Eating, Sleeping, Beating Senju

Gulp!

The fur on some of the Ninja Cats' backs had already stood on end in fright.

After Uchiha Yuan finished speaking, he quietly sat to one side and waited for the Ninja Cats to state their positions. Yet as time slowly passed, no response came.

"Hm?"

"Those willing to come with me, take one step forward."

The cats stood like statues, utterly motionless, leaving Uchiha Yuan feeling rather awkward.

Were his terms really that bad?

"If you won't speak, I'll choose for myself!"

Uchiha Yuan looked at the panic in the eyes of the cats before him and felt genuinely disappointed.

Just then, from some unknown corner, an entirely black Ninja Cat slowly walked forward.

"I'll go with you, meow~"

Uchiha Yuan was somewhat surprised. He had not even noticed where this Black Cat had been standing, and its eyes were tranquil, like a pool of stagnant water.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm, meow~"

The Black Cat padded over to Uchiha Yuan, slowly raised a front paw, and in that instant, Uchiha Yuan felt as though their hearts were connected. He extended his hand and touched the cat's paw.

"Then from now on, I'll call you Little Kuro."

Times changed, and all things changed with them.

During the Warring States Era, shinobi were replaced at the fastest rate. New shinobi filled the gaps left by the fallen, until they in turn became the next fallen.

The Uchiha Clan had recuperated for over a year. As summer arrived, their operations began.

"Who are we fighting this time?"

"Sarutobi!"

Uchiha Yuan nodded and did not ask why they were fighting Sarutobi. From the recent clan affairs he had handled, he had already sensed it coming.

For some reason, Sarutobi had gone mad enough to seize an Uchiha mine. Their transport convoys had also been raided twice recently, and the Sarutobi Clan was suspected of being responsible.

"I'll have the supplies ready within two days, enough for two thousand clansmen to fight for a week."

"Mm. With you handling it, I'm at ease."

Uchiha Madara looked at the increasingly imposing Uchiha Yuan and felt deeply gratified. His younger brother had grown into an adult.

"By the way, big brother, I've gained some insights in my training lately. Could you guide my cultivation after we return from this battle?"

"Oh? Of course."

Uchiha Madara found it rather interesting. This was the first time his third brother had taken the initiative to ask him for guidance in training.

Other than Izuna, his younger brothers had all been afraid of him. He knew it was because he always wore a stern face, but he did not know how to change. Asking him to grin foolishly all day like that idiot Izuna was simply impossible.

"By the way, are you going to fight Sarutobi this time?"

"...Forget it. It's safer for me to stay in the clan. In case something like last time happens again..."

"Mm."

After seeing Uchiha Madara off, Uchiha Yuan considered his plans for the future.

At present, aside from the funds available within the clan, he still did not have enough money to establish a laboratory.

Those ten tools were still in their growth stage. The help they could provide was negligible, and he had no additional spare time to research anything.

"Bloodlines need to be studied, and human experimentation must be carried out. The key is experimental equipment. This era is still too backward. Who knows how long it'll take to develop a microscope?"

In Uchiha Yuan's view, even decades after Konoha was founded, technology would still be far too backward. They could not even make a microscope. Yet Orochimaru had become a renowned scientist of the Shinobi World under such conditions. He truly deserved to be called a genius.

However, besides Orochimaru, Senju Tobirama, who lived in the same era, was equally not to be underestimated. This inventor of ninjutsu had been the first to research forbidden human techniques, and nearly every ninjutsu he invented was also forbidden.

"If Senju can do it, why can't we Uchiha?"

Looking at the Uchiha Clan's fate, Senju Tobirama's schemes had played a major role. During the First Naruto's reign, things had been manageable. With Hashirama Senju keeping him in check, he had not dared act recklessly.

Once he became the Second Naruto, Senju Tobirama completely cut loose. He not only laid traps openly and in secret, but also indoctrinated the Uchiha from within, intending to completely dismantle the Uchiha Clan.

Then, with his "help," his disciple successfully became the Third Naruto.

It was laughable. The Konoha that had originally been founded had completely become a political tool. Anyone who could become Naruto had to have a background. What a masterful hand he had played.

"Getting dragged into the quagmire of politics isn't the life I should be living. It's time to consider a way out."

The current Uchiha Clan was united from top to bottom, putting the interests of its clansmen first and directing all its strength toward a single goal.

After Konoha was founded, the Uchiha Clan's hearts scattered, splitting internally into two factions. Even Madara's status as clan head no longer carried much weight, resulting in not a single clansman willing to follow him when he left.

"When the time comes, I'll leave too. The Shinobi World is so vast. I should see more of it."

Having made his plans, he turned and looked at Kuro, who was sleeping sprawled across his chair. He walked over, picked her up with a doting expression, and took a deep whiff.

"Ah~ So comfortable."

Black Cat:...

The Naruto World was neither large nor small. It was large enough that Konoha Village alone could show every facet of life, yet small enough that everyone at the ends of the world was an acquaintance.

No one knew of the Senju and Uchiha plans. The Uchiha Clan remained the same as ever, fighting this group today and that group tomorrow. Sometimes it was to compete for resources, and sometimes they simply disliked the other side.

To avoid suspicion, the two clans occasionally fought each other as well. Those caught up in it could not see the truth, but it was crystal clear to an outsider.

"Hashirama!"

"Madara!"

"I'm here!"

"You shouldn't have come!"

The new year was about to end. To put a perfect finishing touch on this year—

After Madara fought Sarutobi, then successively fought the Hatake Clan, the Kurama Clan, and other shinobi clans, Senju was scheduled for the final battle of the year.

In truth, there were not that many shinobi families in the Land of Fire. Only a dozen or so had names worth mentioning. As for those small clans with only a few hundred members, or even fewer than a hundred, their only fate was destruction or annexation.

Among them, the iron triangle led by the Nara Clan, together with the Yamanaka Clan and Akimichi Clan, was the hardest to deal with. Fortunately, these three clans had no ambitions. Even united, they only sought self-preservation, so Madara directly passed over Ino–Shika–Cho.

"Begin. Let me see how much you've improved after all this time."

"Hmph! Stop talking big! Today, I'll show you the true power of the Sharingan!"

Uchiha Madara wore crimson Warring States armor and leaped ten meters into the air from the ground. In midair, he shouted:

"I'm no longer on the same level as you!"

"Susanoo!"

Whoosh!

A fierce wind rose, sending sand and stones flying.

An azure giant enveloped Madara as he stood high in the sky. As Chakra continued pouring into his Mangekyō Sharingan, a faint stabbing pain came from his optic nerves.

And his Susanoo reached its third form! It stood eight hundred meters tall! Two hunting blades were strapped across its back, and its enormous head resembled an evil ghost. If Uchiha Yuan had been here, he would have recognized that this Susanoo's appearance had likely been modeled after a Crow Tengu.

"Save your arrogant words until after we've exchanged blows. Wood Release! Forest Sea Descent!"