Konoha Year 5.
"Renye, Lord Madara really left," a spiky-haired young boy said with a complicated expression.
Renye had once said that Lord Madara would leave Konoha in a few days.
At the time, he didn't believe it, but unexpectedly, after only a few days, it came true.
The spiky-haired young boy was named Uchiha Shun, and he had a good relationship with Renye.
"Alright, I know," Renye spat out the weeds in his mouth, his expression calm, as if he had known all along.
"Renye, how did you know about Lord Madara's departure?" Uchiha Shun asked curiously.
Even the powerful Ninja in the Clan didn't know about Lord Madara's departure, so how did Renye know?
"It should be so," Renye looked at Shun, "Lord Madara had previously gathered the Clan members to leave together, but they didn't want to give up this hard-won peace, and no one was willing to follow Lord Madara."
"Lord Madara is such a proud person; he would definitely leave alone."
"So that's how it is!" Uchiha Shun suddenly understood, then indignantly said, "If I had known Lord Madara was leaving today, I would definitely have followed him!"
"Even if you were willing to follow Lord Madara, he wouldn't take a brat like you with him," Renye pouted.
Uchiha Madara was going to achieve his grand ambitions; he wouldn't bring a burden with him.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shun immediately became displeased.
He looked Renye up and down, muttering softly, "Tch, you're not even as tall as me."
Renye: "…"
That hit home, striking his sore spot, leaving him speechless for a moment.
Renye was six years old this year, with a height of 1.2 meters.
In contrast, Uchiha Shun, also six years old, had reached an astonishing height of 1.4 meters, a full head taller than Renye.
This height didn't resemble a six-year-old child at all; no one would object if he were said to be ten.
Renye was sometimes very curious, what on earth did this guy eat to grow so fast?
He had even observed him for a while, but couldn't find the reason.
"Alright, you can leave," Renye waved his hand, signaling Uchiha Shun to depart.
Uchiha Shun hesitated for a moment and said, "Renye, why don't you go back to the nursery?"
Renye frowned, impatiently saying, "I can take care of myself; you don't need to worry about it."
"Alright," Uchiha Shun sighed and turned to leave.
Seeing Uchiha Shun leave, Renye closed the courtyard gate and returned to his room.
...
"Uchiha Madara has defected," Renye murmured softly.
Renye had always hidden a secret in his heart; he was actually a transmigrator.
At first, when he learned he had transmigrated into an Uchiha Clan member, he was a bit scared.
He worried that the time of his transmigration was wrong; what if he arrived during the Night of the Clan Annihilation? Wouldn't that be the end?
Later, after inquiring, he learned that this was the period of Konoha's founding.
This made Renye breathe a sigh of relief; the founding period was relatively peaceful in Ninja World history, with a low risk factor and a long period for development.
After all, with Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara present, which country would dare to covet the Land of Fire?
It would be good enough if Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama didn't covet their ideas.
The original body's parents were killed by the Senju Clan before Konoha was founded.
As a young child, he was placed in the Uchiha Clan's nursery, which was equivalent to an orphanage, containing some Uchiha orphans who had lost their parents. Uchiha Shun was someone the original body met in the nursery...
After transmigrating, Renye proactively requested to leave the orphanage and live alone.
Every Uchiha orphan received a monthly subsidy. Although the living expenses weren't much, they could cover daily expenditures.
Renye sat cross-legged on the ground and began to refine Chakra.
Chakra refinement methods were not a secret in the Uchiha Clan; as a major Clan during the Warring States Period, they had these resources...
Uchiha Clan members could receive Chakra refinement methods for free when they reached an appropriate age, which was equivalent to an early test of their Ninja talent.
This was precisely the difference between Clan Ninja and civilian Ninja. With the inclination of Clan resources, Clan Ninja were naturally stronger than ordinary Ninja of the same age.
Although the founding period was relatively peaceful, no matter when, strength always ranked first.
Only with strong power could one protect oneself.
Since transmigrating, Renye had diligently trained every day, in addition to Chakra refinement, he also underwent physical training.
He was still young now and couldn't train excessively... otherwise, his height would stop at 1.5 meters in the future, and his life would be over.
----
Hokage Office.
"Madara, why did he do this?"
First Hokage Senju Hashirama, upon learning of Madara's defection, looked at the Konoha Village symbol hanging on the wall, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He slowly stood up, leaning his hands on the desk, his knuckles white from the effort.
His mind conjured up every little moment he had spent with Madara, from their childhood encounter, to their vow to establish Konoha Village together, and then to their various disagreements later on...
"Hmph, it still came to this," Senju Tobirama snorted coldly, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.
He had always been wary of Uchiha Madara; although his brother Hashirama had always tried to maintain the friendship between the Senju and Uchiha, he still worried that the Uchiha Clan would bring danger to Konoha.
Sure enough, that guy Madara was as he had suspected, ambitious.
He should have ignored his elder brother's dissuasion and forcibly eliminated Uchiha Madara back then!
Seeing Senju Hashirama's dispirited look, Senju Tobirama became furious and quickly ordered:
"Big Brother, immediately notify all Jonin except the Uchiha to gather, and closely monitor the movements of the Uchiha Clan! I don't want any more trouble in the Village!"
Senju Hashirama sighed, "Tobirama, you always hold grudges against the Uchiha, constantly targeting them... Perhaps your actions displeased Madara, which is why he temporarily left the Village."
"It's my fault for not handling your relationship with Madara well."
Senju Tobirama: "???"
He looked at Senju Hashirama in disbelief, his eyes full of shock, seemingly not expecting his elder brother to say such a thing.
He didn't know what his elder brother was thinking, to attribute Uchiha Madara's defection to himself?
Just as Senju Tobirama was about to retort, Senju Hashirama said earnestly:
"Tobirama, the war between the Senju and Uchiha has long ended. You must learn to let go of hatred..."
If he could persuade Tobirama now, such a thing wouldn't happen again when Madara returned.
He didn't want his brother and his good friend to be at odds like this...
Senju Tobirama didn't speak, listening to his elder brother's nagging with a cold face.
This situation had happened more than once; it was nothing more than 'let go of hatred'... 'accept the Uchiha'... 'Konoha is a big family'... 'unity is most important.' He was too lazy to listen anymore.
However, Hashirama's next words completely stunned him.
"Tobirama, I think you have prejudices against the Uchiha, so I want you to adopt an Uchiha orphan. I hope that in the process of getting along with this child, you can learn to let go of your hatred for the Uchiha."
"Big Brother, you're not kidding, are you?!" Senju Tobirama lost his usual composure and roared.
"I'm serious!" Senju Hashirama's expression was solemn, with no hint of joking.
"No, absolutely not!" Senju Tobirama immediately refused.
He couldn't understand how his elder brother could come up with such a brain-dead suggestion...
Did Madara's rock hit his head when they were skipping stones back then?