Uchiha Madara's True Thoughts

It's not that there's no health preservation, but the main purpose of health preservation is to maintain combat power. It doesn't matter when you're young, but as you get older, you're overdrawing your body. When you reach the age of Uchiha Setsuna, with years of accumulated hidden ailments, once you fall, you can't get up again.

The Uchiha Clan is much better in this regard now because of Uchiha Shingen, but old people like Uchiha Setsuna are impossible to bring back even if they wanted to.

In comparison, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also quite old, but although his strength had declined significantly, his physical condition was much better than Uchiha Setsuna's.

"Yosuke," Uchiha Shingen said to the children, "Help Daddy wipe Uchiha Setsuna's face, okay?"

"Yes!" Uchiha Yosuke emphatically.

"Koyuki, go downstairs and find your mother. See if the food is ready," Uchiha Shingen said to Uchiha Yuki.

This kind of thing isn't suitable for Uchiha Yuki to get involved in; she could contribute in other ways.

Uchiha Yuki understood the significance of Uchiha Setsuna's current state better than Uchiha Yosuke, and she obediently ran out.

The two children won't actually be here often. Uchiha Yuki has to go to school, and Uchiha Yosuke will finish his enrollment this year.

Normally, it's mainly Uchiha Shingen and his wives who manage things here.

Uchiha Mikoto would also bring her sons over. When Uchiha Sasuke was young, he often came to play at Uchiha Setsuna.

The place is quiet not because no one is coming, but because no one wants Uchiha Setsuna to be bothered at the very end. Everyone who needs to help has done their part.

Uchiha Madara still lives here, but when there are other people around, he only stays in the courtyard.

This former Leaf Village Asura doesn't actually know how to take care of or comfort people, but these past few days, he's been speaking much more normally than usual.

Taking a towel and setting up the basin beside him, Uchiha Shingen, along with Yosuke, began to wipe Uchiha Setsuna's face and hands.

Uchiha Setsuna has very oily skin, and even when he's awake, he's not very strong. So every hour or so, Uchiha Shingen would wipe his face and hands to make him feel more comfortable.

As for bathing, only Uchiha Setsuna's wife could do that.

Suddenly, Uchiha Setsuna twitched his finger.

Uchiha Shingen, who was wiping his hands, stopped what he was doing, leaned over, and saw that Uchiha Setsuna had opened his eyes.

"Shingen..."

Uchiha Setsuna's voice was now very soft.

He can no longer shout with that loud voice he used to have.

Uchiha Yosuke stood on tiptoe and tried to wipe Uchiha Setsuna's forehead with a towel.

Uchiha Setsuna, looking into Yosuke's dark eyes with a gentle expression.

"Yosuke's here too! You should be starting school this year, right?"

"Yeah!" Uchiha Yosuke's eyes were full of anticipation. "Grandpa Uchiha Setsuna, are you going to see it too?"

"Yes, I'll go, I'll go." Uchiha Setsuna smiled. "I'll go once Grandpa recovers."

He felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Of course I know what kind of body I have.

It seems that Uchiha Yosuke was the last child he would watch walk through the gates of the Ninja Academy; his body simply wouldn't allow him to continue.

However, he had no regrets.

If he had to say something, it was that he felt very guilty for leaving before his wife.

From now on, my wife will be all alone.

The only person he ever wronged in his life was his wife.

"Shingen, my old lady... I'll need your help looking after her from now on, is that alright?"

"Elder Uchiha Setsuna, please rest assured." Uchiha Shingen nodded.

Uchiha Setsuna said this not because he was worried that his wife, with whom he had lived for many years, would be neglected; the Uchiha Clan has always been good at taking care of the elderly.

He was just expressing his remorse in a different way.

Everyone knows he has a bad temper and is incredibly stubborn. If you were to ask who in the village has been angered by him the most, it would definitely be his wife.

After all, we see each other Tenten...

But he couldn't bring himself to say those mushy things to his wife, nor did he know how to say them.

Uchiha Shingen could understand.

This happens far too often.

However, since Uchiha Setsuna had already woken up, Uchiha Shingen stayed with him and talked for a while.

There was a knock on the bedroom door, and Pakura pushed it open and came in.

"Shingen, the food is ready."

"Alright, take Yosuke away," Uchiha Shingen said. "Leave this to me."

Watching Pakura lead the reluctant Yosuke away, Uchiha Shingen pushed the wheelchair over from the side.

Uchiha Setsuna's current condition manifests as a lack of energy, rapid physical decline, and more periods of exhaustion than wakefulness.

Uchiha Clan used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to move Uchiha Setsuna into the wheelchair, and then took a blanket to cover Uchiha Setsuna's legs.

When he brought Uchiha Setsuna to the living room, Pakura had already prepared food.

It mainly consists of soft foods like porridge.

After helping Uchiha Setsuna finish her meal, Uchiha Shingen pushed the wheelchair into the backyard.

Uchiha Madara sat in a chair, speaking to Uchiha Setsuna's wife in a posture reminiscent of a warrior with his sword drawn.

It's clear he really put in the effort.

Even across two playthroughs, Uchiha Shingen hadn't seen Uchiha Madara this much "effort" more than a few times.

Uchiha Shingen estimated that once Uchiha Setsuna left, Uchiha Madara would also leave.

Although Uchiha Madara didn't reveal a single word, Uchiha Shingen could deduce from various details that his goal hadn't changed.

He was serious about planting trees; his attitude was very firm.

If there's anything different, it might just be that his view of the Uchiha Clan has changed compared to the original timeline.

Uchiha Madara Uchiha Clan were constantly changing.

In his youth, Uchiha Madara was no different from the young Uchiha Clan members of today; the Uchiha Clan represented honor and responsibility in Madara's heart at that time.

Confidence in the Sharingan and pride in possessing the Uchiha Clan bloodline are the "adolescent" phase that every Uchiha Clan goes through.

Uchiha Madara was like this, and so was Uchiha Obito later on.

This sense of honor began to fade when, under the Uchiha Clan's overwhelming power, some members of the Senju Hashirama started to surrender to the Senju Clan.

As the situation worsened, fewer and fewer clansmen were determined to fight the Senju Clan, until only Uchiha Madara remained. So when he was defeated by Senju Hashirama, facing his old friend's advice, he said, "The Uchiha Clan no longer has anyone with such courage."

At that time, he looked down on the other members of his clan, which disappointed him. From that moment on, Uchiha Madara realized that he had not only lost his last remaining brother, but also the Uchiha Clan that had once made him proud.

But Uchiha Madara still tried to protect the Uchiha Clan —this was Uchiha Izuna wish—so protecting the Uchiha Clan transformed from an honor into an obsession.

But he ultimately failed. Senju Tobirama, who was extremely wary of the Uchiha Clan, would eventually become Hokage. In his view, the decline and even annihilation of the Uchiha Clan was a foregone conclusion. He tried to persuade his clansmen to leave in order to save them, but most of them persuaded him to stay instead.

He was no longer able to fulfill his younger brother's last wish, and had even been abandoned by his own clan; he was truly a lonely man now.

At this point, most of the Uchiha Clan were, in his eyes, a group of ignorant and weak people. They were not worth protecting, and he even felt that his inability to fulfill his brother's last wish was due to them.

Madara felt nothing but disdain for the clan he had once been so proud of.

In the original timeline, he eventually became unable to tolerate the Uchiha Clan name continuing to exist in Leaf Village in a wretched, defunct form.

However, it's unclear how he views the current Uchiha Clan in this timeline.

Uchiha Shingen was eager to find out this.

Chapter 59 Uchiha Madara's True Thoughts

Uchiha Madara had already turned around when the wheelchair was pushed into the backyard.

These days, Uchiha Madara, who was arrogant, cocky, and looked down on everyone, seems to have reverted to the clan leader he once was, obsessed with protecting his family.

He didn't give those who came to visit Uchiha Setsuna any special treatment; he simply chose to be alone and avoid seeing them.

Only when Senju Hashirama came did he allow his old friend to come into the backyard and sit with him for a while.

He would not see anyone who was not from the Uchiha Clan.

Moreover, he started to become more "generous".

Any Uchiha Clan member who comes here and is a ninja will receive his guidance.

Here's a small detail: he's more patient with those Uchiha Clan.

"Clan Chief Madara," Uchiha Shingen greeted him.

Uchiha Madara nodded without saying anything.

"How do you feel, Uchiha Setsuna?"

Sitting to one side, his wife, who had been with Uchiha Setsuna for decades, had a hint of sorrow in her eyes, but she hid it well when she looked at Uchiha Setsuna.

Uchiha Setsuna's wife's given name was Qiu. It is said that when she was dating Uchiha Setsuna, many people thought she probably wouldn't last more than a month.

As a result, she persevered for decades, growing from an autumn-stretched figure to an "autumn-grandmother."

"It's fine, clan head," Uchiha Setsuna said with a smile. "I just had a slight fever."

"You old codger, I told you to cover yourself with the blankets properly all the time. How old are you and you still kick off the covers?" Uchiha Aki laughed.

His smile wasn't as natural as Uchiha Setsuna's.

"Shingen, please sit down. I'll get you some tea." With that, she hurried away.

No one pointed it out.

Uchiha Aki never got involved in politics or anything like that in her entire life, and she never became a ninja.

Her life revolved around her family.

Uchiha Setsuna arguing and defiant outside, but at home he was the one being argued with. Since his children had all sacrificed themselves, he had never lost his temper with his wife again.

"You two talk first, I'll go help Grandma Qiu."

Uchiha Shingen pushed the wheelchair to a suitable distance from Uchiha Madara, and then prepared to leave.

In this world, the person Uchiha Setsuna admired most was Uchiha Madara, and the person he loved most and felt most guilty towards was Uchiha Aki.

It's rare that Uchiha Setsuna has regained his senses again, so of course he should give his time to the right person.

"No, Shingen, you stay," Uchiha Madara said.

"Yes, Shingen, the clan head said you should stay here and not cause any trouble," Uchiha Setsuna added.

Sometimes he would wake up at night and hear his wife crying secretly.

She still remembers.

That was a promise we made when we got married: no matter who passes away first, neither of us is allowed to cry.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shingen stopped being coy and casually found a seat nearby.

"Things have been much quieter these past few days, so we finally have some time," Uchiha Madara said.

Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Shingen listened quietly without interrupting.

"Many years ago, I stood in this place and tried to persuade the people here to come with me," Uchiha Madara said. "But most of them refused. I must admit, when I left, my heart wasn't as light as it appeared."

He paused slightly before speaking.

"I began to hate this family."

Uchiha Setsuna's expression was complicated, Uchiha Shingen's expression remained unchanged.

Such beginnings will almost always be followed by a transition such as "but".

The events preceding the turning point don't need to be examined in detail.

"However," Uchiha Madara did not disappoint Uchiha Shingen's trust, and he quickly uttered a transitional phrase, "Having been dead for decades and then resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, my opinion of this clan has changed somewhat."

Make it up! Go ahead and make it up!

You weren't dead when Namikaze Minato was Hokage.