The Power I Crave

"But if the Nine-Tails is given to the Uchiha Clan, what are we supposed to do if we encounter it on the battlefield?"

The Tailed Beast had slipped through his fingers and landed right in the hands of the Uchiha Clan; the Senju Elder could hardly reconcile himself to this.

"Enough, let this matter end here. I will handle the issue of the Tailed Beast."

Senju Hashirama glanced at Madara and, noticing that his attention was entirely fixed on Uchiha Yang, couldn't help but look toward the boy himself.

Perhaps an alliance with the Uchiha Clan could begin with Uchiha Yang.

Since Madara cared so much for Uchiha Yang, the boy's opinion would surely be able to sway him.

With this thought in mind, Senju Hashirama greeted Uchiha Yang, "You must be Madara's cousin. I'm Senju Hashirama, an old friend of your cousin's."

Uchiha Yang hadn't expected Senju Hashirama to greet him, "Ah, I know who you are. Madara has mentioned you often."

Uchiha Yang suddenly felt as if he were meeting the parents—the irony being that he was the one in the position of the guardian.

"I didn't realize Madara mentioned me to you so often."

Hearing this, Senju Hashirama burst into hearty laughter, genuinely delighted.

It seemed Madara hadn't forgotten their childhood dream after all.

"Don't talk nonsense. When did I ever mention him to you?"

Uchiha Madara's attempt at an explanation felt like a clumsy cover-up.

Uchiha Yang smiled without a word; he knew exactly what kind of trouble this guy was brewing the moment he opened his mouth.

"Madara, let's talk again when we have more time. I'm heading back now."

Having realized that Madara hadn't forgotten their childhood dream, Senju Hashirama felt even more motivated. Full of vigor, he prepared to take his leave.

If he kept chatting, his own clan elders might start suspecting him of colluding with the enemy.

Uchiha Madara ignored him, merely snorting coldly and turning his head away.

Seeing this, Senju Hashirama smiled knowingly, turned, and waved as he left.

"You can stop posing now; he's already gone."

Seeing Uchiha Madara maintain his stiff posture, Uchiha Yang remarked, speechless.

Once they were alone, Uchiha Madara lectured him with a serious expression, "Your actions just now were far too dangerous."

Uchiha Sei watched the Nine-Tails on Yang's shoulder with deep concern; it was a ticking time bomb, and there was no telling when it might go off.

Uchiha Sei was satisfied that they had secured the Nine-Tails, but now that they had it, he worried that the boy had been temporarily bewitched by the beast.

The Nine-Tails looked at these humans who doubted it with disdain; as expected, only Uchiha Yang was the special one.

"It's fine, I have it under control."

Uchiha Yang shook his head. What could possibly go wrong with keeping a pet?

"Don't worry about me. What about you? After fighting Senju Hashirama, what are your thoughts?"

Seeing that the boy was confident, Uchiha Madara set aside his worries for the moment and said with a complex expression, "Hashirama has grown stronger again."

Uchiha Sei had been staring at the clan leader's eyes and couldn't help but interject, "Clan Leader, what is going on with your eyes?"

Those eyes exerted immense pressure on him, especially a suppressive force against his own Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"This is called the Mangekyou Sharingan. It is an eye that transcends the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and the power I obtained is brought about by these eyes."

Uchiha Madara explained briefly.

"He is strong, but you must become stronger. I will help you find a way to surpass him."

Uchiha Yang highly suspected that the Sage of Six Paths' senjutsu had been a "cheat" provided to Senju Hashirama by Black Zetsu. Otherwise, why didn't Uchiha Madara have senjutsu? It just didn't make scientific sense.

The claim that the Uchiha bloodline couldn't learn senjutsu was absolute nonsense.

As descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, how could they possibly be unable to learn it?

Therefore, he only needed to provide Uchiha Madara with the opportunity to learn, so that he wouldn't fall behind Senju Hashirama in chakra and avoid the outcome of defeat due to a lack of it.

Uchiha Madara believed his cousin's words; if he said he could help him become stronger, then he certainly could.

Senju Hashirama had one brother, but he had two; he had won.

Uchiha Madara thought to himself with a smug, hidden satisfaction.

Having achieved a complete success, Uchiha Yang returned happily to the capital of the Land of Fire, while Uchiha Madara led the Great Elder and the others back to the clan.

With the Nine-Tails secured, the Uchiha Clan had gained another powerful asset.

In the end, Uchiha Madara didn't ask; if his cousin wanted to say something, he would tell him naturally.

His ocular power had been significantly depleted in the great battle against Senju Hashirama, but for Uchiha Madara, this expenditure was worth it.

With the protection of the Nine-Tails, he could finally rest easy.

"Lord Yang, is there any chance for us to awaken those eyes of the Clan Leader?"

The Clan Leader's invincible power had been on Uchiha Sake's mind the entire journey, and he finally couldn't help but ask.

"I thought you were going to hold that in forever!"

Uchiha Yang understood Uchiha Sake's longing for the Mangekyou Sharingan all too well.

However, awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan still depended on one's own aptitude and destiny; even those who were not reincarnations of Indra could still awaken it.

Yet, if Uchiha Sake had his guidance from the sidelines, there was perhaps a very high probability of him awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"You also have a chance at that pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, but do not be impatient. Such things require the right time, the right place, and the right people."

Uchiha Sake felt a bit embarrassed under Uchiha Yang's gaze; he scratched his head and said in a muffled voice.

"I will not hide it from you, My Lord. After witnessing the power used by the clan head, I felt an incomparable longing in my heart, like ants crawling inside me."

"My Three-Tomoe Sharingan seems to be craving it as well, yearning to obtain that power."

Hearing this, Uchiha Yang could not help but chuckle, "That is the Mangekyou Sharingan that comes after the Three-Tomoe Sharingan; there is no shame in craving power."

"Follow me, and I will never let you regret it."

Uchiha Yang laughed softly, his gaze flickering toward Uchiha Ya, who was standing to the side, a trace of barely suppressed longing hidden deep within his eyes.

Uchiha Ya and Uchiha Sake both lowered their heads in haste upon hearing this; the two clever men understood the meaning behind those words.

"That pair of eyes seems to have a great restraint over me. With just a single glance, I was completely controlled."

The Nine-Tails, lying on the carriage blanket, stared at Uchiha Yang thoughtfully. The eyes Uchiha Yang had used the moment it attacked him earlier were indeed the Mangekyou Sharingan.

It seemed Uchiha Yang was hiding quite a lot; he had not revealed a shred of his true strength, to the point where even it could not detect the presence of chakra within him.

"Do... do you want a cookie?"

The little maid Xia Lian was somewhat afraid of this Tailed Beast. Knowing full well how terrifying it was, she spoke in an extremely soft voice, terrified of angering it.

The Nine-Tails looked at the cookie held out to its mouth and widened its eyes in shock. If it ate it, wouldn't it become a pet?

But if it didn't eat, the cookie smelled so delicious.

And so, the Nine-Tails patted the soft blanket with its paw, signaling her to place it there; it would eat it itself.

Seeing that the Nine-Tails was so easy to communicate with, the little maid was delighted and dumped the entire bag of cookies in front of it.

This was a pet her master had just taken in, after all; she couldn't let it go hungry.