Talent was priceless.
If one wanted to establish a shinobi village, money was important—
no, it was extremely important—extremely, extremely important.
Even the so-called God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, had to run around seeking funding to support the village's expenses.
But for a shinobi village—
What mattered most was a group of shinobi who could actually fight.
Uchiha Makoto understood this better than anyone.
A shinobi village was, by definition, a village formed by shinobi.
Training ninja from scratch took too much time and too many resources. From a cost-performance perspective, recruiting ready-made manpower was far more efficient.
Although the Uchiha were currently being beaten back by the Senju, that was largely because the Senju possessed an utterly unreasonable existence—
Senju Hashirama, a walking balance-breaker who couldn't be judged by common sense.
That problem was simply unsolvable.
Against the Senju clan as a whole, the Uchiha were at a disadvantage.
But remove Hashirama from the equation—
And the Uchiha could fight the Senju for another thousand years.
As for the other clans of the shinobi world?
"Hmph. Ever seen the Uchiha's Sharingan? Kneel and surrender now, or I'll send you flying!"
So compared to money—
What Makoto wanted was people.
Even expendable Genin.
Even Uchiha who hadn't awakened the Sharingan.
He wanted them all.
"Madara-sama, I believe I'm not the only one in the clan who thinks this way."
"If there are others who want to leave with me—"
Makoto began his dangerous test.
If taken seriously, Madara could easily classify Makoto's actions as splitting the Uchiha clan.
A crime of the highest order.
But considering Madara's consistent behavior—and his long list of future… questionable decisions—
Whether as a clan head or an organizational leader, Madara's operations could only be described as mechanical. After the Uchiha joined Konoha for only a few years, he completely lost control of the clan. When he later defected from the village, not a single Uchiha followed him.
Later still, when he became the幕后黑手—lurking as the "final boss" of the shinobi world—everyone under him turned out to be traitors-in-waiting.
Thus, Makoto believed it was worth the gamble.
Madara might see through his intentions, but be arrogant enough not to care.
"Is that really so?" Madara said coolly.
"I don't think so."
He glanced at Makoto.
In Madara's eyes, Makoto was still just a green kid—
trapped in the thousand-year hatred between the Uchiha and the Senju, unable to free himself.
But Madara had already seen the future.
"My eyes are above yours," he declared.
"I can see a path far longer than the one you see."
As he spoke, dense and overwhelming chakra poured from his body. His Mangekyō Sharingan opened unconsciously.
"Everyone," Madara said loudly,
"I am the head of the Uchiha clan, and the strongest shinobi among the Uchiha!"
"My eyes have seen the future!"
"I will, together with Senju Hashirama, erase the generations-long hatred between the Uchiha and the Senju."
"I will, together with Senju Hashirama, establish an unprecedented village."
"I will, together with Senju Hashirama, put an end to this era of war."
"In the village we build, no matter whether they are Senju children or Uchiha children—
they will never again have to step onto the battlefield!"
Madara's voice echoed throughout the hall.
As the clan head, his authority needed no explanation.
A single impassioned, dream-filled speech left the remaining Uchiha utterly convinced.
They did not possess Makoto's god's-eye view.
They could not see the Uchiha's tragic future—
Madara being pushed out, forced to defect; Second Hokage Senju Tobirama laying the foundations that would forever exclude the Uchiha from Konoha's power core; the clan walking step by step toward annihilation.
"So," Madara concluded arrogantly,
"are you willing to follow me toward a new and radiant future—
or leave the clan and wander the shinobi world with Uchiha Makoto?"
Madara gave Makoto exactly what he wanted—
But with a slight deviation.
You damn, naturally evil Uchiha Madara!
Who told you to open the Mangekyō Sharingan while giving a speech to the clan?!
Don't you know the Mangekyō has a special-effect bonus against the Uchiha?!
Makoto cursed Madara repeatedly in his heart.
With you, it's a 'radiant future.'
With me, it's 'wandering the shinobi world.'
Hmph!
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never bully the young and poor!
One day, Uchiha Madara—
You will definitely regret this!
Boom!
(The door of the heart swings open!)
The Uchiha present couldn't help but imagine the future Madara described.
The strongest of the Uchiha and the strongest of the Senju joining hands—
Madara's towering Susanoo, hundreds of meters tall, and Hashirama's equally colossal Wood Release constructs were still vivid in their memories.
In this shinobi world—
Was there anything the two of them couldn't accomplish?
No.
There wasn't.
"Uchiha Madara… Uchiha Madara… Uchiha Madara!"
Soon, the Uchiha clan began chanting Madara's name uncontrollably.
Madara spread his arms wide, basking in their cheers.
Makoto stood alone to the side, instantly reduced to a nobody.
"I never expected that the loneliness Madara will experience in the future—
I'd get to taste it before him."
"No one in the Uchiha trusts me. No one is my companion. Not a single person is willing to follow me."
"A catastrophic start… a commander with no troops at all."
Makoto felt helpless.
Trying to compete with Madara's prestige within the clan at this point had truly been overestimating himself.
"Don't forget—there's still Senju Hashirama."
"Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama… Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama…"
Amid his disappointment, Makoto resolutely joined the wave of slogans—
Adding Senju Hashirama's name.
The Uchiha hesitated.
"That's right! The bright future is one Hashirama and I will create together!"
Madara heard the "discordant" addition, but was too busy enjoying the cheers to notice where it came from.
But that didn't matter.
It was a great line.
Who said it?
The clan head liked you very much.
Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
Those two names together—how perfect they sounded.
"Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama!!" × N
The Uchiha looked at one another, vaguely feeling that adding Hashirama's name here was a bit odd.
But Madara himself had affirmed it.
And so the chant became—
"Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama."
Repeated again and again.