"Shingetsu, wake up."
Just as on any other night of training, Madara Uchiha suddenly appeared beside Shingetsu's bed, gently patting her face and urging her to hurry out of her long dreams and into rigorous practice.
"Master, let me... let me sleep a little longer. Just five minutes..."
And just as on any other night of training, Shingetsu curled up beneath the covers, unable to open her eyes. She murmured reflexively and pulled the blanket over herself, wheedling for a little more sleep.
Normally, whenever Shingetsu acted this way, Madara indulged her and let her sleep a little longer. Of course, he always kept exact time. Five minutes meant five minutes-not a second more.
But tonight, those large, black-gloved hands mercilessly threw back the blanket, caught the soft flesh of Shingetsu's cheeks, and pulled hard to either side, as though stretching her face into a silly expression.
"Mmph, stop... stop pinching my cheeks... I'm getting up!"
Still bleary-eyed, Shingetsu found the tugging too uncomfortable to bear and reluctantly dragged herself out of her warm bed. Her blurred gaze wandered for a long while before finally coming into focus on Madara Uchiha in front of her.
Only then did she notice that Madara wasn't wearing his usual black clan robe. Instead, he wore crimson armor, with the scythe and Gunbai he favored in battle strapped to his back.
"Master?"
Shingetsu blinked in confusion, unsure why Madara Uchiha was armed to the teeth and looking ready to destroy the world. Her already muddled brain seemed to grow even duller, and her thoughts immediately wandered-
Was Master going to kill all the nobles and the Daimyō?
"Shingetsu, this is for you."
Madara didn't directly answer her confusion or bewilderment. He had been holding a strange object wrapped in strips of cloth, and once