The cool air stirred the blue curtain, making it sway gently and occasionally revealing the scenery outside the carriage.
"L-Land of Lightning!" the boy stammered. "It really is the Land of Lightning? I must have heard wrong..."
Hoshino Yu propped his chin on one hand and flipped through a book with the other. At that, he glanced sideways and gave his younger brother an amused look. "We've already left the Land of Fire, A-Zhan. Isn't it a little late to say that now?"
Hoshino Zhan leaned against the carriage window, head bowed as he wrestled with his thoughts. He knew his brother would never hurt him, of course, but... the Land of Lightning! He'd only just offended them. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty...
After he'd fretted for a while, the sun began to set. When they reached the Land of Vegetables, Hoshino Zhan perked up again, pulling the curtain aside to peer out. But when he turned around, he saw Hoshino Yu reading peacefully, his posture unchanged from start to finish.
"What are you reading?" He leaned over and made out a few scattered words that looked like "Great Unity" and "Book of Rites." Hoshino Yu tapped him between the brows, not too hard. The boy covered his forehead and drew back.
"Don't distract me." Hoshino Yu rapped him on the head. "You'll have to study this too, sooner or later."
Hoshino Zhan was affectionate with his older brother, but he knew where to draw the line. He obediently sat down, though his eyes kept wandering back to the book.
"Brother, what have you been doing all these years?" He rolled his eyes and asked curiously.
Hoshino Yu turned a page and replied absentmindedly, "Teaching."
"Teaching?!"
"You should know that the Land of Lightning has established a lot of Yi Schools. I work at one of them."
One of the Uchiha Clan's most widely celebrated acts of charity was the establishment of Yi Schools on a large scale. They not only taught people to read and write, but also provided two free meals every day. Graduates could make their mark in the Merchant Alliance, take jobs in other Uchiha businesses, serve as advisers in noble households, or become private tutors for the wealthy. Even the least successful could find work as a bookkeeper. In just over six years, literacy in the Land of Lightning had soared from a dismal five in a thousand to twenty percent.
"Does teaching really pay that well..." the boy murmured. The Hoshino family had long since fallen into decline, and with both their parents dead early, they couldn't afford to keep up appearances by hiring servants. Their former steward had been very loyal; he opened a general store to support the two brothers' studies. When Hoshino Yu left to travel three years ago, he entrusted his younger brother to the steward. Later, when his circumstances improved, he sent home a great deal of money bit by bit. The steward saved every last coin for the Hoshino brothers. Even small sums added up over three years, and the money Hoshino Yu sent home each month had been a considerable amount to begin with.
"Not all of it," Hoshino Yu said. "The lowest-paid teachers earn just enough to get by. You only have money to spare after you do well enough to get promoted. You also receive some bonuses and gifts from your students' parents."
Hoshino Zhan straightened up, his eyes lighting up at once. "Then you must be the best teacher there!"
"You have a lot of confidence in me!"
"Of course! You're my brother, Hoshino Zhan's brother! By the way, what are we going to do once we get to the Land of Lightning? Are we both going to be teachers?" Hoshino Zhan rubbed his chin, pondering. Should he make a name for himself in history, or become the teacher of someone who would? If it was the latter... he was still young. Wasn't it too early to retire at the height of his career?
"First, we'll rest at my place. In a few days, you'll come with me to meet someone." Hoshino Yu patted his head and spoke gently. "Be polite when we get there, understood?"
Looking at his brother, whose gentle yet devilish aura was on full display, Hoshino Zhan was moved to tears.
...Why did he feel like a masochist thinking, This is so nostalgic! What was going on?!
Madara knelt in a quiet chamber, his eyes half-closed and his back perfectly straight, unmoving. He wore a pure white robe, cinched at the waist with a white sash patterned with a subtle design. The loose garment only emphasized his upright bearing. His long, jet-black hair was tied behind him with a strip of white silk, the ends falling past his waist to brush lightly against the floor.
The so-called quiet chamber was simply a bare, empty room. Apart from a meditation cushion in the middle, it held nothing else. The walls, door, and windows were sealed tight, and a vast array had been carved into the floor to shut out all sound, light, and scent. He had sat there for more than three hours. Without the faintest, nearly inaudible breath, anyone would have wondered whether there was still any life in the room.
A deathly silence, as though the world had dissolved into nothingness. Only by tempering his mind in such extreme conditions could he make even the tiniest gains in his immense spiritual power. At his level, every bit of progress was precious. Matatabi could create a similar illusion, but its strength was inferior to Madara's. It couldn't suppress the overwhelming force of Madara's fully unleashed spiritual power.
At that moment, Madara had completely released the power of his soul, while using the array to confine it strictly within the quiet chamber. If anyone could see inside, they would be astonished to find the space warped and chaotic, with unfathomable spatial fissures flashing past like streaks of light. If they dared to step into the range of his spiritual power, they would either be crushed by its suffocating force or shredded by the shattered, disordered space.
So far, Madara's arsenal included Taijutsu, chakra, kekkei genkai—the Mangekyō Sharingan—and the little-known power of spiritual energy. One of its uses was to ignore differences in strength and break through any genjutsu.
In this world, where might made right, he was the Uchiha Clan's strongest pillar of support. To keep everything he pursued from becoming no more than an illusion, he could not be weaker than anyone.
In Taijutsu, he couldn't match Senju Hashirama, who spent most of the year out on missions. In terms of kekkei genkai, he had yet to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo, leaving him a step behind Hashirama's Wood Release. Madara knew he couldn't beat Senju Hashirama without relying on his spiritual power to cheat. He could force spiritual energy into his eyes to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo, but that would severely damage his body. Besides, though he didn't possess the Eternal Mangekyo, he was immune to its power, so there was no need to rush into awakening it.
Madara had no intention of working harder on his Taijutsu. He was indeed inferior to Senju Hashirama in that area, but Hashirama was the only one. Who else in the world could surpass that man's Taijutsu? Knowing how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, Madara had no reason to waste effort. He possessed an unparalleled soul and excelled at breaking down people's defenses. No one could surpass him in genjutsu or spiritual attacks.
That was enough. Rather than demanding perfection in every area, it was better to take one strength to a level no one else could reach.
Madara had no idea that he had inadvertently created the solitary confinement room that would become a nightmare and a source of psychological trauma for countless members of the clan in later generations... The Uchiha insisted that even though their spiritual power and awakening rate soared after they came out, they would never be grateful!
"We're not godlike men like the Clan Head. We're just ordinary people!" —the entire Uchiha Clan.
Five days later, Hoshino Zhan had completely adapted to the bustling life of Izumo City, the capital of the Land of Lightning, and had become an absolute playboy, vanishing all day long. Hoshino Yu was worried, yet at the same time, relieved.
A-Zhan had matured a lot because he'd left home. How much could the old steward's general store earn? In addition to his studies, Zhan had secretly taken odd jobs and must have gone through a fair share of hardship. Maturity was a good thing; in a turbulent era, how could anyone survive without growing up early? But as an older brother, he still hoped his younger brother could live carefree under his protection for the rest of his life. Besides, A-Zhan was only twelve... What a contradiction!
Now that he saw A-Zhan had regained some of his youthful swagger and cheer, he felt both touched and glad.
"Brother!" The boy ran up to him, his still-boyish cheeks flushed and beads of sweat dotting his forehead. Hoshino Yu used his sleeve to wipe them away. "I've explored all of Izumo City! Let's go to Muyun City next time! I heard it's even more prosperous there!"
"As long as you're happy." Hoshino Yu smiled faintly.
"Brother, your salary is so high, and you're famous too!" He ingratiatingly rubbed against his brother. He could forget about manners in front of family! "When people heard you were my brother, they gave me huge discounts when I bought things!"
Hoshino Yu shook his head. "You shouldn't accept favors you haven't earned. Don't take things from people so casually next time, understand?"
"Sure, sure! It was just a discount. I know what I'm doing!" He rubbed against him again, trying to butter him up, then quickly changed the subject. "When are we going to Muyun City?"
Hoshino Yu patted his head. "There'll be a chance later. Do you remember what I said before I brought you here?"
Hoshino Zhan thought for a moment, then smacked his palm as he remembered. "Oh, right! We're supposed to meet someone?" He deliberately widened his eyes. "Who is it? Come on, tell me now!"
His puppy-dog eyes were too powerful... Hoshino Yu had no choice but to turn his head away. "You'll find out soon enough. Hurry up and change into clean clothes. We're leaving."
Before you continue