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"It's a simple matter of sensory ability. You don't know about it?" Madara spoke with some surprise.
Kagaya had just posed a question to him: How could members of the Senju and Uchiha clans instantly determine he was Uchiha, even when he displayed no outward Uchiha characteristics?
Hearing Madara's words now, Kagaya was also somewhat speechless.
"Can sensing chakra really tell which clan someone belongs to?"
Madara chuckled softly.
"I forgot, you're not from this era. Let me ask you a simple question. If an ordinary person suddenly sees a snake, what would their reaction be?"
Kagaya answered matter-of-factly.
"Aside from people who frequently see snakes, and a few exceptions, I imagine most people's first reaction upon suddenly seeing a snake would be to get a big scare, and then quickly move away from it."
Madara nodded.
"Exactly. So, why do people have such a reaction?"
"Because of danger."
"Danger? Suppose a person who has never seen a snake before, and knows nothing about them, sees a snake and also gets a big scare. Why is that? They don't know snakes are dangerous. The snake hasn't made any aggressive move. How do they know the snake is dangerous?"
Kagaya was momentarily at a loss. This question touched upon genetics. But if he started discussing that with Madara, leaving aside whether Madara could understand, even Kagaya himself only had a basic, common-sense understanding of the topic. He didn't know the deeper aspects.
However, Madara didn't wait for Kagaya's answer this time. He spoke immediately.
"That's because of instinct. I don't know how to describe this instinct, but in ancient times, humans interacted with snakes over long periods. One careless move could lead to injury, even death. This caused humans to imprint their vigilance against snakes onto their very instincts. The Senju and Uchiha are in a similar situation. Years and years of accumulated warfare have long made both sides intimately familiar with each other. You see, Uchiha who possess the Sharingan usually also possess some distinctive chakra. This distinctive chakra is very difficult for ordinary people to sense. But for the Senju and Uchiha, this tiny bit of chakra is as conspicuous as the sun in the sky, extremely dazzling. They only need to sense it from a distance, and they can immediately distinguish whether you are Uchiha or Senju. You see, this ability, built upon countless lives, isn't it something?"
Kagaya couldn't help but sigh. No wonder those Senju and Uchiha could instantly recognize his identity. The relentless, never-ending war forced them to quickly and accurately distinguish enemy from ally. Over time, everyone developed the ability to instantly identify Senju and Uchiha. As for those who lacked this ability, they were probably all dead by now.
Just look at those small mounds from before. In this era, there was a shortage of everything except the dead! No ability? What more was there to say? Just wait to die.
To put it bluntly, the Uchiha still alive today had survived by stepping over the corpses of countless Senju clansmen. The useless ones were long dead. Every single person remaining was a genius!
Every Uchiha and Senju clansman in this era was absolutely a master killer. They were shinobi born solely for the purpose of killing.
Unlike later generations of shinobi who performed various types of missions, the shinobi of this era, from childhood to adulthood, only needed to learn one thing: killing.
Under such circumstances, it was hardly surprising that some peculiar abilities emerged.
Kagaya thought for a moment, then asked again.
"One last question. Why did I end up encountering you? I should have been trying to escape the battlefield."
Madara blinked and replied.
"Are you serious? Weren't you running straight in the direction of our Uchiha clan's territory?"
Kagaya: "..."
Without a doubt, he had wanted to flee the battlefield. But not knowing the way, he had instead run straight towards the Uchiha headquarters, and Madara had caught him red-handed.
No wonder, along the way, there were initially many Senju, but they gradually became fewer. That was because he was constantly approaching Uchiha territory. The number of Senju would naturally decrease until there were none.
The actions of the people who had surrounded him earlier also made sense. At the border of the clan territory, regardless of whether someone was Uchiha or not, identity verification was necessary. Just like Konoha shinobi returning to Konoha—even if everyone knew them, identity still had to be verified, at least formally.
In that situation, instead of stating his own name, Kagaya had asked for theirs. This naturally made those Uchiha clansmen feel something was wrong—wasn't this just a simple, routine identity check? Why wouldn't he give his name?
If Madara hadn't appeared, Kagaya would have already been fighting those Uchiha.
And why did Madara appear? Regarding this man before him, unfathomably deep, at times as terrifying as an abyss, at others so sorrowful he evoked sympathy, Kagaya had nothing more to say. Probably, Madara had sensed this "anomaly" and came out to investigate.
With that, Kagaya had finished asking everything he wanted to know. For the rest of the journey, Kagaya remained silent.
Madara quickly carried Kagaya to the clan territory, arranged a room for him, and summoned a medical ninja to help him recover. Then Madara left, without once asking Kagaya's opinion.
Arriving in a wooden room, Madara knelt on the tatami mat, gazing silently at the man lying on a floor bed before him, not uttering a word.
The quilt covered the reclining man, obscuring his body. His standard spiky hair marked him as an Uchiha. White cloth wrapped around his eyes, suggesting injury. Madara didn't speak, but the man spoke first.
"Brother, how did it go? Did you meet that special Uchiha you mentioned?"
"Yes, I met him. An astonishing genius. He even startled me a little." Madara replied.
The man lying on the ground was, naturally, Izuna. He had given his eyes to Madara, helping him evolve the Eternal Mangekyō. He wasn't dead yet, but of course, he wouldn't last much longer. At this moment, Izuna couldn't help but smile faintly.
"That's good. The Senju side is getting stronger and stronger. Our Uchiha have fallen into a considerable disadvantage. Having a helper appear now is truly wonderful."
Madara couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Izuna, you don't need to concern yourself with these matters. Just focus on resting. Your older brother will handle everything."
Izuna smiled again.
"Brother, we both know that my current state can't be cured by rest. I've reached the end of my life. Soon, soon... I can feel it..."
"Enough!"
Madara suddenly darkened, interrupting Izuna's words.
However, despite Madara's loud voice, Izuna remained unconcerned. The corners of his mouth seemed perpetually curved in a smile.
"Don't be like that, brother. I know you don't like hearing this, but you and I both have to face facts. I am undoubtedly going to die. You should understand this better than I do. Right now, right now... ahem... right now I just want to say a few more words. Otherwise, I won't have another chance later. Brother, now that you possess the Eternal Mangekyō, your strength has greatly increased. Coupled with my death, you will certainly seek revenge against the Senju clan. But..."
"You want me not to seek revenge, Izuna?" Madara sneered, interrupting Izuna a second time.
Izuna paused briefly, then smiled bitterly. "Yes! Yes! I know you too well, brother. You are so strong, dazzling like the sun in the sky, domineering and unassailable, not even fit for direct gaze. How could someone like you, after losing a brother, stoop to compromise? You will definitely go to war with the Senju. I'm afraid I can't dissuade you."
"You know it well. Now, rest peacefully."
"Let me ask you a question, brother. In your battle with Senju Hashirama, what are your chances of winning?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? What do you mean?"
"He is too strong. Even though I've now obtained the Eternal Mangekyō, I still can't claim to be able to defeat him for sure. Our strength, his and mine, likely surpasses the understanding of everyone in this world. That includes me. Without fighting him with all my might, I can't know my chances against Hashirama now that I have the Eternal Mangekyō."
"Is that so? What a terrifying battle. But, brother, what if..."
"There is no 'what if.' I've already made arrangements for the clan's future. That genius youth I just brought back will handle it."
This was the third time Madara had interrupted Izuna. He seemed somewhat anxious, not wanting Izuna to speak too much.
Izuna spoke worriedly. "That special Uchiha you just brought back? Can he be trusted? Does he have the strength?"
"He can be trusted. He has strength. Or rather, his very existence proves the Uchiha's continuity."
"Brother, what do you mean by that?"
"Do you know of the Ryūmyaku?"
"Yes."
"I once speculated that with the Ryūmyaku's vast chakra, it might be capable of anything, including traveling to the past."
"Brother, are you saying..."
"Yes."
The conversation paused here. Both fell silent.
After a long while, Izuna smiled.
"In that case... good, good! I am relieved."
As he spoke, Izuna reached out a hand, groping about. It took him a while to find Madara's hand. Then he gripped it tightly, very tightly, as if using all the strength left in his life. He raised his head with effort, took a deep breath, and spoke with head held high.
"Brother... Uchiha!"
Madara's hand trembled slightly. A trace of sorrow flickered deep in his eyes. Then he, too, nodded firmly.
"Yes... Uchiha!"
Three days later, Uchiha Izuna, younger brother of the Uchiha clan leader, officially passed away. Under Madara's direction, Izuna was quietly buried.
On that plain, one more small mound appeared, utterly inconspicuous. Like the other Uchiha, it stood there silently, watching over the Uchiha clan.
Incidentally, when Kagaya heard the news of Izuna's death, he was completely stunned. Because he had previously assumed, based on preconceptions, that since Madara already possessed the Eternal Mangekyō, Izuna must have died. Now it seemed that after Madara obtained the Mangekyō, Izuna had survived for a few more days before passing away.
It was a pity, really. He could have met this brother of Uchiha Madara, but in the end, Kagaya never saw Izuna.
His memories of the original story had faded considerably. Kagaya had completely forgotten what Izuna looked like. So, if possible, he would have liked to meet him. Unfortunately, he couldn't meet him before his death. And even after death, when Kagaya learned the news and wanted to pay his respects, Madara intercepted him, refusing to let him see.
This meant Kagaya, from beginning to end, never got to see Izuna.
"Ahh..." Kagaya sighed. Though he didn't know why Madara prevented him from seeing, since Madara had stopped him, what could he say? For now, he would just lie quietly and recover.
While the brothers on the Uchiha side were separated by life and death, on the other side, another pair of brothers were also having a disagreement.
"What did you say? Brother, you want to write a truce proposal to the Uchiha? I disagree!"
A man with white hair and two red markings on his face sat before Hashirama, speaking indignantly.
Hashirama looked down at the blank paper on the table.
"Peace is necessary, Tobirama."
The man before Hashirama was called Senju Tobirama, Hashirama's younger brother.
Tobirama snorted coldly. "Brother, you know it, I know it, the entire clan knows it. In the current battle with the Uchiha, we hold the advantage. Our superiority is steadily growing. If we keep fighting, the loser will definitely be the Uchiha! Why propose a truce voluntarily when we have such a favorable situation?"
Yes, the overall situation of the war now was that the Senju were gradually beginning to overpower the Uchiha. Facing the Senju clan's vast chakra reserves, the Uchiha's weakness became apparent—compared to the Senju, the Uchiha were less suited for prolonged battles.
"Tobirama, suppose someone tried to kill me right now. Would you permit it?"
"Impossible! In the entire ninja world, aside from Madara, I can't think of anyone who could even injure you, let alone kill you. Impossible! No one could do it!"
"I'm speaking hypothetically."
"Then I still wouldn't agree. If anyone tried to kill you, brother, I would fight them to the death!"
"Smack!"
Hashirama suddenly slammed the table, raising his voice.
"Exactly! Tobirama! You need to understand that the continuous war you are currently advocating for is constantly killing other people's brothers, fathers, mothers. You don't want me to be killed by others, yet you are willing to personally raise the blade to kill other people's families?"
Tobirama did not back down.
"Brother cannot be compared to others! In this chaotic world, whether one more or one less ordinary person exists doesn't matter much. But you are different, brother. You have the ability to pacify this chaotic world and lead everyone back to peace. You are the hope of the entire ninja world. Your importance is absolutely incomparable to those insignificant others! If someday, between you and me, one of us must die, I will gladly go to my death without a moment's hesitation! Because I know I cannot lead the clan back to peace, but you, brother, have the ability! I believe in you, the clan believes in you, and the many families behind us all believe in you! Countless hopes rest upon you alone!"
Hashirama opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. Finally, he shook his head.
"Precisely because of that, I need to consider everyone's feelings. I cannot let those who place their hopes on me continue to witness the deaths of their loved ones. This truce proposal, I will write it!"
His tone had already taken on a note of certainty, unassailable, unquestionable!
Like Madara, Hashirama's authority within the Senju clan was terrifyingly immense. Although Hashirama usually seemed a bit silly, once he became serious, everyone in the Senju clan, as well as the Hyūga clan, the Aburame clan, the Nara clan, and many other smaller families behind them, could only bow their heads before this man, never daring to question him!
In this respect, Tobirama was no exception. Faced with a serious Hashirama, Tobirama's previous doubts seemed to vanish instantly. What remained was only a Tobirama ready to dutifully obey.
"Yes! I understand, brother."