The Bonds Between Master and Disciple

Madara hadn't come to see him for days, Rikusei grumbled inwardly, almost counting them off on his fingers.

What a miscalculation. He hadn't expected Hashirama to be so charming that he could keep Madara cooped up in that tiny office for so long.

Inside the Dango Shop, Naori, her purple hair tied into a pretty ponytail, pursed her pink lips, still smeared with sauce, and polished off the last tricolor dango on the plate.

She glanced discreetly at the distracted boy, rubbed her plain-colored clothes and her still-hungry little belly, then steadied her shoulders and silently reached out a hand.

Her wrist was stopped in an instant before she could steal anything. Naori fluttered her long eyelashes, as if to say that the fair-skinned arm on the table didn't belong to her.

Rikusei smiled and split the untouched dango on his plate with the hungry girl. Naori did her best to look calm and composed, but her gaze had already given her away, following the dango wherever it went.

"Mm~"

Naori happily swallowed the round dango, as white as jade, in one bite and made a contented sound like a kitten. She'd wanted to try Rikusei's dango for ages, and now she'd finally gotten her wish.

After finishing the dango, the two of them headed to school. A cool summer breeze drifted in from the woods, ruffling the hems of their clothes.

"What were you thinking about just now, Rikusei?"

Walking beneath the trees' shade along the wall, Naori leaned toward him, curiosity plain on her face. Why had he suddenly lost interest in the dango? They were so soft, sweet, and delicious.

Rikusei glanced at the glass shimmering in the morning light and answered casually, "The village is going to capture the Tailed Beasts, right? I'm worried they won't take us along."

As one of the people in the know, Naori stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened beneath her purple bangs. This was a huge deal.

"But isn't it perfectly normal for Lord Hokage not to take us?"

Naori held out her hand to compare her height with Rikusei's. When her palm reached the level of his nose, she nodded in satisfaction. She was a little taller.

They were only students at the Ninja Academy and had no real combat experience. If things turned out that way, it would be perfectly normal, wouldn't it?

Distracted, Rikusei wanted to explain that boys and girls went through their growth spurts at different ages. But he worried she wouldn't understand and would think he was a creep.

So he could only repeat silently to himself, Don't look down on a poor young man. In a few years, I'll be taller than you.

For now, he could only take things one step at a time and wait until he saw his teacher again. With his eloquence, he was sure to get what he wanted.

For the Ninja Academy's first field trip, Rikusei was willing to put his wits to work.

The Ninja Academy had gotten livelier during breaks since three new classes had joined.

The students in this year's intake were well-behaved. There were no fights or brawls; most of them stood in small groups chatting.

Suddenly, a piercing cry rang through the corridor. The hoarse voice sounded as if the speaker were crying blood, though perhaps they were simply so excited that their voice had gone hoarse. Of course, that was just Rikusei's little conjecture.

"Lord Madara is here at the school!"

That shout set the entire Ninja Academy ablaze.

Uchiha Madara possessed power akin to a god's. He'd once fought Lord Hokage for three days and three nights without tiring. The other clans' children had grown up hearing all sorts of wild tales like that.

Ever since they were born, the Senju and Uchiha had been dominating the entire Shinobi World, bringing the era of the clans to an end and ushering in a new age of Hidden Villages.

Who didn't dream of being a hero? For young shinobi just entering the world of ninjas, it was hard to suppress their excitement at the thought of seeing their idol.

Even when the class bell rang, people flooded the corridor until it was packed. Pairs of shining eyes fixed on the figure approaching from outside the main doors.

They held their breath, as if breathing too loudly might wake them from a beautiful dream conjured by an Illusion Technique.

Madara wore a high-collared robe, his thick black hair swaying slightly. His exposed left eye and stern face looked even more grim in the dim corridor.

His heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor, as if he were strolling through their hearts, tugging at their heartstrings and setting the pace of their beating hearts.

Rikusei stood among the crowd, holding his forehead as he looked at the fanboyish Male Compatriots around him.

Danzo's face had gone especially red. Rikusei began to wonder if the future King of Pots would become the first shinobi to suffocate himself. Hiruzen wasn't doing much better; his eyes were fixed on Madara's back, as if Madara had bewitched him.

This was the first time Rikusei had realized just how charismatic his teacher was. When he'd walked alongside him on the street before, the atmosphere had been nothing like this.

With a bang, the office door shut.

The back of Madara's robe, emblazoned with the Flame Gunbai, vanished from sight.

A long exhale swept through the corridor. The students still looked reluctant to let the moment end, and many excitedly whispered about Madara's exploits.

Among the whispers, of course, was Kagami, the Uchiha clan's Number One Navy. The teachers in each class also began calling their students back to their lessons.

Back at his seat, Rikusei understood a little better. The people on the street before had been ordinary civilians, not shinobi who licked blood from their blades. They'd witnessed true power and understood the kind of encouragement great strength could give people.

The name Uchiha Madara seemed to possess a strange magic. It stood for towering power and left people longing for more.

People were complicated, but there were always those who would be drawn to it like moths, clustering close around him.

The brilliant light Rikusei had envisioned was sitting in the chair he'd once occupied, chatting with Tobirama.

"What brings you here?"

Tobirama's tone toward Uchiha Madara had always been complicated. It wasn't quite cold, just flat. After all, Tobirama had played his part in ensuring Madara hadn't become Hokage.

Madara seemed quite relaxed. His usually stern expression gave nothing away. "I had some free time, so I came by. There's something I want to talk to you about."

As expected, no one came without a reason. And since his elder brother was involved too, Tobirama steeled himself and began taking the matter seriously.

Yet what Madara said next left him stunned for a long while.

Madara watched Tobirama's face stiffen and his eyes go blank with interest, finding the feeling inside him hard to describe.

Seeing Tobirama get caught in his Flying Thunder God Technique trap was truly amusing.

"I'm going to find my elder brother. This is out of the question!"

Tobirama shot up from his chair. His usually composed face was flushed, and his voice had gone slightly shrill.

"Why is it out of the question? You just have to keep an eye on a few children." Madara calmly lifted his tea and took a slow sip, then shot Tobirama a sidelong glance. "Or is the Flying Thunder God Technique not all it's cracked up to be?"

Tobirama sat back down, urgency in his voice as he explained his position. "Even so, we can't let children take part in such a dangerous hunting expedition."

Madara took a list from his pocket and set it lightly on the table.

"Hyuga, Uchiha, Sarutobi..." Tobirama quietly read the names of the clans on the list. They were all core members of the village's most prominent clans.

"Isn't this a great way to win them over?"

Madara watched Tobirama begin to think it over, knowing he'd already accepted the plan. He set down his teacup and turned to leave, thinking that spending time with Hashirama was still more fun.