"What about you, Tsunade?" Uchiha Su looked at Tsunade and asked.
"I plan to look around the capital, then enter the royal palace to meet the Daimyo. He seems to be my..."
A look of confusion appeared on Tsunade's small face. She thought carefully, then added: "Anyway, he is my relative. How should I address the Daimyo... Hmm... I'm not sure either..."
Uchiha Su felt this didn't make much sense, but when applied to Tsunade, it suddenly seemed very reasonable.
The two chatted for a while, then walked off in their respective directions.
...
Konoha.
The second night after the Sarutobi team left Konoha.
Uchiha Clan Compound.
Outside the compound, Anbu Ninjas flashed by from time to time, then hid in the shadows, silently beginning their surveillance.
"Recently, there seems to be some situation with the Uchiha. The Second Hokage has ordered us to find out the reason." A Ninja wearing a fox mask said coldly.
"Baku, are we reporting to you? Is this an order from Hokage-sama?" another Anbu Ninja asked.
"Of course. From now on, the Hokage Guard Platoon is under my command. Under my command, we will definitely be able to find out what the Uchiha are really up to!"
The Anbu Ninja with the fox mask, codenamed Baku, said confidently.
Baku certainly had this confidence. After all, his teacher was the Second Hokage. As the Hokage who understood the Uchiha best, as his disciple, Baku naturally understood the Uchiha very well too.
The Anbu Ninjas around him had no objections to this; clearly, they all believed in Baku's abilities.
...
Naka Shrine.
Uchiha Setsuna knelt on the stone chair at the very top. Below him were figures kneeling in rows, each figure's eyes emitting a red glow, with tomoe spinning within them.
"This time, we will follow Uchiha Madara, leave Konoha, leave this Konoha that is unfair to us Uchiha, and head to a new place to establish a new Uchiha!"
Uchiha Setsuna said fanatically, three tomoe spinning rapidly in his eyes.
"We will establish a new Uchiha!" The Uchiha clansmen below were filled with excitement.
...
Konoha, in a spacious courtyard, a breeze blew, and leaves drifted down.
Konoha's First Hokage, known as the God of Ninja, Senju Hashirama, wore a simple and honest smile.
"Madara, you haven't visited me for a long time. If you had told me earlier, I could have made some preparations."
Uchiha Madara lifted his eyes and looked at Hashirama. A hint of unreadable meaning flashed in his eyes. He could tell that Hashirama was genuinely happy to see his old friend.
"Yeah, I haven't visited you in a long time, Hashirama. I've rarely left the clan compound these past few years." Uchiha Madara lowered his eyes, thinking back to over a decade ago.
He had thought he was the shoe-in for the Second Hokage, but reality had dealt him a heavy blow. Whether it was the Ninjas of Konoha or the civilians, it seemed no one wanted him to be the Second Hokage.
He had lost the election, and the one chosen was Senju Tobirama.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Madara looked at Hashirama again. Just then, a leaf fell onto the stone table in front of him. Uchiha Madara picked up this leaf, a smile on his face.
"Hashirama, tell me, what is a true dream?" Uchiha Madara poked a hole in the leaf with his finger, then held it up to his eye. Looking through the leaf with his Sharingan, in a trance, he seemed to see that boy with the bowl cut from the past again.
"Haven't we already achieved our childhood dream together?" Hashirama said softly. He looked at his best friend in front of him, a trace of inexplicable unease arising in his heart.
"Perhaps." Madara put the leaf in his pocket, a smile on his face. He walked toward the door. When he reached the entrance, he waved at Hashirama and said nonchalantly, "Goodbye, Hashirama!"
"Madara..." Hashirama felt increasingly uneasy, as if something was about to leave him. He wanted to grab it, but didn't know where to start.
...
The next day, afternoon.
Uchiha Su looked at the Konoha gate appearing in his line of sight, estimating the time in his heart. If nothing went wrong, the plan should start tonight.
The group entered the Village, and after saying goodbye, they each returned to their homes.
Uchiha Su returned home to find Uchiha Madara carefully polishing his armor, and the flame fan was also placed on the table by Uchiha Madara.
"Uncle, is the plan unchanged?" Uchiha Su asked.
"The plan is unchanged. However, perhaps our Hokage-sama has already guessed what we really want to do." Uchiha Madara wiped the armor clean and looked at Uchiha Su: "Su, help me put on the armor."
Wearing the armor, Uchiha Madara looked incomparably heroic, his eyes filled with his signature arrogance.
"Since he has guessed what we want to do, should we still not make any changes?" Uchiha Su said with some worry.
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow; Senju Tobirama was indeed a very terrifying enemy, especially for the Uchiha.
"He only guessed it. Does he dare to come to my door directly and ask: 'Is the Uchiha Clan going to defect?' Does he dare? Can he bear that responsibility?"
Uchiha Madara's mouth curved slightly, his tone confident.
When the other party says you are defecting, you had better really be defecting.
"Alright Su, go down now and pack your things." Uchiha Madara said.
Uchiha Su bowed to Madara. Just as he was about to leave, he asked again: "Do I need to go and say goodbye to your teammates?"
"No need, Uncle. I have already said goodbye." Uchiha Su shook his head and said.
"If you don't say goodbye properly, there might be some regrets in the future, Su." Uchiha Madara glanced at Uchiha Su and said from experience.
"Then Uncle, did you say goodbye to Hashirama?" Uchiha Su asked in return.
"Of course. Even if I forget everything else, I wouldn't forget to say goodbye to Hashirama." Uchiha Madara said softly. He remembered the text he had seen alone on the stone tablet at Naka Shrine last night, about which he was half-believing.
Uchiha Su returned to his room and was about to start packing his things when he froze.
He didn't have much to take with him: a kusanagi sword, items needed for Ninja combat, shuriken, military rations... Except for the kusanagi sword, these were all carried on his person in his Ninja tool pouch.
"Young Clan Head." Uchiha Setsuna's voice sounded outside the door.
"Please come in."
Uchiha Setsuna pushed the door open and entered. He looked at Uchiha Su and said: "Young Clan Head, is there anything you need to take with you? I have already contacted the Nekomata Clan to help us take away some things that are inconvenient to carry."
Uchiha Su glanced around the room again, shook his head, and said: "No need, Setsuna-sama. I don't have anything that needs to be taken. Are the Ninjutsu scrolls all sent away?"
"Of course, the Ninjutsu scrolls were the first batch to be sent away. Besides that, some clansmen also left with the Ninjutsu scrolls to facilitate protecting them."