After being driven back by Uchiha Katsu, Uchiha Tajima did not immediately return to the clan grounds.
He leaned against a broken tree trunk deep in the dense forest and panted for a full half an hour.
Although he had forcibly stopped the bleeding from the knife wound in his chest with chakra, every breath pulled at him with piercing pain.
"Senjutsu... How could anyone in this era possibly have mastered senjutsu..."
Tajima cursed under his breath, his voice hoarse.
He forced himself to stand and carefully scanned his surroundings with his Sharingan. Only after confirming that the man had completely left did he limp toward the clan grounds.
His trusted subordinates had been waiting anxiously on the outskirts. When they saw the clan head emerge covered in blood, their faces instantly went pale.
"Clan head! What happened to you..."
"Shut up."
"Not a word about what happened today is allowed to get out. Whoever dares say anything, I will kill him myself."
Tajima reprimanded them coldly.
Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads and acknowledged the order.
Tajima wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. He was just about to circulate his chakra and run when he realized he had been beaten so badly that he could not run.
"Clan head, ride a horse first," one of his trusted subordinates said as he came over.
Uchiha Tajima could only force himself to walk to the horse and climb onto it.
The horse had barely taken two steps when the pain made his vision go black, and he almost fell off.
The trusted subordinate beside him quickly caught him.
"Clan head, you should treat your wounds first..."
"Return to the clan grounds."
"The border situation is more important."
Tajima gritted his teeth.
What he did not know was that during the half-day he had spent fighting the mysterious man, the border had already fallen into complete chaos.
———
[The Clan Meeting Hall]
Tajima had just finished having his wounds simply bandaged by a medical ninja and had not even had time to change his bloodstained robes when someone hurriedly rushed in.
"Clan head! Something major has happened with the Haikawa clan!"
Tajima raised his head, his gaze dark. "Speak."
"The envoy we sent... was killed on the spot by the Haikawa clan head! The body was thrown into the wasteland at the border, and there was even a Haikawa short blade stuck in him!"
Tajima suddenly stood up. His wound split open again, and blood quickly seeped through the bandages.
"What?"
"That's not all!"
"There have been continuous incidents at the border these past two days! Someone saw Senju people attacking our outposts and leaving traces of a kekkei genkai behind."
"But the Senju are also accusing us of attacking their patrols! The two sides have already started fighting. The casualties... have already exceeded thirty!"
The person giving the report spoke with a trembling voice.
Tajima only felt a buzzing sound in his head.
He forcibly suppressed the anger and pain surging through him and said in a deep voice, "Bring me the detailed report. Isolate and question everyone involved in the clashes."
"Also, immediately send someone to the Haikawa clan grounds and find out exactly what gives them the right to kill my envoy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt another wave of dizziness.
The medical ninja beside him advised in a low voice, "Clan head, your wounds need at least half a month of rest. That knife wound is very deep, and there is strange chakra residue..."
"Enough."
"I don't have time to lie around."
Tajima raised his hand and cut him off.
He knew that his current condition was very bad.
The shadow of being defeated by that mysterious man was like a thorn lodged in his heart.
The man's strength, those Mangekyo, and senjutsu... every one of them was far beyond his understanding.
Even more frightening was that the other party seemed to know his "reforms" inside and out, and had even accurately pointed out his intention to establish Konoha ahead of time.
"Who exactly is that person... How does he know all this?"
"He's probably also a fellow transmigrator, only he came earlier than me....."
Tajima sat in the clan head's chair, his fingers gripping the armrests tightly until his knuckles turned white.
———
Over the next few days, the situation rapidly deteriorated.
The Haikawa clan's reply was extremely arrogant and decisive.
The envoy had intended to incite a rebellion and was killed on the spot. The body had already been returned according to the rules, and there was no need for further discussion.
The border conflict not only failed to subside, but grew increasingly intense.
New casualty reports arrived every day.
Two Uchiha outposts had been destroyed, and the Senju patrols had also lost more than a dozen people.
The young ninjas on both sides were furious, and the voices of the hardliners within the clan quickly overwhelmed those of the reformists.
Tajima tried to forcibly suppress the flames of this conflict.
Despite his injuries, he convened an emergency clan meeting and proposed temporarily withdrawing forces from the border, prioritizing an investigation into the truth behind the clashes, while continuing to advance internal training reforms.
Before he could finish speaking, an elder stood up in opposition.
"Clan head, what time do you think this is? The enemy has already reached our doorstep, and you are still thinking about reforms?!"
"Our envoy was killed, our outposts were destroyed, and yet you want us to retreat? What kind of sense does that make!"
"Could it be... that you really were bewitched by someone?"
As soon as these words came out.
The transmigrator's temper could no longer take it.
Uchiha Tajima suddenly raised his head. His Sharingan opened instantly, and killing intent filled the entire meeting hall.
"Say that again?"
The elder was so frightened that he took half a step back, but still gritted his teeth and said, "The clan has been saying recently... that after you were warned by a mysterious person, your attitude changed. Is there some kind of deal you made that we don't know about?"
Tajima's heart sank.
'The news... how had it gotten out?'
He had clearly already ordered everyone to keep silent.
But rumors were like they had grown wings, spreading rapidly throughout the clan grounds.
Some said the clan head had been threatened by an outsider. Some said he was willing to sell out the clan's interests for the sake of reform. There were even people privately discussing whether the clan head had been subjected to some kind of advanced genjutsu.
He was very likely being controlled.
"Hahahaha!!"
Tajima laughed in extreme anger.
"Guards, this man is spreading false rumors and misleading people. Drag him away!"
Uchiha Tajima immediately used his authority as clan head to confine the elder and ordered an investigation into the source of the rumors.
However, the result of the investigation was even more unsettling. The source of the rumors was unclear, as if they had emerged from multiple directions at the same time.
Some people mentioned that members of the Haikawa clan had said something in a border tavern. Others said they had seen suspicious black shadows moving around at night, but not a single one had actually been caught.
Tajima's headaches grew more and more severe.
His wounds were healing very slowly. The residual natural energy was like a stubborn illness, occasionally making his chakra circulation become sluggish.
At night, he often woke in pain, then stared at the ceiling, repeatedly recalling what the traveler had said before leaving.
"If you go too far again next time, it won't be me who comes to warn you."
———
A few days passed.
Tajima forced himself to go see his two sons.
Five-year-old Madara was leading four-year-old Izuna in practicing basic taijutsu in the courtyard.
When they saw their father approaching, the two brothers immediately stopped and ran over to him.
"Father, your wound still isn't healed?"
Madara looked up at him, clear concern in his eyes.
"Hehe..."
Tajima managed a smile and reached out to rub his son's head.
"Almost."
Izuna tugged on his clothes and asked quietly, "Father, are they fighting again outside? I heard the uncles saying that a lot of people died..."
Tajima's heart ached.
He crouched down and looked the two young sons in the eyes, his voice unusually gentle. "You're still young. You don't need to worry about these things. Just practice what you're supposed to practice."
Madara suddenly looked at him seriously. "Father, did you encounter a very powerful enemy? I feel like your chakra... is different from before."
Tajima's body stiffened slightly.
Had this child's perception already become this sharp?
He really was worthy of being Uchiha Madara. After all, he was the protagonist of this era....
Tajima did not answer. He only ruffled Madara's hair before turning and leaving.
After walking out of the courtyard, he leaned against a pillar in the corridor and closed his eyes for a moment.
"Even a five-year-old child can tell..."