The fierce wind howled against his face. Madara's eyelids twitched, cracking open slightly. Izuna's voice reached his ears.
"Awake?"
Madara opened his eyes fully. Only at such close range could he make out the other's face clearly.
"What happened to me...?"
Madara braced himself against the hawk's back, struggling to sit up. Suddenly his brow furrowed as he pressed his hand to where he'd been injured in battle. He thought in alarm, It doesn't hurt?
Sitting in front, Izuna glanced back and said flatly, "Hashirama treated you with that unique Wood Release medical technique of his."
"What!?"
Madara's shock was immediate, followed by a surge of boundless fury.
He only remembered being ambushed by Senju Hashirama on the return trip. Before he could even strike back, he'd been subdued.
Then he'd blacked out.
"What exactly happened?"
Madara suppressed the rage boiling inside and asked Izuna.
Izuna glanced at the other two Uchiha jonin who had woken before Madara.
At his signal, they recounted the events Izuna had already explained to them once before.
After hearing it all, Madara was nearly trembling with rage. "I, Uchiha Madara, was captured as a hostage and then saved by the enemy—infuriating! Absolutely infuriating!"
This humiliation was worse than death!
"Cough, cough, cough!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Madara broke into a violent coughing fit.
"Clan Head, are you all right?"
The other two quickly moved to his side.
Madara waved them off, indicating he was fine.
Izuna analyzed the situation. "The Kaguya's total combat strength is now probably only half of what it was—maybe even less than the Hatake's. Kaguya Manro has been killed. To avenge him, they'll definitely join this war. Fortunately, the Hatake won't be participating."
"So what if they do? The Uchiha fear no one."
Madara interjected, still full of pride.
If you ignored his pale complexion and constant coughing, anyway.
"Big brother, you're sitting this war out. Leave it to me."
Madara's expression shifted.
Before he could respond, Izuna—knowing exactly what he'd say—cut him off. "Your body can no longer handle the side effects of the Mangekyo."
Madara was momentarily speechless, but the bitterness in his heart went without saying. Making him stay home while the rest of the clan risked their lives on the battlefield was more painful than killing him.
"The Kaguya lost half their total forces, and their clan head Kaguya Manro is dead. When we return, all credit for these achievements will be attributed to our clan head. Understood?"
As Izuna spoke, his gaze shifted to the two surviving Uchiha jonin beside Madara.
Their eyes widened as they instantly grasped Izuna's meaning. They quickly replied, "We will not breathe a word of it!"
"Izuna, this won't do!"
Madara immediately protested.
Though he had slain many, he knew in his heart exactly how many that was.
Kaguya Manro alone—he definitely hadn't killed.
What Izuna was doing amounted to claiming his achievements for Madara.
Forget a younger brother—even if it were a subordinate's accomplishments, Madara would never steal them.
"This is politics, big brother."
Izuna's reply was calm, but his tone left no room for refusal.
As clan head, if Madara couldn't lead from the front in the coming battle and could only stay home convalescing, even if he were ill, it would inevitably invite criticism.
And if people learned that Madara's illness stemmed from his eyes, it could shake morale even further.
For the Uchiha, eyes were more precious than any other part of the body.
Izuna's plan was to lie to the entire clan, claiming that Madara had led a mere ten-man squad to wipe out over half of the Kaguya's forces.
And that he had even killed their clan head, Kaguya Manro.
This would create the illusion of a great achievement on Madara's part, silencing critics while obscuring the true nature of his condition to stabilize clan morale.
Though Madara wasn't skilled in politics, he wasn't completely clueless either.
He quickly understood why Izuna was doing this.
But his heart remained deeply unsettled.
After the ninja hawk had flown for a while longer, Madara spoke again. "Izuna... is there any way my eyes can be restored?"
Though the Warring States era lacked advanced medical infrastructure, transplanting eyes wasn't a major issue for the Uchiha.
Even without a reserve stockpile, as long as the clan knew Madara's eyes were damaged, they could "acquire" several pairs by any means necessary.
But for someone who once possessed the Mangekyo, ordinary Sharingan were beneath notice.
That's why Madara said "restored," not "transplanted."
"Yes. But it'll take some time."
Izuna answered without hesitation.
His method, naturally, was to exchange a pair of his own Mangekyo from the skill tree and transplant them into Madara.
After all, his own Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan needed to evolve into the Rinnegan, which required a staggering 800 Skill Points.
An ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan only cost 150 Skill Points.
Given the current situation, which option was more cost-effective was obvious.
Hearing Izuna answer so confidently, even though Madara himself thought it unlikely, he relaxed somewhat.
Two days passed before Izuna brought the trio of invalids back to the clan compound.
Though Madara's squad of ten had been reduced to just two survivors, when the clan heard that they'd eliminated over half of the Kaguya's ninja and even killed the clan head Kaguya Manro, praise for Madara echoed throughout the entire clan.
Yet for Madara, bedridden at that very moment, this was nothing short of mockery.
So the day after returning to the compound, Madara announced he would see no outsiders and would remain in seclusion, handling only essential administrative duties. All other visitors were refused.
Izuna understood that Madara's state of mind had to be unbearable right now, so rather than spending time with Mito, he immediately summoned Uchiha Ise, Uchiha Enka, and the others to discuss preparations for the imminent war with the Senju.
Though the intelligence division hadn't finished their investigation, Izuna could confirm that the surviving Kaguya ninja, led by Kaguya Taketori, would honor their alliance with the Senju and join the war.
Add to that the smaller clans already aligned with the Senju, and in terms of total forces, the Senju now far outnumbered the Uchiha.
A rough estimate put it at three thousand against six thousand.
Izuna deliberated for a long time before ordering Uchiha Ise to recall some forces from the northwest to join the battle.
Though the number of troops available wasn't large, it would at least partially fill the gap left by Madara's inability to fight.
The silver lining was that, as Madara had predicted, after hearing that the Kaguya clan head and over half their ninja had been killed, the other clans of the Warring States feared the Uchiha's insane retaliation and didn't dare ally with the Senju.
This at least ensured that the Senju alliance's combat strength wouldn't grow any further.
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp