Naruto:The System's Shadow

Kaito stared at Madara in surprise. He hadn't expected an eight-year-old to be thinking about these things. He really was Uchiha Madara.

After Uchiha Tajima finished his speech, all the clan members immediately left for the battlefield, just as he said, to repay blood debts with blood.

The Senju and Hyuga clans clearly hadn't expected the Uchiha's revenge to come so quickly and so fiercely. Caught off guard, their front lines completely collapsed.

Inside Uchiha Kaito's room, he sat cross-legged at his desk, still not used to sitting this way after all this time.

In front of him was a large map. Red arrows, representing the Uchiha clan, were thrust deep into Senju territory, tearing a large hole in their lines.

Kaito tapped his finger lightly on the desk, a rhythmic sound. He was considering the changes in the battlefield's situation.

If Kaito were in command, he would create the illusion of a decisive battle with the Senju. He would leave behind a majority of Chunin and Genin to hold the line and deter the Senju from taking action. Then, he would secretly dispatch all the elite Jonin to raid the Hyuga clan, aiming to cripple them within three days. This would not only cut off one of the Senju clan's arms, but also serve as a warning to other ninja clans: dare to side with the Senju, and this is what will happen to you.

With the Senju clan deprived of outside help, their strength would return to the same level as the Uchiha's. Combined with the Uchiha clan's current advantage, they would take the initiative on the battlefield. Whether to fight or negotiate would then be entirely up to them.

Kaito rolled up the map and put it away, shaking his head. He could only think about these things. He wasn't in a position to make decisions. Improving his own strength was still the right path. If he could reach the level of Hashirama and Madara in the future, the so-called clan would be nothing more than a joke.

The course of the war didn't develop according to Kaito's plan.

People in this era seemed to only have one track minds, only knowing how to fight head-on. Especially Uchiha Tajima, a complete brute. He might be a good ninja, but he was definitely not a good leader.

He chose to confront the Senju head-on, dividing a portion of his ninjas to defend against the Hyuga. He wanted to take down the strongest Senju first before turning around to deal with the other clans.

The result was obvious. The Senju weren't an easy nut to crack. They had also mobilized all their ninjas, blocking the Uchiha's wave after wave of attacks. The Hyuga clan, on the other side, was also frantically attacking the Uchiha's defenses, wanting to join the battlefield and join forces with the Senju to encircle the Uchiha.

The three clans were in a chaotic mess on the battlefield. No one was willing to give up, and they were stuck in a stalemate that lasted for two years.

Time flew by. Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

During those two years, Uchiha Kaito focused solely on improving his strength. He devoured a large number of Uchiha clan ninjutsu, and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds. Almost everyone in the new generation of the Uchiha clan had been beaten by him. Izuna, whose strength was close to his before, couldn't last five moves in his hands now.

Except… for Uchiha Madara.

Kaito really didn't know what to say about Madara. He had thought that even without the system, with his talent for awakening the Sharingan at one year old, he would be the best in Uchiha clan history.

But no matter how fast he improved, he could only hold his own against Madara without using the Sharingan. In some ways, he was even slightly weaker.

In this situation, Kaito could only sigh and say that he deserved to be the reincarnation of Indra.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Inside the Uchiha clan compound, on the training grounds, two giant fireballs collided, creating a large cloud of smoke.

Two still-young figures weaved in and out of the smoke, with the sound of kunai clashing. Their movements were quick, and their taijutsu was incredibly skilled, not at all like the abilities of children their age.

At the edge of the training grounds, a group of Uchiha children, mostly five or six years old, watched excitedly, shouting words of encouragement, though it was unclear who they were cheering for.

Bang! Bang! Clang! Clang!

The smoke thinned out slightly. With the sound of weapons clashing, the figures of Uchiha Kaito and Uchiha Madara were revealed.

"You've improved quickly, Kaito. You're actually able to fight to this extent!" During a break in the fighting, Uchiha Madara praised him. With a flick of his left hand, he sent out a dense barrage of shuriken.

Kaito swayed, becoming a black shadow, dodging all the shuriken. He rolled his eyes in his mind. "That's because I'm afraid of scaring you guys, so I haven't used my Sharingan. Otherwise, I would have crushed you in seconds."

He thought that, but his hands moved entirely differently. He formed hand seals with one hand in a second: "Pay attention, Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Nine shuriken were thrown, each automatically ignited with chakra flame, heading toward Uchiha Madara from several directions.

"Single-handed hand seals! Did you see that? It's Kaito-sama's unique single-handed hand seals! So cool!"

Several four- or five-year-old Uchiha girls looked up at Kaito with admiration. This world worshiped the strong, and Kaito, as one of the strongest of this generation, was naturally worshiped by some.

"A bunch of ignorant little girls! My big brother is the strongest!" Uchiha Izuna shouted angrily. Those idiotic fangirls! Uchiha Kaito was just a little better looking. How could he compare to the dominance of his brother?

The flames instantly surrounded Madara. Even at this moment, Madara remained calm, spinning like a top, dodging seven of the Phoenix Sage Fire shuriken. Facing the last two, he flicked his kunai, knocking them down with two tings.

"Heh!" A profound smile appeared on Kaito's lips. Uchiha Madara's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt heat behind him. Before he could react, there was a loud boom, and he was consumed by seven Phoenix Sage Fire shuriken.

"Big Brother…!" Izuna shouted, his eyes filled with worry.

"Ha! Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, as long as you have enough chakra control, you can independently control the trajectory of the flames." Kaito's tone was smug. After all, his opponent was Uchiha Madara, a future god-level figure in the ninja world.

But his smugness didn't last long. When Madara turned into a log in the flames, Kaito's smile froze on his face.

"Replacement Technique! When?"

"People are often most vulnerable when they're at their proudest. You lost, Kaito!"

Uchiha Madara's voice sounded behind Kaito. Almost simultaneously, a kunai was placed at his neck.

"Kaito-sama…!" The group of little girls cried out in worry.

"You're not giving up yet?" Madara asked strangely. Kaito wasn't the type to stubbornly persist when he'd already lost.

"Give up? Are you kidding me?"

Kaito's faint voice came from behind Madara. At the same time, the Kaito in front of Madara disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Clone Technique? When did he form the hand seals!"

While thinking that, his hands didn't stop. Threads of chakra shot out behind him, and hand seals were completed instantly. "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" A large amount of flame ignited the chakra threads, blocking all space behind him. He quickly leapt forward, creating distance.

"Using the Fire Dragon Jutsu to ignite chakra threads to block all avenues of attack. To be able to make that change so quickly, you really are Madara," Kaito said, genuinely impressed.

Madara panted twice and smiled. "Likewise. When did you use the Clone Technique?"

"From the beginning."

Their exchanges happened within a few breaths. The Uchiha clan members watching were stunned. Were these two really ninjas of their generation? The difference was too big.

Even Izuna and the little girls fell silent, staring blankly at the training ground.

"Let's stop here for today," Madara said, stretching.

"Alright," Kaito agreed. Since Madara didn't want to fight anymore, there was no need for him to insist.

Just then, the main gate of the compound was suddenly pushed open. An Uchiha clan member, covered in blood, staggered in, looking like he had come straight from the battlefield. Without paying attention to them, he rushed toward the meeting hall, where the clan's affairs were currently being managed by the Third Elder.

"Let's check it out!" Madara gave a look, and Kaito nodded. They both followed.