Madara only felt a "buzz" in his head.
Izuna's figure seemed to grow infinitely larger in his eyes. His younger brother, who always followed behind him and would occasionally tilt his head up and call him "Big Brother," was now being targeted by a deadly kunai, while he himself was more than ten meters away.
"I can't let him die... I absolutely can't let him die...!"
An emotion he had never felt before exploded from his chest.
The obsession with protecting his family, the fear of loss, and the pain of having no choice but to sever his friendship with Hashirama all mixed together, transforming into cold and violent chakra that surged straight toward his eyes.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Madara let out a low roar that was almost a scream.
The next moment, his eyes suddenly turned blood-red.
Tomoe slowly took shape within his scarlet pupils, rotating.
The Sharingan had awakened for the first time.
The world became completely different in his eyes.
The trajectory of the kunai, the flow of chakra, even the subtle changes in the air currents were all clearly visible.
Almost instinctively, Madara bent down and picked up two stones, instantly infusing them with chakra.
"Ha!"
The two stones turned into black afterimages and accurately struck the kunai flying toward Izuna.
The crisp sound of metal colliding with stone rang out. The kunai veered off course and sank deep into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Almost at the same time, Hashirama made the same move. His stone also knocked down the kunai flying toward Tobirama, protecting his younger brother.
The sneak attacks by the two fathers failed at the same time.
Madara's figure had already appeared in front of Izuna. With one hand, he shielded his younger brother behind him, his blood-red Sharingan fixed firmly on Hashirama and the Senju across from him.
"Hashirama..."
"The bond between us... ends here."
Madara's voice was hoarse, but it carried a firm resolve.
"Next time we meet, we'll be enemies."
"Uchiha and Senju can never be friends again."
Hashirama stood where he was, obvious pain flashing through his eyes.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only clenched his teeth and nodded silently.
Tajima looked at the Sharingan in his son's eyes, complicated emotions welling up inside him.
The original story's turning point had arrived as expected.
Uchiha Tajima took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, "Madara, if we go to war now, do we have a chance of winning?"
Madara did not turn around. He only replied coldly, "Hashirama is stronger than me. Fighting now would be disadvantageous to us."
Upon hearing this, Izuna sucked in a breath and could not help asking, "He's stronger than Big Brother?"
Tajima made his judgment immediately.
"Retreat."
With Tajima's order, he quickly retreated into the dense forest with Madara and Izuna.
Butsuma also had no intention of continuing the pursuit. He withdrew to the opposite bank with Tobirama and Hashirama.
After Uchiha Tajima led his two sons back into the dense forest, almost no one spoke along the way.
Madara walked at the front, his steps steady and fast.
The Sharingan had already been withdrawn, but traces of scarlet still remained faintly visible in his eyes.
Izuna followed behind his brother, secretly looking up at him from time to time. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
Tajima walked at the back, his eyes fixed on Madara's back, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
The original story's turning point had been completed as expected.
At the moment the Sharingan awakened, Tajima clearly felt that, as a transmigrator, he had been completely nailed to the predetermined track.
He no longer had the right to change anything and could only continue playing the role of a father who "pushed the war forward."
After they returned to the clan grounds, the news quickly spread.
"The young clan leader has awakened the Sharingan!"
"He opened his eyes at such a young age? As expected of an Uchiha genius!"
"I heard it was to protect Young Master Izuna..."
The clan members' discussions came from all directions. There was praise, excitement, and also faint anticipation.
The elders of the pro-war faction were even more delighted, believing this was Heaven's favor toward the Uchiha.
The clan leader's eldest son had awakened his eyes, which meant they had another source of confidence for the next great battle.
Tajima listened to these reports in the council hall, his expression calm to the point of indifference.
He only gave a order: "From today onward, double the intensity of Madara's training. Izuna's as well. As for the border conflicts, continue as usual. Fight if we can, retreat if we can't, but never give up even half a step."
After giving the order, he sat alone in the clan leader's room, staring at the sky gradually darkening outside the window. After hesitating for a moment, he found ink and a brush and began writing something...
———
Madara paid no attention to the clan members' commotion.
He took Izuna straight back to his own courtyard, closed the door, then seriously crouched down and looked his younger brother in the eyes.
"Izuna, did I scare you just now?"
Izuna shook his head, but could not help asking, "Big Brother, your eyes... do they hurt?"
"They don't."
"I'll become stronger from now on. No one will be able to hurt you again."
Madara reached out and rubbed his hair, his voice unusually gentle.
Izuna nodded hard, his eyes shining. "Then I'll become stronger too! I want to protect Big Brother!"
Madara froze for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh.
After laughing, he stood up, walked to the center of the courtyard, and drew his long blade.
"From today onward, we'll train together."
The blade flashed in the evening light.
Madara began to truly hold himself to the standard of an "enemy."
He no longer treated those relaxed sparring sessions by the river as games. Instead, he repeatedly recalled Hashirama's movements, speed, and the flow of his chakra.
The Sharingan allowed him to catch the details more clearly, but every time he recalled them, a faint pain would rise in his chest.
Hashirama's bright eyes and the pain he had forced himself to suppress during their final farewell remained like a thorn, lodged in his heart.
"Hashirama, next time we meet, we'll be enemies."
Madara repeated the words he had spoken in a low voice, then suddenly brought the blade down toward the wooden post in front of him. Wood chips flew in every direction.
———
On the Senju side, the atmosphere was equally heavy.
Butsuma called Hashirama and Tobirama into a secret room, his expression dark.
"Hashirama, do you know what you're doing? You became friends with an Uchiha, and you nearly got Tobirama killed!"
Hashirama lowered his head without arguing.
Tobirama, meanwhile, stood calmly to the side and said, "Father, Brother didn't reveal any information, and neither did the other side. If we hadn't taken the initiative today, things could have ended more peacefully."
Butsuma snorted coldly. "Peacefully? The Uchiha have never truly been peaceful. That boy who awakened the Sharingan will be our greatest threat in the future."
Senju Butsuma stared at Hashirama and said word by word, "From today onward, remember this. Uchiha Madara is an enemy. The next time you meet on the battlefield, you are not allowed to hold back."
Hashirama remained silent for a long time before softly answering, "...Yes."
But when he returned to his room and closed the door, he still could not help leaning against the wall and covering his face with both hands.
"Madara... can we really only become enemies?"
———
Time continued to move forward.
The flames of war along the border did not stop for even a moment because of the farewell between the two boys.
On the contrary, both sides seemed to be pushed forward by some invisible force, with the frequency and scale of their conflicts continuing to rise.
Half a month later, a medium-scale encounter broke out in a northern river valley.
The Uchiha sent an elite squad centered around Madara, while the Senju were led by Hashirama.
When the two met again on the battlefield, they both froze for a moment.