German Orthopedics

Toshihi carried Setsuna on his back as their party of five followed Madara Uchiha swiftly through the Neutral Zone.

With Madara personally leading the way, no ambushers were foolish enough to leap out and court death.

After verifying their identities at the First Settlement, the party headed straight for the Hagoromo Clan Territory without stopping.

Madara Uchiha had barely come to a halt at the entrance when he spotted a familiar figure racing toward him from afar.

It was Izuna.

His younger brother, whom he had not seen for several days, looked exhausted from several sleepless nights, with dark circles beneath his eyes.

But the moment he saw Madara, his steps took on a boyish spring, and an irrepressible liveliness swept the weariness from his face.

Izuna stopped in front of Madara, only then noticing the others who had come with him.

He could not hide his smile in time, but felt embarrassed to show it in front of outsiders. Before he could speak, his ears turned red.

He coughed and composed himself.

"Brother, thanks for all your hard work."

Even Madara Uchiha's proud features softened at that moment.

Looking at the dark circles beneath his brother's eyes, he lowered his voice. "You're the one who's been working hard. Leave the Hagoromo business to me. Go get some rest."

Izuna pressed his lips together to suppress his smile and shook his head.

Setsuna hopped down from Toshihi's back and stood beside them. He looked at Izuna's slightly flushed ears, then at Madara Uchiha's softened expression, and found the whole thing sickeningly sweet.

He opened his mouth, and the nonsense spilled out on its own.

"Does absence make your hearts grow fonder or something? You're so lovey-dovey you're giving me goosebumps."

As he spoke, he rubbed his arms with exaggerated motions, shuddering all over at the sappiness.

"Should I book you two a bed at German Orthopedics?"

Izuna's expression did not change in the slightest. He was used to this by now.

Although he did not know what the incest joke "German Orthopedics" referred to, paired with that remark about absence making their hearts grow fonder, it obviously could not mean anything good.

Without even looking at Setsuna, he raised his hand and rapped him hard on the head.

"Well, where did this baldy come from? Don't think I've seen you before."

In just a few days, Setsuna had already corrupted Izuna, turning him from an elegant young noble of the Warring States into a novice sharp-tongued snarker.

Without his hair to shield him, the spot struck by Izuna's fist immediately turned red.

Setsuna clutched his head, but did not respond to the taunt.

In Setsuna's eyes, Izuna's trash talk was below even an elementary schooler's level-the players from "Zu'an" in the Arena started with your parents, branched out through your relatives, and hurled abuse at eighteen generations of your ancestors.

Izuna's measly attack power could not even get past his defenses.

He had only changed his hairstyle. It was not as if his hair would never grow back. What was the big deal?

Instead, Setsuna gave a huff and assumed the bearing of an enlightened monk, holding one hand upright before his chest, his eyelids lowered and his expression solemn:

"Amitabha. This humble monk is Setsuna, an enlightened monk from the Eastern Land of Great Tang."

Izuna could not keep a straight face at his antics and burst out laughing.

Standing beside them, Madara Uchiha watched his brother's rare moment of relaxation, his expression unconsciously growing a little gentler.

Izuna led Madara into the meeting room in the Hagoromo Clan Territory.

The meeting room was already full. The Old Clan Leader of the Hagoromo sat at the head, with Hagoromo Shogatsu in the seat beside him.

Only one of the five Hagoromo elders had come. The others present were leaders of the various settlements, while those who truly could not attend had sent deputies or apprentices.

Madara Uchiha had just begun his greeting. "Lord Zhengxing-"

The Old Clan Leader of the Hagoromo snorted.

"Even Izuna knows to call me Uncle. Does Lord Madara no longer acknowledge that?"

Madara knew the Old Clan Leader of the Hagoromo had never liked him. Since the man was also his elder, he let it slide and called him "Uncle."

With anyone else, even Hagoromo Tensho, he would not have been so courteous.

Madara Uchiha had barely sat down when the captain of the Hagoromo Fourth Settlement spoke in a snide tone:

"How shrewd of the Uchiha Clan. Once you secured shared rights to Shimotsuke from the Senju, you shook hands and made peace with the enemy, leaving your allies exposed to Hashirama Senju."

Before Madara Uchiha could grow angry at those words, Izuna had already frowned.

"The Uchiha held Hashirama Senju off for the Hagoromo for fifteen days. That was already a favor. We signed this year's ceasefire agreement with the Senju long ago. Why would we waste more words over a mere Shimotsuke?"

His words all but said, Don't mistake our goodwill for weakness.

Hagoromo Shogatsu sighed and said:

"The Hagoromo Clan is very grateful to Lord Madara for holding Hashirama Senju off for half a month. Our failure to achieve any worthwhile results during those fifteen days was due to our own lack of strength. With Hashirama Senju joining the fighting, the balance of power has now tipped overwhelmingly toward the Senju."

Madara Uchiha said slowly, "That is why I came. With me holding the Hagoromo rear, your clan will not be forced onto the back foot."

The Old Clan Leader of the Hagoromo said coldly, "Then is this a war between the Hagoromo and the Senju, or between your Uchiha and the Senju?"

Silence fell over the meeting room.

Yet Madara Uchiha was thinking about something else-the Hagoromo Clan cared deeply about sovereignty, just as Setsuna had said.

This was something he had never considered. Or rather, in his understanding, the strong had always ruled the weak. Since the Hagoromo Clan was weak, they ought to follow the arrangements of those stronger than them.

He spoke slowly. "That is why I said I would hold the rear. How you negotiate is your business."

Shogatsu froze for a moment. He had not expected Madara Uchiha, who had always overridden his allies' opinions and pressured both sides directly into achieving his goals, to remain in the rear this time.

He had already braced himself for Madara Uchiha to force them straight into peace talks with the Senju.

Choosing his words carefully, he asked, "Lord Madara, do you mean..."

Madara Uchiha tapped the table. "Wait for Hashirama Senju to make his move, then respond accordingly. We can decide whether I need to join the fighting when the time comes."

Shogatsu's eyes lit up at that. "That is a good idea."

Everyone turned to Hagoromo Shogatsu, waiting to hear his explanation.

Shogatsu said, "Regardless of how the fighting went before, the Hagoromo and the Senju were evenly matched. But if Hashirama Senju personally joins the battle, that becomes the Senju using overwhelming power to bully the weak. If Lord Madara acts then, he will simply be helping an ally on moral grounds. No one can fault that."

Izuna pondered this. "So... if my brother acts first, that means the Uchiha are intervening in a war between the Senju and the Hagoromo, and we lose the moral initiative. If Hashirama Senju then acts, the nature of it becomes entirely different."

Shogatsu nodded. "Exactly! This benefits both the Uchiha and the Hagoromo."

The Old Clan Leader of the Hagoromo's expression eased. His nephew Madara was used to being domineering and self-centered. He had always liked to strike first, employing every means to reach his goal quickly without any regard for moral justification. Now, he had grown considerably.

Madara merely raised an eyebrow. He had never cared about moral justification; to him, it was all empty reputation. Yet judging by the Hagoromo Clan's reaction, this was part of how they survived.

Setsuna crouched at the base of the meeting room's outer wall, pressing his ear against the rough earthen surface in an attempt to gather some information.

He could not hear a thing.

He shifted position and pushed his concentration to the limit.

He still could not hear a thing.

The meeting room had Barrier Protection specifically to guard against spies.

After Madara Uchiha and the others entered the meeting room, Setsuna had been left outside its courtyard, under the fine-sounding excuse that "children should stay out of grown-up business."

Those jerks had no loyalty at all.

Setsuna seethed with frustration, but with nowhere to vent it, he could only comfort himself by imagining things.

He crouched at the foot of the wall and began making up scenes inside the meeting room-

Madara Uchiha sat at the head of the table and declared in a tone that proclaimed him the greatest man alive, "We'll punch the Senju, kick the Hyuga, rule the world, and dream together."

Then Izuna stood beside him, clapping excitedly and nodding vigorously like an idiot. "You're right, Brother! That was brilliant, Brother!"

The Hagoromo gathered in the corner joined in the applause and shouted, "All hail Madara Uchiha! All hail the Eye of the Moon Plan!"

Setsuna amused himself so much that he snickered aloud.

He kept imagining.

Madara Uchiha stood up and swept his arm out, and the lights throughout the meeting room suddenly dimmed.

A vast rift opened in the sky, and Kaguya descended from above, her white hair flowing.

Madara Uchiha handed her the microphone. "Now, let us welcome the Progenitor of Chakra and director of the Eye of the Moon Plan, Miss Kaguya, to say a few words."

Kaguya took the microphone, coughed twice, cleared her throat, and looked around before slowly beginning-

"I'll just say a couple of things..."

Just as the scene was about to reach its climax, Setsuna felt a chill against the side of his neck.

A gleaming blade rested against his neck, its edge pressed to his carotid artery.

Setsuna's imagined scene shattered with a crack.

Keeping his neck stiff, he slowly turned his head.

A tall, slender figure stood behind him, his back to the sun and his face hidden in shadow.

He had a high ponytail, the Hagoromo Clan's Heavenly Eye activation markings tattooed on his forehead, fair skin, and a faint, teasing smile on his lips.

Hagoromo Gengetsu, sixteen years old, was Shogatsu's nephew and the disciple he had personally trained.

Setsuna recognized that face. During the battle to retake the Cliff Stronghold, Gengetsu had been the only Hagoromo Heavenly Eye user accompanying Shogatsu.

"Do you know that anyone caught eavesdropping on a meeting is dealt with as a spy?" Hagoromo Gengetsu asked.