Farewell again

Under the careful operation of the clan's medical ninja, Uchiha Madara, who was in a coma, was transplanted with Izuna's powerful Mangekyō Sharingan. The operation was long and tense, but it was ultimately completed successfully.

After an unknown amount of time, Madara slowly regained consciousness from his deep coma and boundless darkness. The first thing that struck his senses was not the pain in his body, but a vision that hadn't been seen in a long time, even surpassing anything he had experienced before, a vision that was incredibly clear and sharp!

The world had never been so vivid and clear before his eyes! Every ray of light, every color, seemed to be given new life. He could even clearly "see" the tiny particles of chakra flowing in the air! Then, from his eyes came the blood-connected, surging, and yet incredibly familiar torrent of pupil power, and his mind naturally understood the deeper, more powerful secrets and powers of the Mangekyō Sharingan...

All of this instantly told him a cold and cruel truth - these eyes did not belong to him! They were Izuna's eyes! It was Izuna who dug out his own eyes and gave them to him!

The immense joy, not of gaining power, but of overwhelming anger, heart-wrenching grief, and a forced sense of guilt so heavy that it was suffocating, instantly engulfed him like a volcanic eruption!

"Izuna!!!"

He roared like a wounded, dying beast, and suddenly sat up from his bed! A vast, uncontrolled chakra erupted like a substance, instantly shaking the entire room he was in. The window glass shattered, and the tables and chairs were blown away by the violent airflow and smashed against the wall! His eyes instantly turned red, and the new, more powerful kaleidoscope pattern spun wildly in his eyes, making him look like a vengeful Shura crawling out of hell, filled with destructive madness!

He ripped off the bandages and IV tubes that were in his way, even ignoring the blood oozing from his broken wounds. He rushed out of the room like a madman, roaring like thunder at the tribesmen who had rushed over in panic after hearing the noise: "Who is it?! Who did this?! Who dared to touch Izuna's eyes?! Who dug out his eyes?! I will kill him! I will tear him into pieces!!"

Madara's enraged power was terrifying. The pressure of his Sharingan, mingled with monstrous murderous intent, made any nearby clansmen breathless and their hearts palpitate. A few loyal members tried to intervene or offer explanations, but a single wave of his hand unleashed a torrent of chakra, sending them flying back, crashing into the distant wall and spitting blood, sustaining serious injuries. The entire Uchiha clan was horrified by his sudden, devastating rage. For a moment, no one dared to approach, and the air was thick with fear and despair.

At this moment, a thin and frail figure, with a face as pale as if transparent, eyes so red and swollen that they could hardly open, and a dark cloak stained with black blood, slowly walked out from behind the terrified crowd.

It was Uchiha Aoi.

She looked up at her brother, whose rage was like thunder, his chakra raging like a storm, as if he would destroy everything in the next moment. Tears silently fell again, mixing with the blood and dust on her face. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's, but it was filled with a heartbreaking cowardice, despair, and a resolute determination that had to be taken: "...It was...it was my...brother...I...who dug out...Izuna's...eyes with my own hands."

Madara whipped his head around, his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan, brimming with rage and sorrow, instantly locked onto her like the sharpest blade! The terrifying, almost tangible pressure and gaze made Aoi feel like she was being crushed by an invisible, towering mountain. Her blood froze, and she trembled, her legs weakening as she nearly collapsed to the ground. Even breathing became extremely difficult.

However, the expected wrath of thunder that would have torn her to pieces did not come immediately.

Madara stared at her intently, his gaze seemingly piercing through her body, seeing into the depths of her soul. The rage and madness in his eyes receded like the tide, not disappearing, but replaced by a deeper, more inextricable sorrow, as boundless as the universe, and... a deep, heartbreaking sense of powerlessness. He saw the bottomless pain, fear, despair, and guilt in his sister's eyes, saw the dried, blackened blood that belonged to Izuna on her body, saw her trembling hands, once used only for writing and playing the piano...

He understood. He understood everything. The origins of this cruel decision, this unbearable burden, this heart-wrenching helplessness.

The bloodshot in his eyes slowly faded (his Mangekyō Sharingan was deactivated), revealing a pair of exhausted black irises filled with boundless sorrow. It was as if all his strength and anger had been drained from him in an instant, his upright frame even stooping slightly. He walked slowly, step by step, as if dragging a heavy burden, towards his sister, who was almost paralyzed by fear, like a candle in the wind.

Then, in Aoi's terrified and confused eyes, he suddenly stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly and forcefully, as if he had used up all his last strength in his life!

The hug was so strong and tight that Kui could hardly breathe, and his bones made slight crackling sounds, as if he wanted to completely rub her into his bones and blood and merge her into one; it was as if he was in the abyss of despair, clinging to the last bit of driftwood that could support him from completely collapsing and going completely crazy.

Aoi could clearly feel her brother's tall body trembling uncontrollably, and could hear the desperate and painful whimpers he suppressed in the deepest part of his throat, like a wounded lone wolf.

"...Don't be afraid..." Madara's voice was extremely hoarse, as if it had been repeatedly polished by rough sand and gravel. With a heavy nasal tone and undisguised crying, he repeatedly whispered in her ear in a low voice, "Aoi...don't be afraid...Brother...Brother is here...Brother is here..."

He repeated these simple words, as if he was clumsily comforting his frightened and equally scarred sister in his arms, but it was more like telling himself over and over again that he was not completely alone in this world.

"Brother... you are the only one left..."

He spoke these words softly, yet they contained an endless desolation, a deep sorrow, and a heart-pounding, heavy dependence. It was like a spell, tightly binding the two siblings together and blocking any other future.

Aoi could no longer suppress the surging waves within her. She hugged her brother's broad, yet cold, trembling back tightly, buried her face in his chest, and burst into tears. The two siblings, having lost their parents in quick succession and having just said goodbye to their beloved brother, held each other tightly in this land shrouded in sorrow and despair, as if each was the other's only support and warmth in this cold world.

Afterwards, Madara, overcome with grief, personally oversaw the burial of Izuna's remains alongside his father, Uchiha Tajima, and his mother, Uchiha Miwako. The funeral was simple and solemn, without elaborate rituals, and attended only by a few of the most important members of the clan. The air felt heavy, frozen, filled with an unwavering sadness and the desolation of a hero's final moments.

However, the Uchiha clan's survival crisis did not ease in the slightest with Izuna's sacrifice and Madara's newfound power. Without Izuna, his crucial right-hand man and advisor, even with Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, the clan's situation remained precarious, facing the immense pressure from the Senju clan, especially the brothers Hashirama and Tobirama. The air was filled with the tension of impending war.

The day after Izuna was buried, Madara made a difficult but necessary decision. He personally sent Aoi to the hidden exit at the edge of the clan's territory.

"Go back, Aoi." Madara looked at his sister with an extremely complicated expression, filled with fatigue, reluctance, worry, but more of it was an unquestionable determination after experiencing great sorrow. "Go back to the capital. There... there are high walls and deep courtyards, and you have the status of a noble... at least... it's safe. Brother... can't bear the price of losing you again. Absolutely... can't."

Aoi looked up at her brother's eyes, which had regained their sharpness and brightness, but now also carried a heavier burden of past and responsibility, even a hint of a lingering scarlet shadow. A thousand words stuck in her throat, but in the end, no words came out. She knew that staying would be useless, and would even become a weakness and burden to her brother in his battle.

She could only nod heavily and with difficulty, with tears in her eyes and unspeakable sadness.

Once again, she was forced to leave the land where one brother had just been buried and only another remained, looking back every few steps as she headed towards the distant and cold capital. Uchiha Madara, on the other hand, resolutely turned around and, with heavy steps, walked towards the cruel battlefield where the smoke of gunpowder never cleared, where he would need to use his newfound strength and endless sorrow to support himself and fight.

Brother and sister, parted once again. The road ahead is long and dangerous. The only connection between them is the sorrow flowing through their blood and the suffocating weight of love and responsibility.