Chapter 12 — The Will of Fire
Uchiha Madara felt somewhat uncomfortable under the little brat's gaze. He handed the Chakra Seed in his hand to Gion.
"Swallow it directly. Then go back and rest. Once you've adjusted your condition, I'll teach you how to refine chakra."
Gion took the Chakra Seed into her hand, recalling what Zephyr had told her before—
'Mr. Madara's legacy is a power capable of forging legends. If it were brought out to sea, it would surely drive countless people into madness.'
She swallowed hard before asking,
"Master… this glowing seed… it's very valuable, right?"
Madara appeared visibly impatient, as if saying even one extra word to her would cost him his life.
"That's none of your concern. I just happened to have one on hand. Eat it and leave—don't disturb me here."
Hearing this, Gion swallowed the Chakra Seed in one gulp and gave Madara a bright, radiant smile—so bright that even Madara was momentarily stunned.
Then she turned and skipped away.
Madara quietly let out a breath of relief. If the brat had started going on about boundless gratitude or something like that, he really wouldn't have been able to handle it.
Turning around, he began searching for paper, preparing to choose suitable ninjutsu for her—
Suddenly, a faint fragrance came from behind.
The little brat leapt up and clung onto his back, grinning widely.
"Hohoho~ Master is the best master in the whole world~!"
Madara froze again.
Why?
He had always hated anyone getting behind him.
And yet, the small figure clinging to his back didn't evoke even the slightest disgust—instead, it brought him a faint sense of warmth.
A subtle smile appeared at the corner of Madara's lips, one even he himself didn't fully understand.
Heh… what a foolish little brat.
He didn't say anything more, but even he failed to notice that a trace of gentleness had entered his voice.
He turned around, rubbed the little brat's head, and said,
"Alright. Go back and rest. Don't forget tomorrow's training."
Watching her skip happily out of the room, Madara stood there, staring at her departing figure in silence.
'Bonds… is this what it feels like… to have someone standing behind you… Hashirama.'
...…
Early the next morning, on the deck of the warship—
Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Madara stood in a circle around Gion.
Looking at the towering figures around her, blocking out the sunlight like pillars, Gion felt immense pressure.
After all, being surrounded by four top-tier powerhouses in the world was no small matter.
Madara glanced at the other three with mild annoyance.
This was his disciple—no, wait—this was his session to teach the brat how to refine chakra. What were these three old men doing here?
Especially Zephyr—why was he carrying pen and paper?
And Sengoku was even worse—he had brought along two official Marine recorders.
Madara suddenly regretted telling them they could come watch this morning.
Watching was fine—but what was with this overly studious attitude? He had already said that without a Chakra Seed, they wouldn't be able to learn it. Did they lack even that basic level of trust?
"Chakra is the product of evenly mixing one's spiritual energy and physical energy."
"The physical energy generated by the body's one hundred and thirty trillion cells, combined with spiritual energy, forms what is called 'stamina.' Stamina is the foundation of taijutsu. Chakra is created by converting stamina within the body."
"After extracting chakra, a ninja can use 'jutsu' through 'hand seals.'"
"Under normal circumstances, for an ordinary person to refine chakra is a time-consuming process."
"But for you, who have directly consumed a Chakra Seed, it isn't nearly as troublesome."
"What you need to do is continuously sense chakra—allow your body to become familiar with it—and, guided by external chakra, begin producing it on your own."
"So, I came up with the simplest and fastest method."
At first, Gion listened attentively to Madara's explanation of chakra principles.
But the more she listened, the more something felt off.
This sounded… suspiciously similar to training Armament Haki.
Gion looked at Madara and forced out an awkward smile.
"Um… Master, I think I'd prefer learning the slower method. After all, haste makes waste…"
Madara ignored her entirely.
He raised a finger—
And an immense surge of pale violet chakra cascaded down like a waterfall toward Gion.
Caught completely off guard, she was instantly slammed to the ground.
Before she could even process what was happening, she struggled to her feet, stabilized her stance, and began focusing—silently trying to sense the chakra.
Under the tense watch of Garp and the others, within just a few minutes, Gion's aura gradually stabilized, and her body stopped trembling as violently as before.
Moments later, a faint blue chakra began to emerge from her body.
She started using it to resist the overwhelming chakra waterfall crashing down upon her.
Madara was momentarily stunned. He immediately increased his perception—
Then his expression shifted to delight.
'Fire and Lightning, huh?'
A perfectly standard Uchiha attribute combination.
Although it was only a tiny amount of chakra—a thin layer barely coating her body—it significantly eased her situation.
Seeing this, Madara withdrew his chakra.
His goal had only been to help her sense chakra—there was no need to push things too far. Excessive chakra depletion could be dangerous for a beginner like her.
After all, in the ninja world, countless people had died from chakra exhaustion.
Right, Kakashi?
Madara took out the prepared ninjutsu scroll and handed it to Gion. At the same time, he issued a warning to Garp and the others:
"Refining chakra is one thing—but jutsu are the foundation of a ninja. If you dare to peek, be prepared to die."
Honestly, this was basic common sense—he shouldn't have needed to say it.
But the shameless behavior of these three old men today had genuinely unsettled him.
The techniques Madara selected for Gion included, aside from hand seal methods and the basic Three Techniques—
Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique—
Also included was the Uchiha clan's signature jutsu:
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
As the foremost Fire Release clan in the ninja world, the Uchiha's fire-style techniques naturally surpassed those of other clans.
The C-rank Great Fireball Technique, compared to the Hokage lineage's Fire Release: Flame Bullet, used the same five hand seals but featured a more stable chakra flow, moderate range, easier execution, and greater power.
It was more than sufficient to temporarily fill the gap in Gion's mid-range combat ability.
Madara had already prepared a fairly complete system for her—
A combat style where ninjutsu supports swordsmanship.
What remained now was steady, gradual progress.
He did not teach her a large number of powerful techniques right away.
Having just come into contact with ninjutsu, her priority should be mastering the fundamentals—especially hand seals. Overly complex techniques would do more harm than good.
According to Garp and the others, they would soon arrive at Marine Headquarters.
Establishing Konoha would require a significant amount of funding, and Madara would soon become busy.
So he intended to use the remaining time to properly arrange the brat's training path.
For a ninja, the speed and accuracy of hand seals were extremely important.
Even someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, still had to form hand seals properly before surpassing Kage level.
As for founding Konoha within the Marines—
Madara had absolutely no idea where to begin.
Back when Konoha was first established, he and Hashirama had dumped all responsibilities onto Tobirama.
He knew nothing about the procedures or steps required to build a village.
Previously, his role alongside Hashirama had been simple—intimidation.
Whoever resisted, they crushed.
It had been the same within the Uchiha clan—he rarely engaged in politics.
Now that he suddenly had to act as a leader, he didn't even know what he was supposed to do.
But doing nothing wasn't an option either.
If he couldn't manage the small details—
Then he would focus on the big picture.
Like the Akatsuki organization—small in number but elite, highly free yet financially centralized, focusing only on large-scale operations.
Uchiha Madara had come to the Marines to accomplish three things:
People. Money. The Will of Fire!!!