Power had to be held in the hands of the new generation faction represented by Izuna and Madara.
Amidst such post-war processing, this battle—where Madara, Izuna, Hashirama, and Tobirama naturally assumed leadership of the new generation and led their families in a destined war for the first time—was brought to a close by Izuna personally.
Later, in the historical biographies of various Konoha clans, records of this war could be found. Even the future Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku, when educating his two sons, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, said:
"Although in the Warring States period, our Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Madara, and the Senju's Senju Hashirama were known together as the 'Three Heroes of the Warring States,' in reality, the number one was Uchiha Izuna."
After this battle, while Izuna's fame skyrocketed, his evolved Sharingan was also noted by many Senju and Uzumaki ninja. To evolve the Sharingan once alongside Uchiha Madara, and then be able to evolve it again...
Pupil Emperor: Uchiha Izuna.
This name gradually spread throughout the Warring States.
Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama. These two pairs of brothers, who carried a sense of destiny in the eyes of future generations, ended their first major war commanding their respective families with an Uchiha victory.
Although one couldn't dare call it a total victory, compared to the original history, it was absolutely a victory never before achieved. As the dividing line that once separated the Uchiha and Senju lands, Mount Congyun was now completely under Uchiha control. The massive vines and sword scars left there were testament to the terrifying battle that had taken place.
Incidentally, due to Izuna's dark operations, the Hyuga clan and the allied Sarutobi and Shimura clans—families that should have had nothing to do with each other—engaged in their first war in decades. The fact that they didn't negotiate and bring the matter of the kite to the table was a good thing.
Since the Mount Congyun area now belonged to the Uchiha, defensive lines naturally had to be fortified and manpower increased. Madara chose to send Uchiha Takahiko, a member of the Old Guard and the current Uchiha Quartermaster, to lead the troops there. Simultaneously, he appointed Uchiha Ise, a member of the younger faction who hailed from the northwest battlefield and followed Izuna, to take over the Quartermaster position.
Anyone with a bit of political sense could see that Madara had begun addressing the status of the Old Guard versus the young faction. The changing of the era was just like this. When Uchiha Tajima took the position of Clan Head years ago, he had promoted them. Now that Uchiha Madara had taken over, he had to cycle them out.
Izuna was naturally in full favor of this. No matter how strong one was, politics could never be ignored. In the original story, Madara was a tragedy; aside from being thrashed by Senju Hashirama in strength, his politically leaderless Uchiha clan was played like a fiddle by Senju Tobirama.
Think about it: the Warring States had just settled down, and the clansmen had only lived peaceful days for a few years. If Uchiha Madara proposed leaving then, who would be willing? If one really wanted to leave, the most suitable time would have been after Senju Tobirama died and the Third Hokage still wasn't an Uchiha.
The Senju brothers taking the Hokage position successively had already caused dissatisfaction among the Uchiha. It was just that because those two brothers had such high status and strength, the Uchiha dared not say anything. Later, when their disciple Sarutobi Hiruzen inherited the title of Third Hokage, Uchiha dissatisfaction began to accumulate. The fourth successor was Sarutobi Hiruzen's grand-student, Namikaze Minato, which finally led to the Uchiha clan's complete explosion.
But let's not digress; currently, the focus remained on the situation on the battlefield.
Although he possessed Sage Arts, the condition of Madara's eyes was not optimistic. The Sage Chakra obtained through hard work from Jugo's clan was inferior to Senju Hashirama's cells; it couldn't allow him to spam Mangekyo techniques recklessly like Obito did later.
Right now, never mind things ten steps away—Madara struggled to see things clearly even five steps away.
Regarding this, Izuna checked his Skill Points: 108 points.
Achieving something the Uchiha clan had never done in the original story—defeating the Senju—brought Izuna a massive amount of Skill Points. But for the 150 required for the Mangekyo Sharingan, he was still a bit short. Fortunately, the war was temporarily declared over, and Madara didn't need to use the Mangekyo.
When they formally returned to the clan grounds, the entire clan's women and children, led by Grand Elder Uchiha Xingzhi, cheered to welcome Izuna, Madara, and the others back from the front lines.
Peace is truly wonderful...
Seeing such a scene, Izuna couldn't help but think this internally. After all, who likes fighting and killing endlessly all day long? Even a battle maniac like Madara deep down yearned for peace and for that so-called plan of Senju Hashirama's.
At the celebration banquet, Izuna couldn't refuse the crowd's toasts and drank until his face was flushed red. Led by the younger faction like Uchiha Enka, they ceaselessly bragged about how Izuna and Madara displayed divine might on the battlefield. Regarding Senju Hashirama's toughness, which had even suppressed Madara at one point, they didn't mention a word.
The praise for Izuna, in particular, clearly surpassed that for Madara. The implication was obvious: as long as Izuna was there, ending the centuries-old destiny of rivalry between the Uchiha and Senju was just around the corner.
Izuna simply smiled and drank, offering no opinion. In his heart, he had already compared himself to Senju Hashirama. Although it was a small regret not to use the Perfect Susanoo in this war, it didn't matter much. Senju Hashirama, having awakened the Wood Human Jutsu, could already contend with the Perfect Susanoo. Not to mention the utterly terrifying True Several Thousand Hands.
However, given the sheer terror of that technique—and the fact that Senju Hashirama wouldn't unveil it against Madara until years after the founding of Konoha—there was likely no need to fear it in the immediate future.
In a one-on-one duel, without awakening the Rinnegan, Izuna had zero confidence in countering the True Several Thousand Hands.
However, against the Hashirama of the Warring States era, with both himself and Madara possessing the Complete Body Susanoo, victory was practically guaranteed.
Izuna had never been obsessed with honorable duels. If schemes and trickery offered an easier path to victory, he would use them without hesitation. After all, he wouldn't have fabricated the identity of "Tobi" to deceive so many people otherwise.
Reeking of alcohol, Izuna returned to the private residence he hadn't visited in a year, supported by a maidservant.
Looking at Izuna, who had collapsed onto the tatami mats thick with the smell of drink, the maid—a beauty who also bore the Uchiha surname—flushed slightly. Remembering her father's admonitions, her slender, jade-like fingers moved to the obi at her waist.
Unlike the hidden villages of the future, women in this era rarely took to the battlefield, nor did they participate in ninja missions. They had a more "critical" duty—to increase the clan's population.
To put it crudely: breeding.
This was evident from the fact that Uchiha Tajima had six children, and Senju Butsuma had at least four.
In the Warring States period, the terms "woman" and "ninja" were rarely synonymous. This was especially true for bloodline clans like the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Senju. To ensure the purity of their bloodlines, female clan members of pure blood were heavily protected within the clan.
Hearing a soft rustle, Izuna's eyes opened slightly. In the moonlight, a flawless, unblemished body was revealed before him.
"You may leave."
Izuna raised his hand to stop the Uchiha maid's next move.
"Lord Vice-Clan Head..."
The maid froze, then spoke urgently, "You need not worry about taking responsibility..."
Although female clan members were important, their status was generally not high, especially compared to a high-ranking clan executive like Izuna.
"That isn't what I meant," Izuna frowned. "I... already have someone in mind. Go."
"...Yes."
The maid had no choice but to rearrange her clothes. She bowed respectfully to Izuna before retreating.
"Mito..."
Under the moonlight, Izuna muttered the name to himself.
Three days of rest later, Madara summoned Izuna to his residence for a council.
"This war lasted over a year. Although it ended in an Uchiha victory, the casualties cannot be underestimated."
Madara handed a document to Izuna. "Izuna, take a look at this."
Izuna took it and found that the document recorded the Uchiha clan's death toll from the war, as well as a list of those who were heavily injured and could no longer serve as ninjas.
As for the former four Northwestern clans—Watanabe, Saito, Onikawa, and Fuma—having become vassal clans to the Uchiha, they had begun migrating their entire populations to the Uchiha periphery to serve as a defensive line.
This was the necessary price of becoming an Uchiha vassal clan: providing auxiliary support.
After reading the long list, Izuna looked up to meet Madara's eyes. "Even with the victory, our casualties likely rival the Senju's."
"Exactly. That bastard Hashirama, along with Tobirama's Flying Thunder God and wide-range Water Release, were the key reasons for our heavy losses."
At the mere mention of Senju Hashirama, Madara couldn't help but grit his teeth.
Izuna nodded, looking up at the courtyard to his left, watching falling leaves drift from the branches in the breeze. He couldn't help but recall Sarutobi Hiruzen's declaration of the "Will of Fire" from the future.
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