Eating, Sleeping, Beating Senju

Gulp!

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

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

"Hmm?"

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

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

Were his terms really that bad?

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

Seeing the panic in the eyes of the cats before him, Uchiha Gen felt genuinely disappointed.

Just then, a pitch-black Ninja Cat slowly emerged from some unknown corner.

"I'll go with you, meow~"

Uchiha Gen was somewhat surprised. He had not even noticed where this Black Cat had been standing before, and her eyes were calm, like a pool of stagnant water.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm, meow~"

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

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

Times changed, and people changed with them.

During the Warring States era, ninjas were replaced at the fastest rate. New ninjas filled the places left by the fallen, until they became the next generation of sacrifices.

The Uchiha Clan had rested and recuperated for more than a year. With summer's arrival, their operations began once more.

"Who are we fighting this time?"

"Sarutobi!"

Uchiha Gen nodded and did not ask why they were fighting the Sarutobi Clan. From the family affairs he had handled recently, he had already sensed it coming.

For some reason, the Sarutobi Clan had dared to seize an Uchiha mine. Their transport convoys had also been raided twice recently, and they suspected the Sarutobi Clan was behind it.

"I'll have the supplies ready within two days. It'll be 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 dignified Uchiha Gen and felt deeply gratified. His little brother had grown up.

"By the way, Big Brother, I've gained some insights into my training lately. When we return from this battle, could you give me some guidance?"

"Oh? Of course."

Uchiha Madara found it rather interesting. This was the first time he had heard his third brother take the initiative to ask for training guidance.

Other than Izuna, his younger brothers had all been afraid of him in the past. Though he knew it was because he always kept a stern face, 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 this battle against Sarutobi?"

"...I'll pass. It's safer if I stay in the clan. In case something like last time happens again..."

"Mm."

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

At present, even counting the funds available within the clan, he still did not have enough money to build a laboratory.

Those ten tool people were still in their growth stage. The help they could provide was negligible, and he had no extra free time to research anything himself.

"I need to study bloodlines and conduct human experiments. The key issue is experimental equipment. This era is still far too backward. Who knows how long it'll take to develop a microscope?"

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

But aside from Orochimaru, Senju Tobirama, who lived in the same era, could not be underestimated either. This inventor of ninjutsu was the first to begin researching forbidden techniques involving the human body, and nearly every ninjutsu he invented was also a forbidden technique.

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

Looking at the Uchiha Clan's fate as a whole, Senju Tobirama's schemes had played a major role. During the First Hokage's reign, things were still manageable. With Hashirama Senju keeping him in check, he did not dare act recklessly.

By the time he became the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama had completely cast off his restraints. He not only laid traps openly and in secret, but also indoctrinated the Uchiha internally, intending to completely dismantle the Uchiha Clan.

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

It was laughable. The Konoha they had founded had completely become a political tool. Anyone who wanted to become Hokage had to have a background. What a masterful hand he had played.

"Being dragged into a political quagmire isn't the life I should be living. It's time to think about a way out."

The current Uchiha Clan was united from top to bottom, putting the interests of its clansmen first. All their strength could be directed toward one goal.

After Konoha was founded, the Uchiha Clan would become divided and scattered. Internally, they would split into two factions, and even Madara's status as clan head would no longer carry much weight. When he left, not a single clansman would be willing to follow him.

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

Having made his plans, he turned to look at Little Kuro sleeping on his chair, walked over, picked her up with a doting expression, and took a deep sniff.

"Ah~ So satisfying."

Black Cat: ...

The Naruto World was neither too large nor too small. It was large enough that Konoha alone could show one every facet of life, yet small enough that everyone at the ends of the world seemed to know one another.

No one knew of the Senju and Uchiha Clans' schemes. The Uchiha Clan continued as usual, fighting this clan today and that one tomorrow. Sometimes it was for resources; other times, they simply disliked the other side.

To avoid suspicion, the two clans occasionally fought as well. Those caught up in it could not see the truth, but to outsiders, it was perfectly clear.

"Hashirama!"

"Madara!"

"I'm here!"

"You shouldn't have come!"

The new year was about to end, and to draw a perfect conclusion to this year—

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

There were not actually that many ninja clans in the Land of Fire. Only a dozen or so had real names and reputations. As for the smaller clans with only a few hundred members or even less than a hundred, their eventual fate was either destruction or annexation.

Among them, the iron triangle led by the Nara Clan, together with the Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans, was the toughest to crack. Fortunately, those three clans had no great ambitions. Their alliance sought only self-preservation, so Madara simply skipped over Ino–Shika–Cho.

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

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

Uchiha Madara wore a suit of crimson Warring States armor. He leaped ten meters into the air and shouted:

"We're no longer on the same level!"

"Susanoo!"

Whoosh!

A fierce wind rose, sending sand and stones flying.

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

His Susanoo had 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 demon. If Uchiha Gen had been here, he would have recognized that this Susanoo's appearance had likely been modeled after a Crow Tengu.

"Save the boasting until after we've exchanged blows. Wood Release! Forest Sea Descent!"