Downstream of the northern river valley, blood mist filled the air.
This battle had been personally arranged by Uchiha Tajima.
He did not tell anyone his true intention, using only "take the initiative and heavily damage the Senju main force" as the reason to mobilize most of the clan's elite.
He sent Madara and Izuna to another battlefield ten li away under the pretext of "restraining the enemy's flank."
Before leaving, the two had repeatedly asked to join the battle, wanting to charge alongside their father, but Tajima sternly refused them every time.
"Your task is to hold back the Senju reinforcements. Remember, come back alive.", Tajima spoke to the two in a calm voice.
Madara and Izuna exchanged a glance, and in the end, they could only accept the order and leave.
They did not know that their father had already left the most dangerous position for himself.
The battle fully erupted in the morning light.
The main forces of the Uchiha and Senju collided in the open area of the river valley.
Fire Release intertwined with Earth Release and Water Release, forming a sea of death.
Tajima personally led the center army. His bloodstained clan clothes stood out in the smoke and dust.
Senju Butsuma quickly locked onto him.
The two immediately began a one-on-one fight.
"Uchiha Tajima!"
"Today will be the day you die!"
Butsuma's furious shout pierced through the battlefield.
Tajima said nothing.
He raised his hands and formed seals. A huge fireball roared out and slammed into Butsuma's earth wall.
The two burst forward almost at the same time, their ninja blades crashing together in midair, sparks flying everywhere.
"Butsuma, you and I have been entangled for half our lives. It's time to put an end to this."
Tajima's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached his opponent's ears.
Butsuma sneered. "Enough nonsense! Die!"
The battle between the two instantly broke away from the main forces, tearing open a vacuum in the center of the river valley.
The people of both clans wisely did not interfere.
The frequency of the clashes between their blades grew faster and faster, while the impact of their chakra caused the ground to crack continuously.
Tajima's Fire Release grew more ferocious with every attack, while Butsuma's Earth Release and taijutsu remained as steady as a rock.
New wounds soon appeared on both of them. Tajima's left shoulder had been cut open by the blade, blood flowing freely, while Butsuma had also been stabbed beneath the ribs, his face turning slightly pale.
"You're... fighting especially hard today.", Butsuma spoke in a low voice during a brief exchange.
The corner of Tajima's mouth pulled into an almost self-mocking curve. "Because... I've already made my decision."
Tajima stopped holding back.
His chakra burned violently, and his sword strokes became even more vicious. Butsuma likewise gave it everything he had.
The two clan leaders of the older generation abandoned all possibility of retreat at this moment, intent only on completely killing the other.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Uchiha elders and trusted retainers were desperately maintaining the battle line.
They vaguely sensed that something was unusual about their clan leader today, but had no time to think about it.
Someone wanted to step forward and provide support, but Tajima drove them back with a furious shout, "Hold the formation! No one is allowed to come near!"
The blades clashed again.
Cracks had already appeared in Tajima's ninja blade, while Butsuma's blade was also chipped all over.
Both men were breathing heavily, but their movements did not slow in the slightest.
Fireballs and rocks continued exploding around them, scorching the land black.
"The Uchiha... will ultimately lose to the Senju." Butsuma gritted his teeth and growled.
Tajima sneered to himself, because he knew the future.
Whether Uchiha or Senju, both would eventually disappear.
Neither outcome would be very good.
The next second, Tajima suddenly released his strength and lunged forward strangely.
Butsuma instinctively raised his blade to block, only to discover that Tajima had poured all his remaining chakra into this strike. The blade even began burning with an almost white, high-temperature flame.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
At the same time, Butsuma also unleashed his final strength.
An earth wall rose from the ground, but quickly cracked under the high temperature.
The blades of both men pierced into each other's chests at the same time.
Time seemed to stop at that moment.
Tajima's blade pierced through Butsuma's heart, while Butsuma's blade also sank deep into Tajima's chest.
Their bodies froze at the same time, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths.
"You?!"
Butsuma's eyes widened, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a heavy gasp before his entire body went limp and collapsed.
Tajima's knee bent as well, and he slowly knelt on the ground. Using the last of his strength, he raised his head and looked toward the distant battlefield where Madara and Izuna were.
"Madara... Izuna..."
"I... will only go this far."
As his words fell, Uchiha Tajima's body completely went limp and collapsed onto the blood-soaked ground.
His eyes gradually lost their focus.
He knew clearly that since this was a Naruto world where the plot could not be changed, he could only let things take their natural course.
The slaughter on the battlefield continued, but both sides' core combat forces had almost simultaneously lost their leaders.
The Senju side fell into brief chaos due to Butsuma's death, while the Uchiha elders reacted immediately.
"Clan Leader!"
Several senior elders brought their trusted retainers and fought their way desperately into the center of the battlefield.
They had no time to care about anything else and fought desperately to protect Tajima's body, retreating while fighting under the attack of the remaining Senju forces.
In the end, after paying a heavy price, they successfully brought Tajima's body back.
———
[Uchiha Clan Grounds, Dusk]
Madara and Izuna received the urgent report almost at the same time.
They had just finished the battle on the flank and still had traces of undried blood on their bodies. After learning of their father's death in battle, their entire bodies froze in place.
"Impossible..."
"Father clearly sent us to the flank. How could he...", Izuna's voice trembled.
Madara said nothing. He only bit his lips tightly, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
The two rushed back to the clan grounds at almost their fastest speed.
The area outside the council hall was already filled with silent clan members, and the air was so heavy that it was suffocating.
When they rushed into the inner room, they saw a figure covered by white cloth, along with several elders covered in wounds.
"The clan leader... died together with Senju Butsuma. We fought desperately to bring him back.", An elder spoke in a hoarse voice.
Madara stepped forward and reached out to lift the white cloth.
Tajima's face was already pale. The wound running through his chest was shocking to look at, but his expression was unusually calm, even carrying a trace of relief.
"Father...", Madara's voice had gone completely hoarse.
He fell to his knees, both hands gripping the edge of the white cloth tightly, his knuckles turning white.
Izuna stood to the side, his body trembling violently as tears silently fell.
"Why... why did you send us away...", Madara's voice grew lower and lower, yet the hatred in it grew stronger.
Anger, grief, unwillingness, self-blame... every emotion erupted to its extreme in this instant.
Madara only felt his vision go black, and then he was overwhelmed by even stronger emotions.
A pain unlike anything he had ever experienced suddenly surged through his eyes, while chakra rushed through his optic nerves like a flood.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Madara let out a low cry that was almost a roar.
The next second, his Sharingan underwent a violent change. The three tomoe rapidly spun, twisted, and reassembled, finally transforming into the more complicated and more sinister form of the Mangekyo.
Almost at the same moment, Izuna let out a painful muffled groan, and his eyes were likewise filled with the pattern of the Mangekyo.
A new power was awakening within their scarlet pupils.
The elders were so shocked that they took a step back. Someone cried out, "Mangekyo... The young masters have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
———
The Uchiha clan grounds were immersed in immense grief and power that was about to erupt.
Tajima's body was properly laid to rest. The prophecy book he had hidden in a secret compartment remained unknown to everyone for the time being.