Chapter 188

What a grand and evocative title.

He was a warrior from the same generation as Grandpa Hashirama—the only one who could truly rival him. A legendary figure.

Back then, the names Uchiha and Senju defined an era.

Of course, that's what Tsunade always said.

But Senju Yukika didn't believe that someone like Madara Uchiha—someone with his personality—would ever bow to anyone.

"I can't help but feel uneasy, even if we consider him an ally," Tsunade said softly, her expression tinged with sorrow as she let out a quiet sigh.

"That's only because you don't really know him," Yukika replied calmly.

Madara Uchiha.

The original series depicted him as the embodiment of dominance and authority.

When he appeared, he redefined what it meant to be a villain—overwhelming, terrifying, unforgettable.

And yet, his defeat felt like a betrayal of storytelling logic.

It's hard to imagine that, after acquiring both Rinnegan, becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, and ascending to the form of Sage of Six Paths Madara—Naruto and Sasuke could still challenge him.

Naruto's late-stage power scaling collapsed. That much was obvious.

The protagonist aura became way too blatant. Yin-Yang release, the sudden appearance of the Sage of Six Paths... everything felt rushed.

But even that wasn't enough to completely stop Madara.

If not for Black Zetsu's betrayal, there's no way Naruto and Sasuke alone could've saved the ninja world.

Even Kaguya—if she had Madara's combat instincts—couldn't have pulled it off.

That's why people respect Madara Uchiha.

His dream was simple and pure: lifelong dedication to peace.

He lost his brother in the endless wars of their youth. And Izuna wasn't his only sibling—every one of Madara's brothers died at the hands of the Senju.

Madara wanted peace.

But at the same time, he was a warrior, someone who lived to surpass the strong.

Those born with courage hate being alone.

Yukika's plan was to show Madara, after his Infinite Tsukuyomi dream crumbled, what peace could look like—something real, built from truth rather than illusion.

He wanted Madara to understand that peace wasn't so complicated. Conflict arises from disputes. War comes from unequal distribution of interests.

Expecting a battle-hardened, loveless old warrior to understand a smooth-talking charmer's world was unrealistic.

But even so, love—like peace—must be earned, not handed over.

Yukika would build an imperfect but better version of the ninja world. A place where people who worked hard could achieve their dreams.

For someone who crossed into this world from another, it wasn't hard. Millennia of ancestral wisdom was stored in his mind.

Managing a world with a population of a few hundred thousand wasn't that difficult.

A peaceful world—that was Yukika's first weapon against Madara.

His second weapon?

Giving those natural-born warriors—those who couldn't sit still even in peace—something to do.

Not everyone's content to live a quiet life.

Some people are born to be generals who bring order to chaos.

A hollow heart isn't necessarily a good thing.

Madara was like that.

Power comes with responsibility. When peace is threatened, those people would rise to defend it.

Yukika would send Madara and other battle addicts out to find enemy after enemy and conquer them.

That was Yukika's plan.

The ninja world's resources were limited. Once this world was unified, the system's "World Gate" would open.

They would conquer more worlds. Grow stronger.

Feed that power back into the ninja world.

A path of conquest and expansion.

That was Yukika's ultimate vision.

From the very beginning, he'd trapped Madara without him realizing.

Whether Madara had entered the "game" yet was unknown.

Now, the Five Great Villages—excluding Konoha—had united.

But Madara would educate them, show them the meaning of overwhelming power.

"Don't worry about that stuff," Yukika said, holding Tsunade's hand. "I finally have time to walk around with you. No need to stress about the ninja world."

The two strolled peacefully through Konoha's streets, basking in a view that belonged to just them.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Konoha remained the same.

But tension and unease were growing along the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

Even without Konoha, the allied forces from the Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water countries weren't particularly large.

Though the Hidden Sand had been attacked, not every ninja stays in the village.

They're out on missions or stationed at borders.

That's always been the case—even after Naruto became Hokage, it was the same.

So, despite the attack, the Land of Wind still had many ninja left to gather.

Now, thanks to the Infinite Tsukuyomi threat, the Wind Daimyō had spared no expense, sending massive supplies to fuel the war effort.

Time was tight.

Preparation was rushed, and leadership coordination was poor.

War was imminent.

The ordinary soldiers were starting to panic.

But Onoki, leading the charge, was confident.

Why?

Because this was his first time commanding such a massive army.

Madara Uchiha was a man.

And Onoki knew how strong he was.

But now, they had the combined strength of the entire ninja world.

No matter how powerful a person was, they couldn't overcome those odds alone.

That's what Onoki believed.

To him, Madara's decision not to attack during the Five Kage Summit meant he was already afraid.

Yes—afraid.

After all, Madara was just one man.

Even the strongest stone can crack.

He was already thinking about what would happen after the war.

Perhaps this would finally unite the ninja world.

Maybe his own position as commander would gain lasting influence.

Still… his opponent was Madara Uchiha.

Even with superior numbers, they needed the right people.

Earth-style users, if poorly coordinated with Water or Wind users, could accidentally feed Fire Release attacks and create chaos.

It was exhausting for the Raikage, and even worse if someone used physical chakra techniques to interfere.

People could be confident all they wanted—human strength had limits.