"I am Uchiha Madara. I wonder if you are aware of me?"
"What did you just say?!"
These words utterly shocked, Senju Araki. He wondered whether he had heard wrongly or not.
However, sometime later, he calmed down, there was no point in showing such reactions to Uchiha Madara. In fact, he needed to figure out just why he had been called here.
"You survived in the battle against my grandpa, huh?" Araki asks while narrowing his eyes.
"I nearly died at that time. Even I was a little unsure of the result, but it seems to have worked out." Uchiha Madara then shook his head.
He asks Araki with a neutral voice, "What are your views on the current Shinobi System?"
"Shinobi System? I don't have any great views on it. I just think that Shinobi cannot let people live in peace. It's like they are tortured when they see that people are peacefully living their lives." Araki replies to Madara while carefully gazing at him.
"Hoh… Looks like you don't have the same naïve ideas as Hashirama. This was all I needed to know." Madara then turned to Black Zetsu before saying to him, "Take him away…"
"No, wait… before you leave…" A sealess wood clone of Madara appeared.
"How about you have a fight against me?" The Wood Clone of Madara spoke before staring at Araki.
For some time, Araki's eyes remained wide since he couldn't believe that Madara Uchiha was using Wood Release.
After some time, he shook his head as he raised his hand, "If it was any clone other than Wood, I would have been helpless against it. But… since it's a Wood Clone. I just need to do this…"
The chakra released from his fingertips reached Madara's Wood Clone. As soon as it hits the Wood Clone, the Wood Clone's eyes widened. The chakra inside it was slowly transforming.
Before he even realised it, the Wood Clone had turned into a Huge tree.
"Hoh… Your control over the Wood Release is quite magnificent. I thought none other than Hashirama would be able to do that."
"I didn't think I would ever use this skill since I am the only one with the Wood Release. I guess I was wrong. How can you use Wood Release? I don't believe I have seen any records stating that?"
"This is my secret." Madara had an emotionless expression while speaking this.
Araki just shrugged his shoulders, "So… I take it that you don't want to return to Uchiha Clan right now?"
Sneering at those words, Madara responded, "I told them that if they continued to remain in the village, they would be outcasts. That's precisely the situation now. Since they did not heed my words, I won't be returning to that clan."
Araki then turned around, "Alright then, I will take my leave now. There isn't anything left for me to hear, right?" Seeing Madara shake his head, Araki didn't hesitate in leaving.
After he left, Black Zetsu looked at Madara and asks him, "Madara-sama, wasn't that too risky? Showing him that you are alive and also the Gedo Statue behind you…
"Black Zetsu, you do not understand it, do you? He is the grandson of Hashirama. Moreover, his skill over Wood Release doesn't seem to be any less than that of Hashirama. It's just that his age is limiting his power right now. Even if I don't like it, he will play a huge role in my future plans. I need to know his thoughts and adapt accordingly."
"Besides, I have not given him any idea about my plans for this Shinobi World. Currently, he believes that I, Uchiha Madara, wished to meet him because of his lineage. Well, he isn't wrong if he thinks that…"
"Looks like I can look forward to something after I revive." As if deciding something, he says to Black Zetsu, "We will change our plans now. You will now be going to Ame..."
"Yes, Madara-sama."
"Also… meet that snake from Konoha, you should know what to do with that snake."
"Yes, Madara-sama. Just give him a few cells of Hashirama Senju and allow him to experiment. With his personality, he will definitely experiment it on several people just to confirm his hypothesis."
"Well-well… Senju Araki, for how long you can dance? How long can you entertain me?" Madara asked this question which drifted into the wind.
~~
Senju Araki was indeed thinking about his conversation with Uchiha Madara. That man… Even though he was at the end of his life, his aura still seemed very strong.
He wondered what Kurama would say when he finds out that Araki met up with Uchiha Madara. Maybe Kurama would want to crush Madara to pieces.
However, from what he sensed, Uchiha Madara's lifeforce was nearly over. There shouldn't be something he can do about his remaining life force, right?
Though he was curious about the reason why Black Zetsu roaming around and collecting intel for Uchiha Madara, he thought it was probably because Madara was indeed planning something.
He let out a sigh and wondered, "If I had fought him there, would I have survived? From what it seemed like, Uchiha Madara could have controlled that Giant Statue to attack me. Well, even if he has some plans, he can't live any longer than 10 or so years. I should remain cautious about his plans though."
He spent the whole day running towards Konoha. Other than Kushina, nobody really found out that he wasn't in the area. It was because Araki had a history of training very hard and then sleeping at the same location.
Currently, Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Fukaku and some other high-ranking ninja were returning to Konoha. It seems that everything at the borders had finally stabilised and they could leave the situation on another commanding general.
Uchiha Mikoto remembered the contents of the letter sent by her father. He mentioned that her little brother might have to fight against someone from the Senju Clan. They were waiting for her to arrive before starting the fight against that Senju Clan member.
A similar letter had been received by Uchiha Fugaku, just that it sounded a lot more formal than Mikoto's letter.
He had a look of indifference as he found out the shinobi he would be seeing the fight of an 8-years-old Senju Clan Member.
If this Senju Clan Member manages to defeat a lot of Uchiha Clan Members, there was a chance that Uchiha Kazuma would suck up his pride and let Fugaku handle the situation. This would be an excellent chance to increase his prestige within the Uchiha Clan. That way, he can be the next Uchiha Clan Head without any issues.
Meanwhile, Mikoto was a bit curious to meet this Senju Clan Member. From what her father had written in the letter, it seems that Senju Araki was the current head of the Senju Clan.
She was aware that Senju Tsunade still lived. Although she was roaming the lands, drinking and wasting her life away, she was still the eldest Senju Clan member! Moreover, as one of the Three Sannins, her might had been proved already.
To think the next clan head of the Senju Clan would be a child instead of Senju Tsunade. It made her shake her head and sigh. Just how the mighty Senju Clan had fallen…