HSU: Ch. 278

Madara sat on a recliner in the courtyard. This man, once a fearsome, almost demon-king-like figure that many dreaded in his lifetime, was now trying to gently rock back and forth in a lounge chair.

In his Edo Tensei state, his whole body felt wooden and dull. In his opinion, fighting in this state wasn't thrilling at all, it was utterly boring. There was no blood-pumping excitement, no satisfying physical clashes, not even the sensation of pain.

To him, combat was like cooking, a proper dish had to look, smell, and taste good. All three were essential.

Even sitting on the recliner now, he felt absolutely nothing. He could spin himself like a giant windmill and still not feel a thing.

It was ridiculous.

So... He turned his gaze.

Setsuna stood nervously nearby, rubbing his hands together incessantly. His thoughts were completely different from Madara's.

Crap… does Madara-sama not like the chair?

He, in contrast, loved lying on that chair and counting stars. He had once had a sister, and three children. But his sister and the kids died in battle before they even reached marriageable age. In the end, the only family he had left was his wife. Since then, he came to see every child of the Uchiha clan as his own.

But in the deep of the night, loneliness still crept in. Especially as he grew older, and his wife's health began to deteriorate.

So every night, after helping his wife to bed, he would lie alone on this recliner, gaze up at the stars, and think of the relatives long gone. He believed they had all become stars watching over him from above.

That way, he didn't feel quite so lonely.

"Setsuna," Madara said. "Sit down. Don't just stand there."

"Y-yes," Setsuna responded nervously.

Though Madara didn't like being in this reanimated state… He decided to spend this remaining time with Setsuna. For now, he could act like a regular Uchiha. It was, in a way, the last thing he could do for Setsuna.

Afterward, he would get back to doing what needed to be done. And he would also take a good look at the current Uchiha clan and Konoha, to see whether this village would stand in his way.

Depending on what he discovered, he could start making arrangements with Obito… Hm? Obito!?

Madara suddenly sat up straight.

He had completely forgotten!?

He had actually forgotten something important!?

Was this… a side effect of Edo Tensei!?

He grew wary.

He had once stood at the top of this village, after all. He understood the workings of the Edo Tensei technique well enough. He had heard from Muzo that the Edo Tensei state could affect those who were summoned by the technique.

For example, over time, it could dull their mental sharpness and cognitive clarity.

He didn't expect it to start affecting him so quickly.

The Senju really were dangerous. One invented the jutsu, and the other improved upon it.

"Madara-sama?" Setsuna called out, both excited and confused.

Excited because he had just received Madara's approval. Confused because… Madara was suddenly acting like he had a hemorrhoid flare-up.

Could Edo Tensei even bring back hemorrhoids?

Then again, Madara was much older than he was, so getting hemorrhoids wasn't exactly far-fetched. But still… he didn't expect Edo Tensei to be this detailed in its resurrection!

Upon hearing Setsuna call to him, Madara suddenly remembered, he had this old companion here. He could just ask him directly.

So he naturally lay back down again.

He never really cared much for appearances or maintaining an "idol image," but having had so many followers in the past, he did understand one essential trait of a leader: Remain calm and composed.

"No issue," Madara said calmly. "Just remembered something."

He lay down so naturally that it erased any doubts in Setsuna's mind.

Setsuna was even more impressed now.

As expected of Madara, not even a twitch of the eye during a sudden hemorrhoid attack!

"Setsuna…" Madara didn't plan to hide anything from him. Not that he needed to. "This time, when the village was attacked, was there a member of the Uchiha clan among the enemies?"

"There was?" Setsuna was stunned. He had essentially retired by now and hadn't yet heard about Uchiha Obito being captured.

But he did know Obito.

"Are you referring to Obito?" As a devoted fan of Madara, he of course wouldn't hide anything from his idol. "That kid, for some reason, holds deep resentment toward the clan. He once used the Nine-Tails to attack the village, and did it openly under the Uchiha name. So it was him again this time…"

The thought that a younger member would harbor such hatred toward their own clan left him feeling conflicted. But if he had the power, he would personally chase Obito across the land to kill him.

This clan was his life.

Madara saw the killing intent in Setsuna's eyes. So many years had passed, and Setsuna was still the same person he remembered.

He had no intention of "waking him up" to the harsh reality.

Setsuna had fought for the clan his entire life. And even though he had a wife, Madara noticed their home had only two sets of personal belongings. He didn't even need to ask to know why. He had come to send Setsuna off on his final journey, not to leave him unsettled in his final days.

Once Setsuna was gone, he would no longer owe anything to anyone in this clan. And if anyone still stood in his way… he wouldn't show mercy.

"Mm, that's probably him," Madara said. "What, he wasn't captured? Or did he fall into the Hokage's hands?"

"Don't worry," Setsuna replied with pride. "Even if he's in the Hokage's hands, the clan won't let them use him to their advantage."

At this point, he looked particularly proud. "In recent years, the clan has produced many outstanding talents. The Hyūga clan has even formed a death-pact alliance with us. The Hokage's office wouldn't dare openly confront us anymore."

"Is that so…" Madara looked at the radiant, spirited Setsuna and, after a moment of thought, decided not to say anything further.

Setsuna seemed truly happy, and maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

Madara didn't bring up Obito again. Instead, he started chatting with Setsuna about everyday life. That made Setsuna so happy his face wrinkled up with smiles.

He finally came to understand how Setsuna had lived all these years.

At the same time, he started to question once more whether his old decision to "cut ties" was truly the right one.

From Setsuna's words, the picture Madara got of the Uchiha clan's development over the years was completely different from the version Fugaku had once relayed to Hashirama.

But that made sense. While Fugaku and Setsuna had both worked to protect the clan, they were entirely different types of people.

Fugaku had grown up within the Konoha Ninja Academy system. He was a genius of the Uchiha clan in his youth, even catching the attention of Hiruzen.

He had always been infused with the Will of Fire.

But Setsuna had never accepted the Will of Fire. His belief was in the Will of Uchiha, and he wasn't a product of the Konoha Academy system.

He was a pure-blooded clan-centric hardliner.

When Fugaku considered the relationship between the clan and the village, he approached it from the perspective of building a mutual interest alliance. Setsuna, however, looked at things purely through the lens of mutual benefit. If the village wanted the Uchiha to sacrifice their own interests for its sake, forget about opening the door, they wouldn't even get the doorknob.

Although Madara had already said he no longer considered himself an Uchiha, as he talked with Setsuna, even in this Edo Tensei state, he could feel his blood pressure rising.

What kind of soft, cowardly generation is this? So useless!

Just hearing about it made him angry.

Well… he wasn't talking about Setsuna.

"What kind of clan leader is that?" Madara's voice was cold enough to freeze, "Getting stepped on and still wanting both sides to be happy? I'm seriously disappointed. How could someone like that be chosen as clan leader?"

Setsuna felt that Fugaku didn't deserve such harsh criticism, so he decided to defend him a bit.

"He does care about the clan. When he ran for clan leader, it was because he wanted to serve the clan. And honestly, among his generation, he really was the most capable."

"Capable or not, I don't know, but he's definitely got something wrong in the head," Madara snorted coldly.

Thinking about it, he realized he really had no reason to be angry.

Whatever happened to the Uchiha, what did it have to do with him?

It was not like he came back to be an Uchiha again. He came back to stir things up.

Faced with Madara's blatant disdain, Setsuna could only let out a dry laugh to ease the awkwardness.

You couldn't blame Madara for being so dismissive. Back then, even he had thought Fugaku was too cowardly.

What a waste of natural talent.

Yet when Masashi often pulled strings behind the scenes, no one thought he was timid.

The difference probably came down to this: everyone thought Fugaku was genuinely a good person. When he said "let's all get along," people believed him. But when Masashi said the same thing, no one believed it wasn't a scheme.

But don't get the wrong idea, everyone actually liked how Masashi stirred up trouble.

"Enough, don't talk about him anymore. Tell me about this Masashi," Madara said, losing interest in Fugaku. He had originally planned to check him out.

"He is a promising kid," Setsuna said, remembering how Masashi used to come to his house asking for funding as a child, and chuckled, "He's full of clever tricks, but after growing up, he really managed to turn things around."

He began to recount everything Masashi had done over the years to Madara. This was far more reliable than Black Zetsu's version, after all, much of what Masashi had accomplished had been done with Setsuna's support.

Masashi was close with Fugaku's family, and Setsuna had helped him quite a bit as well. It was just that since he didn't have children of his own for Masashi to take care of, on the surface, they didn't seem to have much personal interaction.

But Saeko and Yosuke still often came over to play at Setsuna's home who treated them with such warmth.

As Madara listened, he gained a deeper understanding of Masashi.

He had bold ideas and truly acted, but when it came to execution, he was very cautious. He started off recklessly, but everything after that was methodical and conservative.

Not a bad thing at all.

"Hn. A very prudent young man. Seems quite dependable," Madara finally offered his judgment.

"Exactly! Exactly! He is definitely dependable," Setsuna said, happier than if he himself had been praised.

The young man he had supported had now received praise from this man, wasn't that, in a way, proof that his own efforts hadn't betrayed the clan?

He had indeed lived up to the clan's nurturing! He hadn't let down the loved ones who had sacrificed everything!

That was enough. With that, he could go to the Pure Land with pride and tell his family. However… he couldn't go before his wife. He couldn't leave her alone, to be lonely in the end.

"Madara-sama, um…" Setsuna asked a little shyly, "Do you know any ways… to extend life?"

"Hm?" Madara was a bit sensitive to that question at first. His initial reaction was that Setsuna knew something. But then, looking back and seeing the expectant yet guilty look in his eyes, especially the way he kept glancing toward the room where his wife was busy, Madara understood.

"…No, actually, I don't have any good methods," Madara said, not wanting Setsuna to get his hopes up. "Extending life is everyone's wish, but even I cannot change the cycles of birth, aging, sickness, and death."

Given the physical condition of Setsuna and his wife, their bodies would no longer be able to withstand the power of Hashirama's cells. This was different from Obito. Though Obito had been gravely wounded, he was someone Madara had specifically chosen back then, a talent hidden by the ninja school system, still young and with enough potential to survive and adapt to that power.

But if the same method were applied to Setsuna and his wife now, it wouldn't be called life extension, it would be premature death.

Madara's biological techniques were indeed more advanced than anything currently available in Konoha, but even so, basic principles had to be respected. Without enough bodily energy, there was simply no way to withstand Hashirama's power.

"Ah, I see… I understand. Honestly… I was just thinking about it," Setsuna stammered. But the worry and guilt in his eyes betrayed his true thoughts.

Madara was silent for a moment, then said, "Everyone leaves this world eventually. Spending time with your family while you can is far better than regretting it later."

He looked at Setsuna's aged face, and even he felt a twinge of sympathy. He reached out to pat Setsuna on the shoulder.

"You're not young anymore. You have to take care of yourself."

He was even thinking of saying a few more comforting words to put Setsuna at ease, but suddenly, his hand froze mid-air and then retracted.

"You have a visitor."

Setsuna blinked but didn't question it.

"Don't worry, I'll go take care of it. I won't let anyone disturb you."

"You can't just shoo him away, it's Hashirama. Go welcome him in."

"The First Hokage?" Setsuna's eyes widened.

If there was anyone from the Hokage Building he still deeply respected, it would be none other than the First Hokage.

Of course, Hashirama and Madara had been both sworn rivals and closest friends. It made sense that he would come here to reconnect with Madara.

"I understand. I'll go welcome him right away."