A Conversation with Uchiha Madara

"This mission?"

The old man looked at the mission in Shin's hand, his expression filled with hesitation. He advised, "If I'm not mistaken, you are currently only at the level of a Special Jonin. Blood Blade has been a Jonin for many years and possesses formidable strength. You are a genius of our clan; there is no need to push yourself. You should choose a different mission. Among the gray-ranked missions, there are several that would suit you quite well."

He assumed Shin was just young and impetuous, wanting to force himself into a high-difficulty mission to prove his worth.

Shin knew the old man meant well, but he knew his own capabilities. He couldn't accept this kindness, so he shook his head firmly.

If this were the later era of Konoha, such cross-rank mission acceptance would never happen. The village had a strict ranking system that was not easily bypassed. But this was the Warring States period, where such formalities were few. As long as you believed you could do it, you could accept a pursuit mission like this.

Every clan in the Warring States period followed the principle of survival of the fittest. If one couldn't even judge their own strength, they would eventually die on the battlefield sooner or later; such people could never become qualified ninjas.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Shin, the old man said no more, only sighing to himself. He hoped that Blood Ninja had already fled the Land of Fire or had been killed by ninjas from another clan—anything to ensure Shin wouldn't run into him.

Shin tucked the mission scroll into his robes and left the mission hall. It was mid-morning, and the Uchiha compound was beginning to bustle with activity; the atmosphere of impending war had grown even thicker.

Hmph, you lot can keep fighting amongst yourselves. Once I spend thirty years grinding in the wild, I'll emerge with full gear and go 1v5. With this thought in mind, he walked toward the edge of the compound, needing to hurry to the northwest of the Land of Fire.

"Yo! What a coincidence, Shin."

Just as he rounded a corner, a figure stood on the stone steps with arms crossed, waving at him.

Shin squinted and realized it was actually Uchiha Madara. He couldn't help but make a strange face and asked, "Why are you here? And why are you standing on these unfinished stone steps? Trying to look cool?"

Madara coughed dryly and said, "I went to your room this morning to find you, and that little maid of yours said you went to pick up a mission, so I headed this way and just happened to run into you."

Shin's mouth twitched slightly. Just happened to run into me? It was obvious he had seen him from afar and was waiting on purpose—he even had his pose ready.

Shin didn't want to dwell on it, so he asked, "What do you want with me?"

Madara maintained his pose and said, "Never mind that for now. Why did you suddenly decide to take a mission? Let me see what you picked."

Shin didn't hide it from him; he pulled out the black mission paper and handed it over.

Uchiha Madara read it carefully, his expression shifting slightly. He looked it over again, then said in a strange tone, "Is your life too long, kid? You actually took a mission that even some Jonin might not be able to complete."

This time, Shin gave him no face at all, saying flatly, "Mind your own business!"

Madara was so angry he trembled, but since he couldn't do anything about it, he threw the mission back at Shin's face and snapped, "Go to hell, then!"

Shin easily caught the mission and tucked it away, saying, "If you have something to say, say it quickly. Don't delay my mission."

Madara's face darkened as he said, "After I was kept behind yesterday, Father and the others discussed the battle plan against the Hyuga Clan in detail. They plan to have Uchiha Dou lead a team to intercept the Senju Clan. But the Senju are powerful, and we've already lost Kazama Valley, which means we're fighting on two fronts. I want to hear your opinion—can we win this time?"

Shin sighed as he looked at him, helpless. "You stopped me for just this?"

Madara clenched his fists secretly; if looks could kill, Shin would have died ten times over.

"We can win. Goodbye." Shin dropped those words and turned to leave.

"You son of a..." Uchiha Madara finally exploded. His figure flashed, appearing instantly in front of Shin, and he thrust his fist out, snarling, "If you want to fight, just say so! I'll play along!"

Shin thought for a moment, realizing that if he kept playing around, Madara's personality might actually lead to a full-blown brawl. He said, "I already told you we can win. What exactly do you want to hear?"

Madara said, "If the Senju really intervene, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold the pressure on that side. The last time we managed to fight two clans at once for two years, it was because of the geographical advantage of Kazama Valley. In reality, we were using most of our main force to clash with the Senju, while only sending elite units to rely on the terrain to intercept the Hyuga. Now that we've lost that advantage, the situation is not optimistic at all if we fight both clans simultaneously. And you just try to brush me off with a simple 'we can win'?"

"You calculated wrong."

"What?"

"We are only going to fight the Hyuga, not the Senju at the same time. There is a difference."

Madara stared straight at him, his gaze like he was looking at an idiot.

Shin understood his look and explained, "Don't think everyone in the clan is a fool. If this war were truly against both clans at once, they wouldn't be stupid enough to charge in blindly. They are all old veterans who have crawled through the mud of the battlefield; don't underestimate them. You need to distinguish one thing: the Hyuga are the Hyuga, and the Senju are the Senju. They are two separate clans."

Madara frowned. "You mean the Senju might not come to support them? That can't be right. The Hyuga have become their vassal clan; there's no reason for them not to help."

"Fine, let me put it another way. Suppose the situation were reversed: you are the head of the Uchiha, the Hyuga are our vassal clan, and the Senju come to attack the Hyuga. What would you do?"

"That's a stupid question. Of course, I'd send troops to help the Hyuga..." Madara said without hesitation. Suddenly, he shuddered, as if he had realized something. He whispered, "No, in that situation, I would wait for them to fight first, then sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. I'd wait until they were both exhausted before coming in to clean up the mess. No, wait—the Hyuga are already vassals; it wouldn't look good if I did nothing. I would send people to lead troops to support them, but I wouldn't send my main force. I'd just put on a show of rescuing them."

Uchiha Madara gradually entered the mindset, and everything suddenly became clear.

Shin nodded. "Exactly. The Hyuga Clan is not weak. While being a vassal clan is embarrassing to admit, it's not a major problem as long as your own strength is sufficient. The Senju may not want their vassal clan to be as strong as the Hyuga are now. Therefore, whether the Uchiha weaken the Hyuga's strength or they wait until the war is halfway through to reap the benefits, it is all gain and no loss for them. Furthermore, they will believe they hold the initiative in this war and can end it whenever they want with their own strength. So, the pressure from the Senju won't be too great—at least not until the Hyuga are in full retreat."

Madara's eyes brightened. "In that case, we have a chance?"

"Yes. The high-ranking members of the clan aren't stupid, especially regarding their understanding of their old rivals, the Senju. Don't worry, in this war, only the Hyuga will suffer. We are looking for retaliation, and the Senju don't want the Hyuga to be too strong. Being targeted by two major clans at once—while it won't lead to total annihilation, they will certainly lose a chunk of their strength. I have to go do my mission now. Goodbye."

After explaining it clearly to Madara, Shin stepped out toward the edge of the clan grounds.