Uchiha Madara was the new clan head, and Uchiha Izuna was his second. Uchiha Gakugyo, the man everyone had assumed would take the position, had been reassigned to garrison duty at Mount Congyun.
What the hell?! What was going on? Uchiha Gakugyo wasn't dead, so how had Uchiha Madara succeeded him?
The clan most concerned with this news was, of course, the Uchiha's sworn enemy, the Senju. Hashirama felt no particular dissatisfaction that his rival had become clan head before him; he was merely curious.
"Big brother, what do you think happened?" Tobirama asked, sitting cross-legged across from him.
Hashirama took a sip of tea, crossed his arms, and pouted. "Well~~ the most direct explanation is that Madara's strength has surpassed Uchiha Gakugyo's, I guess~~"
It sounded like the most carefree answer, but upon reflection, it was also the most likely.
The Senju had plenty of their own matters to attend to, so after a bit more conversation, Tobirama returned to his own residence. A withered leaf drifted in through the window and landed on the sill of Hashirama's room. He glanced at the decorative potted plant on the sill and sighed. "Autumn is coming. But without a war, things should be much better."
As he spoke, Hashirama lightly brought his hands together. The withered plant began to glow with a faint green light. Incredibly, new, tender buds began to sprout from its yellowed branches.
***
In Izuna's residence.
It was dinnertime. He listened to the sound of water dripping in the courtyard outside the hallway. A crisp autumn breeze swept into the room. Madara, sitting across from him, took a couple of sips of sake and gave an extremely rare smile. "When was the last time we had time to sit and drink together like this?"
Izuna popped a piece of sushi into his mouth, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I don't remember."
He did remember. It had been before Uchiha Tajima's death, at the very least. It had been nearly four months since he'd become second-in-command, and tonight was the first time the two brothers had a moment to share a drink. That was how busy they had been.
"I went to see the Third Elder today. That new teaching method of yours is quite interesting," Madara said, raising his cup for another sip. "With this, the Uchiha will grow even stronger."
No matter how many times he heard it, Izuna was always a little surprised when Madara said things like this. The reanimated Senju Hashirama often said that Madara had once been a man who yearned for peace and was full of hope. Izuna had never believed it, but hearing these words from Madara's own mouth, he felt there was truth to it. In the original story, it was Uchiha Izuna's death, the ostracism from detractors like Senju Tobirama, and Black Zetsu's secret machinations that had finally pushed Madara to snap and go rogue.
"By the way, now that you're the clan head, shouldn't you be thinking about your own lifelong commitment? I hear the Third Elder has a niece..." Taking advantage of the rare leisure time, Izuna couldn't resist teasing Madara. "You know, Zuoxiu's son is already five years old."
A hint of embarrassment crept onto Madara's perpetually stoic face. "That... There's no hurry. What about you?"
With that, Madara kicked the ball back into Izuna's court.
Izuna propped his cheek on his hand. With his modern mindset, getting married at thirty wasn't too late. In this era, marriage was mainly about continuing the family line. But Izuna wanted to find someone he actually liked. Of course, if she was a beauty, that would be even better.
Just as the two brothers were engaged in this idle chatter, Uchiha Zuoxiu, the very person they had just mentioned, appeared in the adjacent hallway with a Body Flicker Technique.
"Clan Head, Second-in-Command!" Uchiha Zuoxiu knelt on one knee.
"Oh, Zuoxiu. Care to join us?" Izuna glanced over, half-joking.
"This is terrible! We've received a message from Lord Kong at the western garrison," Uchiha Zuoxiu said, in no mood for jokes. He looked up, his face tense as he forced the words out. "The Hagoromo clan, leading a coalition of four clans from the northwest, has begun to advance on our northwestern border!"
Hearing this, even Madara's hand, which was reaching for food, froze.
After five seconds of silence, Madara threw back his sleeves and rose, barking, "Summon all Jonin-level and above clan members to the council hall!"
"Yes, sir!" Uchiha Zuoxiu vanished in a flicker.
"Hmph. The Hagoromo clan... What audacity!" Uchiha Madara muttered to himself, his expression grim.
He glanced at Izuna, only to find him rapidly stuffing the remaining sushi on his plate into his mouth. A dark line formed on Madara's forehead. "What are you doing?"
Izuna swallowed the last bite. "We won't be eating this well on the next one."
Madara's eyes widened for a second. He suddenly grabbed his own plate and shoveled the rest of the sushi into his mouth. "Those rats dare to take advantage of the Uchiha in a time of crisis? I'll tear the flesh from their bones!"
***
In the Uchiha council hall, every ninja of Jonin rank and above had assembled. Their numbers were noticeably smaller than at the clan head selection meeting, as almost every Jonin had been recalled for that. Now, Uchiha Gakugyo, Uchiha Kong, and others were stationed at the clan's borders.
"What's going on? Such a sudden meeting."
"I don't know, but the person who notified me looked grim."
"It's only been three months since the truce with the Senju. Is something happening again?"
"Shut up. We were lucky to get three months of peace."
The Jonin below murmured amongst themselves.
*Thump.*
The great doors of the hall swung open, and Madara and Izuna strode in.
"Clan Head, Second-in-Command!" the clansmen greeted in unison.
Madara waved for them to be seated and took his place at the head of the hall. He nodded to Uchiha Zuoxiu.
Zuoxiu, standing to the side, nodded back, unfurled a large map, and pointed to the northwestern region of the Uchiha's territory, circling several areas with a brush.
"We just received a message from Lord Kong at the northwestern garrison. The Hagoromo clan, leading the Fuma, Watanabe, Saito, and Kikawa ninja clans, has advanced on our northwestern outpost and set up camp."
"What?!"