"Nii-san, what are you doing up there?" Madara Uchiha returned to find Indra standing on the roof. He dropped the basket on his back to the ground, planted his hands on his hips, and explained guiltily, "I went fishing."
It sounded suspiciously like a denial no one had asked for.
Indra snapped out of his thoughts, suppressed his doubts, and jumped down from the roof to land in front of Madara Uchiha. A glance at his expression made his guilt plain to see.
Still, he was back, so Indra did not bother dwelling on such trifles.
"Madara! Madara! Where did you go? I haven't seen you all day. Huh? Did you go fishing?" Izuna ran out of his room and flung himself into Madara Uchiha's arms, launching into an aggrieved complaint. "Big Brother was so mean today! I hadn't even managed to cast one jutsu before he hit me with jutsu from all five elements."
"Oh, and he even snapped Osamu's ankle, then made her twist it back into place herself. He was so scary."
"Really? That was how he trained me, too. You'll get used to it. Izuna, I know you can survive Big Brother's beatings-no, his special training-and become an excellent ninja."
Madara Uchiha smiled and rubbed Izuna's head, in quite a good mood. As long as his little brother survived the beatings, that was enough. After a few months of this training, Izuna would be much safer on the battlefield.
"Brother, I'm not your favorite little brother anymore." Izuna puffed out his cheeks. He had wanted Madara to comfort him, but every word stabbed him right in the heart instead.
"Izuna, are you tattling right in front of me because you think he can beat me?" Indra laid a hand on Izuna's head and ruffled his hair over and over, only letting go once it looked like a bird's nest.
"Hmph! I'm not tattling. I'm stating facts." Izuna lifted his chin and haughtily turned his head aside, though his eyes were darting all over the place.
Thinking of Uchiha Osamu's miserable state, he was still lucky. At least he could still run and jump. Uchiha Osamu had crawled back.
What a poor, unfortunate clanmate.
He had once thought Uchiha Osamu would become his sister-in-law, but now...
No way!
Absolutely no way!
Big Brother did not treat Uchiha Osamu like a human being at all.
He was vicious when he struck. As long as she did not actually die, he would beat her within an inch of her life.
No man in the Uchiha had ever beaten his wife.
Presumably, Big Brother intended to train her into a Shadow Guard or an intelligence ninja.
While they joked around, grilled fish, and simmered soup for a late-night meal, Uchiha Tajima was carried to the Meeting Hall by the Shadow Guards to discuss matters with several elders.
The Second Elder was the first to see Uchiha Tajima and complained with a look of distaste, "Clan Head, we know getting beaten by your son was humiliating. Putting on an act in front of the clan is one thing, but you can drop it in front of us."
"Bullshit! If I'm faking, may lightning strike me dead! That unfilial son didn't hold back at all. He went for the kill, even harder than that damned Butsuma Senju!"
Uchiha Tajima had been cooped up at home for the past two days and was about to lose his mind. The moment someone provoked him, he burst into curses. If not for the Shadow Guards, he would have starved to death at home by now.
Those unfilial sons either forgot to bring him food or forgot to bring him water. By the time they remembered, an entire day had passed.
And although his external injuries had healed, he still hurt inside. His chakra pathways ached terribly, and he could not use chakra.
"All right, all right. Losing to your own son is nothing to be ashamed of. That's enough. We asked you here to find out how things are going with that jutsu."
The First Elder smoothed things over, signaling that they should get down to business.
"How are things going? I'm his father, and he still beats me! What am I supposed to do? If you're so capable, go ask him yourselves! Cough, cough, cough..."
Uchiha Tajima simply threw caution to the wind. Did they think he did not want that healing jutsu?
His household had gone from having one unfilial son to five. Five whole unfilial sons.
One wanted to kill him, one disobeyed him, two wanted to rebel against him, and one ignored him.
"Why don't we summon him for a talk? There may be a ceasefire right now, but the neighboring Hagoromo Clan was wiped out overnight. A storm is brewing, and we have to prepare."
The First Elder's brows drew tightly together, his face full of worry.
"Fine. You talk to him. Leave me out of it."
The last person Uchiha Tajima wanted to face was that unfilial son. Back when he had been weak, he had merely had a sharp tongue. At least he had never actually done anything.
Now that he was strong, he truly would kill someone the moment he said he would. Having no sense of belonging to the Uchiha was one thing, but surely they could not grab a couple of Uchiha for him to kill for amusement whenever he was unhappy!
"You're father and son. Some things need to be talked through sooner or later. Besides, weren't you willing back then? If you hadn't loosened your belt, could anyone have pulled your trousers off?"
The Second Elder's tongue was practically dripping venom as he relentlessly dredged up the old history he had uncovered back then.
"Shut up! That was originally your assignment! If you hadn't married your wife, how would it have fallen to me? Uchiha Natsu should have been your son! You should be the one getting called an unfilial descendant every day, and you should be the one getting beaten!"
Uchiha Tajima flew into a humiliated rage. The Second Elder was not exactly wrong, but having it said in front of everyone was far too embarrassing. He had already endured this sort of public denunciation fifteen years ago.
"All right, stop arguing, both of you. Back to business. We'll call Xia to the Meeting Hall tomorrow and talk everything through openly!"
The First Elder pressed a hand to his forehead. His foolish younger brother was growing more hotheaded by the day.
Then he remembered Uchiha Osamu, who had been sent to the Clan Leader's Residence, and a thought flashed through his mind. Changing tack, he asked, "How are Osamu and Xia getting along? If things are going well, we could have her speak to him."
"Heh. Osamu? Your house is so close to mine. Can't you hear the screams coming from the courtyard every day?" Uchiha Tajima snorted and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. "He crippled her today."
"What? Crippled her? Since when do we Uchiha have men who beat their wives? That has to be the Kaguya Clan's genes at work!" The Second Elder slammed a hand onto the table in agitation, making the teacups clatter.
"How about my daughter instead? My daughter is a ninja. She can take a beating." The First Elder stroked his chin thoughtfully, weighing the feasibility of that decision.
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