"Cough, cough! Gen! It wasn't what you thought!"
Madara stepped forward helplessly to explain. "Hashirama and I were discussing peace. Our two clans have fought for over a thousand years; it's time there was a conclusion."
He then turned to Hashirama and said:
"This is my third younger brother, Uchiha Gen. He is currently the acting clan head."
"Oh?"
Hashirama was instantly intrigued. He had thought this was merely one of Madara's clansmen stumbling across them by accident. He had not expected him to be Madara's younger brother, much less the acting clan head.
Being an acting clan head was no easy task. Aside from dealing with all kinds of annoying trivial matters every day, one had to read countless reports and the like. Hashirama immediately placed Uchiha Gen on the same level as his younger brother Tobirama.
"Interested in joining the conversation?"
Uchiha Gen was not at all surprised by Hashirama's invitation and accepted it calmly.
He slowly sat beside the two of them, forming something of a three-way standoff. However, with a fluffy Black Cat in Uchiha Gen's arms, the atmosphere instead became much more relaxed.
"You're Uchiha Gen, right? Your older brother and I were just discussing the current state of the Shinobi World. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I don't really have any thoughts." Uchiha Gen shook his head, looking uninterested as he replied casually, "The Shinobi World is filled with clans, each fighting for itself. What is there to talk about?"
There was nothing wrong with that statement; most people saw it that way. Yet Hashirama asked again:
"Then do you think there is a way to change such a world?"
"It's simple. All it takes is the birth of a powerful force that unifies them all."
"Really?"
Hashirama's face lit up with delight. He had not expected Madara's younger brother to think that far ahead. His thoughts were the same as theirs.
Uchiha Gen looked at Hashirama strangely. Even elementary school students know that. Why does he look like he just solved one of the world's greatest mysteries? Carrying five thousand years of culture within him, he had practically seen through this Naruto World.
"It's no big deal. The world is bound to be unified eventually; it is merely a matter of whether it happens sooner or later. And even if it is unified, peace may not necessarily follow."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing. There's no need to worry about things so far in the future. That would just be unnecessary. It's better to focus your energy on what you should do and what you want to do. That's more practical."
Hashirama Senju and Madara were utterly shaken, feeling as though their worldview had been struck. Uchiha Gen clearly still looked young, yet his words gave them much to ponder.
"Gen, it seems you really have grown up. I can no longer see through your thoughts."
"Big Brother, you just spend too much time training. I read whenever I have nothing to do. By now, I've read through nearly all the records in our clan, so I came out for a stroll because I was bored."
Once the conversation began, the three gradually became more engaged. At one point, when Hashirama Senju was particularly delighted, he personally poured Uchiha Gen a cup of wine, making Gen's face turn black.
"Thank you, but I don't drink."
Who knew how drunk he would get after a single cup? It would be disastrous if he let something slip while drunk.
Time passed slowly, and before long, it was time to part ways. Uchiha Gen stopped Hashirama and asked him for a small favor.
"Hashirama Senju, you seem to have a wife from the Uzumaki Clan, don't you?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"I recently hit a bottleneck and want to study Sealing Arts. Help me get some scrolls."
"This... Gen, you should know that those are secret techniques of the Uzumaki Clan."
Tch! Secret clan techniques, my ass. Uchiha Gen curled his lip. Do you really think I'd believe Tobirama's Flying Thunder God wasn't inspired by Sealing Arts? And that Impure World Reincarnation of his too—what secret clan technique?
"I only need the basic principles. If you don't bring them to me, I imagine news of the Shinobi World's two greatest clans joining forces will spread throughout the Shinobi World before long."
"...Are you threatening me?"
In an instant, Hashirama frowned. Immense Chakra burst forth, and the hurricane it stirred sent snowflakes on the ground flying wildly as cracks spread across the ice.
Uchiha Gen's mouth twitched at the sight, but he did not back down and directly confronted him.
"You—can understand it that way."
Boom!
Black-red Chakra condensed into tangible form as Uchiha Gen's pupils spun, activating the Beast-Eyed Mangekyō.
The two remained where they stood, their invisible energies colliding and continuously struggling against each other until even the air warped.
"Gen! What are you doing?! Stop this at once!"
Madara had not expected his younger brother to pull something like this at the very end, much less start fighting over a single disagreement.
Seeing Gen's resolute expression, without the slightest sign of retreat, Madara helplessly said to Hashirama:
"Hashirama, let it go. Consider it a favor I owe you."
As though granting Madara some face, the two slowly withdrew their pressure at the same time, giving each other a way out.
"I'll bring them to you another day. Uchiha Gen, I will never show mercy to anyone who tries to ruin Madara's and my plan."
"Heh, forget it. You're just a fool."
Uchiha Gen turned and left, then looked back to add:
"This isn't a favor my older brother owes. It's a favor that I, Uchiha Gen, owe the Uzumaki Clan. Tell your wife to think carefully before she acts~"
Uchiha Gen's final words sounded like a riddle, and neither Madara nor Hashirama understood what he meant.
The Uzumaki Clan was not in the Land of Fire. It was far away overseas and did not even share a border with the Land of Fire. What use was this favor?
Uchiha Gen left first. After Madara saw Hashirama off and arranged the time of their next meeting, he hurried after Gen.
"Gen, what did you mean by those last words?"
"Huh? What could I have meant?" Uchiha Gen did not walk quickly; he was simply taking a stroll. "Think about it. Once your plan succeeds, won't you have to choose a leader? What if the Senju use this favor to make an issue of it then? I don't want my older brother to be a step below them."
"We'll definitely need to choose a leader then, but Hashirama and I can lead together, can't we?"
"Pfft. Then if the two of you disagree, who is everyone supposed to listen to?"
"Well..."
"And do you think that bastard Tobirama would be willing?"
"..."
Madara had nothing to say now. If that day truly came, he genuinely did not know what he should do. Could he only settle for being second-in-command or deputy leader?
Madara had his own pride and had never been inferior to anyone in his life. Uchiha Gen's question had stumped him completely.
After the New Year.
The heavy snow melted, and all things revived.
People quickly threw themselves into work for the new year. As the Uchiha Clan's reputation and prestige continued to rise, the various orders and commissioned missions they received suddenly became as numerous as cow hairs.
For a time, there were not even enough clan shinobi to handle them all.
Uchiha Gen therefore established the mission rank system in advance and had even clan members with Genin-level strength take commissions.
By the standards of his previous life, this counted as severe child labor exploitation.
"The weapons workshop is still too inefficient. Pass down the order: open five more assembly lines!"
"The Medicinal Management Bureau needs to stockpile more medicinal herbs while spring has just arrived. Those doctors among ordinary people may not have much combat ability, but their medical skills are far superior to shinobi. Bring back whoever can be hired, and kidnap whoever can't."
After issuing the orders, Uchiha Gen picked up a pen and signed the proposal to establish medical shinobi, listing them under the combat forces.
Before you continue