers, or your friends. You carry the future of the Uchiha on your shoulders..."
Uchiha Kai's speech continued. Compared to the "Will of Fire" speech the future Third Hokage would give, it was three parts less like a sales pitch.
Though he spoke obliquely, his meaning was clear: revenge.
When Uchiha Kai finished, applause rang out from behind him.
Uchiha Kai, the other teachers, and the two hundred children turned toward the sound.
"Young Clan Head Izuna?"
"Lord Izuna?"
Adults and children alike were startled. Then they saw Izuna walk over beside Uchiha Kai and smile at the children. "The Third Elder spoke well. You carry the future of the Uchiha on your shoulders."
"Lord Izuna, thank you for saving my dad!"
At that moment, a boy of about six with spiky hair stood up and bowed deeply to Izuna.
Right after him, a girl of about eight stood up, bowed, and called out, "Thank you for saving my uncle!"
One after another, more children stood and bowed to thank him.
Izuna had captured Tobirama Senju and ended the war, earning the greatest credit.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had saved the lives of every member of the clan.
Unlike Madara, who always wore a stern expression, Izuna smiled and waved for the children to sit back down. "If you really want to thank me, then grow up quickly and protect me when I'm old and creaky."
His half-joking words made quite a few children laugh.
Uchiha Kai asked from beside him, "Izuna, what brings you here today...?"
He was two generations older than Izuna, so he didn't need to use an honorific.
"Third Elder, I developed two ninjutsu techniques and have already written them down. I hope they can be added to the clan's ninjutsu archives and taught to these children as well."
As he spoke, Izuna took two scrolls from the tool pouch at his waist and handed them to Uchiha Kai.
"Ninjutsu you developed yourself?"
Uchiha Kai and the several Uchiha ninja around him were all taken aback.
Anyone capable of creating and developing their own ninjutsu was undoubtedly someone who would go down in the glorious history of the Uchiha Clan.
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