Although initially somewhat surprised, once the ripple in his heart settled, Uchiha Madara didn't actually take Yūshin's little performance seriously.
In his view, ordinary ninja like Yūshin, even when giving their all, could only manage childish threats. What the world of the strong truly looks like is something a frog at the bottom of a well could never imagine, no matter how much effort they put into it.
But thoughts are thoughts, and facts are facts. Madara had now regained his rationality and was naturally composed—in fact, he was indeed vulnerable to backstabbing.
Moreover, there was a cognitive disconnect between Uchiha Madara and Yūshin. Madara believed Yūshin didn't understand his strength, but the actual situation was the complete opposite. Yūshin understood Madara's power all too well, which is why his behavior seemed somewhat neurotic and urgent.
Honestly, if Yūshin had any confidence at all in using the Mayfly Technique to assassinate Uchiha Madara, he would definitely have acted to eliminate this person.
Not only because Uchiha Madara posed a substantial threat to The Fireflies organization, but also because Madara was the most crucial intermediate link in the "Mother's Resurrection Plan."
Black Zetsu is merely the consciousness incarnation of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. If this "consciousness" wants to accomplish anything, it cannot do so alone, because it has thought but lacks power.
Only when a sufficiently powerful vessel carries Black Zetsu's evil thoughts can it display its destructive power... Uchiha Madara, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, perfectly fits Black Zetsu's requirements.
Although Black Zetsu's continuous guidance plays a role in Uchiha Madara's gradual descent into extremism, one cannot deny that his personality and experiences contain far too many exploitable opportunities.
So if simply killing one person could save the world, Yūshin would definitely be happy to act.
The only problem is that he cannot kill him—the power gap between them is too vast.
One shouldn't assume that because Hashirama Senju could stab Uchiha Madara in the back that Yūshin could do the same. Those two were performing their own tragic and beautiful story—what is Yūshin? Does he have a place to interfere?
As for Uchiha Madara's genjutsu failing to take effect, honestly he wasn't very concerned about it, since he hadn't even activated his Sharingan.
Kekkei Genkai Boil Release + excellent stealth abilities + ability to instantly break free from ordinary genjutsu—this only proved that Yūshin was a ninja with some skill, but this wasn't worth Uchiha Madara's special attention. After all, ninja of similar caliber could be found everywhere in the current shinobi world.
However, based on various factors, one couldn't say Yūshin's actions were useless, because just like his first instinct, Uchiha Madara had indeed briefly considered directly destroying this small ninja organization.
Fortunately, he subsequently overruled himself.
Unrelated to Yūshin's intimidation tactics, Uchiha Madara could understand that if he really did this, it would only intensify the conflict between Uchiha Shichimi and the Uchiha Clan. His fundamental purpose was to bring Shichimi back to the clan, not to completely break ties with her.
Moreover, with just a bit of rational thinking, Uchiha Madara could understand that he didn't need to act personally—events would develop in the direction he anticipated... This kind of small ninja alliance organization would soon be reduced to ashes.
Everyone isn't stupid—can't they see the power of different ninja clans uniting? But the problem is that this simply cannot be achieved.
When the vast majority cannot accomplish something, yet someone does achieve it—when they're currently flourishing and will be thriving in a few years—how will that "vast majority" treat this "rare specimen"?
Anyone could figure out with their toes that the threat must be eliminated in its cradle.
Does Uchiha Madara need to do anything? He only needs to maintain some patience.
Moreover, despite Uchiha Shichimi's clumsy use of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Madara had absolute faith in her self-preservation abilities—this confidence was even far stronger than Shichimi herself possessed.
In summary, although Uchiha Madara had many thoughts and his mind wandered in various directions, it all boiled down to one sentence... Let things remain as they are for now.
Uchiha Madara left Kikyō Castle and accelerated his return to the Uchiha Clan.
He didn't know if it was an illusion... Well, it definitely wasn't an illusion. As he gradually moved away from Kikyō Castle, Uchiha Madara's peripheral vision would occasionally catch glimpses of a white fox, which only completely disappeared after "escorting him out of the territory."
...
Three days later, Uchiha Madara gradually approached the village where the Uchiha Clan currently resided.
Walking along, he suddenly stopped—not because he sensed danger, but because he detected someone coming to meet him.
"Shikian, you don't need to come specially to welcome me."
The person who appeared before Uchiha Madara was called Uchiha Shikian, Madara's other living brother besides Izuna.
So the question arises: why does the twenty-something Uchiha Madara have two living brothers?
Regardless, Uchiha Madara was very happy to see family immediately upon returning from his mission.
He was happy, but didn't say so or express it. Instead, his face remained very serious, as if displeased that this brother was acting alone.
However, Uchiha Madara was ultimately being somewhat presumptuous.
Uchiha Shikian's expression had been very joyful, but after discovering that only Uchiha Madara had returned alone, his smile immediately collapsed.
"Where's Shichimi? Big brother, wasn't your mission to bring Shichimi back?"
Such a direct question shattered Uchiha Madara's illusion of brotherly harmony. For some reason, he felt that brothers were different from each other—this brother was clearly not as lovable as that other brother.
"The mission encountered some problems. Shichimi is fine, but she won't return to the Uchiha for now..." Seemingly afraid of being labeled "incompetent" by his brother, Uchiha Madara continued explaining, "Don't worry, she'll be back before long."
Unlike his other brother who greatly admired him, Uchiha Madara knew this kid was somewhat rebellious and had gossiped about him plenty within the clan... In a certain sense, Uchiha Shikian only listened to Uchiha Shichimi.
Uchiha Shikian was somewhat disappointed but remained rational. He sighed and said, "I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Shichimi is too disappointed with certain things within the clan."
The two brothers walked side by side. Uchiha Madara reached out and patted his brother's head, and Uchiha Shikian showed no resistance to this affectionate gesture.
The atmosphere became silent and heavy for a moment.
This Uchiha Shikian was one of the Uchiha ninja who had once appeared in "Big Brother Town"—he had almost encountered Yūshin even earlier than Shichimi did.
However, the personality and emotions he displayed now were completely different from back then—like two different people.
After a while, Uchiha Shikian couldn't help but say:
"Some people value Shichimi's eyes more than they value her as a person, treating her dōjutsu as an ideal tool, yet they don't understand the pain that dōjutsu brings... Only I, who has experienced it once and was once in that position, can truly empathize."
He was very emotional, almost directly saying something like "certain people really deserve to die."
Feeling his brother's indignation, Uchiha Madara recalled Shichimi's previous accusations and the earnest expectations hidden behind those accusations. He placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and said:
"Don't worry, Shikian, I promise you..."
"The corrupt practices within the Uchiha Clan will be purged by me sooner or later."
"No, not sooner or later..."
"But very soon."
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