The campfire in the Land of Lightning's military camp flickered in the night wind, much like Tsubasa's violently pounding heart. He wrapped himself tightly in his Lightning Ninja uniform, his nails digging deep into his palms, trying to keep his pace in sync with the patrolling soldiers. His Transformation Technique made Tsubasa indistinguishable from a ninja from the Land of Lightning.
"Halt! Which squad are you from?" A one-eyed guard suddenly darted out from the Yin Shadow, his short sword gleaming with a ghostly blue light.
Tsubasa's breath hitched, but he immediately put on an impatient expression. "New to the West Camp, don't you dare block my way!" As he spoke, he quietly gathered the spiritual power unique to the Foundation Establishment Stage, shooting it out like an invisible needle. The guard's pupils suddenly dilated, and he fell straight to the ground, the short knife in his hand sliding far away with a clang.
Tsubasa wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; his back was already soaked with it. This kind of mental shock was an ability he had mastered after Foundation Establishment, but this was the first time he had actually used it on an enemy. He walked quickly along the Yin Shadow the tent, each step feeling like walking on cotton, afraid of alerting the other guards lurking in the shadows.
As he passed the third watchtower, a strange aura suddenly rushed towards him. Tsubasa abruptly stopped, his mental energy spreading out like Spiderweb —beneath the Raikage's tent, a writhing white mass of flesh was emerging from the ground! The person was wrapped in a tattered rag, and two scarlet Sharingan gleamed eerily in the Yin Shadow. He resembled Tobi from the anime.
"Could this be Master Madara wrapped in White Zetsu?!" Tsubasa's throat tightened, his nails almost piercing his palms. He had heard countless times about the earth-shattering battle at the Valley of the End, but how could this person appear in the Raikage's tent? Could it be that he was the one manipulating this war that caused so much bloodshed?
Suddenly, the Raikage's furious roar echoed from inside the tent, "Who dares to challenge me?!" This was followed by a dull thud as something heavy fell to the ground. Peeking through the tent's cracks, Tsubasa saw the Raikage and four bodyguards kneeling stiffly on the ground like puppets whose souls had been ripped from their bodies. Master Madara held a long, red sword, the blood dripping from its tip gleaming eerily red in the moonlight. The moment the five heads rolled to the ground, Tsubasa felt his heart skip a beat.
"I can't let him get away! We finally found him; I have to fulfill my master's last wish!" Tsubasa disregarded his own safety and leaped into the air. The Setsuna Master Madara disappeared into the ground, he quickly flew into the sky and used his mental power to lock onto Madara Uchiha. "As long as he doesn't cross my ten-mile radius, he won't escape my mental lock." He felt inexplicably excited—this was Madara Uchiha! His master's dearest friend, whom he had mentioned countless times before his death, was now fighting him.
One flew in the sky, the other slithered underground. After running for hundreds of miles, Madara Uchiha suddenly burst from the ground. Master Madara's face, shrouded in White Zetsu, wore a sinister smile, "Kid, you're tired of living? Since I can't get rid of you, I'll just have to kill you." The red sword, carrying a sharp sword aura, slashed down, almost tearing the sky apart.
Tsubasa hurriedly dodged and bowed, his voice calmer than expected. " Lord Madara, you misunderstand! I am not from the Land of Lightning."
"You're all dark-skinned, and you dare say you're not from the Land of Lightning?" Master Madara sneered, his red sword slightly lowered. "I don't know of any other country where people are this dark-skinned. And how did you recognize me?"
Tsubasa then realized he was still under the Transformation Technique and frantically tried to dispel it. Cold sweat soaked his bangs, and he pulled open his collar to reveal the Senju Clan crest. " Lord Madara, please forgive me, I am a disciple of Hashirama Senju, my name is Tsubasa. I was just on my way to assassinate the Raikage, it was just a coincidence that I ran into you."
"It's just a kid, maybe ten years old..." Master Madara's sword tip trembled slightly. "Wait, you said you're Hashirama's apprentice? Don't try to fool me!"
Tsubasa took a deep breath, recalling his master's dying words, and his tone became firm. " Lord Madara, Master always knew you weren't dead. He said you had finally fulfilled your childhood dream and become the strongest in the world. He was very happy. Before he passed away, he told me that if I ever saw you, I should apologize to you."
Master Madara's body jolted, and the red light in his Sharingan dimmed slightly. He turned his face away, his voice seeming to be squeezed from the depths of his chest. "Didn't he tell you anything? Like about Konoha or Tobirama Senju?"
"When Master was alive, he couldn't bear to see his beloved younger brother die at the hands of his best friend." Tsubasa scratched his head. "Now that he's gone to the Pure Land, he can't interfere in worldly affairs anymore. As for Konoha, he said it's your and his child, and neither of you wants anything to happen to the child. He also said that, given your personality, you might never let Konoha know you exist."
Master Madara's shoulders suddenly trembled violently, and the red sword clattered to the ground. He wiped his face, and when he looked up again, tears welled up in his Sharingan: " Konoha is my and Hashirama's child, but unfortunately, the child has grown up and become disobedient! It hasn't grown up as we imagined."
"That's what my master and I said too!" Tsubasa's eyes lit up. "When children grow up, they need to be allowed to make their own way. The hardships they face on their path will teach them to walk the right path. If parents interfere too much, children are more likely to rebel."
"That sounds like him!" Master Madara suddenly flew into a rage, kicking away a nearby rock. "He's just a silly, good-natured guy! He lets everything take its course, and when things go wrong, he just apologizes. He gets all the good stuff, and I get to be the bad guy! Back when Tobirama forced the Uchiha Clan to cause trouble, he also said the same silly thing, 'I'm sorry!' He's just a big fool!"
"Master said, neither you nor he are suitable to manage Konoha." Tsubasa, mustering his courage, continued, "You like to take drastic measures when you encounter problems, ultimately killing everyone. Under such pressure, everyone lives in fear, which is not the peace he wants to see."
"Those families are all cunning and scheming!" Master Madara stomped his feet in anger. "If I don't take drastic measures, the assassinations, brawls, and framing won't stop! He only knows how to play the good guy; has he ever thought about solutions? He's just a big stick!"
Tsubasa awkwardly scratched his head. " Lord Madara, Master has gone to the Pure Land, so please don't scold him anymore, okay? By the way, Master also said something about you, I don't know if I should say it."
"Say it!"
"My master said that Konoha is like a father to him."
"He's talking nonsense! I'm the father!" Master Madara's roar startled the owls in the treetops and made Tsubasa's ears ring.
Seeing Master Madara's indignant expression, Tsubasa suddenly felt his eyes welling up with tears. He bowed deeply and said, "I've conveyed my message. May I ask you a question? I went to kill the Raikage to end the war, why did you go to kill him?"
Master Madara remained silent for a long time, then bent down to pick up the red sword, its blade reflecting his weathered face. "The Kage of these four great nations promised Hashirama to live in peace. Now that Hashirama is dead, they immediately jumped out to cause trouble, breaking their promise to Hashirama." His voice suddenly turned icy. "Those who break Hashirama's promise must pay the price. Not just the Raikage, but the Kage of the other three nations... they must all die."
Tsubasa gazed at Master Madara's figure in the moonlight and suddenly understood something. He bowed deeply again, his voice filled with heartfelt respect. "Thank you, Lord Madara. My master is fortunate to have a close friend like you."
Master Madara slammed his red sword into the ground, sending pebbles flying. "Kid, talk is cheap. Spare me a few moves and let me see what kind of trash Hashirama has trained!" His words sounded fierce, but the end of his tone carried a hint of eager excitement.
Tsubasa rubbed his hands together and chuckled like a child who had stolen candy, "Master told me long ago, you're sure to lose if you teach a disciple!" Before he finished speaking, he stomped his foot, and the ground exploded with Spiderweb -like cracks. The force of his fist made Master Madara's cloak flutter loudly, and the compressed air solidified in front of his fist, emitting a sharp whistle.
"Well done!" Master Madara's pupils contracted sharply, his chakra Chakra like boiling magma. His fist was enveloped in a black Susanoo, and wherever the wind from his fist passed, grass and trees instantly turned to dust. The Setsuna the two fists collided, the air within a hundred meters was distorted, and the shockwave sent nearby boulders flying.
Tsubasa remained unmoved, yet Master Madara staggered back seven steps, his boots carving two deep furrows in the ground. He shook his numb wrist, his eyes wide with surprise. "Good heavens! That force is three times stronger than that monster Hashirama! How much of your strength did you hold back, kid?"
"Let me tell you the truth!" Tsubasa grinned. "My Perfect Sage Body gave me the strength to lift a cauldron from the womb. When I first became an apprentice, I could lift a ten-thousand-pound boulder with one hand. Now that I've broken through to the Six Paths Level... hehe, a million pounds is no problem!" He deliberately shook his arm, his muscles gleaming with a bronze luster under the moonlight.
Master Madara suddenly roared, spewing out a giant blue-white fire dragon. The dragon was crackling with lightning, igniting the air wherever it passed. Tsubasa, however, remained calm, his hands Hand Seals so fast they were just afterimages. " Water Release: Water Dragon Impact!" The two dragons collided with a deafening roar, the billowing steam instantly engulfing the two of them.
" Genjutsu!" Master Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan suddenly blazed with a scarlet light, his spiritual power surging straight into Tsubasa's sea of consciousness like a venomous snake. He had just used this technique on the Raikage, and even the Raikage had fallen for it. But this time, he felt as if his attack had hit a pile of cotton; the opponent's spiritual power was like an impenetrable wall, completely unmoved.
Tsubasa wiped the moisture from his face and teased with a grin, "Your Genjutsu might work against ordinary ninjas, but you can't stir up my liquid Spiritual Power!" He suddenly vanished from his spot, only to reappear a second later above Master Madara's head, a spinning Wood Release: Tathagata Subdues the Monkey. A wooden hand reached out to grab Madara Uchiha.
Master Madara rolled away to dodge the attack, his red sword drawing a crescent-shaped arc of sword energy. "Wood Release? I've never even heard of Wood Release Ninjutsu before?" he asked, but his hands were busy, the Susanoo rapidly taking shape behind him.
As Tsubasa dodged, he casually swung out a wooden chain. The chain was wrapped in runic light, which tightly bound Susanoo's arm. The two fought back and forth, their battle raging fiercely.
Master Madara suddenly stopped his attack, Susanoo retreated like a tide. He laughed heavily, tears welling up in his eyes. " Hashirama really won this time! He trained such a monster as you..." He bent down to pick up the red sword, and with a casual flick of his wrist, a crimson sword was planted at Tsubasa's feet, its blade engraved with ancient inscriptions.
"This sword is forged from Chakra Metal Mother Essence, it's yours!" Master Madara patted Tsubasa on the shoulder and said, "I'll take on a disciple to defeat you, so don't neglect your training." After saying that, his body sank, turning into black mist and disappearing underground.
Tsubasa gripped the still-hot sword hilt and swung it with all his might. A mountain a thousand meters away split open with a deafening roar, and rubble rained down. He crafted an exquisite scabbard using Wood Release, and touching the cool patterns on the scabbard and the name he had carved himself, Crimson Sky, he suddenly felt that this adventure was truly worthwhile—not only had he fulfilled his master's last wish, but he had also obtained the peerless divine weapon Crimson Sky from Master Madara. Looking up at the starry Xingchen, he hummed a little tune and flew towards the Land of Fire's military camp, his cloak fluttering in the night wind, looking like a triumphant young hero.