Chapter 7

"...Yeah! Right now, I guess we're opponents in a game of skipping stones. But I've already sent mine all the way across!" Seeing Madara glaring at him in annoyance and demanding an answer, the Bowl Cut boy had no idea what to say, so he quickly changed the subject.

Madara was utterly speechless. The boy's attempt to change the subject was so clumsy that even an idiot could tell he was forcing the conversation elsewhere, hoping Madara would let it go. Mingye watched the two of them in silence, smiling. He suddenly marveled at his own luck. Who would have thought he'd end up in the middle of that so-called historical scene?

"Hey! I asked you your name! What are you going on about?" Madara glared at the Bowl Cut boy, stepped closer, and demanded again, his expression fierce.

"Uh! My name's Hashirama. I can't tell you my surname for certain reasons!" The Bowl Cut boy knew he couldn't keep dodging the question, so he gave only his given name and kept his surname secret.

Madara couldn't be bothered to learn his surname. He set the stone in his hand between them, then spoke to Hashirama with a haughty air. "Your name's Hashirama, right? Watch closely. I'm about to throw it. I'll show you what a genius looks like when he gets serious!"

With that, he spun around, shielding his face with one hand, and flung the stone with the Uchiha Clan's special shuriken technique. The stone skipped quickly across the water, but managed only five bounces before falling in, having traveled just two-thirds of the way across the lake.

He had used the Uchiha Clan's special shuriken technique, yet still hadn't managed to skip the stone all the way across. The three of them fell silent. A cold wind blew past. Mingye couldn't hold back any longer; he dropped to his knees, pounding the ground with one hand as he roared with laughter. Madara angrily beat Mingye up.

After finishing with Mingye, Madara seemed satisfied, but then he spun around and glared furiously at Hashirama, shouting, "Damn it! You did that on purpose, didn't you? You stood behind me to make me lose focus! You bastard, I saw right through your scheme! I'm the kind of person who's so sensitive to someone standing behind me that I can't even piss! You definitely did it on purpose, you bastard!"

"Sorry!"

The moment Madara started cursing at Hashirama, he sat down, hugging his knees. His eyes turned shadowy, and he looked like a lonely ghost as he apologized in a miserable, dejected voice.

Madara stared in shock at Hashirama, whose expression had changed even faster than his own. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. Hashirama looked so pitiful that Madara felt as though he were bullying a child. A deep sense of guilt washed over him.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to make you angry. I was already prepared for you to throw me across the river! I've made up my mind, so come on! Throw me!"

In an instant, Hashirama sat back down, hugging his knees. His pitiful, mournful voice rang out. Madara was at a loss for words. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at Hashirama.

"You bastard! You need to get a grip on your own self-awareness! Idiot...!"

"But only if you can throw me across the river!"

Before Madara could finish, Hashirama added another devastating remark. Madara immediately slapped him on the head and roared again, "You're so annoying! Go sit somewhere cool. Stop getting in my way!"

"Goodbye!"

"Stop right there!"

Hashirama lowered his head and answered dejectedly, then turned and hurried away without another word. Madara froze, surprised that he'd actually left, then grabbed him by the shoulder. Hashirama looked back at Madara dejectedly, confused, and asked,

"What do you want? Make up your mind about what you're after first!"

"Like hell I want anything!" Madara flew into another rage. Even an idiot could see the impatience in Hashirama's eyes, so he started cursing again.

"Hey, big bro!" Mingye had been watching the two of them like a comedy routine when he suddenly spotted a corpse drifting down the river. His expression turned serious, and he interrupted Madara, who was about to start cursing again.

When Hashirama saw the corpse, he quickly broke free of Madara and stepped across the water to the middle of the river. He looked at the ninja clan symbol on the body, his expression serious and somewhat troubled. "I have to go! You should hurry back, too. This place is about to become a battlefield!"

"You're a ninja!" Madara stared in confusion at Hashirama, who was standing on the water.

"Goodbye!"

"Wait!"

Hashirama didn't reply. He leaped three meters into the air and landed on the opposite bank. Just then, Madara called out to him, grinning as he spoke with an easygoing air.

"My name's Madara. As for my surname, I can't tell a stranger I've just met! That's the rule among ninjas!"

"I knew it! You're a ninja too!" Hashirama's expression grew more mature as he turned to look at Madara, as if he'd expected it all along.

"Of course!"

Madara smiled and nodded. Just then, a stone skipped across the surface of the river several times and rolled to a stop beside Hashirama. Mingye stood up, waved to Hashirama, and introduced himself with a smile.

"Hey! My name's Mingye! I'll treat you to a great meal next time! And I haven't lost, either!"

"Okay! Thanks!" Hashirama glanced at Mingye, smiled faintly, and disappeared into the woods.

"He's an interesting guy!"

Watching the boy named Hashirama disappear on the opposite riverbank, Madara praised him to Mingye, who was walking over. Mingye shrugged, thinking to himself that Hashirama was Madara's lifelong bond and destined rival. Even after the two of them had seen through life and death, nothing could break the bond of fate between them. Of course he'd be an interesting guy!

"He's not bad, but big bro, he's stronger than you!"

"I know!" Mingye hadn't been joking. The smile of admiration on Madara's face vanished, and he nodded firmly.

"Mingye!"

Seeing Mingye about to leave, Madara suddenly called out to him.

"What?"

Mingye turned to look at Madara, confused. Madara took a deep breath, then warned him,

"Don't tell anyone about meeting that guy today!"

Mingye froze, then nodded.

"You noticed it too!"

Madara started walking toward the woods. As he passed Mingye, he spoke again.

"Heh! Don't tell anyone—not even Izuna."

"I know!"

When the brothers returned to their clan grounds, they found that three white flags had been raised again on the family training field. The meaning behind them weighed heavily on Madara and Mingye. When they also remembered the dead ninja from the Hagoromo Clan they'd found drifting through Uchiha territory, their concern deepened. They hurried to the study. Madara pushed the door open first, with Mingye right behind him. As soon as they entered, they saw their third uncle, Shimizu, wrapped in white bandages from head to toe. Under Tajima's imposing gaze, they stood in the corner with Izuna and listened to Shimizu and Tajima's conversation.

"I can't believe we got caught out by the Hagoromo Clan again. They're like flies, turning up everywhere!"

Tajima looked at Shimizu's injuries and fell silent for a moment. Then he picked up his brush and drew another cross over the four characters for the Takigawa Clan. "We have to deal with the Takigawa Clan tonight! I don't think the Hagoromo Clan is as simple as they seem. If they dared to ambush the Senju Clan in our territory, they must be plotting against us too! I can't believe it—the wolf ran into a fox. Senju Butsuma's probably hurting pretty badly right now!"

"More than just badly. His son died—Hagoromo Clan ninjas tore him to pieces. That's why you saw Butsuma's final, frenzied attack. I got injured then, too." Shimizu gave a bitter smile. Remembering Senju Butsuma's madness, clutching a piece of his son's body in one hand as he attacked the Uchiha and Hagoromo ninjas indiscriminately like a rabid dog, made his scalp tingle.

"You should be more careful, too! Fortunately, your injuries aren't serious. You'll lead the team tonight, and these three will go with you so they can get some experience. I have to go meet the general!" Tajima nodded and reminded him again, his expression grave.

"Tonight?!" Shimizu stared at him, completely baffled as to why the general wanted to see his brother at such a critical moment.

"Yes. The general has summoned me urgently. It seems something major is about to happen in the Land of Fire!" Tajima looked grave as well. The situation in the Land of Fire was becoming increasingly unpredictable. The country might be prosperous and powerful, but it had hundreds upon hundreds of ninja clans within its borders. More than five clans could match the Uchiha Clan without losing, and even the mid-sized clans weren't ones the Uchiha Clan could simply wipe out in one fell swoop.