Uchiha Madara: The Strongest Clan Leader

With only a few months left before his first battlefield experience, Madara decided it was time to explore the Uchiha Clan's lands on his own. While he had visited the market with his mother before, he had never truly roamed the area freely or interacted with the general populace.

His first stop was the marketplace, where he observed merchants, blacksmiths, and civilians going about their daily lives. As he conversed with them, he noticed a clear division between shinobi and non-shinobi members. The latter were often overlooked, their contributions to the clan's economy and stability taken for granted.

"This needs to change," Madara thought. "If I truly want the Uchiha to be the strongest, I must ensure that both warriors and civilians thrive."

From this, he came to a decision.

"When I gain more influence and control in the clan, I'll establish a proper education system—schools, libraries, and books covering every field and aspect of life."

With this in mind, he continued walking until he reached one of the training grounds where young Uchiha shinobi, under the age of twelve, were training and sparring. The instructor stood at the side, occasionally giving them guidance while observing their progress.

The Uchiha training ground was alive with activity. Young clan members, aged four to twelve, were honing their skills—practicing taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, as well as engaging in group sparring sessions. The sharp sounds of clashing kunai and shuriken filled the air, accompanied by the occasional burst of fire-style jutsu.

Madara observed them for a moment before stepping toward the weapon rack.

Picking up a handful of shuriken, he exhaled slowly, remembering the technique he had mastered through countless Battle Royale simulations.

With a swift flick of his wrist, he unleashed them—not in a straight line, but in an intricate, unpredictable pattern.

The shuriken curved through the air, rebounding off each other with precise, intentional collisions, redirecting toward multiple hidden and open targets at once. Each strike landed perfectly, piercing the exact center of the wooden dummies scattered across the field.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Even the most concealed targets, placed in the shadows of trees and behind obstacles, were hit with pinpoint accuracy.

The entire training ground went silent.

The young Uchiha warriors, who had initially ignored him, now turned their full attention toward the newcomer. Even the instructor watched with amazement.

Three particular boys, standing a few meters away, narrowed their eyes.

They were Uchiha Ryo, Uchiha Daichi, and Uchiha Ren—all considered geniuses among their peers.

Ryo, the eldest and strongest among them, stepped forward with a smirk. "That was impressive. But let's see how well you fight."

Daichi cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, let's see if you can handle real opponents, not just wooden dummies."

Ren, the quietest of the three, simply activated his two-tomoe Sharingan, studying Madara's movements.

Madara, unfazed, crossed his arms. "I don't have time to fight one by one. The three of you should attack me together."

The trio's expressions darkened.

"Arrogant brat!" Ryo snapped.

Without hesitation, all three rushed at him simultaneously, displaying their taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, shuriken, kunai, and sword techniques.

Ryo lunged first with a strong right hook, aiming to overpower him with sheer force.

Madara sidestepped at the last second, catching Ryo's wrist mid-air and using his momentum to flip him over, slamming him onto the ground with practiced ease.

Before he could celebrate, Daichi struck from behind with a Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu. Small fireballs shot toward Madara, curving unpredictably.

Madara used his Observation Haki, weaving between the flames effortlessly. At the same time, Ren cast a genjutsu, causing the world around Madara to distort.

But Madara simply smiled.

"They think this level of genjutsu can trap me?"

With a burst of Yin Chakra Control, he shattered the illusion instantly.

"What—?" Ren barely had time to react before Madara was in front of him.

Displaying his taijutsu, Madara swept his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground.

Ryo had recovered by now and drew his sword, dashing forward. Daichi followed, hurling kunai to limit Madara's movements.

Madara responded with his own shuriken technique, deflecting the incoming kunai mid-air while simultaneously countering Ryo's sword strikes with his bare hands.

His movements were calm, controlled, and fluid—far beyond what a child his age should be capable of.

With a final series of attacks, he disarmed Ryo, flipped Daichi over his shoulder, and placed Ren in a submission hold, ending the fight in seconds.

The entire training ground fell into stunned silence.

The remaining young Uchiha warriors, watching from a distance, were left speechless.

Then—

"I'll fight you!"

"Me too!"

"Let's see if you can beat all of us!"

More and more young shinobi stepped forward, eager to challenge him.

Madara accepted every battle.

One by one, he defeated every single opponent under the age of twelve.

By the end, every young Uchiha present stood in awe.

Ryo, Daichi, and Ren, now bruised and breathless, looked at Madara with newfound respect.

Ryo was the first to speak. "I don't care who you are. From now on, I'm following you!"

Daichi nodded. "Yeah! You're the real deal. Make us your subordinates!"

Ren smirked. "You don't really have a choice. We're not leaving you alone until you accept."

Madara sighed and said, "Fine. But you better keep up."

The three boys cheered.

After leaving the training ground, Madara activated his Soul Perception Technique, scanning the surroundings for any anomalies. Just like that, he spent several days strolling through the clan lands in his search, waiting patiently.

Then, one day, while he was on a stroll, he finally sensed it—an unusual, foreign soul lurking near the core area of the Uchiha Clan.

"Black Zetsu… I've found you," he muttered.

Knowing that Black Zetsu wouldn't risk approaching too close to the heart of the clan, Madara devised a plan. He needed to draw him out into an isolated location.

He left the Uchiha compound under the guise of a casual walk and headed toward the river that ran near the clan's borders.

"This is the same place where I met Hashirama for the first time in the original work," he mused.

Sure enough, Black Zetsu followed.

Once Madara was certain that Black Zetsu had come close enough, he acted instantly.

Using Phantom Shift, he teleported directly above him, executing the Heavenly Binding Seal in one swift motion.

The dark, formless figure of Black Zetsu twisted and writhed, trying to escape. The seal's gravitational force pulled at him, but the will of Kaguya's creation was strong.

"You… What are you doing?! How can you find me and why you want to seal me?!" Black Zetsu screeched, trying to slip into the shadows.

Madara poured more power into the seal, stabilizing it further.

"You don't need to know about these things."

After a fierce struggle, Black Zetsu was finally sealed within a floating black sphere, double Madara's size.

Not willing to take any risks, he placed the sphere inside his System's Personal Space, ensuring that no external force could interfere.

With this mission complete, he turned back toward the Uchiha compound.