Chapter 2. Madara-sama, Have You Forgotten Your Brother Izuna-sama?
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"Hashirama… I have already felt your sincerity."
"All of this is for the sake of the Uchiha!"
Uchiha Madara's eyes locked onto Uchiha Makoto before him.
The blood feud between the Uchiha clan and Senju clan could not be allowed to continue. For the sake of lasting peace, he had to suppress the other voices within his clan!
Very quickly—
The chakra surged within Uchiha Madara, and an indescribable pressure instantly crashed down on Uchiha Makoto.
"Madara-sama, have you forgotten Izuna-sama's dying words?"
"We must avenge him—we must take revenge on the Senju!"
Faced with this overwhelming pressure, Makoto felt crushed, his breathing growing rapid. He decisively brought up Uchiha Izuna's name.
Uchiha Izuna had died at the hands of Senju Tobirama. Even if, because of Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara was willing to let go of his revenge against Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Izuna's death was a wound that could never truly heal in Uchiha Madara's heart.
The moment Uchiha Izuna was mentioned, Uchiha Madara's expression visibly shifted.
In just a few breaths—
Uchiha Makoto felt the pressure on him sharply lessen.
It worked!
Uchiha Izuna was like Uchiha Madara's weak spot, even capable of counteracting the "Senju Succubus's" control on him!
In the future, Uchiha Makoto thought, he must seize every opportunity to use Uchiha Izuna as a key leverage point.
Thinking this, Uchiha Makoto fixed his gaze back on Uchiha Madara.
Now was the perfect moment to shape his own persona.
Breaking away from the Uchiha clan in the future, living as a rogue ninja, and even founding a village of his own would be unimaginably difficult. But once Uchiha Madara later established Konoha with the Uchiha clan and Senju clan, he could always use his identity to carve out a place for himself in the village.
"Izuna… Izuna, I'm sorry."
"Hashirama, for the sake of peace between the Uchiha and Senju, was even willing to sacrifice his own life."
"Forgive me, Izuna… I cannot avenge you."
Uchiha Madara drew in a deep breath, burying his hatred deep within. His eyes passed over Uchiha Makoto, and he began his speech.
"Everyone, Izuna was my dearest younger brother. He died at the hands of Senju Tobirama. I once swore to avenge him, to personally take Senju Tobirama's head and offer it at Izuna's grave. But I now give up that vow—because it is meaningless. Killing Senju Tobirama will not bring Izuna back. It will only deepen the hatred between our clans. We have fought for far, far too long. It is time to end this."
"Hashirama and I have a dream!"
"That one day, in the ninja village built together by the Uchiha and Senju clans, our clansmen will sit side by side as brothers. That one day, the Uchiha clan will change. Even though now you voice objections and oppose my decision, there will come a day when the Senju and Uchiha are like family, advancing hand in hand!"
Uchiha Madara's words flowed with heartfelt sincerity. His voice was low and powerful, painting a vision of the future for his clansmen—what people might call "selling a dream."
But this speech, strangely familiar to Uchiha Makoto, truly stirred the hearts of those present.
The fighting between the Uchiha and Senju had lasted too long, and grown too cruel—so cruel that even children of a few years were forced onto the battlefield.
Those tender, innocent children should have been growing up happily under the clan's protection, not dying on the battlefield.
If hatred continued to burn, their children would follow the same path. That was something none of the Uchiha present wished to see.
Endless battles, ceaseless killing, and the clan's dire straits had already bred a deep weariness of war within their hearts.
If things truly could be as Uchiha Madara described—if war could end, if the Uchiha and Senju clans could coexist peacefully—then perhaps such an outcome wasn't unacceptable.
The living must always look forward.
The situation instantly reversed.
Of course, this was also within Uchiha Makoto's expectations.
Uchiha Madara was the head and strongest of the Uchiha clan, the leader the clan accepted.
Once he made up his mind, nine times out of ten the Uchiha would follow.
Besides, the current circumstances were extremely unfavorable for the Uchiha, leaving them with few choices.
Battle reports can lie, but the front line does not; the Uchiha's defeat on the battlefield was indisputable.
Madara, as clan leader, had already surrendered first—if they continued stubborn resistance and launched a revenge against the Senju, their final outcome would be grim.
Hashirama's gigantic Wood Buddha and Tobirama's Flying Thunder God would not show mercy to stubborn, politically useless Uchiha remnants.
"Madara-sama, it seems your mind is made up."
"If that's the case… revenge is something I can only…" Uchiha Makoto showed a very troubled expression; after several struggles he finally "reluctantly" agreed to drop his hatred of the Senju.
"But, Madara-sama, I still don't trust the Senju."
"To gain complete trust, you must first make others think you are their friend. In short, you must stand behind someone; only then can you stab them in the back!"
"There are petty people among the Senju!"
"A thousand-year feud won't vanish so easily," Makoto said.
Madara-sama, you're going to die horribly later!
First Senju Hashirama will sneak up behind you and stab your heart with a blade, then Black Zetsu will sneak up behind you and stab your heart with his hand. Consider this my hint and warning to you.
Of course Uchiha Makoto wasn't talking about Senju Hashirama.
Because Hashirama Senju can indeed be called a friend, the Uchiha clan can also gain the trust of Hashirama Senju. As for him stabbing Uchiha Madara in the back later, it was all "mutually consensual"!
It can even be said to be a "little pastime" that adds to the relationship between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
But there are "petty people" among the Senju! Who are those "petty people"?
It's clearly—Senju Tobirama, that inherently evil old Senju. He is a hidden pest, forever suspicious of the Uchiha and harboring ill intent.
In Senju Tobirama's view, the Uchiha are a pathological clan: the Sharingan's evolution requires chakra born of extreme emotions, which means the stronger an Uchiha becomes, the more likely they are to go to extremes—and the more extreme they are, the stronger they become.
Such Uchiha, if not properly guided, can easily become dangerous internal elements in the village.
People like that must be closely monitored and forever suspected.
Senju Tobirama would always look for opportunities to use the Flying Thunder God to slip behind such Uchiha, place marks, and, when necessary, deliver a vicious strike!