Shin and Madara

Shin looked at Madara in surprise. He hadn't expected a six-year-old to already be thinking about such things. All he could say was, as expected of Uchiha Madara.

After Uchiha Tajima's speech, all the clan members headed straight for the battlefield. Just as he'd said, blood debts had to be repaid in blood.

The Senju and Hyuga clans clearly hadn't expected the Uchiha retaliation to come so quickly and fiercely. Caught off guard, they suffered a complete rout on the front lines.

Inside Shin's small house, he sat alone at the table with his legs folded beneath him. Even after being here for so long, he still hadn't gotten used to kneeling like this.

A large map lay before him. The red arrows representing the Uchiha Clan had plunged deep into the Senju Clan Grounds, tearing a huge gap in their defenses.

Shin lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop, making a rhythmic sound as he considered how the battle might unfold.

If Shin were in command, he would absolutely make it look as if they were preparing for a decisive battle against the Senju. Then he'd leave most of the Chunin and Genin behind as a deterrent, keeping the Senju from acting rashly, while secretly sending all their elite Jonin to ambush the Hyuga Clan and cripple them within three days. This wouldn't just cut off one of the Senju Clan's arms; it would also intimidate the other clans in the Ninja World. If they dared to side with the Senju, this would be their fate.

With the Senju Clan deprived of their external support, their strength would return to the same level as the Uchiha's. Combined with the Uchiha Clan's current advantage, they would seize the initiative across the entire battlefield. Then, whether they chose war or peace, the decision would be theirs to make.

Rolling up the map and putting it away, Shin shook his head, got to his feet, and headed outside. He was only thinking about these things; it wasn't his place to make the decisions. Improving his own strength was the proper path. As long as he could reach the heights Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara would attain in the future, then the so-called clan would be nothing but a joke.

The battle hadn't unfolded as Shin had imagined.

People in this era seemed to have only one track minds. They knew nothing but charging head-on into a fight. Uchiha Tajima in particular was a complete hothead. He might have been a good ninja, but he was definitely not a good leader.

He chose to meet the Senju head-on, leaving some of his ninja to defend against the Hyuga. His plan was to take down the powerful Senju first, then turn around and deal with the other clans.

The result was obvious. The Senju were no easy target. They, too, had mobilized every ninja in their clan and held off wave after wave of Uchiha attacks. Meanwhile, the Hyuga Clan was also attacking the Uchiha's defenses with all their might, trying to join the fight and surround the Uchiha alongside the Senju.

The three clans turned the battlefield into a complete mess. None of them was willing to back down, and they remained locked in a stalemate for two whole years.

Time flew by, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Over those two years, Shin had focused single-mindedly on improving his strength. He pored over a vast number of Uchiha Clan ninjutsu and advanced by leaps and bounds. He'd beaten nearly everyone in the Uchiha's new generation at least once. Izuna, who had once been about as strong as him, now couldn't last five moves against him.

Except for... Uchiha Madara.

When it came to Uchiha Madara, Shin honestly didn't know what to say. He'd thought that even without a system, his talent for awakening his Sharingan at one year old would make him the greatest in the history of the Uchiha Clan.

But no matter how quickly he improved, he could only manage to fight Uchiha Madara to a draw without using his Sharingan. In some respects, he was even slightly weaker.

Faced with this, Shin could only marvel: as expected of Indra's reincarnation.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

At the Uchiha Clan's training grounds, two huge balls of fire collided, releasing a vast cloud of smoke.

Two young figures darted back and forth through the haze, the clash of kunai ringing out between them. Their movements were both incredibly fast, and their Taijutsu was so polished that it seemed impossible for children their age.

A group of Uchiha children stood along the edge of the training ground. Most of them were only five or six years old. They watched the match excitedly, shouting encouragement, though it was hard to tell who they were cheering for.

Thud, thud... Clang, clang...

The smoke thinned slightly. As the weapons clashed, the two figures came into view: Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Madara.

"You've improved so quickly, Shin. I can't believe you can fight me to this level!" Uchiha Madara praised him as they exchanged blows. His left hand moved, sending a dense barrage of shuriken flying.

Shin's figure flickered, becoming a blur as he dodged every shuriken. He rolled his eyes inwardly. That's only because I don't want to scare you guys by using my Sharingan. Otherwise, I'd crush you in no time.

Thinking that, he did something entirely different with his hands, completing a one-handed set of Hand Seals in a second. "Watch closely. Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

He launched nine shuriken, chakra flames igniting on them as they shot toward Uchiha Madara from several directions.

"One-handed Hand Seals! Look, it's Lord Shin's signature one-handed Hand Seals! So cool!"

A few Uchiha girls around four or five years old gazed at Uchiha Shin with admiration. This was a world that revered the strong, and Shin was one of the two strongest in this generation of the Uchiha. It was only natural that some people looked up to him.

"You ignorant little girls! My big brother is the strongest!" Uchiha Izuna shouted angrily. Those silly girls were so lovestruck. So what if Uchiha Shin was a little handsome? When it came to sheer presence, he couldn't compare to Izuna's older brother.

The flames closed in around Madara in an instant. Even then, Madara remained exceptionally calm. He spun like a top, dodging seven Phoenix Sage Fire projectiles in a row. Faced with the last two, he threw his kunai. Clink, clink! He knocked them aside.

"Heh." A knowing smile tugged at Shin's lips. Uchiha Madara's heart tightened. He suddenly felt a wave of heat behind him, but there was no time to react. With a boom, seven Phoenix Sage Fire projectiles engulfed him.

"Big brother...!" Izuna cried, his eyes filled with worry.

"Hah! As long as you have enough chakra control, you can guide the flames of the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique wherever you want." Shin sounded rather pleased with himself. After all, his opponent was Uchiha Madara, a godlike figure in the future Ninja World.

But his pride didn't last long. When Madara inside the flames went poof and turned into a log, Shin's smile froze on his face.

"Substitution Technique! When did he—?"

"Nicely done, big brother!" Izuna cheered excitedly from the sidelines. He even shot the girls a triumphant look.

"People are often at their least guarded when they're feeling most pleased with themselves. You lose, Shin!"

Uchiha Madara's voice came from behind Shin. Almost at the same time, a kunai was already pressed against his neck.

"Lord Shin...!" A group of little girls outside the ring cried out anxiously.

"Are you still not giving up?" Madara asked in confusion. Even with a kunai at his neck, Shin still hadn't surrendered. As far as Madara knew, Shin wasn't the type to stubbornly cling to a lost cause.

"Give up? Are you joking?"

Shin's calm voice came from behind Uchiha Madara. At the same time, the Shin in front of Madara went poof and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Clone Technique? When did he make the Hand Seals?"

As the thought crossed his mind, Madara's hands kept moving without pause. Threads whipped behind him, and he completed the Hand Seals in an instant. "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" A great mass of flames set the threads alight, sealing off every space behind him. Madara leaped forward at once, putting distance between them.

"Using Fire Dragon Jutsu to ignite chakra threads and block every possible line of attack. To react like that in an instant... As expected of Madara." Shin watched the fire dragon before him and offered sincere praise.

Madara panted twice, then smiled. "Likewise. When did you use the Clone Technique?"

"From the very beginning."

They had switched between attack and defense in the space of just a few breaths. The Uchiha onlookers gaped in astonishment. Could these two really be ninja of their generation? The gap between them and everyone else was enormous.

Even Izuna and the group of little girls fell silent, staring blankly at the training ground.

"That's enough for today," Madara said, loosening up his limbs.

"Fine," Shin agreed. If Madara didn't want to keep fighting, there was no need for him to insist.

Just then, the gates to the clan grounds suddenly swung open. An Uchiha covered in blood stumbled inside. He looked as if he'd come straight from the battlefield. Ignoring the others, he rushed toward the Conference Hall, where the clan's current leader, the Third Elder, was staying.

"Let's go take a look!" Madara signaled with a glance. Shin nodded, and the two of them immediately followed.