Chapter 44

In the early morning, the Uchiha clan was bustling with noise. The guards at the front gate had already changed shifts. A young ninja yawned, rubbed his eyes, and said to the ninja beside him, "Uncle Shintan, when will Madara-sama return?"

"How should I know?" Uchiha Shintan glanced at his companion with a bad temper. He was over forty, well into his forties, and his character was always quiet and reserved, so he had no good feelings towards this talkative junior.

"Madara-sama has been gone for three days, and he still won't let us go out. What do you think he's doing?" Curiosity dispelled the sleepiness of the young Uchiha.

"Kazumura, we are just guard ninjas. How would we know what Madara-sama is doing? Some things are better not to know too much; it won't do you any good," Uchiha Shintan, exasperated by this overly curious junior, kindly warned him.

"Tch!" Uchiha Kazumura pouted and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you good friends with Gen-sama?"

"This is a confidential matter. How would Gen-sama tell me?" Uchiha Shintan smiled helplessly, rubbed his chin, and said thoughtfully, "But it seems even Gen-sama doesn't know where Madara-sama went."

"What do you think Madara-sama is doing? Could he be gathering intelligence?" Uchiha Kazumura asked excitedly.

"Have you ever seen a clan leader personally gather intelligence?" Uchiha Shintan rolled his eyes and said listlessly.

"The clan has been spreading rumors that we are going to war with the Sarutobi and Shimura clans. It seems Madara-sama left after receiving letters from the Sarutobi and Shimura families. There must be a connection," Uchiha Kazumura said thoughtfully.

"I've heard that too." Uchiha Shintan gazed into the distance and sighed, "I wonder how many will die this time. Maybe neither of us will return."

"Hey, don't be so pessimistic! Our Madara-sama said the Uchiha clan won't have any more wars," Uchiha Kazumura said boldly.

"Is that so!" Uchiha Shintan smiled. His companion was still young and didn't believe the words of the clan's elders.

"What kind of expression is that? Anyway, I firmly believe that Madara-sama will lead us to victory and bring peace," Uchiha Kazumura looked at Uchiha Shintan with dissatisfaction and said resolutely.

Now, most of the young and teenage ninjas in the Uchiha clan greatly admired Uchiha Madara because he was the strongest ninja in the clan. These young people were not yet mature and simply admired the strong. The older ones had more thoughts; most were skeptical of Uchiha Madara's words, and many didn't believe them, as they had already experienced too many partings and deaths.

"I hope so!" Uchiha Shintan sighed.

The morning quickly passed, and by noon, the scorching sun baked the earth, and the grass drooped listlessly.

Uchiha Shintan and Uchiha Kazumura stood diligently at the front gate, drenched in sweat but still not neglecting their duties.

Because of Madara's words when he left and the recent rumors, the Uchiha clan was on edge, and the guards were much stricter than before. The gate guards were now an upper-level ninja and an elite chunin.

"Uncle Shintan, look! Isn't that Madara-sama!" Uchiha Kazumura suddenly shouted, pointing to a small figure in the distance.

"Hmm?" Uchiha Shintan had already noticed. He opened his blood-red Sharingan, one with three tomoe and the other with two, and indeed, it was an upper-level ninja.

The figure became clearer, wearing a red armor that gleamed elegantly in the sun, with two short swords at his waist, long black hair hanging down, almost covering his right eye, and a black cat perched on his shoulder.

The two guard ninjas exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with joy. Their leader had finally returned.

"Madara-sama!" Seeing Uchiha Madara approach the gate, the two bowed respectfully.

"Hmm!" Madara smiled and nodded. Seeing the sweat on their foreheads, he frowned and said, "It's so hot. Why are you standing in the sun? I remember there's a guard house at the front gate."

"Thank you for your concern, Madara-sama. It was ordered by Yuta-sama to strengthen the guard," Uchiha Shintan was slightly taken aback and said respectfully.

"What happened?" Madara raised an eyebrow.

"Madara-sama, we heard that we are going to war with the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, so..." Uchiha Kazumura, being straightforward, quickly closed his mouth at the end.

"If that's the case, you can rest for a while. I just returned from the Sarutobi clan. They and the Shimura clan won't bother us anymore," Madara smiled, not looking at the stunned duo, and turned to leave.

"Madara-sama actually went to the Sarutobi clan." Uchiha Shintan was somewhat disbelieving.

"And he went alone," Uchiha Kazumura added, his eyes filled with admiration as he watched Madara's departing back.

They had never seen a clan leader dare to go to an enemy's territory alone. This was unprecedented in any clan's history, and it happened in the Uchiha clan. Their leader returned unharmed and brought news of a ceasefire.

Madara and the cat Koshin returned to their residence. Looking at the sparsely furnished room, he smiled, "It feels good to be home."

He remained in his humble abode even after becoming the leader.

"I'm so tired!" Koshin lay on the soft couch, took out a bag of snacks, and started eating as if no one else was there.

Just as Madara sat down, Senju ran in, followed by Uchiha Yuta and Uchiha Gen.

"Brother!" Senju threw herself into Madara's arms.

"Madara-sama!" Uchiha Gen and Uchiha Yuta bowed.

"Sit down, all of you. I have something to say," Madara helped Senju up and said with a smile.

"Madara-sama, you're finally back. The three elders have been driving me crazy these past few days, always asking where you went. I told them I didn't know, but they wouldn't believe me," Uchiha Gen complained. He had been eagerly waiting for Uchiha Madara's return, and if it had been a few more days, he would have been driven mad.

"Oh? They didn't make things difficult for you?" Madara raised an eyebrow.

"Not really, just gave me a lecture," Uchiha Gen smiled bitterly.

Hearing that the three elders had not acted out of line, Madara felt relieved. This time, besides resolving the issues with the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, he also wanted to see if anyone in the Uchiha clan would cause trouble in his absence.

"Madara-sama, I heard you went to the Sarutobi clan. Is that true?" Uchiha Yuta sighed inwardly. When Madara left, he had already guessed his destination but didn't dare to say it aloud.

"Brother, you went to the Sarutobi clan alone? That's not what you wrote in your letter," Senju exclaimed in surprise.

"It's a long story." Madara sighed and recounted everything that happened at the Sarutobi clan in detail.

"Brother!" Senju stared at her brother in a daze. Although she admired her brother, at this moment, Uchiha Madara was beyond words. If there were gods in the world, Senju believed her brother, Uchiha Madara, was the guardian god of the Uchiha clan.