614. Madara Shinden: Trouble In Branch Family

Hashirama frowns after reading the contents of the scroll. He turns to Madara, hands over the scroll, and asks.

"Are you sure about the contents of this scroll? This could also be a trap set for you?"

Madara rolls the scroll and stores it.

"There is no mistake about it. The information on the scroll is genuine. It's impossible to forge the special encrypted message of the Uchiha clan without a Sharingan." Madara shakes his head.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Hashirama turns to Madara with a serious expression.

"The branch family of the Uchiha clan is under attack by an unknown force. Even though those people are a part of the conservative faction, as the de facto leader of the Uchiha clan, it's my responsibility to handle the affairs of the clan justly." Madara folds his arms.

"I see!" Hashirama nods.

"It's the first time you are taking your position as the leader of the Uchiha clan, seriously." He jokes.

"Oye! What do you mean by that, you bastard? I was always serious about my position as the Uchiha clan leader. It's only after losing to you that I lost some respect among my clansman."

Haha…

Madara burst out in laughter.

"I still can't believe I lost to a dunce like you!"

"Huh! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Hashirama grits his teeth and grabs Madara's collar.

"Come anytime!" Madara also grabs Hashirama's neck.

Both of them stare at each other for a few seconds.

Pfft… Haha…

After a few seconds, the duo burst out in laughter.

"Alright! Take care of yourself on the journey." The duo separates.

"You too! Don't tarnish the reputation of our village in front of the Daimyo with your stupidity!" Madara nods.

"Then, farewell!" Hashirama waves his hand and returns.

Madara glances at Hashirama's back while lost in thoughts.

'I envy you, Hashirama! The war took everything from me, but you still have someone you can call family.'

Madara stares at his reflection in the lake water.

'Izuna, I will live for both of us while witnessing the world with your eyes!'

Madara sighs and turns towards the residence of the Uchiha clan.

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Later at night.

Whoosh… Whoosh…

A group of Uchiha clan members clad in black clothes gather in the forest outside Konoha.

Madara, who is leading the group, glances at the group of shinobis and quickly increases his pace.

Swoosh… swoosh…

The group leaves after images and silently disappears from the forest.

Madara takes out a map from his storage and turns to the group while traveling.

"The situation is quite urgent. So, instead of the usual route, we will take a detour from the Land of Grass at the Tenchi pass, infiltrate the Land of Earth, and move across the Ishiyama mountain range."

The group nods and follows Madara.

The leader of the conservative faction, Kisaku Uchiha, is a former friend of his father, Tajima Uchiha. After Tajima's death, Kisaku took temporary charge of the Uchiha clan to lead the war against the Senju clan. However, with Madara's eventual takeover, a rift appeared in their relationship because of several disagreements. Kisaku held conservative thoughts about the war, while Madara, who wanted to change the situation, didn't agree with most of his thoughts.

Eventually, with his war merits and achievements, Madara solidified his position as the clan leader of the Uchiha clan. Kisaku retained an important position as an elder. However, he didn't hold much power and was only a figurehead.

However, with the showdown between the Uchiha clan and Senju clan, and Madara's eventual surrender; Kisaku left the clan with a group of elders and shinobis after the discourse between the members of the Uchiha clan. This group created a branch family in the Land of Flowers and maintained brief communication with the main family.

'Looks like the enemies of the Uchiha clan are targeting the branch family.' Madara ponders.

'Which clan or group can it be? It can't be the Senju, Uzumaki, Sarutobi, Hyuga, or Kurama. We didn't have any grudge or common ground of hatred with the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clan alliance. Nor did we have any scuffle with the Aburame clan. So, who could it be?' Madara speculates.

Whoosh…

Soon, the group leaves the border of the Land of Fire and enters the Land of Grass territory. Madara signals to his subordinates to maintain vigilance since they are in enemy territory.

"Ekizo, scout the area ahead!" Madara signals to a member of the group.

A lean figure quickly flickers away from the group. He melds in the shadows and disappears from everyone's vision.

"The rest of you set up a detection ward within the perimeter!"

The rest of the group also concealed their presence and quickly set up a formation.

About ten minutes later, a shadow enters the perimeter of the detection ward, alerting the rest of the group.

The sensor shinobi signals a friendly presence.

Soon, Ekizo arrives in front of Madara.

Hmm…

'A border patrol unit of the grass shinobis at the Tenchi pass?!' He frowns.

'What's the enemy's strength?'

'A single group of fifteen shinobis.'

Madara glances at his group's strength of ten elite Uchiha clan members.

"Shall we take a detour?" Another member asks.

"The closest place to cross the Takachiho chasm is the Kannabi bridge, which is almost two hundred kilometers ahead. It will take us an hour or more to reach there through this rough terrain." Another shinobi makes some calculations.

Madara frowns upon hearing this.

"We will force our way through!" The next second, his expression turns resolute.

"By the time the reinforcement arrives, we will be long gone!" Having made a decision, Madara moves forward.

The rest of the Uchiha clan members also follow his lead. Soon, the group notices a group of shinobis patrolling the Tenchi pass.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Madara signals his group to stop.

Shiing…

He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and observes the patrol group in front of him.

"There is something amiss with this group!"

With his eyes, Madara observes the chakra pathways and nature of the shinobi group.

"I see!"

He turns to his group and signals them to hide.

The group follows his instructions and conceals their presence. Once they hide completely, the followers turn to Madara for answers.

"They aren't Grass shinobis but Earth shinobis, who are disguised as Grass shinobis," Madara explains.

The signature earth affinity chakra around the group couldn't escape Madara's observation.

"Most probably, this group is bait, and the real group is hidden somewhere in ambush." Another Uchiha member speculates.

"But who is their target?"

"Let's wait and see!" Madara replies calmly as he glances in the distance.

A group of shinobis is rapidly approaching the Tenchi bridge.

"This group?!" Madara frowns slightly as he observes the outfit and the clan crest of the group.

"Kawasaki clan of the Land of Waterfall?!" He mutters.

"Looks like there is going to be an interesting show to watch!"

Soon, the leader of the Kawasaki clan group meets with the supposed leader of the Grass Shinobi patrol team.

After some conversation, he takes out a scroll and hands it over to the fake Grass shinobi.

Shiing… Slash…

Suddenly, a blade of light flashes in the moonlight, and a burst of blood splatters.

The arm of the Kawasaki clan member is cleanly sliced off. This marks the start of conflict and soon both sides engage in a heated battle.

Other than the initial surprise attack, the Kawasaki group soon overpowers the few fake grass shinobis.

Swish… swish…

Suddenly, multiple shurikens and kunais fly out from several directions and hit the Kawasaki clan members, injuring several members.

Multiple shinobis in the standard battle outfit of the Land of Earth surround the Kawasaki group.

"What an interesting turn of events?" Madara and others exclaim in surprise.

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