Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Madara woke the day after his match with the Chinoike heiress feeling somewhat nervous. Rain was pounding the tent and the lightning that gave the nation its name flashed, thunder rumbling overhead and shaking Madara to his core. Sakura appeared beside his bed, looking utterly drained, her face so pale she could pass for a ghost. Worse, her chakra was wrong, almost resembling one of the Shimura doll soldiers.
“Sakura?” Madara asked and her eyes slowly moved to him. They were empty, dead with only a small flicker of life within their cold emerald depths. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I was captured.” Sakura said softly and Madara’s heart began to race. He knew what happened to prisoners, especially women. Sakura was young, too young to have children but that didn’t mean she would be spared.
“Where? Back in your home?” Madara asked and she nodded her head and closed her eyes. “How can I help?” The question was the only thing on his mind. The Chinoike no longer mattered, Sakura needed him and his sharingan spun to life instinctively.
“Just let me be near you.” Sakura said because if she didn’t have Madara she was going to fall apart. He was her best friend, the very first person to believe in her and teach her. If she could lean on him, draw upon his effortless strength she’d weather Root’s conditioning long enough to escape.
“What happened?” Tajima asked as he stepped into the tent. Sakura hesitated before letting out a tired sigh.
“I come from a village, one where the shinobi arts are practiced along with civilian trades.” Sakura explained and Madara listened intently. He’d only ever heard her mention her homeland in passing and never in any depth. “Many clans from all over gather, even ones that had once been enemies and they are all lead by the strongest man in our nation. Strongest but not the wisest.”
“One of those clans are like the Shimura, they turn people into living weapons for the village’s use. It is a secret, one I can only share because I haven’t been sealed yet. That happens at the end of the week.” The light in Sakura’s eyes dimmed further and Madara felt his throat constrict. He’d always feared Sakura wouldn’t return from her home but he’d never considered she might be in true danger there. “I should have trained harder. There is strength training I could have done, should have been doing but it hurt so much I just…”
“Your strength has been lessening over the years.” Tajima agreed softly and Sakura nodded, the motion jerky and uneven. The tent was silent, the crackling of flames filling in the pause as everyone grappled with their emotions. Clearly whatever had been done to Sakura had already stripped her of much of her fire, though embers remained. Madara knew she could heal, if only they could free her. “Do you have anyone you can rely on?”
“I have a sensei and a friend I think. We have to ensure the Chinoike are fine.” Sakura spoke the final sentence with a sudden intensity, her eyes alive with her sharingan. Madara wasn’t sure how that was connected to her current state but her chakra was burning with determination, the cool forest of mint and pine alive once more with a hint of static on the horizon, a distant thunderstorm always threatening to roll in.
“It will take a week to have everything prepared. I just received word they’ll leave blood clones and corpse puppets behind to mask their evacuation. We’re still going to have to fight but the plan should work.” Tajima explained, the conversation masked by a powerful genjutsu that Madara only now picked up on. His father was still far more skilled then either of them. Just another reminder that he had a long way to go before Madara could shoulder the burdens of his clan.
“What should I do today?” Sakura asked, because it was obvious that she was incapable of guard duty and likely unable to train. Her face was deathly pale from stress and her chakra was nearly completely drained, only just starting to trickle back into her core now that she was here.
“Rest, Madara would you mind keeping her safe?” Tajima asked as he rose to his feet. Madara knew that they couldn’t simply stop their operations because something had happened to Sakura. She was important, his second and Tajima’s third child but the clan came before any individual.
“I’ll keep her safe.” Madara promised and Tajima gave his son a nod. Sakura shifted so she could lean on Madara’s shoulder, the side of her head propped up against him. “Are you alright?”
“I wasn’t, but I am now.” Sakura admitted softly. It was natural for Madara to put his arm around her and give her a squeeze. He could feel hot tears through his sleeping yukata but he didn’t comment on them. Sakura was shaking slightly, crying without a sound and he hoped that someone in her village would rescue her soon or he’d have to find a way to travel to her. He wasn’t sure how he’d manage that but he would if she needed him.
***
Hiruzen look across the table at his old friend. They had finally succeeded in their great work and yet that clearly hadn’t been enough for Danzo. The man had shouldered the miserable burdens that Hiruzen couldn’t bring himself to bear. They were partners in every sense of the word but clearly that relationship had come to an end. Danzo didn’t even look remorseful, his chakra steady and eye fixed firmly on Hiruzen.
“I am ordering Root to be disbanded effective immediately. Haruno Sakura and Senju Izumi are to be returned to the Senju compound effective immediately.” Hiruzen saw cracks spider through the grip of Danzo’s cane. A tension spread between them as Danzo’s eye flashed with unconcealed rage.
“You are weak Hiruzen, you are going to lead this village to ruin.” Danzo spoke with absolute conviction. He knew how truly pathetic the sandaime hokage really was. Hiruzen was old fashioned by many metrics but by the standards of their day he had been soft, pathetically so. “And I do not have Haruno Sakura or Izumi in my custody.” The warhawk didn’t dare put the name of their sensei’s clan before the girl tainted with Uchiha blood. She had been spared the massacre but that didn’t mean she was off his radar. The Uchiha poisoned everything they touched and only once she knew proper discipline, when her emotions were thoroughly stomped out of her would she truly be worthy of her clan.
“Danzo, do not test me. I-” An explosion rocked the village and Hiruzen’s eyes turned to the window. Smoke billowed from what was clearly the Shimura compound and a second devastating detonation shattered the still night air. It was obvious what was happening, Bear had taken things into his own hands. “This is where your actions have led Danzo. It seems not even my ANBU commander trusts me to ensure your cooperation.”
“He always did what was necessary,” ‘unlike you’ went unsaid but not unheard. Both men knew that there was a distinct possibility Bear would move on them. The ancient ANBU had been a contemporary of Hashirama and showed no signs of flagging or age. How they managed that was a mystery but no attempts to uncover the truth had ever lead to anything other then dead agents and stern warnings.
“Get out of my office.” Hiruzen spat and Danzo gave nod, turning and leaving without another word. They had been teammates once, friends, or at least Hiruzen had thought so. Had Danzo fallen so far that he’d turn his blade against his own Hokage? Or had the friendship Hiruzen imagined been nothing but an illusion?
***
Sakura tried not to let herself hope too much as an explosion rocked the base. At her side was Izumi, wearing the same blank mask and chakra just as blank, though some wind and water remained. The two of them had been here for a week, though Sakura only knew that because of her trips to the past. Trips that nobody in Root had noticed since her body and chakra remained in her bed.
A second explosion, this one much closer shook dust free from the concrete ceiling and all hell broke loose. Sakura didn’t even see Izumi move, one second they’d been side by side, the next Izumi was behind the bear masked instructor who had been beating the emotions from their souls with physical punishment, genjutsu and forced chakra exercises that turned their own chakra against them. The man went down in a boneless heap and Sakura doubted he even knew his spine was severed before he hit the cold stone floor.
Izumi’s sharingan burned to life and she vanished once more. Blood painted the room, the metallic tang stinging Sakura’s nose as Izumi reappeared beside her.
“Come on,” Izumi’s chakra was suppressed, hidden tightly within her core but this close Sakura could feel the freezing emotions burning through her. It was a cold, icy fire, wrath like a winter storm. Giving her friend a nod, Sakura quickly followed as a third explosion and the distinctive clatter of shrapnel proved the fighting was closing in on them. Picking up a katana from a fallen Root, Sakura moved to flank Izumi as they raced through the hallways.
A familiar chakra caught her senses and Sakura realized after a heartbeat it was Naori. The woman was moving towards them at high speed and when she rounded the corner, emerald eyes met burning mangekyo as Naori fought unmasked, teeth bared in a vicious snarl.
“You two are alive, good. Put your swords down, I’m taking you into ANBU custody.” Naori growled as more ANBU arrived on the scene, all prepared to take Sakura and Izumi down if either of them showed any signs of resistance. Sakura dropped her sword and kicked it away, she didn’t need a blade to defend herself nor did she want to fight her sensei. It took Izumi a second longer but she did the same and the two let themselves be handcuffed in chakra sealing restraints before they were flickered out of the Root tunnels and across the village.
The arrival in Bear’s office was sudden and without warning. One minute they were moving across rooftops and the next they were coming to a halt in front of a familiar desk. The Bear mask was firmly in place and short spiky gray silver hair sticking up behind it. Sakura could feel Tsukiko’s chakra bubbling and boiling through the air. It was vast and reminded her immediately of Shingetsu.
Without a word, Bear rose to her feet and walked over to Sakura and Izumi. Her hand reached out and gripped Sakura by the chin, gently forcing her mouth open as her chakra rushed through the rosette’s network. Sakura felt her mind stutter as Tsukikyo’s ketsuryugan went to work, rifling through her memories of what exactly had happened before she could resist.
“She’s clear, Izumi do not resist unless you want a trip to T&I.” Even now Bear kept up her disguise, her tone calm, cordial even. Sakura watched Izumi tense as Bear gripped her mouth and forced it open, her chakra rushing through Izumi’s network and searching for the remnants of any genjutsu or fuinjutsu. Izumi’s check took much longer then Sakura’s but when she finally released the older girl, Bear seemed content. “Put out a flee on sight order for Uchiha Itachi. These two are to spend the night in the medical bay then return to the Senju estate in the morning.”
Sakura felt the ANBU that had arrived with them quickly scatter, carrying Bear’s words to where they needed to go. She felt herself being lowered down onto a stretcher and didn’t resist as she was carried away. She had been in Root’s training facility for a week and welcomed the chance to rest as her mind quickly fell into unconsciousness.
***
Madara could feel the victorious burn in Sakura’s chakra as he awoke. She was still pale and shaken but there was hope in her eyes for the first time in a week. He knew without asking that she had been rescued and pulled her into a tight hug.
“I’m free,” she whispered and hugged him back. Her grip was stronger than it had been since he’d noticed her starting to stress, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All was not well, there were ghosts in her eyes and a weight in her chakra that spoke of pain and loss but Madara could tell the worst was over for now. Whatever she’d experienced had come to its end.
“We’re launching the attack on the Chinoike position tonight.” Madara explained, brushing Sakura’s messy bangs out of her face. He saw the moment his words clicked, her eyes widening slightly before narrowing into a hardened glare. “We’re going to be in the war party, can you manage?”
“I’ll manage. My summons should be willing to make up for my exhaustion.” Sakura answered without hesitation. It was odd, seeing how quickly she got into a mission oriented mindset, the colors in her chakra deadening. It was eerie, like her emotions had an off switch now and Madara hoped that it would fade with time. War was terrible, worse then hell because most of those involved didn’t have a choice. There was often no rhyme or reason behind who suffered what atrocities beyond happenstance. Still, to lose your humanity, crush your own heart and accept that brutality, ensured you would never seek to end it. Enduring suffering was different then confronting it after all.
“That’s probably for the best.” Madara replied and the pair quickly went about getting ready for the day.
After breakfast, the two children donned their armor and took to gathering chakra through meditation. Sakura’s core was still weak from the captivity that she’d only just escaped though Madara was at full strength and burning with anger just waiting to be vented. The usual pre-combat jitters that he normally experienced were gone, replaced by an angry impatience he’d never experienced before. The desire to snap bones and cleave flesh was new, though he could feel Sakura’s chakra leaking into him through their shared seal.
“Sakura,” Madara began slowly, because he didn’t want to scare her or upset her. He had never felt this way before but he knew Sakura’s chakra was the source of these urges. After all she was of the isle, his father had said as much. Despite the years that had past, Sakura was still a mystery, her origin and humanity up in the air regardless of what his father said. He’d seen her Inner, knew that she wasn’t entirely human even if she wasn’t a full blooded youkai. Her appearance was decidedly fae as well, which only further supported his suspicions.
“Yes?” Sakura asked and Madara hesitated, unsure of himself. He knew he deserved an answer since it was affecting him, but at the same time it wasn’t Sakura’s fault.
“Do you get excited before battle? Like, your chakra gets so frantic you can hardly sit still?” Madara asked slowly and Sakura nodded. He could see the questioning look on her face, her expressions so much brighter then they had been the day before. It was obvious she’d been rescued, her emotions less guarded and life once more coming out in her eyes.
“Sometimes, why?” Sakura’s expression was knowing as her gaze glided over his trembling hands and met his slightly dilated eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Sakura murmured and Madara let out a sigh.
“Don’t be, it’s better then suffering from nervousness. It’s terrifying you know? Just sitting around and waiting for something to happen. It’s like, I might die or you might die or perhaps father but not yet and there is nothing you can do until it happens. It’s just, you’re stuck, everything is on hold and you’re forced to stand still and wait.” Madara explained and Sakura nodded in understanding. Both of them hated waiting for battle, it was something that always ate away at their self control and courage. Every soldier knew that most of war was long periods of boredom, short periods of extreme stress and brief periods of violence.
“Inner says the emotions I’m suppressing are bleeding into you.” Sakura said after a pause and Madara ran a hand through his hair. Sakura wasn’t magically better just because she had escaped captivity. Her expressions were less pronounced, her chakra dimmer and her eyes a bit less lively then they’d been only a few short weeks ago. She seemed better today but relapses happened and it would be months if not years before she could heal enough that the behavioral scars would mostly fade from view.
“Suppressing emotions is different then controlling them, it isn’t healthy.” Tajima caught both children by surprise as he arrived beside them. A glaive was slung across his back, proof he was taking the coming battle seriously. At his side was Akihiko, the young mother dressed in full warplate and a massive battle ax resting over her shoulder. “When this is over I think it’s time to start teaching you two Ninshu seriously. You need to learn soon, just in case…”
In case Tajima died before they could learn. It wasn’t an art banned to the rest of the clan but few practiced it. Ninshu required iron discipline, regular practice and brutal internal honesty. Sakura would excel in it thanks to her Inner mind but the rest of humanity found it nearly impossible to strip away the lies that shielded them from their own judgment.
“I am sorry, but it is difficult after…” Sakura trailed off and Tajima put his hand on her head and pressed his forehead to hers.
“I know little tiger, but you’ll heal. Everyone in the clan is here for you, you’re not alone.” Tajima was soon joined by Madara who wrapped his friend in a hug from behind. Sakura let out a strangled sob, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Thank you, thank you so much.” Sakura whispered and quickly wiped away the tears. She took several deep breaths, the motion exaggerated as she braced herself. “Alright, I’m alright.” Madara felt the strange excitement recede somewhat as Sakura’s chakra started to come to life. Her eyes shimmered red briefly, her sharingan pressing against the surface but not quite manifesting.
“Atta girl,” Tajima said and leaned back, turning his attention to his son. For a moment, Madara felt a flash of nerves. Tajima had softened since Sakura’s arrival and Madara knew that he truly saw the girl as his own. Not a replacement for Kagami, no one could ever be, but Sakura had filled a hole in their family left by her death. “I’m proud of you Madara. You’ll make a greater clan head then I one day. I am sure of it.”
With those words, Tajima left them to help plan the assault. The Kaminari shinobi were eager to get this over with. They had been stationed here for at least a month before the Uchiha’s arrival and with the end so near, they were antsy to get this over with. The day seemed to pass at a crawl but when night finally arrived, everyone was ready. Last meals were handed out and armor was tightened. Grim faces filled the camp and Madara soon joined the entire Uchiha contingent, Sakura at his side.
None of the clan would be staying in the camp during or following the battle. The Chinoike had sent word that they had cleared the area and left behind their decoys. It was a relief, for Madara and Sakura both, since neither truly wanted to see bloodshed. Madara knew Sakura was excited for battle but having felt her urges himself he knew it didn’t overwrite or dampen her desire to see a peaceful resolution, just made inflicting violence and enduring war easier.
“Everyone has their orders and the Kaminari shinobi have set up a perimeter.” Tajima said looking around at the gathered members of his clan. All of them save his heirs had the mangekyo, they were the elite of the Uchiha’s army, though not irreplaceable, they were far from the expendable ashigaru that filled out their numbers. “You all know the situation, fight conservatively. I don’t want anyone’s eyesight worsening.”
With that, the Uchiha moved out. Air rushed through Madara’s short spiky hair as he pushed forward, Sakura at his side. Sharingan spun in their eyes as they crossed into the Chinoike’s valley and they saw the first of the clones waiting for them. The adults moved up first, engaging the fakes while Madara and Sakura held back, throwing senbon and bo shuriken from a distance.
The battle had a far faster paced flow to it then any Madara had been in so far. Everyone involved was a shinobi, even if the Chinoike had only left blood clones and animated corpses to cover their absence. Jutsu flew through the air and soon enough a cloud of expended chakra hung thick over the area, tinged with the signatures of the combatants. Rain pounded every exposed surface, chill wind ripping the heat from the bodies of the soldiers as they put on a show.
The Chinoike hadn’t made it easy for them. The clones fought back seriously, none of them quite aiming to kill but non-critical injuries slowly accrued as they neared the chinoike’s village. Natural geysers occasionally erupted from the cracked stony ground, filling the air with iron rich water that the Chinoike blood clones transformed into showers of needles or forged into shields to protect themselves from jutsu.
‘I don’t know how many casualties we would have taken if we genuinely fought them.’ Madara thought as he ducked under a hail of needles, the tips just blunt enough to cut without killing. He unleashed a blast of cutting wind in response and swung his scythe, the blade sweeping through another volley and shattering the chakra forged projectiles before they could touch him. Sakura shot forward, slashing her blade through the clone’s neck and it dissolved away into a puddle of chakra rich blood.
A roar echoed from nearby and a flash of white and black fur cut through the battle lines. Sakura’s summons tore into their foes with lightning shrouded claws and thunder cloaked fangs. He had never truly seen one of her tigers in battle before. Today, Sakura had only called in a single tiger, though it was more then enough to support them in the current fight. Its claws ripped through steel and its blows crushed bone and armor with equal ease.
Two hours after the fighting began, the Uchiha reached the Chinoike’s main settlement. The place was at the end of the valley and set upon an island. A river emptied out into the frigid ocean, cold waves lapping at the rocky shoreline. Chakra permeated the air and ancient stone buildings clustered together around a well kept temple. Trees and moss obscured the settlement along with massive stone spines that rose up in all directions.
“Wow,” Madara had never seen anything so ancient and while it was obvious the village had been carefully abandoned, it was far larger then he’d been expecting. The Chinoike were thought of as a small clan, though clearly that either wasn’t or hadn’t always been the case.
The fighting came to a sharp end, the clones melting away and the corpses hitting the ground, puppets with their strings severed. It was obvious the Chinoike did not want to see the village damaged, even if they no longer called it their own.
“So this is their village.” Ryuko murmured, her eyes moving over the settlement with a frown. “Tajima I think…”
“Yes, this is very likely one of the temples built during the age of the kami. The chakra here is intense.” Tajima agreed as the Uchiha formed up around the temple. If this truly was a relic from a bygone age then it would explain why the Chinoike had come under attack. The Kaminari could not drive them away without foreign aid, an unheard of act of desperation. “Search the area but do not take anything. We do not know what they’re after and I’d rather not end up their target.”
“You think the Chinoike would have left anything?” Akihiko asked as she cleaned off her ax. The woman sported a shallow wound near her elbow, the results of an arrow sneaking in between the solid steel plates that protected her upper and lower arms and ripping through the mail rings underneath.
“No reason not to check. Be careful of traps.” Tajima ordered and Madara felt the seal on his left hand throb almost painfully.
He could feel a strange tug pulling at the seal and followed it, Sakura stumbling along beside him as she to was drawn forward. The homes and village quickly fell out of view as the two children moved through the trees and stone spires. Akihiko wordlessly began shadowing them, her chakra a small comfort as Madara found himself unable to resist the seal’s pull.
Soon the two children arrived in front of a waterfall, a river cutting its way through the stone spires and trees. At its base was a stone disk with the tao carved into it. Chakra thrummed and pulsed on the disk, calling to Madara and he moved towards it, standing on the black dot amid the white half of the carving as Sakura did the same on the white dot amid a sea of black. Their chakras began to resonate and flashes of battlefields and war flickered through Madara’s mind, the world tumbling away at blinding speed before he came crashing back to reality, the waterfall ahead of him suddenly parting to reveal a passageway that had been hidden.
“Strange,” Akahiko murmured, glancing over the two children who had just stumbled out of their trance. “Are the kami calling you two?”
“I think so,” Sakura managed, her voice uneven and clearly nervous. She met Madara’s eyes and he gave her a nod, somehow knowing they had to do this. Whatever was in that temple, they had to discover.
“Come on,” Madara offered the girl his hand and she took it a moment before a horrifying wave of chakra swept over them. It was a choking, burning sensation that made the skin itch and eyes water. A blast of wind and thunder louder then anything Madara had ever heard before hurled them off the platform and into the frothing water. Akahiko moved rapidly, grabbing the two children and kicking off the riverbed, sending them rocketing into the hidden entrance and hopefully away from harm.
Madara felt like every breath was burning his lungs. His skin was itching constantly now, like a bad sunburn and malevolent chakra burned away at his network, forcing its way into him and setting him ablaze. Beside him Akahiko was trembling, sharingan spinning and chakra smothered to hide herself, Madara doing the same a moment later.
A sudden burst of chakra to his side caught Madara off guard and broadcast their position for anyone who cared to look. Sakura’s chakra had lit up like a beacon, her eyes glassy and her body reacting to the evil chakra as if excited, almost welcoming it into her network.
“Sakura, what are you doing?” Madara demanded, gripping her shoulder and shaking her. His heart was pounding and he could feel his fingers tighten with bruising force to keep them from trembling. “Hide your chakra, do you want whatever that is to find us?!” Madara demanded and felt a shock pass through the ground a moment ahead of another blast wave. Water was thrown into the temple by the wall of wind and along with it the first of the Uchiha that had come racing towards Sakura’s chakra signature.
“Madara, Sakura, are you two alright?” Tajima asked, looking rattled but uninjured despite the apocalypse that had descended upon them. Madara turned to his father and then looked back at Sakura as her chakra tapered away.
“They’re uninjured but Sakura is…” Akahiko gestured at the girl who collapsed and began to shake. Madara grimaced and knelt down, gently coaxing Sakura’s chin upwards so he could look into her eyes.
“Sorry, I just, I needed to get Tajima’s attention. That’s the Kyuubi no youko, I recognize its chakra.” Sakura whispered, her instincts screaming at her to throw herself at the fox’s feet and beg for mercy. Every part of her mind was shouting that she would die if she didn’t assuage its anger, that it was a god, every bit as powerful as Inari Okami and far less benevolent. A living natural disaster with a mind of its own had arrived and she could not risk its ire.
“Well you got my attention and hopefully not the fox’s.” Tajima replied as another explosion hammered the world. It was clear that no mortal could possibly withstand the beast’s rage, that it would level anything and everything in its path be that armies or mountains. Madara wasn’t even sure if it couldn’t destroy the ocean, though he would hopefully never find out.
“I don’t think it will come after us.” Sakura said quietly, her chakra still acting oddly, welcoming the burning chakra into her system almost greedily. Tajima had clearly noticed the oddity, his sharingan were active and he looked over at Madara, likely to see if his son’s chakra was acting the same.
“Have you been exposed to the fox’s chakra before?” Tajima asked and Madara watched as the question landed. Sakura blanched and then nodded, her face going pale.
“It attacked my village when I was an infant. Most of the children my aged died and even among those that didn’t, many developed kyubi syndrome. Their chakra was warped or twisted, becoming unusable. I was lucky.” Sakura shrugged, remembering the reports she’d read in the ANBU archives on her generation. The major clans had been able to shield their heirs from the invasive chakra, their panic rooms and shelters secured with fuinjutsu but the lesser clans and civilians had suffered dearly that night, many dying from exposure to the Kyuubi’s chakra, not just infants.
“I am sorry to hear that.” Tajima let out a tired sigh and looked around. Madara did the same and finally realized just how massive the cavern they had entered truly was. Three pagodas side by side rose high overhead and a forest of statues surrounded them. Nature chakra was thick here, dense to the point of being almost stifling and saturated with ancient memories.
The pulsing from his seal had dimmed upon the temple’s discovery but it was still there, egging him onward. Slowly, Madara moved forward, entering the main temple and coming to a stop as his sharingan moved over the murals painted across the walls. He saw a rabbit goddess, who had once been human bringing peace to the lands through conquest. Her rule had united the elemental nations and every king bowed to her. But it would not last.
Her sons turned against her and the realm was divided. War and famine spread among the peoples of the world and the devastation her fighting with her sons created caused the gods themselves to take notice. In the end, her sons were victorious and she was defeated, her power divided among the nine tailed beasts, along with her malice and rage.
Madara brushed his hand gently over the painted image of the rabbit goddess. She had two byakugan eyes, the pearlescent paint making it obvious that she was the origin of the Hyuga kekkei genkai but what caught his attention was her third eye, for it was a ringed sharingan with nine tomoe. The Hyuga had always maintained the Uchiha were upstarts, an offshoot of their own bloodline, though nobody ever believed them. Perhaps there was some truth to that or rather they shared a common ancestor.
“Hagoromo,” Madara read the name of the sage of six paths and his eyes narrowed as he remembered Kagami speaking the name.
He had been the father of their founder in her myth, the man who had weaponized ninshu for his own greed and was cursed. The man whose sons would further build upon his sins and give rise to both the Senju and the Uchiha. A shiver ran down Madara’s spine as his hand jerked away from the wall as if scalded. He didn’t know why he was suddenly afraid but he knew nothing good would come from his family’s cursed roots. It would be better for all if the past remained buried.