Chapter 3
Madara stood there, watching his younger brother Izuna, who was always the epitome of maturity and obedience—the golden boy the Uchiha elders loved to reference while lecturing the clan's children. Izuna, the second-in-command of the Uchiha clan, second only to Madara himself, the charming gentleman everyone adored—was now grinning widely because of the second-in-command of the rival clan, in a way that even Madara felt was more shameless than Hashirama himself.
“You seem awfully proud of your little scheme, don’t you?” Madara asked, trying to mask his disbelief.
“Proud? More like ecstatic! If this doesn’t make White Hair switch his surname to Uchiha after this...” Izuna paused dramatically.
“Then what?”
“Then I guess I’ll switch mine to Senju.” Izuna smirked.
“Excuse me?!”
“I mean, Uchiha or Senju—it doesn’t matter, does it? What matters is who’s in and who’s out~”
"Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. Ever since I was born, it's been destined that I'd be Tobirama's top~"
Madara struggled to suppress the heavy weight pressing on his heart.. It was becoming increasingly clear that he alone bore the weight of continuing the Uchiha bloodline.
“Don’t be upset, brother!” Izuna chimed in. “Once things settle down, I’ll ask Tobirama to introduce you to some skilled and stunning Senju women—top-tier quality, I swear!”
Madara gave his brother a strained smile, internally noting, How about you just ask White Hair to heal your injuries later? Better make it Sage Mode, because Wood Style healing isn’t going to cut it.
"By the way, Izuna, your plan—just follow it, right?"
"Yep, this plan practically caused a lot of hair loss to come up with. Just go ahead with it."
"What? Your hair has fallen out already?"
"No, no, brother, it’s Tobirama’s hair. Every time I hit a wall trying to woo that idiot, I get so frustrated that I snip off a few strands of his hair whenever I get the chance for motivation! *smug mode activated*
"?"
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Madara swore that if he hadn’t seen the barely suppressed heartbroken expression on Senju Tobirama’s face after tearing apart the fake letter Izuna left behind, he would still have thought his younger brother was living in some delusional fantasy of love.
I mean, just look at that guy’s perpetually scowling face—then how it gets even more scrunched up whenever his little brother shows up. Who could tell this was a two-way thing at all?!
Tch, hypocritical Senju!
Oh well, he’d be family eventually anyway, so Madara decided to cut him some slack. Right now, helping his little brother was more important.
_____
“Tobiramaaaa, oh Tobiramaaaa~~”
Standing in front of the laboratory, Hashirama pounded on the door relentlessly. Hokage status? Reputation? Who cared about that anymore? Even so, there was nothing but silence from inside, completely ignoring his racket. But the First Hokage, known for being hopelessly doting on his younger brother, was nothing if not persistent. He kept knocking, determined to drag his brother out.
Having been disturbed plus stuck doing Hashirama’s overdue paperwork plus plagued by a bizarre dream involving Izuna, the Second-in-Command of the Senju clan, Tobirama, had had enough. Grinding his teeth, he lowered the barrier and opened the lab door.
The moment Hashirama saw his brother, the Senju brocon flung himself forward, wrapping tightly around Tobirama and rubbing his face affectionately against him.
“Tobiramaaaa! You made me wait so long I almost fainted!!!”
Pinned in a hug, Tobirama stared at his elder brother with a face full of disgust. Then, with a swift motion, he kicked the nuisance aside.
“What are you doing? Stay away from me!”
Hashirama: *sits in a corner, sulking mushroom emoji*-ing
“So, what do you want? If it’s about Izuna, don’t bother. I have no intention of getting involved.”
“No, no! It’s not that—it’s something else!”
“?”
“Come eat dinner!”
_____
“Such delicious food, right? I cooked it, I cooked it~”
“Yes, yes, I know already. Can you stop talking for a moment?”
Completely immune to his younger brother’s cold remarks by now, Hashirama kept going, though he changed the subject this time.
“You know, our Tobirama really looks quite... appetizing, doesn’t he? So enticing to both people and animals~”
“Elder brother, did you lose a bet today and go insane? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“It’s true! Even animals take a bite out of you, let alone humans.”
“What are you going on about now?”
“Your neck! It’s all red and bitten up. I noticed earlier this morning, but before I could say anything, you teleported away.”
Tobirama immediately touched his neck. The wound was quite small, subtle enough to go unnoticed if not pointed out.
“What bit you? A dog?”
Izuna: *Woof!*
Tobirama: “Silence.”
Tobirama suddenly remembered the dream from earlier that morning. A snake had bitten him, leaving teeth marks on his neck at the exact same spot and time. As a sensory ninja, everyone knew how sensitive he was to external stimuli. And yet, someone had dared to get close to him and leave such a mark!
Genjutsu?
Had someone taken advantage of him falling into a genjutsu to get close and... touch him?
But what troubled Tobirama the most was: Who was it?
Who could infiltrate the Hokage’s building and deceive his senses so completely?
If it was genjutsu, and within this area...
Uchiha?
But why would it be the Uchiha? Wasn’t there supposed to be a truce lately? Ever since the whole issue with Izuna...
For a moment, Tobirama froze. Everything around him seemed to come to a halt. Time itself felt as if a massive boulder had dropped on it, halting its flow. A cold chill crept from the top of his head down to his toes.
In that dream, the snake that had bitten him—its eyes had been Izuna’s Mangekyou Sharingan.
No, that couldn’t be...
The more he thought about it, the less plausible it seemed.
Perhaps it was some foolish Uchiha... but... but...
No, maybe it was Uchiha Madara. Maybe he wanted revenge for his brother—
“Tobirama!!”
Pulled from his spiraling thoughts, Tobirama blinked, realizing that he had frozen mid-meal. Normally cheeky and playful, Hashirama could also be perceptive when it came to his younger brother. The moment he saw the rare signs of panic and confusion flash across Tobirama’s usually calm red eyes, Hashirama grew worried.
“B-Brother?”
“Are you okay? Does your injury hurt?”
“No, it’s not that. I just have something I need to ask you. Has Uchiha Madara been acting suspiciously lately?”
“Madara? What could he possibly do? He’s been tearing his hair out searching for Izuna’s body this whole past month, barely eating or sleeping. He doesn’t have time to act suspicious.”
“Why do you ask? Don’t tell me you’re interested in Izu—”
“Silence!”
“...”
“Brother, is it true that Uchiha Izuna has completely vanished?”
“Yes, Madara himself is leading the search. It’s strange, though. Other clans aside, even when I offered to help, Madara refused... It’s really upsetting...”
“So the search is being conducted solely by the Uchiha clan?”
“That’s right. It makes sense, though. Izuna was the second-in-command and Madara’s brother. Sensitive matters like these, Madara probably doesn’t want outsiders involved.”
“I see. But don’t you think the Uchiha might be hiding something from us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
𝑰𝒛𝒖𝒏𝒂, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆
_____
That night, after persistent coaxing and whining from his elder brother, Tobirama reluctantly gave in and moved from his laboratory to his private room in the Senju compound to sleep. He really needed a quiet space to sort through his observations and deductions, but fine. Since it was rare for his brother to lower himself to this extent, Tobirama decided to yield this once.
To his private room, then~
However...
"What are you doing?"
Standing in his room, Tobirama, now dressed in a lightweight sleep robe, exuded an understated elegance. His slender but strong frame was partially revealed under the relaxed fabric. Freshly washed silver hair carried the faint, refreshing scent of herbal soap, with traces of lingering dampness. Droplets of water clung to his hair, and as he spoke, one mischievous bead seemed to sense its moment, sliding down to skim over his smooth, soft skin. Afraid of him noticing, it quickly vanished under the edge of his robe, hiding against the firm chest it briefly touched.
Witnessing this scene, Hashirama gulped audibly. *(Hashirama: Wait, why am I gulping?)*
"Let's sleep together tonight~"
"I need peace and quiet."
"I’m not doing anything though; it’s perfectly quiet right now~"
Seeing Tobirama about to argue, Hashirama immediately sprawled on the mattress, cocooning himself in a blanket like a giant caterpillar.
"I’m sleepy now, can’t go back to my room. If you make me leave, I’ll lose sleep, and then I’ll be tired in the morning and can’t get any paperwork done properly!"**
"So? That’s hardly new. I’ll just hit you with a few Water Formation Walls; you’ll be fine."
Direct confrontation wasn’t working. Hashirama thought to himself: As a shinobi, you have to adapt. If fair play doesn’t work, play dirty!
So, when Tobirama tried to tug the blanket away, Hashirama grabbed his younger brother by the leg, pulling him down onto the mattress and hugging him tightly.
"Come on, Tobirama~ We haven’t slept together like this in forever. Just this once, okay?"
"No. Your sleeping posture is terrible; you kick me every time."
"Not today! Hokage promises, and Hokage delivers!"
Knowing there was no escaping Hashirama’s absurdly stubborn persistence, Tobirama sighed deeply in resignation. Allowing his elder brother to keep clinging to him like a limpet, he buried his face into the blanket and resigned himself to his fate.
Seeing his little brother all huddled up in his arms, Hashirama beamed, his smile as bright as sunshine. Reaching over, he turned off the light and settled in to sleep.
The room slowly fell into a tranquil darkness.
The night began in peace, but as the moon climbed high and its silvery light washed over the darkness, it illuminated the sight of the Senju brothers sleeping soundly.
What the hell is this?!
That was Izuna’s first thought when he spotted his White Hair all curled up snugly in another man’s arms—even if that man was his brother.
Seriously, Hashirama already clings to Tobirama all day like a leech—now he’s even doing it in his sleep?!
"Oh wow, look at that! So much sibling love, huh?"
"Brother, if I have to witness this scene every day, my Sharingan will definitely evolve faster—it’s unbearable."
Izuna rolled his eyes and glared daggers at Hashirama as though trying to drill a hole in the man’s face. Then, wasting no time, he began prying his little one free from the Hashirama cage.
"Hey, Izuna, don’t rush it! If Hashirama wakes up, it’s over."**
"No big deal. Madara’s here, right? I’ll just leave him to you."
As he spoke, Izuna pulled Tobirama into his arms, filling the space between them without hesitation. The Uchiha Second-in-Command buried his face in his nemesis’s neck, inhaling deeply. When his gaze landed on the bite mark he’d left earlier, he couldn’t help but admire his masterpiece. That unintentional provocation stirred his possessive desires again. So, right there, in front of one brother who was sound asleep and another who was wide awake, Izuna kissed and licked the mark with smug satisfaction.
Of course, Madara could see the darkening look in his younger brother’s eyes, and in that moment, any image he had of Izuna as a "sweet, well-behaved" sibling shattered into dust. As for Hashirama, blissfully unaware as he snored away, he hadn’t yet witnessed this side of Izuna. However, according to village gossip years later, during a drinking session with Madara, the Hokage and ever-doting big brother learned the full story.
Reportedly, Hashirama immediately abandoned Madara at the bar, stormed into the home of his younger brother and his now brother-in-law with all the force of a hurricane, and despite Tobirama and Madara’s frantic attempts to de-escalate the situation, proceeded to give Izuna a bone-rattling beating.
But, of course, that’s a story for another time—one for future us to deal with.
“Time to sleep now, Hashirama.”
Madara glanced at the Senju clan leader, who was sprawled haphazardly on the floor, and sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. Normally, even a light touch would wake him up, yet after being unceremoniously tossed aside by Izuna with considerable force, he remained in a deep slumber.
Hashirama, oh Hashirama… your little brother is about to be abducted by my little brother, and here you are, blissfully dreaming away. When you wake up and find Tobirama missing, don’t come crying to me—I warned you.
After throwing a blanket over Hashirama, Madara even wiped away a tear in a display of melodramatic grief.
“Brother Madara, let’s go. Or do you plan on staying here to watch over Senju Hashirama?”
“No, thanks. When that guy wakes up and realizes Tobirama’s gone, he’ll raise hell, and I’m not sticking around to deal with it. But… are you really just going to outright kidnap White Hair like this?”**
“Kidnap? This isn’t kidnapping. It’s picking up my bride. Look, Tobirama’s already dressed and waiting for me.”
Izuna smugly ran his fingers across Tobirama’s soft, pale chest, his expression as goofy as ever.
“Ahh, I’m so happy. All that’s missing is the veil, and we’d be ready to head straight to the bridal chamber!”
Then, scooping up the silver-haired man, Izuna carried him off, leaving Madara alone to contemplate his fate.
Damn it. That White Hair’s put a spell on my little brother. Every ounce of Izuna’s IQ or EQ—if he even has any left—gets blown away the moment he’s in the same room as that guy.*
Was it truly inevitable? Could even someone as extraordinary as Izuna lose all sense of normalcy when it came to love?
Madara: Someone, please explain this to me...