The Princess's Request

At that time, the fight between Senju Longshu and Uchiha Motoyuki had not yet stopped.

"You wet-behind-the-ears son of a bitch, is this it? You want to take this old man down? What utter delusions! Today, your own father will be left childless to mourn your death!"

Senju Longshu suddenly crossed and spun his arms, his limbs carrying a gust of fierce wind.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang-"

Accompanied by the sound of grinding metal, the white blades on the vambraces of Senju Longshu's arms were bared.

This eerie white blade had an exquisite and refined appearance, with a razor-sharp edge. Each side curved evenly inward, the blade as smooth as water and exceptionally high in gloss. Moreover, it could not reflect the surrounding scenery like a long metal saber; it lacked even a metallic visual feel.

"This old man holds a weapon designed by Her Highness the Princess, and I am bound to teach you a painful lesson you will never forget!"

Senju Longshu and Uchiha Motoyuki were extremely close, and the white blades on the vambraces turned into a swirling gale of wind under his manipulation.

The wind was fierce, and like an executioner's slow-slicing method, the blade wind whirled around the body of Uchiha Motoyuki, who stood at point-blank range.

Uchiha Motoyuki's longsword instantly cracked and slipped from his hands, quickly beaten apart. At that moment, he felt as though he were being subjected to a slow execution by a vortex.

"Aaargh-!"

The piercing agony forced Uchiha Motoyuki to let out a horrified scream!

Uchiha Motoyuki was also a ruthless man, and his Sharingan activated instantly.

Senju Longshu was experienced and skilled; his blade momentum intensified, yet he refused to look into Uchiha Motoyuki's eyes.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Uchiha Motoyuki leveraged the torrential force of the blade to leap violently backward, fleeing beyond Senju Longshu's attack range.

Uchiha Motoyuki landed heavily ten meters away from Senju Longshu.

The Uchiha Clan members following behind Uchiha Motoyuki could clearly hear that when he hit the ground, it was not merely the sound of a heavy object crashing down, but was accompanied by the alluring sound of fluid spraying.

Uchiha Motoyuki was heavily wounded and choking on blood, the ground covered entirely in the blood he brought from his own body. Bathed in blood, he no longer possessed the strength to counterattack or defend himself.

Strike while the enemy is down.

Senju Longshu pursued him, determined to send the arrogant Uchiha Motoyuki to the netherworld.

In the nick of time, a figure leaped out from the smoke and dust, snatching Uchiha Motoyuki away from beneath Senju Longshu's blade.

Immediately afterward, a burst of mist rushed toward Senju Longshu.

The surroundings were instantly enveloped in smoke filled with sparks.

Senju Longshu did not linger in the fight and immediately retreated, thinking to himself: This is the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release, the Dust Concealment Technique!

Choosing to engage in close combat with Senju Longshu in the first place had been a wrong decision for Uchiha Motoyuki.

Once he resorted to long-range fire techniques, Senju Longshu could only dodge temporarily to avoid taking the brunt of the attack, and then hurl back a long-range Water Release Ninjutsu in retaliation.

This style of fighting was extremely demanding on Chakra, and eventually, it still had to come down to close quarters to decide life and death. However, Senju Longshu was certainly not timid.

After retreating to the rear, Senju Longshu immediately unleashed a Large-Scale Water Release, determined to settle and condense the dust floating in the air to prevent the opponent from using fire again and triggering an even larger explosive reaction.

The Water Release washed over the ground, leaving the area ahead crystal clear.

Senju Longshu fixed his gaze and saw the fellow who had snatched food from the tiger's mouth. To his shock and uncertainty, it turned out to be a slender Uchiha Boy.

This was merely a boy comparable in age to Hashirama Senju, yet he possessed the gaze of a falcon, a stern countenance, and naturally exuded a haughty, imposing manner and the poised bearing of an emperor.

At a single glance, Senju Longshu understood instantly that this boy with the aura of a dragon and a phoenix was the Uchiha Clan Heir: Madara Uchiha.

Not only that, but the reactions of the crowd of Uchiha Clan members nearby upon seeing the boy served as even greater proof of his identity.

Because of this, Senju Longshu wore a complicated expression, actually wishing to retract his attack and flee immediately.

Before setting out, the Princess had once quietly sought out Senju Longshu, displaying an extremely realistic portrait. The imposing boy in the painting was none other than Madara Uchiha.

Senju Longshu still remembered the Princess's injunction at that time: "When you see this person, be sure to beat him to death!"

At first, Senju Longshu had responded solemnly, simply assuming the Princess gave such a secret order because she loathed Madara Uchiha.

Who would have thought that not long after receiving the Princess's request, the Clan Leader's second son, Tobirama Senju, had quietly sought him out. After inquiring about the Princess's instructions, Tobirama demanded that Senju Longshu immediately avoid Madara Uchiha upon sight.

Tobirama Senju's reasoning was: rather than serving as a whetstone for Madara Uchiha, he should simply be left alone to rot in peace...

It sounded somewhat reasonable, but it was utter nonsense!

Senju Longshu had felt quite depressed at the time; the Princess and Tobirama looked like twins, so why were the things they did so contradictory?

Was he supposed to beat him to death, or let him rot in peace?

This was a major dilemma!

Senju Longshu believed that someone as strong as himself could never become a stepping stone for an unseasoned brat; he figured he should be fully capable of assassinating Madara Uchiha.

Yet Tobirama Senju had been deadly serious, informing Senju Longshu not to underestimate Madara Uchiha.

After mulling it over, Senju Longshu decided against feeding Madara Uchiha combat experience. After using his Water Release to ensure the opponent couldn't immediately unleash a Large-Scale Fire Release Ninjutsu to block his path, he could still manage to escape.

Having carved his way out of the encirclement with the blades on his vambraces, Senju Longshu quietly... ran away?

All the members of the Uchiha Clan: "????"

Madara Uchiha stood upright in his original spot, turning his head sideways to look down from above at Uchiha Motoyuki, who was heavily injured and unable to stand.

When Madara Uchiha had previously learned of the Uchiha Clan's strategy this time, a sense of ominous foreboding had been spreading in his heart.

After questioning his father, he learned that the Uchiha Clan's employer was Saionji, and their opposing faction was the Date House of the Land of Pines.

Date Yuzhi had actually gone in person to enlist the Senju Clan to counter the Uchiha Clan.

The crux of the matter lay in the fact that she had "gone in person to the Senju Clan Grounds to invite them."

This caused Madara Uchiha to uncontrollably associate it with Yanbai, a person of exceptionally vile character.

Recalling Yanbai's various methods, Madara Uchiha was extremely cautious.

Uchiha Tajima had originally intended to dispatch his trusted aide Uchiha Tama to intercept Date Yuzhi.

Yet Madara Uchiha had stopped him.

Yanbai's previous details-which looked like insults but actually provided them with thorough intelligence-showed that the smiling and obsequious Uchiha Motoyuki harbored malicious intentions.

Today's mission was not actually any kind of crucial assignment.

Madara Uchiha believed that their own people didn't really need to care about one or two instances of battle merits; the Uchiha Clan had plenty of missions and plenty of opportunities to achieve glory.

Therefore, Madara Uchiha found a way to persuade his father not to let Uchiha Tama make a move, ceding this mission to the eager-for-success Uchiha Motoyuki.

First hand the mission over to Uchiha Motoyuki, and then appease Uchiha Tama.

As for Madara Uchiha himself, in order to verify his suspicions, he would secretly follow along to check on the situation.

Sure enough, trouble really had broken out.

Though he did not know precisely how Uchiha Motoyuki had been beaten into such a miserable state, if Uchiha Tama had come this time, the situation would not have turned out any better.

Just as Madara Uchiha had arrived, he heard Senju Longshu shouting loudly, "This old man holds a weapon designed by Her Highness the Princess." The phrase "Her Highness the Princess" gave Madara Uchiha a rather ill feeling.

Sure enough, within those few seconds, Uchiha Motoyuki had been reduced to his current state.

Madara Uchiha did not blame or mock Uchiha Motoyuki for his defeat; when all was said and done, Uchiha Motoyuki had been set up by him...

On the surface, however, the fault lay in Uchiha Motoyuki's inferior skills and failed mission. The one who had wounded him so severely was Senju Longshu of the opposing faction, which had nothing to do with Madara Uchiha whatsoever. In fact, Madara was his savior.

From here on, even if they left Uchiha Motoyuki to fend for himself, his vitality would be severely damaged; even if he harbored ambitions to compete with Tajima, he would choose to lie low and bide his time for a while. As for when he could fully recover to his peak, that was hard to say.

Just like that, Madara had silently eliminated a rival within the clan for his beloved father, while keeping his own hands completely clean.

This was the effect of operating according to Yanbai's mindset.

Madara Uchiha covered his forehead with a trace of vexation: When on earth did I become like this?