Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Chapter 213: Worried sick about the future of the Uchiha clan

"Crunch~"

As the tightly closed door opened, Madara Uchiha, who had been anxiously waiting outside, felt his heart leap into his throat. Looking at Uchiha Miyako, who emerged from the door wearing a white coat and a mask, he cautiously asked,

"Elder Miao, how is Father's injury?"

"Alas, Chieftain, I have done my best, but the old chieftain is old and injured in a vital area. Go in and see him one last time, and then prepare for his funeral."

With a deep sigh, Uchiha Miao stepped aside to make way for him, his voice filled with deep regret as he spoke to Uchiha Madara before him.

"Impossible! Impossible!"

Even now, Madara Uchiha still couldn't believe that his invincible father would leave him so easily. Suppressing his grief, Madara Uchiha stepped into the hospital room.

Upon entering the room, a pungent smell of medicine filled the air. On the only hospital bed in the room, "Uchiha Tajima" lay peacefully, the bloodstains on his body having been cleaned up, but upon closer sniffing, a faint smell of blood mixed with the disinfectant could still be detected.

"Ahem, are those spots?"

Perhaps the loud footsteps upon entering awakened the dying Uchiha Tajima. A weak voice rang out, rousing the numb Uchiha Madara.

"Father, I've come."

A deep sadness instantly filled Madara Uchiha's dark eyes. He quickly walked to his father's bedside and looked at the man who had once stood tall and unyielding, now lying weakly on the bed. His pale face showed no sign of life. He stretched out his slightly trembling hands as if to do something, but could only helplessly stop in mid-air.

"Where's Izuna?"

"My brother is still on his way, Father, hang in there, he'll be here soon."

Sensing the dwindling life force within his father, Madara Uchiha gritted his teeth, his hatred for the white-haired man reaching its peak. Just as he was wondering how to face his departing father, "Uchiha Tajima," lying on his sickbed, took a difficult breath and spoke.

"Ban, you must understand that my failures were not without reason."

"Father, please stop talking."

"No, all of this stems from my loss of sight. Otherwise, how could I have been defeated by that brat?"

Struggling to sit up, "Uchiha Tajima" removed his reading glasses, revealing a pair of dull, lifeless eyes that stared intently at the bewildered Uchiha Madara, and continued,

"Your situation isn't much better than mine. If this continues, you'll die at the hands of those brothers sooner or later, and the Uchiha clan will be wiped out in the annals of the Land of Fire's history."

"And you are the sinner of the Uchiha clan."

"Father, I..."

Faced with Uchiha Tajima's rebuke before his death, Uchiha Madara was about to retort, but looking at his dying father, he ultimately chose to silently accept it.

"I'm going to die, but I'm not willing to accept it."

With a trembling hand, he reached out and placed it on the shoulder of the silent Uchiha Madara. "Uchiha Tajima," he said slowly, using all his remaining strength.

"Madara, I hope that you can lead the Uchiha clan with my eyes and stand at the pinnacle of the Land of Fire."

"Father, what do you want?"

Madara Uchiha, who already had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, looked at his father, whose gaze was resolute, with surprise, and asked hesitantly,

"That's right, transplant my kaleidoscope, and create an eternal eye that will never lose its light!"

The hand on Madara Uchiha's shoulder tightened slightly, and the words that came out of his mouth carried an air of unyielding authority.

"I don't."

Madara Uchiha was about to refuse, but was stopped by a look from Tajima Uchiha.

"Madara, the Eternal Eye is the ultimate power of our clan. Once you possess it, your strength will increase exponentially. At that time, that brat from the Senju clan will definitely be no match for you."

"But."

Madara Uchiha, who still harbored some resentment, relaxed considerably from his initial resistance.

"Cough cough cough, my time is running out. Besides this, there's one more thing..."

Suddenly, "Uchiha Tajima" coughed up blood, staining the white sheets crimson, just like the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

With a trembling hand, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked at the conflicted Uchiha Madara, and his last words carried a hint of pleading.

"Remember to give your cousin a raise, so he can work in the dungeon until retirement!"

"Yes, Father, I promise you."

Looking at "Uchiha Tajima" who was taking in more air than exhaling, Uchiha Madara, who had closed his eyes, seemed to have made a great decision. He slowly opened his slightly reddened eyes and nodded to his most respected father.

"Okay, okay, then I can leave in peace."

Now that Madara Uchiha had agreed and his goal of getting Uchiha Gin was achieved, he stopped dragging out the plot. Facing his older cousin, who was immersed in grief, he immediately tilted his head to the side, his hand on the other's shoulder slowly fell down, and he became completely silent.

"Father!"

After many years, Madara Uchiha lost his loved ones again. Tears streamed down his face, and he opened his mouth wide, but due to overwhelming grief, he could not utter a sound.

"Old clan chief~"

Having watched the drama unfold outside for some time, Uchiha Miao saw his chance and joined in. This usually aloof octogenarian now had tears in his eyes as he looked at the lifeless "Uchiha Tajima," his voice trembling slightly.

"Chieftain, please accept my deepest condolences. Did the old chieftain have any unfulfilled wishes?"

"Elder Miao, I beg you to transplant my father's eyes into me."

Hearing Uchiha Miao's unintentional words, Uchiha Madara snapped out of his grief, his cold gaze fixed on the old man before him, and spoke.

"Yes, sir!"

That's exactly what I was waiting for!

Thanks to Madara Uchiha's cooperation, the Mangekyou Sharingan transplant surgery was completed quickly. After his older cousin, whose eyes were wrapped in white cloth, was wheeled out of the ward, Gin Uchiha, who had been pretending to be dead for a long time, slowly opened his eyes, moved his stiff body, and the smile on his lips was so wide that even ten wooden dolls couldn't suppress it.

"Ah Yin, the surgery went smoothly. After the anesthesia wears off, the clan leader's eyes will be able to function normally."

Uchiha Miao, who had just removed his gloves, walked in and, seeing Uchiha Tajima smiling, spoke up.

"Phew~ It wasn't easy, but this can only fool my older cousin for a while."

Uchiha Gin, having dispelled his disguise, jumped off the hospital bed and addressed his criminal accomplice, offering a warning.

"Are you so certain that even after the clan leader obtains the Eternal Eye, he still won't be a match for Hashirama Senju?"

As a scientific research expert of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Miao knows best the power of the Eternal Eyes. The fact that one can use eye techniques without side effects is already the ceiling of combat power in the ninja world, not to mention that the enhancement of these eyes to Susanoo can reach an extremely terrifying level.

"Wood Release".

Uchiha Gin shook his head and softly uttered those two words.

"That Thousand Hands secret technique, although very powerful, I don't think it would be a match for the clan leader."

"No one understands Wood Release better than me!"

As one of only two Wood Release ninjas in the current ninja world, Uchiha Gin could clearly sense the immense Wood Release power within Senju Hashirama's body. He truly possessed the innate Sage Body. He always held back when fighting his younger cousin, fearing he might accidentally kill his best friend.

"For some reason, Hashirama Senju has been holding back, but now that my cousin has acquired the Eternal Eye, that should make that guy take it seriously. Just you wait and see~"

"Based on your so-called secret house-building technique?"

Uchiha Miao had never thought much of Wood Release, mainly because he knew that Uchiha Gin used Wood Release to build houses. How could such a low-level secret technique be compared to the noble bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan?

"Alright, alright, how's the thing I asked you to do?"

Uchiha Gin didn't blame the old man for his long hair and short sense. After all, Uchiha Miao had never witnessed the power of Wood Release on the battlefield, so he could understand his disdain. He then changed the subject and asked about the matter that had been entrusted to him.

"I've already designed the kind of steel-cast ship you requested, and it's currently undergoing testing. If all goes well, it should be ready for mass production this year."

Recalling the matter of being entrusted with something, Uchiha Miao frowned and still couldn't understand what Uchiha Gin was up to. Why did he leave the Land of Fire and go to sea?

"That's good, Elder Miao. The future of the Uchiha clan rests entirely on your shoulders."

Upon hearing that the matter he had entrusted had made great progress, Uchiha Gin immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The backup plan he had painstakingly built for the Uchiha clan over the years was finally going to come in handy.

Just as the two were having a heated discussion about the ship's design, a familiar figure arrived late.

"Big brother! Big brother! What happened to Father?"

Travel-worn Uchiha Izuna's handsome face was filled with anxiety. He had just returned to the camp when he received the devastating news of his father's death. The sudden turn of events had made him so anxious that his eyes were red and his hands and feet were trembling. After asking a few questions, he rushed to the ward without stopping.

"My little cousin is here~"

Upon hearing Uchiha Izuna's cries from inside the ward, Uchiha Gin, sensing something amiss, quickly formed hand seals to create a wood clone. He then instructed the clone to use a disguise technique, impersonating the lifeless Uchiha Tajima, who lay back on the blood-stained bed. Meanwhile, he and Uchiha Miyako stood by the bed, heads bowed, their faces filled with mourning.

"Big cousin! Father is here."

Rushing into the ward in a panic, Izuna Uchiha was surprised to run into Gin Uchiha. Just as he was about to greet him, he saw his cousin's grief-stricken face and his heart tightened. Then, seeing his father lying lifeless on the sickbed, tears welled up in his eyes, and his limbs began to weaken.

"Waaaaah~ Father, how did you end up lying on the bed in the blink of an eye?"

With a swift knee slide, Uchiha Izuna instantly reached Uchiha Tajima's bedside, embraced the body, and burst into tears. Thick snot mixed with tears smeared all over the wood clone's face, making Uchiha Gin feel a surge of relief—thankfully, he wasn't playing a corpse.

"Cough cough cough, little cousin, my condolences."

Unable to bear watching any longer, Uchiha Gin reached out and patted the sobbing Uchiha Izuna, offering words of comfort.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't failed to hold off that white-haired man, Father wouldn't have sacrificed himself."

Having learned the cause of his father's death, Uchiha Izuna was consumed by deep self-blame. His hands clenched into fists, the veins visibly throbbing on the backs of his pale hands.

If he could hold them off, or defeat the despicable Tobirama Senju, his father, who was beginning to enjoy his retirement, would not leave them.

"Sigh~ It's not you who's wrong, it's the world."

(End of this chapter)