A challenge

Hashirama rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on the ground as his mind raced.

"A showdown between the strongest... to decide the winner..." he repeated quietly.

"Right," Ryuto said. "Doesn't Madara only respect strength? Then let your fists do the talking. You fight Madara, the Senju send a few more of their best, and the Uchiha do the same. Have one big fight. The winners call the shots, and the losers shut up. Everyone below them won't have to risk their lives, so fewer people die."

Hashirama looked up. "What if Madara refuses?"

"He'll accept," Ryuto said with certainty. "Knowing his personality, he has no reason to reject a way to settle who's stronger between you, reduce his clan's casualties-though I doubt he cares much about that-and show off his power. This will appeal to him more than an all-out battle."

Hashirama thought it over and nodded.

"That makes sense." He walked to the table, opened a drawer, and took out a blank scroll and a brush. "Let's give it a try."

He sat down, dipped the brush in ink, and began writing on the scroll.

Ryuto leaned over to look.

The handwriting was quite neat. The gist was: From Hashirama Senju to Madara Uchiha. Prolonged warfare serves no purpose. I propose that each side send its strongest fighters to a decisive showdown. The victors will determine the postwar order, and the defeated will obey. The time and place will be discussed separately.

Once he finished, Hashirama blew on the ink and waited for it to dry.

"Who's going to deliver this challenge?" Hashirama asked.

"I will," Ryuto said immediately.

Hashirama looked at him. "You? You're going to enter Madara's compound alone to deliver a letter?"

"What else?" Ryuto said. "Send an ordinary ninja, and they might not even get to see Madara. If I go, he'll at least come out to meet me. Besides, I fly fast. I'll leave as soon as I deliver it. They'll have to think twice if they want to stop me."

Hashirama considered it, then rolled up the scroll and tied it with a thin cord.

"All right, you go." He handed Ryuto the challenge. "Remember, just deliver it. Don't start a fight. If Madara won't accept it on the spot, come back. Don't force it."

"Understood." Ryuto took the challenge and tucked it inside his clothes. "I'm off, then."

"Right now?"

"Strike while the iron's hot." With that, Ryuto turned and left the tent.

Hashirama sat there, watching the swaying tent flap, feeling a little uncertain.

But he still chose to trust Ryuto.

Ryuto left the camp and found a deserted spot.

He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

Ki surged from beneath his feet, slowly lifting him off the ground.

Flight Technique.

Three months ago, he had still been floundering beneath a waterfall. Now he was already an old hand at long-distance flight.

"Here we go!"

Ki blasted out, and Ryuto shot into the sky like an arrow, shrinking to a tiny black dot in the blink of an eye.

Full speed.

The wind stung his face, but he did not slow down.

The map Hashirama had given him marked the Uchiha Clan Compound, so he knew the general direction.

After a little over an hour of flying, the terrain below began to change.

The forest grew dense, with the outlines of buildings visible among the trees. Security was noticeably tighter.

He had reached the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Ryuto did not land directly.

He circled high overhead, then began descending.

When he was still about a hundred meters above the ground, someone below finally spotted him.

"In the sky! Someone's up there!"

"On guard!"

Several Uchiha ninja leaped onto the rooftops with kunai in hand. Their Sharingan activated in unison, a sea of scarlet staring at him.

Ryuto ignored them, using Ki Sense to its fullest as he scanned below.

He was looking for an especially powerful chakra signature.

That chakra was cold and fierce, like a mass of black fire.

He found it.

It was in a large training ground at the center of the compound.

Ryuto changed direction and dived toward the training ground.

"Stop him!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Several fireballs blasted up from below.

Ryuto made a sharp turn in midair, dodging easily. Rather than slowing, he accelerated.

Whoosh-

He slammed into the center of the training ground like a meteor.

Bang!

Dust flew.

At the edge of the training ground, a man had just finished practicing taijutsu and was picking up a water flask to drink.

The dust cleared.

Ryuto straightened and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

Across from him, Madara Uchiha lowered his flask and watched him with scarlet Sharingan, his face expressionless.

"Trespassing in the Uchiha Clan Compound," Madara said, his voice level. "Do you want to die?"

"I'm delivering a letter." Ryuto pulled the scroll from inside his clothes and waved it. "From Hashirama."

Madara did not move.

He stared at Ryuto, his Sharingan slowly spinning.

Ryuto could feel an invisible pressure sweep over his entire body.

Madara was observing him.

Observing his condition and the ki inside him.

A few seconds later, the corner of Madara's mouth shifted.

"Stronger than last time," he said. "Interesting."

He held out his hand.

Ryuto tossed him the scroll.

Madara caught it, untied the cord, and unrolled it.

He read very slowly, word by word.

When he finished, he rolled the scroll back up and held it.

"A showdown between the strongest to decide the winner." Madara read the words aloud, then smiled. "Hashirama hasn't changed. Always trying to solve things the easiest way."

"What's wrong with that?" Ryuto asked.

"Nothing," Madara said. "But it's not enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Madara said, looking at him, "just Hashirama and me fighting isn't enough. You have to be included too."

Ryuto froze for a moment.

"Me?"

"Yes." Madara's Sharingan shone alarmingly bright. "With your power and your rate of growth, you've already earned a place on that stage. If we're fighting, you're joining us. Let me see just how far you can go."

Before Ryuto could speak, someone suddenly rushed through the training ground entrance.

Black hair, red eyes, and an icy expression.

Uchiha Izuna.

"Brother!" Izuna glanced at Ryuto, his gaze instantly sharpening. "Why is he here?"

"He's delivering a challenge," Madara said.

"A Senju man, daring to barge in here alone?" Izuna stared at Ryuto. "You've got some nerve."

Ryuto said nothing.

Izuna took a step forward.

"Since you're here, don't be in such a hurry to leave," he said. "Let me see if you've improved over these past few months."

Before he finished speaking, Izuna moved.

He was incredibly fast, appearing before Ryuto in an instant and driving a fist straight at his face.

Ryuto was ready.

He did not dodge. He raised his right hand, opened his palm, and caught the punch firmly.

Smack!

Ki burst in his palm with a muffled sound.

Izuna's gaze sharpened. He pressed the fingers of his other hand together like a blade and stabbed toward Ryuto's throat.

Ryuto tilted his head aside. His left hand clamped around Izuna's wrist like lightning, pulling him forward with the movement.

Izuna lost his balance and stumbled forward.

Ryuto tripped him.

Bang!

With an over-the-shoulder throw, Ryuto slammed Izuna squarely into the ground.

Dust rose again.

The entire exchange took less than two seconds.

Izuna lay on the ground, a little dazed.

He flipped over and sprang up, his Sharingan spinning wildly as he stared fixedly at Ryuto.

"Your speed..." Surprise colored Izuna's voice. "It's different from last time."

"Otherwise, you would've caught up to me," Ryuto said.

He really had grown stronger.

During those months at the Senju camp, he had never stopped training. He had also read the taijutsu scrolls Hashirama had given him and incorporated everything into actual combat, with outstanding results.

That move had been one of the little taijutsu tricks he had worked out, combined with an instantaneous burst of ki. Fast and brutal.

Izuna wanted to attack again.

"Enough," Madara said.

Izuna stopped, but his eyes remained fixed on Ryuto.

"Go back," Madara said.

"Brother, he-"

"I said, go back."

Izuna gritted his teeth, shot Ryuto a fierce glare, then turned and left.

Only Ryuto and Madara remained on the training ground again.

"See?" Madara said. "That's why. You're growing too fast, so fast that you can no longer be ignored. You must take part in this showdown."

Ryuto considered it.

"All right. I'm in."

"I accept the challenge." Madara tucked the scroll inside his clothes. "Wait for word from me about the exact time and place. You can leave."

Ryuto nodded, pushed off the ground, and shot into the sky with a burst of ki.

Within a few breaths, he disappeared into the clouds.

Madara stood where he was, looking up at the sky.

His Sharingan slowly spun.

"Ki..." he murmured. "It's grown stronger again. Just how far... can this power go?"

He turned and headed deeper into the compound.

He was already working out how he would fight when the time came.

It was not yet dark when Ryuto flew back to the Senju camp.

He landed directly outside Hashirama's tent.

Hashirama was inside studying a map. Hearing the noise, he came out.

"How did it go?" Hashirama asked.

"Delivered," Ryuto said. "Madara accepted it."

"What did he say?"

"He said he'd think it over and to wait for word." Ryuto paused. "Also, he said I had to participate."

Hashirama blinked. "You?"

"Yes," Ryuto said. "He said I've earned a seat at the table now."

Hashirama smiled.

"That's a good thing," he said. "Madara acknowledging your strength means our plan has a chance. It would've been trouble if he'd rejected it outright."

"Do you think he'll agree?"

"He will," Hashirama said with certainty. "Madara's arrogant, but he isn't stupid. He has no reason to reject a way to reduce casualties and settle who's stronger between us. Besides..."

Hashirama looked at Ryuto.

"He's very interested in you now. He wants to test your strength himself in a formal match."

Ryuto nodded.

He felt that too.

The way Madara looked at him was less like looking at an enemy and more like looking at a weapon that had yet to be unwrapped.

"Then we wait," Ryuto said.

"We wait." Hashirama patted his shoulder. "Go get some rest. There's plenty of fighting ahead."

Ryuto returned to his tent.

He lay down and went over the day's events in his head.

Delivering the letter, meeting Madara, sparring with Izuna, Madara's attitude.

Everything was moving in the right direction.

At least, there was no need to fight the final battle for now.

Outside the tent, the sky gradually darkened.

The campfires came to life.

Far away, at the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Madara sat in his room, the written challenge spread out before him.

He studied it for a long time.

Then he picked up a brush and began writing a reply on another sheet of paper.

He wrote in fits and starts, revising as he went.

Finally, he put down the brush and rolled up his reply.

"A duel between masters..." Madara gazed out the window into the night, a flicker of excitement passing through his scarlet Sharingan.

"Then let's fight."