She was Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara was her.
One and the same and that wasn't something that would change anytime soon.
But she was a girl now and damn if that didn't screw her in the end. Cradled in her mother's arms as she tore into her brothers for their neglect of her safety Madara did what she did best and rationalized.
She did not spend her time study to one day achieve her analytical and sociology degrees for them to go to waste now. She felt herself sink into a state of prioritizing as she focused in.
By the time canon!Madara had met Hashirama the brothers before her had been dead and it had been him and Izuna left. There was no way she was going to be left playing the part of the distressing damsel but she wasn't so used to wearing rose-colored glasses that she couldn't see that as a woman she was all but welcomed on the battlefield and Madara was not okay with that.
Don't get her wrong she was terrified of having to fight - to kill another human being - but she was more scared of dying from an enemy attack because her genitalia prevented her from developing the abilities she knew she had.
She was scared of being caught without a defense, scared of only being able to scream while a blade dug itself into her chest because she would want nothing more than to take the bastard who took her down out with her.
Besides she would trust the desensitization methods to kick in by the time she actually had to take a life. Madara knew they existed because she saw it used in the Manga in different ways. Glamming up the Shinobi life making it seem like the dream job and slowly implanting the subliminal message that it was easy to slip a kunai between your opponent's ribs and she hoped it wouldn't take long for the conditioning to happen.
She didn't need any other set backs such as her previous morals holding her back as horrible as that sounded. No one else had such limitations and showing a "weakness" like that would only cement the opinion that women didn't belong anywhere else but in the bed and kitchen.
Male Madara's body was now hers and just because she didn't have his parts didn't mean she didn't have his potential abilities. He had been a powerhouse and it was true that women were physically weaker than men so that only meant she would have to try a little harder.
Being ignorant in this place was good for no one. She knew enough about chakra to get herself that far but as for fighting forms and weapon training she would either need one of her brothers to teach her the basics, prove herself to her father, or create her own improvised style.
The first and last options were best to be completed for the second to be worthwhile. Though she had never met the man known as her father she was sure that he wouldn't accept anything half assed from a woman who thought she could fight with the men.
First things first she would have to show everyone that she was a "prodigy", get them interested. Everyone valued intelligence and she knew no one else held it in higher esteem than the Uchiha.
Her first step would be to start speaking as soon as she could and respond to verbal commands when directed at her. Madara had to make herself stand out, make it impossible for her to be pushed to the side or ignored.
She wanted to impress them early on to make it easier for herself later. She also needed to be mobile even sooner than that, she had no idea how her brothers got killed but if it was with a home attack she wanted to be able to move.
There was also a drawback to appearing strong, they could just decide to pair her with some big name in the clan to produce little Sharingan babies and Madara knew if it came to that she would rather tear out her womb. Call her a feminist but her body was a temple not to be defiled even if this one wasn't hers originally.
If (and this was a very big if) she was given permission to fight she would not do it as a girl.
No, the threat of rape was very real here. In a time period of war like the one in this universe woman were viewed like objects, a glorified sex tool. If she was caught by an enemy clan she knew that wouldn't hesitate to hurt her any way they could and as a female that was the easiest way.
Looking like a female on the battlefield was basically putting a bullseye on her back for every overconfident warrior there was, Madara wasn't stupid or prideful enough to do it, to throw the fact that she was allowed on the field in their faces. So she would dress herself as a boy and continue the facade until she was skillful enough to protect herself.
She could pull off androgynous, especially if she looked the same as Madara at a young age but even if she didn't the right haircut and bandages could do wonders. Her voice wasn't a problem until puberty hit and hopefully by then she'll measure up her canon self.
If she remembered correctly the women were primarily used as healers here. That would most likely give her an edge with chakra control and a reason to sit in on the training of her brothers under the guise of practicing her iryo-ninjutsu to patch them up.
And depending on when she activated her Sharingan - because rest assured there was no way she wouldn't achieve the necessary trauma to set it off and there was no guarantee that she would get it the same time as in the manga - she would watch some of the more experienced ninja spar to copy their movements for later use.
As soon as she was alone and able she would set about manipulating the internal energy she could always feel. It was best to get started soon.
I'm trying to present this Madara as someone who is very intelligent, very thoughtful, she doesn't like to do things without a plan if she's in a position where she can't manage the outcome. She's one of those people who would not like to go into anything without having a basis for the near future. She adaptable, very rational and hates being trapped in a corner. She's very go-to about things and is used to being in control.
A little hint is that the more she rationalizes something that can't be rationalized (in example someone death, someone stupid action that knowingly gets them killed, or a certain Senju's feelings) that's when you know she's panicking. Tell me what you think of her.
If I was in this Era I would be very scared of rape. Back then they were hard asses and in every feudal like civilization and war time women were always in the worse positions. I would dress up as a boy too. Tell me what you think of her plans. Please excuse any errors and review.
I'll try to update quickly.