The Power He Longed for

"But the Nine-Tails was given to the Uchiha Clan. What if we run into them on the battlefield? What should we do?"

The Tailed Beast they had nearly gotten had slipped away and ended up in the hands of the Uchiha Clan. How could the Senju Elder accept that?

"All right, let's leave it at that. I'll take care of the Tailed Beast."

Senju Hashirama glanced at Madara and saw that all of his attention was fixed on Uchiha Yang. He couldn't help looking at Yang, too.

Perhaps they could start with Uchiha Yang when it came to joining forces with the Uchiha Clan.

Madara cared so much about Uchiha Yang that Yang's opinion could surely influence him.

With that in mind, Senju Hashirama greeted Uchiha Yang. "You must be Madara's cousin. My name is Senju Hashirama. I used to be a good friend of your cousin's."

Uchiha Yang hadn't expected Senju Hashirama to speak to him. "Oh, I know who you are. Madara mentions you all the time."

Uchiha Yang suddenly felt as if he were meeting the parents—except he was the parent.

"I didn't know Madara talked about me so often."

Hearing that, Senju Hashirama burst into laughter, genuinely happy.

It seemed Madara hadn't forgotten their childhood dream, either.

"Don't make things up. When have I ever talked to you about him?"

Uchiha Madara's explanation only made it sound as if he were trying to cover something up.

Uchiha Yang smiled without saying a word. I know exactly what you're up to.

"Madara, let's talk again sometime. I'll head back for now."

Now that Senju Hashirama knew Madara hadn't forgotten their childhood dream, he felt even more fired up. With energy to spare, he decided it was time to leave.

If they kept talking, his own elders might suspect him of colluding with the enemy.

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

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

"You can stop holding that pose now. He's already gone."

Seeing Uchiha Madara remain frozen in place, Uchiha Yang remarked with exasperation.

Once they were alone, Uchiha Madara turned to him with a stern expression. "What you just did was far too dangerous."

Uchiha Sei watched the Nine-Tails on Yang's shoulder with deep concern. It was a ticking time bomb, and nobody knew when it might go off.

Uchiha Sei was pleased that they had obtained the Nine-Tails, but now that they had it, he worried that it had merely lulled Yang into a false sense of security.

The Nine-Tails looked disdainfully at the humans who doubted it. As expected, only Uchiha Yang was special.

"It's fine. I know what I'm doing."

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

"You don't need to worry about me. What about you? After fighting Senju Hashirama, what do you think?"

Once Uchiha Madara saw that he was confident, he set aside his worries for the time being and replied with a complicated expression, "Hashirama has gotten even stronger."

Uchiha Sei had been staring at the clan leader's eyes for a while, and finally couldn't hold back his question. "Clan leader, what's going on with your eyes?"

Those eyes exerted tremendous pressure on him, especially the way they seemed to suppress his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"They're called the Mangekyō Sharingan. They're a level above the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. The power I gained came from these eyes, too."

Uchiha Madara gave a brief explanation.

"He's strong, so you need to become stronger. I'll find a way to help you."

Uchiha Yang strongly suspected that Black Zetsu had given Senju Hashirama Senjutsu as a cheat back then. Otherwise, why didn't Uchiha Madara have it? It made no sense.

The claim that members of the Uchiha Clan couldn't learn Senjutsu because of their bloodline was complete nonsense.

They shared the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline. How could they be unable to learn Senjutsu?

So all Uchiha Madara needed was the chance to learn. Then he could match Senju Hashirama in chakra and avoid losing because of the difference in their reserves.

Uchiha Madara believed his cousin. If he said he could help him grow stronger, then he would.

Senju Hashirama had one younger brother, while he had two. That meant he had won.

Uchiha Madara thought, feeling rather pleased with himself.

Having gained everything he wanted, Uchiha Yang happily returned to the capital of the Land of Fire. Uchiha Madara also led the Great Elder and the others back to the clan.

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

In the end, Uchiha Madara still hadn't asked what his cousin had wanted to say. If Yang wanted to tell him, he would.

His ocular power had also been greatly depleted in the battle with Senju Hashirama, but to Uchiha Madara, the cost had been worth it.

With the Nine-Tails protecting him, he could finally feel at ease.

"Lord Yang, is there any chance we could awaken eyes like the clan leader's?"

The clan leader's seemingly invincible power had stayed on Uchiha Sake's mind the whole journey. In the end, he couldn't resist asking.

"I thought you'd keep that bottled up forever."

Uchiha Yang understood why Uchiha Sake was so eager for the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Still, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan depended on one's talent and circumstances. Even someone who wasn't Indra's reincarnation could awaken it.

And if Uchiha Sake had Yang guiding him, there might be a very good chance he could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"You have a chance to awaken those Mangekyō Sharingan, too. But don't rush. These things depend on the right time, place, and people."

Uchiha Sake looked a little embarrassed under Uchiha Yang's gaze. He scratched his head and spoke in a muffled voice.

"I won't hide it from you, Lord Yang. After seeing the power the clan leader used, I've been longing for it so intensely it feels like ants are crawling inside me."

"Even my Three-Tomoe Sharingan seems to be yearning for that power."

Hearing this, Uchiha Yang smiled. "The Mangekyō Sharingan comes after the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. There's no shame in wanting power."

"Stick with me, and I promise you won't regret it."

Uchiha Yang chuckled and glanced at Uchiha Ya beside him. Hidden in Ya's eyes was a trace of yearning that he could barely suppress.

Uchiha Ya and Uchiha Sake hurriedly lowered their heads at those words. They were both clever enough to understand what he meant.

"Those eyes seem to have a strong hold over me. Just one look was enough to control me."

The Nine-Tails lay on the carriage blanket, staring thoughtfully at Uchiha Yang. The eyes Yang had used at the moment it attacked him earlier had been the Mangekyō Sharingan.

It seemed Uchiha Yang had been hiding his true strength well. He hadn't revealed any of it, and the Nine-Tails couldn't even sense the chakra inside him.

"Would you... like a biscuit?"

The little maid Xia Lian was somewhat afraid of the Tailed Beast. Knowing how terrifying it was, she spoke in a tiny voice, afraid of angering it.

The Nine-Tails stared at the biscuit held out to it and widened its eyes. If it ate it, wouldn't that make it a pet?

But if it didn't, the biscuit smelled delicious.

So the Nine-Tails patted the soft blanket with a paw, signaling for her to put it down. It would eat it by itself.

Seeing how easy the Nine-Tails was to deal with, the little maid got excited and dumped the whole bag of biscuits in front of it.

This was a pet their master had just taken in. She couldn't let it go hungry.