Madara's Sharingan had already fully adapted. The tomoe slowly rotated, capturing every tiny movement Hashirama made with perfect clarity.
Hashirama stood opposite him, holding that familiar shinobi blade, his expression complicated.
"Long time no see, Madara.", Hashirama spoke first, his voice a little hoarse.
Madara did not respond to the greeting. He only said coldly, "Enough with the small talk. I won't lose today."
Before he finished speaking, he had already rushed forward.
The blade flashed down like a bolt of silk.
Hashirama dodged to the side and swept his blade back.
Their blades collided in midair, producing a sharp clang of metal.
With the Sharingan predicting his movements, Madara changed his attacks three times in a row, each one aimed straight at a vital point.
Yet Hashirama always managed to resolve them at the last moment. His solid taijutsu and abundant chakra allowed him to hold his ground even while at an informational disadvantage.
"Your eyes... have become even stronger," Hashirama said quietly during a break in their exchange.
Madara gritted his teeth. "Stop reminiscing with me! You're a Senju, and I'm an Uchiha!"
"I know."
"But I still hope... that one day we can sit down again and talk about that village."
Hashirama's blade suddenly sank, using the force to knock Madara back two steps.
"Stop!"
Madara roared and quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Countless small fireballs shot out like a flock of birds, completely enveloping Hashirama.
Hashirama did not take them head-on. His body moved nimbly through the rain of fire as he threw several kunai backward at the same time, precisely cutting off the trajectories of some of the fireballs.
The two closed in again and fought at close range, blades and flames intertwining as the surrounding trees crackled from the burning.
In the distance, Tajima stood on high ground, quietly watching the battle.
"As expected... it still ended up like this." Tajima muttered to himself.
The battle continued for nearly an hour.
In the end, both sides suffered serious injuries.
A deep wound that exposed the bone had been cut across Madara's left arm, while Hashirama's shoulder was also covered in blood.
Yet neither had truly defeated the other.
Just as the battle was about to reach a stalemate, reinforcements from both sides arrived at the same time.
Tajima decisively ordered a retreat, and Butsuma also had no intention of continuing the pursuit.
The river valley fell silent again, leaving only scorched earth and bloodstains that had yet to dry.
———
That night, in the Uchiha clan grounds.
Madara sat inside the medical ninja's tent, allowing the other party to treat his wound.
Izuna stood guard beside him, his face pale.
"Big Brother, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"I'll win next time."
Madara's voice was somewhat hoarse.
Izuna bit his lip and suddenly asked, "Big Brother... are you still thinking about that Senju?"
Madara's body visibly stiffened.
He was silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Izuna, remember, an Uchiha cannot have a weakness. Hashirama... is already in the past."
"But..."
"No buts."
"From now on, we only need to become stronger. Strong enough that no one can hurt us. Strong enough... to protect the people we want to protect."
Madara turned his head, the tomoe Sharingan glowing faintly in the dim lamplight.
Despite saying this, Uchiha Madara was still thinking about the dream he and Hashirama had shared.
Izuna nodded hard, but his eyes were slightly red.
Tajima stood outside the tent, hearing all of this.
He did not go inside. He simply stood outside for a long time before finally sighing softly and turning to leave.
———
Elsewhere, Black Zetsu was lying on a rock.
The system's voice sounded in his mind again.
[Ding!]
[Mission progress updated: The staged objective of Dark Current Interference has been completed.]
[New prompt: Continue observing the growth trajectories of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. If actions that clearly deviate from established history appear, you may apply for further intervention.]
Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes and let out a low laugh. "Interesting... these two brats are going to become more and more fun."
And inside an inconspicuous wooden house at the edge of the Uchiha clan grounds, Uchiha Katsu was leaning against the window, wiping the short blade in his hand. The blade reflected a cold light under the moonlight.
He raised his eyes toward the direction of the clan leader's room, his expression calm.
"Tajima... you really did choose to submit."
"That's fine. At least Madara's path is still heading in its original direction."
"It's just... wasn't the Tajima of the original story the grandson of Lord Arisu?"
Uchiha Katsu narrowed his eyes slightly.
In his previous life, Uchiha Tajima had been Arisu's grandson. He had not expected that this time would be different.
———
Several more years passed.
The war between the Uchiha and Senju did not stop. Instead, as the new generation of both sides grew, it became even more brutal and efficient.
Uchiha Madara's Sharingan gradually evolved to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Each evolution was accompanied by the deaths of people around him, hatred on the battlefield, and the lingering pain left by the friendship he had personally severed.
Izuna was no exception.
During a large-scale battle, he personally watched his elder brother being surrounded and pushed into a dangerous situation by the Senju. Under the violent surge of emotion, his eyes suddenly turned scarlet, and three tomoe formed at the same time.
From then on, the two brothers became the sharpest double-edged blade on the Uchiha front lines.
Tajima watched his two sons grow stronger day by day, but his heart grew heavier and heavier.
He was no longer young.
White hair had begun to appear at his temples. The body that had once been able to fight continuously for several days would now ache faintly after high-intensity command.
After sitting in the clan leader's chair for too long, his back and waist would ache. At night, he would occasionally cough twice, then pretend nothing had happened as he wiped away the traces of blood at the corner of his mouth.
The clan members only thought their clan leader was exhausted from overwork. They did not know that this transmigrator was gradually beginning to feel the real weight of "aging."
This night, the clan grounds were unusually quiet.
There were no large-scale conflicts at the border for the time being, and Tajima had forcibly ordered Madara and Izuna to rest.
Tajima sat alone in the clan leader's room. The light of the oil lamp flickered, casting his slightly hunched shadow on the wall.
He stared at the latest casualty list on the table, but his gaze gradually lost focus.
"In the original story... how did Madara and Izuna awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Before transmigrating, he had watched the relevant plot countless times. The evolution of the Sharingan required intense emotional stimulation: losing close family, extreme anger, profound despair.
Madara's Three-Tomoe Sharingan had gradually taken shape through the long years on the battlefield and repeated losses. Izuna was the same.
But as for a specific key point...
Tajima's breathing suddenly stopped for a moment.
In the original story, Uchiha Tajima had not died particularly late, but he certainly had not lived a long life.
He had died while Madara and Izuna were still young.
A father's death was enough to tear the soul apart for any Uchiha.
"Could it be..."
Tajima suddenly raised his head, his pupils contracting sharply.
"Could it be that my death was what completely stimulated them into awakening the Mangekyo?!"
Once this thought emerged, it spread through his entire body like wildfire.
Tajima's fingers began to tremble.
He stood up and paced back and forth across the room, his footsteps becoming more and more disordered.
"No... it isn't necessarily me. There are plenty of deaths on the battlefield, and there are always things that could provide stimulation.
"But... but in the original story, I really did die early. If the will of Heaven, if this world's predetermined trajectory, requires me to die for Madara to fully grow, for the later plot to continue... then wouldn't that mean I..."