As the coffin holding Ryō Uchiha's body sank into the ground, the Uchiha Clan elder overseeing the funeral shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Burial!"
Masses of yellow earth covered the coffin from both sides, burying the Uchiha Clan's beloved and great clan head completely...
But time would not allow grief. It would not stop moving forward because you were grieving, nor would the cruelty of the Warring States Period end because of sorrow.
The day after Ryō Uchiha was buried, the Uchiha front lines came under attack. The attackers were none other than the Senju Clan's allies, the Uzumaki Clan.
Although Ryō Uchiha had successfully wiped out most of the Hagoromo Clan's fighting forces and crippled the Senju Clan, he had not lasted long enough to move against the Uzumaki Clan.
Now that he was dead, the Uzumaki Clan attacked the Uchiha Clan without hesitation.
Faced with the Uzumaki Clan's fierce assault, the Uchiha Clan, already grieving their clan head's death, was instantly filled with fury.
The Uchiha grand elder slammed the table. "Those damned Uzumaki actually attacked the day after our clan head died! What a bunch of bastards!"
The Uchiha Clan's second elder, who had returned to the clan headquarters for the funeral, was also radiating displeasure.
The second elder spent most of his time on the front lines, confronting the Senju and Uzumaki clans, and already harbored hatred for the Uzumaki Clan.
Now that the Uzumaki Clan had taken advantage of the Uchiha Clan's grief to launch a surprise attack, he was even angrier.
The grand elder and second elder both proposed teaching the Uzumaki Clan a harsh lesson, but the third elder, whose thinking resembled that of their clan head, Ryō Uchiha, talked them out of it.
"Absolutely not. The Uchiha Clan no longer has the strength to launch an offensive! Our great war with the Senju Clan cost us most of our elites.
"We need time to rest and recover. If we launch a large-scale campaign against the Uzumaki Clan now, more of our clansmen will die. If the Senju Clan joins forces with the Uzumaki Clan to attack us then, our Uchiha Clan will be in imminent danger!"
As a rank-and-file ninja, Uchiha Takashi knew nothing about the leadership's meeting. Still, judging by the clan's recent movements, he could make out what the Uchiha Clan intended.
Troop transfers within headquarters had become very frequent lately. People kept withdrawing from the front lines, while fresh personnel were sent up.
Uchiha Takashi could roughly guess that fighting had broken out on the front lines again. He simply did not know which clan was attacking the Uchiha this time.
But he soon found out. Everyone throughout headquarters was cursing the Uzumaki Clan. The wounded returning from the front lines had told headquarters about the situation there.
News that the Uchiha Clan had suffered a surprise attack by the Uzumaki Clan instantly spread throughout headquarters.
Nearly every Uchiha was furious about it, clamoring to make the Uzumaki Clan pay.
But contrary to Uchiha Takashi's expectations, the Uchiha did not launch a large-scale strike against the Uzumaki Clan. Instead, they kept pulling back their defensive lines to defend against outside attacks.
The forces stationed in all four directions completely encircled and guarded the clan headquarters, keeping even the slightest trace of fighting from reaching it.
As a result, headquarters actually began to show faint signs of peace and stability.
But Uchiha Takashi knew clearly that peace had never come. The stability before him was only temporary, after all.
Absolute peace did not exist during the Warring States Period. Even the later Shinobi World and Konoha remained shrouded in the shadow of war...
"Takashi, come on, let's go fishing by the river!" Aka Uchiha called, waving to Uchiha Takashi with a crude fishing rod in his hand.
"No," Uchiha Takashi said. Aka Uchiha's face immediately fell. "Why? Are you going to train again? Won't you get too tired, training all the time like this?"
Uchiha Takashi shook his head. "How could I get tired? More sweat now means less blood later. I don't want to die on the battlefield because my skills aren't good enough."
At those words, Aka Uchiha looked even more dejected. "But you've already been training for so long. We haven't gone fishing by the river in ages."
Seeing Aka Uchiha looking so down, Uchiha Takashi could not quite bear it. He coughed a couple of times and said, "Ahem... well...
"I'm suddenly feeling a little bored. Let's put training aside for now and go fishing. Just so we're clear, it's not because of you. I'm just feeling a little bored."
Aka Uchiha's face immediately brightened. "Great-come on! I'm definitely going to catch a whole basket of fish today!"
"Oh, please. Stop bragging. You came back empty-handed last time. If you can catch even one fish this time instead of coming back empty-handed, that'll do."
"Hey, hey, who are you cursing? Don't jinx me! I've been working hard on my fishing skills for ages!"
The days passed, one after another, in hard training and fun with his companions.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
It was still the river near the Uchiha Clan's headquarters, but those on its banks were no longer the six-year-old children they had once been. They were boys with a hint of maturity.
In the Shinobi World, especially during the Warring States Period, most children matured early. At six, they could still be called children, but at eight, they were already youths.
Uchiha Takashi and Aka Uchiha stood on the bank, gazing toward the opposite shore. A stone spun rapidly over the water, skipping toward the other side.
Just as it was about to reach the opposite shore, the stone plunged down hard and sank with a splash.
"Ah, what a shame. It didn't make it across," Aka Uchiha said regretfully before turning to Uchiha Takashi.
"It was just a little short. Takashi, your turn."
Uchiha Takashi folded his arms, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. It's only skipping stones. With a river this narrow, I can reach the other side with a flick of my hand...
Splash. The sound of the stone sinking into the river kept echoing in his mind. Looking at the stone that had sunk only halfway across, Uchiha Takashi flushed.
He gritted his teeth. "Impossible. How could this happen? I'm an expert at skipping stones! How could I not reach the other bank? No, I don't believe it!"
Standing beside him, Aka Uchiha patted his shoulder. "Oh, relax, relax. Don't be upset. I didn't reach the other side either, did I?"
"..." Uchiha Takashi fell silent. That only makes me feel worse. Thinking that even you nearly reached the other bank while I only made it halfway makes me feel awful all over. I feel hot. Am I about to fall in love?
"Takashi, Aka! You two really were here." Homura Uchiha emerged behind them and spoke to them.
"When I couldn't find you two in the clan grounds, I knew you'd run off here. Huh? Takashi, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"
Uchiha Takashi shook his head. After taking a few deep breaths to compose himself, he asked, "What's wrong, Homura? Did you need us for something?"
Homura Uchiha nodded and opened his mouth. He fell silent for a moment before saying, "You know we're going to the battlefield starting tomorrow, right?"
At those words, both Uchiha Takashi and Aka Uchiha fell silent. The battlefield... Although they had long expected this day to come, when it truly arrived, it was different from what they had imagined.
Those two peaceful years had left all three of them a little dazed, as though they had forgotten they were still living in the shadow of war.
War had never gone far away. It had merely been kept apart from them, and now they would have to become that dividing wall.
Eight years old... It was time to go to the battlefield.
Seeing the mood turn somewhat chilly, Aka Uchiha stepped in to smooth things over. "It's fine. It's just the battlefield, isn't it? The three of us will look out for each other. We'll definitely make names for ourselves
"and carry on the glory of our Uchiha Clan! When that happens, the mere Senju and Uzumaki clans will have to kneel at our feet!"
Uchiha Takashi laughed at that. "You really do have it all worked out. It'll be enough if we survive. As for making names for ourselves, let's talk about that when the time comes."
Homura Uchiha looked at the river and sighed. "I wonder if we'll ever be able to come back."
"We'll definitely come back. When we do, the two of us can have a stone-skipping contest and see who can throw farther!" Aka Uchiha said with a smile.
Feeling that the guy was raising a flag, Uchiha Takashi immediately interrupted their conversation.
"Hey, hey, don't raise that kind of death flag! Don't you know people who say things like that easily get killed off? Don't plant flags on yourself, you idiot!"
Aka Uchiha scratched the back of his head at those words. "Huh? What's a flag? Takashi, what are you talking about?"
Uchiha Takashi turned his face away. "I didn't say anything. Anyway, just don't die."
Unable to contain his curiosity, Aka Uchiha grabbed Uchiha Takashi's arm. "Come on, tell me! Please!"
Uchiha Takashi's mouth twitched. "I'm not telling you. Figure it out yourself."
Aka Uchiha took two steps back and said dramatically, "Wow, getting someone curious and then refusing to explain is really annoying!"
Uchiha Takashi walked off into the distance. "Do you have to ask so many questions? Look at Homura. He hasn't asked a single one."
"Actually, I want to know too," Homura Uchiha said earnestly.
"Don't undermine me, you bastard!" Uchiha Takashi rolled his eyes at Homura Uchiha as he walked back toward the clan grounds... The three figures gradually receded from the riverbank, growing smaller and smaller until they vanished from sight.