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Uchiha Kagami stared blankly at the man before him, momentarily stunned. The sudden praise caught him off guard and made him wonder whether there was some hidden meaning behind the words.
After all, he wasn't yet the renowned Uchiha Kagami of the future. Right now he was just a child—utterly ordinary within the vast Uchiha clan. To put it bluntly, in this era of endless war, children like him who had never set foot on a battlefield weren't worth anyone's serious attention.
In this age, if a person couldn't survive the battlefield, no amount of talent mattered. None of it would ever see the light of day.
So at present, Uchiha Kagaya was simply an unremarkable boy among many. What right did someone like him have to receive such high praise from this powerful adult?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't find anything in himself worthy of such words. Finally, steeling himself, he asked directly.
"Sir, I don't quite understand what you mean."
Kagaya blinked in surprise, then couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed his earlier compliment had been interpreted as something loaded—perhaps even insincere or manipulative.
"There's nothing to it. I really was praising you just now. Don't overthink it. Let's get back to your point. You didn't come find me just to explain that your clan head might lose, did you?"
Uchiha Kagami shook his head quickly, a little flustered.
"No—no, absolutely not, sir. I'm sure you see the situation far more clearly than I do."
Kagaya turned back toward the distant blue pinpoint of light flickering on the horizon.
"And then?"
Uchiha Kagami continued. "Then… I would like to ask you for a favor on behalf of the Uchiha."
Kagaya gave a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You want me to head to the front lines and help your clan head?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Uchiha Kagami froze, visibly thrown off balance. He hadn't expected his intention to be seen through so effortlessly.
Though he was still just a child, Kagami had always been unusually perceptive. Things others failed to notice, he caught immediately. Ideas others couldn't conceive, he grasped without effort. Among his peers, his intellect had always reigned supreme. He could read their thoughts plainly while they remained completely blind to his.
Yet this was the first time someone had understood his purpose the instant he opened his mouth—before he even finished speaking.
The unexpectedness left him momentarily unsure how to respond.
Fortunately, Kagaya had no intention of letting the boy stew in awkward silence.
"Tell me your reasoning."
Kagami gritted his teeth, glanced once more at the distant figure on the horizon, and decided to lay everything bare.
"Sir, do you believe that if the clan head is defeated, the rest of us can survive safely?"
Kagaya replied evenly. "You think we can't?"
Kagami answered without hesitation.
"No. We cannot."
Kagaya shrugged. "Actually, with me here, even if your clan head falls, I can still keep you safe."
Kagami pressed.
"Sir, you can sense that battle in the distance too, can't you? A clash that defies ordinary understanding. Do you honestly believe you could step into it and fight on equal footing with either of them?"
Kagaya admitted readily. "Of course not."
Kagami continued.
"Then if you yourself admit you cannot stand against either one of them, on what basis can you guarantee our safety?"
A brief silence followed.
Finally Kagaya answered.
"You're right. Thinking about it that way, I can't promise absolute protection. But I'm only here because someone asked me to be. Madara entrusted me with protecting you all, so I'll do my utmost while I remain here. If I succeed—great. If I fail… then I can only apologize and escape with whoever I can save. After all, I'm only fulfilling a request. I'm not going to throw my life away for you."
"Sir!"
The boy's voice rose sharply—louder and more serious than before.
Kagaya turned again, looking down at the child with a mocking snort.
"What? You think shouting at me will make me change my mind?"
Kagami took a deep breath. His small face grew unusually solemn.
"Sir… are you truly part of the Uchiha clan?"
The question wiped the smile from Kagaya's face.
Was he truly Uchiha?
If he was, then naturally he should risk everything for the clan.
If he wasn't… then perhaps he could walk away without any ties holding him back.
Fragments of memory surfaced unbidden. In his previous life, he had lacked the power to save the Uchiha. Was history about to repeat itself?
No. It shouldn't. In the original story, the Uchiha hadn't been exterminated during this period. So he didn't need to do anything drastic. He could simply wait. Everything would turn out fine. That was how it should be.
With that thought, he answered obliquely.
"The Uchiha clan will be all right."
Kagami straightened to his full, small height.
"How can you be so certain? Sir, while we stand here talking, people are dying on the front lines every second. And yet you still say the Uchiha will be fine?"
Kagaya frowned.
"So you think if I go to the front lines, I can stop all of that?"
Kagami shook his head.
"No. I don't believe you can stop everything. But if you go to the front lines, when the clan head and Senju Hashirama finally exhaust themselves, you will become the Uchiha's trump card. You will be the one who decides victory or defeat!"
Kagaya pointed at himself with a wry smile.
"Don't forget—even if Hashirama is exhausted, the Senju still have plenty of powerful fighters left. Are you really so confident that, aside from Hashirama himself, no one else in their clan can match me?"
Kagami nodded firmly.
"Before today, no. But now—yes!"
Kagaya laughed in genuine puzzlement.
"Oh? And why is that?"
The corners of Kagami's mouth lifted into a small smile.
"Because the moment I said you could become the deciding factor, I saw only confidence on your face—not the slightest trace of fear. I believe you can suppress everyone in the Senju clan below Hashirama!"
Kagaya narrowed his eyes, studying the child carefully for a long moment before speaking slowly.
"Kid… you're too clever. You actually made me feel a faint sense of threat."
Kagami returned a faint smile of his own.
"You're the same to me, sir. Being near you gives me an unprecedented feeling of danger—as though everything about me has already been seen through. Honestly, I don't enjoy talking with you. That sensation of being completely exposed is unbearable. And yet I can't see through you at all."
Kagaya turned back toward the direction of the war.
"No need to flatter me. Let me ask you this: if I leave for the front lines, who will protect the people left behind in the clan compound?"
Kagami answered with unshakable conviction.
"You will! And the clan head will!"
His voice rang out firm and clear.
Kagaya raised an eyebrow.
"Me and Madara? But if we both go to the front, there'll be no one left to guard this place."
Kagami replied without wavering.
"As long as the front lines win, that is how you protect the homeland. That is how you protect the Uchiha! The outcome of war is decided at the front—not the rear! How can we keep someone capable of turning the tide of battle stuck back here just because we're afraid to die?"
Kagaya pressed.
"And if, after I leave, the Senju bypass the front lines and attack the rear before victory is secured? Are you confident you can hold them off?"
Kagami answered without hesitation.
"No. If it comes to that, I only ask two things of you, sir."
"What?"
"First—no matter what happens, please ensure the Uchiha achieve victory! Even if every last one of us in the rear dies, do not turn back! The people here can all be sacrificed. The front lines are what matter most! As shinobi, we don't rely on rear supply lines for food anyway. Everything must serve the front! Once you depart, please forget completely about the rear. Second—when you return victorious, if you have the time, please carve my name onto my gravestone so I won't become an unnamed ghost."
Kagaya looked at him curiously.
"Interesting. You're not afraid of death?"
Kagami answered steadily.
"In this chaotic world, we fear many things—but death is not one of them."
Kagaya asked.
"Are these your own thoughts, or the will of the people in the clan compound?"
Kagami nodded.
"The will of the clan. They saw that I speak well and chose me to come convince you."
Now Kagaya was genuinely surprised.
"So you're telling me that everyone left behind in the compound has already resolved themselves to die?"
Kagami nodded again. "Yes."
Kagaya murmured. "Why go this far?"
Kagami asked quietly. "Have you never experienced war before, sir?"
Kagaya shrugged.
"Not really. This would be my first time—and even now I haven't joined it."
Kagami explained. "Then that explains it. Sir, you must understand: the essence of war is trading life for life. Those who cling to life—how can they ever win? It's not that we don't fear death. It's that we know clearly: even if we survive today, we'll die in some future battle anyway. Natural death from old age doesn't exist in this era—at least I've never seen it. So sir, since death is inevitable either way, why should we fear it? Why shouldn't we step forward and use our lives to buy even the slightest increase in our clan's chance of victory?"
Kagaya gave a bitter smile.
"I understand. It's not fearlessness. It's resignation. Is that it?"
Kagami nodded, then dropped to one knee.
"Then please, sir—head to the front lines!"
Kagaya asked. "You're so certain I'll agree and go?"
Kagami replied. "Sir, what I sense from you is confidence—not fear."
Kagaya let out a soft laugh.
"Fine. You've convinced me."
Far away, Hashirama and Madara were clashing in a cataclysmic storm that filled almost everyone with dread and trembling awe.
But Kagaya was different.
Though the sheer scale of the battle had startled him, that was all it had done—startled him. There was no fear in his heart, no terror.
Because unlike the others, he possessed the potential to pursue those two men—to one day stand beside them, or even surpass them.
For most who witnessed that duel, they understood instinctively that they would never reach those heights in their lifetime. That realization bred fear.
Kagaya's greatest difference lay here: he had hope. He had the ability. One day, he might equal them—or go beyond.
That single distinction turned trembling terror in others into burning eagerness in him—an urge to rush to the front and witness their splendor firsthand.
Previously, Madara's request had tempted him, but he had hesitated to abandon his post. Now, with Kagami's persuasion, he made his decision.
The original story guaranteed the Uchiha clan's survival during this period. So what harm was there in heading to the front?
At the very least, if the people left behind had already accepted death, how could he show less resolve than them?
Kagaya clapped his hands once.
"Uchiha Kagami, right? I'll remember the name. If you really die, I'll make sure your name is carved on your stone."
Uchiha Kagami bowed his head with a small smile.
"Then I leave it in your hands, sir."
A gust of wind passed. Silence fell.
When Kagami raised his head again, the figure in front of him had vanished.
The child gazed toward the distant blue light and whispered anxiously.
"Lord Clan Head… this is the only thing we in the rear can do to help you. Please—return victorious."
One hour later.
BOOM!!!
A blinding white light erupted. For dozens of miles around the center where Madara and Hashirama clashed, everyone instinctively averted their eyes from the overwhelming brilliance.
"Hashirama!!!"
"Madara!!!"
Two roars thundered from the heart of the light. A streak of blue appeared—followed immediately by a streak of gold. They locked in stalemate.
Moments later, the white light faded.
BOOM!!!
But the moment it vanished, another violent tremor struck. Kagaya, still en route, was thrown off his feet.
He braced himself against the ground, trying to rise—only for a second, even more massive shockwave to slam into him, hurling him straight into a tree!
'Susanoo!'
At the last instant before impact, he summoned his Susanoo. Without it, his body would have been smashed to pieces.
Just as he thought the worst was over, the earth ahead of him began to heave violently—another colossal wave of force was incoming!
Trees and soil were torn upward together, forming a terrifying "flood" of debris.
Kagaya didn't hesitate. He turned and sprinted backward at full speed!
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!
The deafening roars continued to erupt from the center of the battle between Hashirama and Madara.
Kagaya had always known they were monsters—but this was beyond absurd. He was already seven or eight kilometers away from the epicenter, and even at this distance he couldn't get any closer!
The shockwaves were simply too powerful!
Forcing his way forward was possible in theory—but if even these distant ripples required full resistance, what about deeper in? Unthinkable.
More than ten minutes later, Kagaya finally escaped the range of the shockwaves. When he looked back, the forest he had just passed through had been flattened into open plain.
And this was merely the outermost edge of their battle's influence. Here the power was already greatly diminished—yet it had still wrought such destruction.
Changing the terrain—today Kagaya truly understood how terrifying those four words could be.
Without trees blocking the view, he could now clearly see the two titans clashing in the distance. Around them, shockwave after shockwave erupted. Gale-force winds howled endlessly, distorting the very air and warping the sight of their duel.
Gods.
These two men truly deserved the title.