What Could Be So Serious?

Living as Uchiha Itachi, Madara Uchiha had spent four years in Konoha, the village he and Hashirama had founded. Over those four years, he had come to fully understand his situation.

Madara Uchiha had not merely transmigrated into someone else's body. He had also traveled back in time.

Judging by his circumstances before his transmigration, he should have been clinging to life somewhere at this point, waiting for a "chosen one" to help him carry out his resurrection plan. But even Madara Uchiha did not know whether, now that he had transmigrated into Uchiha Itachi's body, another elderly version of himself still existed in this era, being played for a fool by Black Zetsu.

"Itachi, breakfast is ready."

Uchiha Mikoto appeared before Madara Uchiha with a smile and gently called him over for breakfast. The warmth of the scene inevitably reminded him of his own mother. During the four years in which he had grown from an infant into a young child, Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku had indeed taken great care of him.

"All right, Mother."

Even if his soul was Madara Uchiha's, his current body was only four years old. He had to be patient until he possessed enough power. He needed no one to teach him such a simple truth. Besides, in his previous life, Madara Uchiha had learned the whole truth while in his soul form. There was no shortcut to everlasting world peace, nor was he any kind of savior. So the reborn Madara Uchiha was in no hurry. Now that he had no goal, he had actually begun to enjoy the peaceful, quiet life in Konoha a little.

After all, had his dream not been to create a permanently peaceful shinobi world from the very beginning?

Hashirama, I can understand your decision back then a little better now.

Seated at the dining table, Madara Uchiha picked up his spoon and brought a spoonful of hot Soup to his mouth. Looking at the affection in Uchiha Mikoto's eyes and the love in Uchiha Fugaku's gaze, he felt a faint warmth in his heart, even though he knew those feelings were not meant for him, Madara Uchiha.

Just as Madara Uchiha allowed himself to sink into the comfort of these peaceful days, a hurried knock sounded at their front door.

"Clan Head Fugaku! Clan Head Fugaku! Come out, quickly! Lord Hokage has summoned you!"

Along with the frantic knocking came the anxious cries of a member of the Uchiha Clan. Clearly, something serious must have happened in Konoha.

"Itachi, take good care of your mother. I'll go find out what happened."

As head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku naturally had to step forward when trouble arose in the village. As a father, he gently patted Madara Uchiha's shoulder, then opened the door and left. Only Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Mikoto remained at home.

"Eat your breakfast, Itachi. Have faith in your father. Everything will be fine."

Although something serious had happened outside, Uchiha Fugaku had always been a steady, dependable husband and clan head. Uchiha Mikoto had complete faith in her husband. She was a little worried, but she had always believed that as long as Fugaku was there, nothing would happen to the Uchiha Clan. So after he left, she still smiled and gestured for Madara Uchiha to finish his breakfast first.

"All right, Mother."

What could be so serious? It was nothing more than the first signs that the Third Shinobi World War was about to begin.

He swallowed another mouthful of hot Soup. Although Madara Uchiha had already been an Old Man with one foot in the grave at this point in his previous life, with White Zetsu and Black Zetsu around, he had not missed a single thing happening outside. Otherwise, he would not have recognized Fugaku's clothes as the uniform of the Konoha Military Police Force immediately upon his rebirth.

To someone who had sparked the Fourth Shinobi World War and nearly destroyed the entire world, this petty slaughter among shinobi was as dull as children playing house.

As long as people remained alive, there would always be conflict. That legendary secret technique that could bring peace to the entire world had been nothing but a trick Black Zetsu used to deceive him. Even if he regained the strength of his prime, swept all opposition aside, and helped Konoha win the war, the world would still fall into chaos after his death. At that thought, Madara Uchiha once again felt nothing but emptiness and irritation.

Just as Madara Uchiha was thinking this, a warm finger gently touched his brow.

"Itachi, I've told you so many times not to frown. It'll make you look old, and pretty girls won't like you if you look old."

No one could touch Madara Uchiha without his noticing, except someone he trusted deeply. Though Uchiha Mikoto was already a mother, she was still a young woman. Seeing her child constantly looking as though he bore some bitter, deep-seated grudge, she naturally worried about him. What she did not know was that Madara Uchiha was easily old enough to be her grandfather.

Looking at Uchiha Mikoto's gentle smile, Madara Uchiha's brow relaxed without his realizing it.

"I won't frown anymore."

Now living his third life, reborn in someone else's body, Madara Uchiha still did not know how he should fulfill his dream of bringing lasting peace to the shinobi world in this lifetime. But he was certain of one thing: if anyone tried to disrupt his peaceful life now, he would make them pay with their life.

"What? The Third Kazekage is missing?"

Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Mikoto waited at home for a long while. Only when lunchtime drew near did Uchiha Fugaku finally return with heavy steps, bringing news that struck Uchiha Mikoto like a bolt from the blue.

"Yes. The Third Kazekage's disappearance has left Sunagakure leaderless. The Land of Lightning has been building up its military strength all along, and everyone knows its ruthless ambitions. Faced with such a rare opportunity, they attacked Sunagakure like a starving tiger pouncing on prey. Worse still, the Land of Lightning's ambitions are enormous. Sunagakure alone won't satisfy their appetite. They may very well attack Konoha too. Then there's Iwagakure. Territorial disputes and an old blood feud have left that village with a longstanding grudge against us. With the Land of Lightning stirring up chaos, there's also a strong chance that Iwagakure will launch a surprise attack on Konoha. The Third Hokage summoned me precisely to discuss how to defend against attacks from other nations."

Even their village's Kage could disappear without explanation. After all these years, Sunagakure was still just as useless. Hashirama should have listened to me and conquered that resource-starved country from the start.

Listening to Uchiha Fugaku describe the situation outside, Madara Uchiha scoffed inwardly.