Jing Xiu looked at Izuna, who kept pressing him for answers, and had no intention of responding.
But then he remembered that hopelessly lovesick fool among the Uchiha Clan's future generations, Obito Uchiha.
"Love and hatred are like poison. Taken too far, they devour your flesh and consume your soul."
"Kurama Natsuki may have been provoked by Tobirama Senju. Her love turned to hatred, and she decided to drag me into death with her."
"That way, she could stay by my side on the road to the afterlife, and we'd be together forever!"
Izuna's eyes widened at Jing Xiu's explanation. He could hardly believe it.
What was the point of being together if they were both dead?
While the two chatted, a massive explosion suddenly erupted in Hoshigakure.
Jing Xiu and Izuna exchanged a glance, then darted across the One-Line Bridge and raced toward the center of Hoshigakure.
When Jing Xiu arrived, he saw Madara fighting Hoshigakure's leader.
Although Madara's Golden Light Mantra was still far from adequate in Jing Xiu's eyes, the fists and feet he formed from golden light were every bit as powerful as those of Subaru, Hoshigakure's leader, who had trained for years.
"Mysterious Peacock Method: Peacock Feather Beast Transformation!"
Subaru soared through the air, swooping up and down and darting from side to side with the aid of three pairs of chakra wings.
Despite his aged, decrepit appearance, he was extraordinarily agile.
Madara was also using the Golden Light Mantra to imitate the Mysterious Peacock Method.
But he could not form wings from golden light, much less soar into the sky.
Still, Subaru's attacks ultimately had to land on him, and the beasts formed by the Mysterious Peacock Method were nowhere near as solid as his golden light.
Subaru's attacks meant nothing to Madara.
The two remained locked in a stalemate for a long time, until a young man from Hoshigakure appeared on the battlefield. He was Bi, the successor Subaru had chosen.
Ignoring the damage Hoshigakure's treasured Star from Beyond the Heavens inflicted on his body, he embedded the Star in his chest to boost his fighting power.
With the Star's enhancement, both the quantity and density of Bi's chakra surpassed Madara's, almost rivaling the Three-Tails.
Jing Xiu arrived just in time to see Bi use the Star's power to transform into a dragon and spit out an attack resembling a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Without hesitation, he drew Light Thunder and activated Spirit Summoning and Dispatching, burning the Uzumaki Clan's yin spirits to strengthen himself.
Seeing Jing Xiu's movements, Izuna also drew a divine Ninja Blade similar to Light Thunder, though unlike Light Thunder's straight Tang-style blade, his was different.
Izuna's Swift Lightning had the shape of a traditional samurai sword, its blade tracing an elegant curve better suited to slashing.
Light Thunder and Swift Lightning were not aimed at Bi, but at the old leader Subaru, who was keeping Madara occupied nearby.
Subaru paid little attention to the two brats, who looked no older than eight or nine. Only their Ninja Tools earned a second glance.
He would have been better off not looking. That glance nearly scared the soul out of him.
Lightning surged along their blades, and in the space of a glance, the two closed in as if they had teleported, slashing at him from either side.
He drove the Mysterious Peacock Method to its limit, his three pairs of wings beating frantically as he tried to take flight.
But Jing Xiu and Izuna were too fast, and Light Thunder and Swift Lightning were too sharp. Blood sprayed with a single strike, and Subaru's three pairs of wings and both arms fell to the ground.
Subaru stared at the two blades resting against his neck, his heart filled with bewilderment.
How could children of only eight or nine move so fast? How could these two blades be so sharp?
They were every bit as good as the Four Symbols Divine Artifacts forged by Qingming, the leader of the neighboring Land of Crafts.
But all his questions came to an abrupt end in the next instant.
Seeing the old leader Subaru captured, the new leader Bi neither stopped attacking Madara nor came to Subaru's rescue.
Jing Xiu saw through his ambition. He simply wanted to use the three Uchiha to build his reputation as the village's protector.
With the old leader dead in battle, even if the Uchiha's overwhelming strength kept him from actually doing anything to the three of them, he still stood to gain.
After defeating them, he could seize Light Thunder and Swift Lightning and secure his position as Hoshigakure's leader. He could even use the two divine artifacts to cultivate ties with the Senju Clan and obtain their protection.
With such a bright future before him, why would Bi let outdated notions of "respect and love" hold him back?
Jing Xiu had no intention of helping Madara through threats, either. Even if the opportunity arose, Madara would only consider it an insult.
The reason Jing Xiu wanted to kill Subaru first was that, apart from Bi, Subaru had the highest compatibility with the Star.
Using Subaru's skin as paper and his blood as ink, he quickly made four sealing scrolls.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Jing Xiu's four clones took positions at four gates, forming a trap. Madara and Izuna understood his intentions at once.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
Madara spat out three enormous fire dragons. Feeling the waves of heat rushing toward him, Bi was ecstatic.
If I hadn't merged with the Star, heat like this would have been enough to burn me.
But now, I can actually rely on the Star's immense power to ward off the flames!
Before the Star, what does the Sharingan amount to? What does the Uchiha Clan amount to?
Bi did not yet realize that these wild thoughts were the result of Izuna's technique, Genjutsu: Sharingan.
The next instant, Bi felt an immense force strike him. A gigantic golden palm slapped him out of the sky.
Lost in his thoughts, he had actually forgotten to dodge.
After landing on the ground, Bi was just about to soar back into the sky when he suddenly felt the space around him grow thick and viscous.
It was as though he had been submerged in water. Never mind flying-even running had become a distant hope.
"Sealing Jutsu: Outer Four Symbols Seal!"
Under the control of Jing Xiu and his Shadow Clones, the four sealing scrolls began frantically drawing on the Star's power within the four gates, converting it into sealing power to continually reinforce the seal.
Bi felt as if his body had become a sieve, the power inside him pouring out uncontrollably.
The power the Star fed into his body was nowhere near enough to replace what he was losing.
Several minutes passed, and Bi became a dried corpse. The four sealing scrolls had also reached their limit, something that far exceeded Jing Xiu's expectations.
The Outer Four Symbols Seal had actually produced such an effect. After thinking it over carefully, he finally understood why.
Bi must have been Subaru's blood relative. Their shared bloodline was what made this possible.
The four sealing scrolls merged into one, with the Star firmly sealed inside.
Taking the ball-like Star, Izuna examined it closely but found nothing remarkable about it.
Jing Xiu, however, tossed it to Madara. "This Star is full of power, but the power it gives off carries extremely strong radiation."
"I'll need to come up with a way to absorb and refine that power."
"Still, you can keep this thing as a trump card. If you ever run into an opponent you can't beat, you might try copying Bi and stuffing it straight into your body."
"With this seal in place, the power you can draw won't be as outrageous as Bi's, but it will last a long time."
"In a sense, with this to rely on, you've already surpassed Hashirama Senju, haven't you, Madara?"
Madara gave a disdainful smile, but still put the Star into his Devouring Pouch Orb.
He did not fear Hashirama Senju, but his battle with Uzumaki Ashina on Whirlpool Island had also made him realize that he was still too young. A considerable gap remained between him and those who stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
Time would gradually close that gap, but he never wanted to be as helpless as he had been on Whirlpool Island again, able only to watch Izuna fall before his eyes.
What Madara did not know was that, had Jing Xiu arrived on Whirlpool Island a little later, his Sharingan might have evolved into the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
With everything settled, Madara gave Jing Xiu a menacing look. "How many times have I told you to call me big brother?"
The three laughed and chatted as they headed toward their clan's home by the Naka River, as though light were shining down upon them.
Meanwhile, the greatest storm the Uchiha Clan had seen in a thousand years was brewing at the Naka River.