Madara Uchiha

As the door was gently pushed open, the two of them stepped into the room. Tsunade's heart, which had been somewhat restless, gradually calmed down like a pebble sinking into a still lake.

She did not ask what had happened, but instead walked to the table with practiced grace and began to prepare tea.

At this moment, Uzumaki Mito was chatting with Uchiha Xiao about mundane household matters.

Uchiha Xiao wore a smile, responding with ease; every sentence he spoke flowed perfectly, ensuring the conversation never faltered.

Moreover, his witty and humorous remarks often drew hearty laughter from Uzumaki Mito, filling the entire room with a joyful and peaceful atmosphere.

As for Tsunade, she stood quietly to the side, focused on brewing the tea.

The corners of her mouth curled up into a faint smile, and her eyes gazed tenderly at the pair chatting so happily, as if she were completely immersed in this warmth.

However, just as this peaceful moment unfolded, a sudden shout shattered the tranquility. With a loud "bang," the door was flung open, and a figure rushed in, shouting, "Grandmother! Sister! My master finally agreed to let me go to the front lines!"

As the shout rang out, the expressions of everyone present shifted instantly.

Uchiha Xiao raised an eyebrow with interest, a faint smile playing on his lips; Tsunade's brows furrowed, her face showing clear concern; and Uzumaki Mito's expression darkened, as she was clearly not pleased by this news.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Xiao cast his gaze toward the boy—Senju Nawaki.

He had caught a glimpse of Senju Nawaki once before at the camp in the Land of Rain, but he hadn't looked closely at the time. Now, observing him intently, he couldn't help but praise him inwardly: Hm, he truly is a vibrant and spirited youth!

Tsunade frowned deeply, her heart filled with worry. Even though her younger brother, Nawaki, was already twelve years old and a genin, in her eyes, he was still just a child.

Even with Nawaki now apprenticed to Orochimaru, Tsunade harbored deep anxiety about whether he could survive the cruelty of the battlefield.

At this moment, Uzumaki Mito's face was so dark it seemed as if water could drip from it. One had to remember that their family had only two descendants left: Tsunade and Nawaki.

Now that Tsunade was heading to the battlefield, it was, by all accounts, her duty as a disciple of the Hokage, and Uzumaki Mito would say nothing against it.

However, her precious grandson—the direct grandson of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama—was only twelve years old! What kind of logic was it to send someone so young to the war-torn front lines?

If something were to happen to him, who would take responsibility? Orochimaru? The answer was clearly no.

Orochimaru knew full well that Nawaki's status was special and would never easily let him go to the dangerous front lines.

Yet this time, Orochimaru had unexpectedly agreed to it.

Uzumaki Mito refused to believe that there wasn't some ulterior motive at play behind the scenes.

Uchiha Xiao sensed Uzumaki Mito's concern and said with a chuckle, "Nawaki, do you remember me?"

Senju Nawaki looked at Uchiha Xiao, his eyes lighting up. "It's you! My Lord God of War! Our last meeting was too rushed for a proper greeting. What brings you to my home today?"

There wasn't a single ninja who had participated in the Second Ninja World War in the Land of Rain who didn't know Uchiha Xiao; in Konoha, there was even a growing sentiment that referred to him as the God of War.

Uchiha Xiao was stunned. God of War? What is this? He shook his head and smiled, "Nawaki, I came to your home to discuss some important matters with your sister and your grandmother."

"Oh!" Nawaki nodded.

"Nawaki, I want to ask, was it you who begged Orochimaru to let you go to the front lines?" Uchiha Xiao asked. He was puzzled; why did the grandson of the First Hokage have to die so unjustly?

Struck by explosive tags and disemboweled, he hadn't even left a whole corpse behind—it was truly baffling.

Nawaki nodded. "Yes! Because I am the grandson of the First Hokage and will become the Hokage myself one day, I must experience the baptism of the battlefield to grow!"

Uchiha Xiao froze, then said coldly, "Who told you these things?" He finally understood; someone must have been baiting Nawaki to go to the front.

Although the boy had always possessed a desire to grow stronger and a dream of becoming Hokage, he hadn't held such specific notions before. There was only one truth: someone had manipulated Senju Nawaki.

Nawaki startled. Seeing Uchiha Xiao's cold, stern expression, he couldn't help but shiver. "It... it was an old man, he..."

He struggled to recall, then looked at Uchiha Xiao, his pupils constricting. "He had a face just like yours, My Lord God of War, only he was older!"

Uchiha Xiao was stunned, then slumped into his chair with a thud. His reaction startled both Uzumaki Mito and Tsunade.

Tsunade, in particular, asked anxiously, "Are you alright, Xiao-kun?"

Uchiha Xiao shook his head. "I'm fine." He had simply lost his composure for a moment. He had seen his own reflection; he looked eighty percent like Madara Uchiha, and Senju Nawaki had said that man looked like him, only older.

The identity of that person was obvious: the Rose of the Warring States, the Asura of the Ninja World, Madara Uchiha.

Uchiha Xiao had never expected that Madara would still be casting a shadow after all these years. And if Madara was acting this way, it likely wasn't his own intent, but rather the influence of that Black Zetsu.

Otherwise, given his relationship with Hashirama, how could he possibly incite Nawaki to go to the battlefield?

Uzumaki Mito sensed something was amiss. "Xiao, have you figured something out?" She had a premonition that Xiao had guessed a secret—a massive secret.

Otherwise, with Xiao's composure, he wouldn't have lost his focus like that.

Uchiha Xiao looked up, about to speak, but swallowed his words. He didn't know how to explain it to Uzumaki Mito.

Uzumaki Mito seemed to see through his thoughts, forcing a smile. "It's alright, Xiao. If you have a theory, you can tell me."

Uchiha Xiao nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, the person Nawaki saw was Madara Uchiha."

"Madara Uchiha? That's impossible! Wasn't he killed by my grandfather!" Tsunade exclaimed. She couldn't believe that a ninja who had been dead for over a decade could suddenly appear in Konoha.

Uzumaki Mito's gaze sharpened. "Xiao, what evidence do you have that it was Madara?" She began to frown. She had once felt that Madara couldn't have died so easily, but she had only believed he was truly dead after seeing his corpse on the day of his burial.

"I don't know, but have you ever heard of Izanagi?" Uchiha Xiao said, his tone heavy.

Uzumaki Mito's eyes narrowed, her pupils constricting. As a member of an old, prestigious clan from the Warring States period, she had naturally heard of the Uchiha Clan's Izanagi.