Alternate timeline
——————————————
Heavily inspired by It Would Be Blue by shadesofmidnightsun, and her take on Izuna and Tobirama’s relationship before Izuna’s death. The explanation is in chapter 9, will use her take on the death of Izuna.
———————————————
“The Senju didn’t kill your brother, Madara!” Zetsu hisses above as he looked at Madara then at all of the shinobi’s battling the awakening of Kaguya.
A numerous ‘what’ was heard around, but it was Hashirama’s warm chakra that grounded Tobirama, he felt his brother’s confusion. Hashirama was about to open his mouth when Zetsu laughs.
A cruel one, directed at the confused and angry Madara.
“Not a smart one aren’t you. You might the strongest, but you were never an observer.” Zetsu hisses again, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“It was easy you see, to control one’s body, to say something they didn’t want.” Zetsu stops then smiles sinisterly the continues “To offer something that wasn’t offered.” Zetsu laughs again “To move their lips and say ‘never trust the Senjus’, aniki.”
Tobirama looks at Madara, sees his eyes grow bigger as he finally understood what Zetsu was implying. Tobirama sees the horror that is growing not only on Madara but also on his brother’s face.
“They were friends first!” Zetsu laughs openly and asks Madara. “Tell me, Madara, how does it feel? Knowing that it was you who killed your brother. Knowing that you’ve buried and cultivated hate towards your soulmate?”
That part shocked Tobirama, and he suddenly understood pitied gaze of Hikaku towards him every time he and Madara got into a heated fight.
But Zetsu was having his fun and continued to mock not only Madara but also Hashirama. “How does it feel to hurt your last brother, Senju?! All for the sake of your peace!”
A second pass and then the chaos starts. The two gods of shinobi attacked Zetsu, and the others used this to attack the controlled bijuus.
But Tobirama didn’t join the fight, instead, he laughs. It’s not in his character to laugh like this but he can’t stop it. All of his anger, despair, and frustrations have just been freed. His truth is now out there for everyone to know. He is now free.
His laugh then turns into tears, kneeling as his feeling overwhelmed him. He remembers the feeling when his brother told him that Izuna is dead, the horror of thinking he miscalculated and killed his friend. His brother’s scream and disappointment felt like a punch in the gut.
“You’ve destroyed everything that I’ve done. You’ve destroyed my dream! You already destroyed it before when you ratted me out to father and now destroyed it again!”
But that was not what hurt the most, it was the horror of miscalculating.
Tobirama and Izuna have an unspoken agreement about battling each other, they know that killing each other will cause more harm for their clan than good, they always walk on edge but they never cross the line. Battling each other means they have an excuse not to fight and probably kill others. Just like what their brothers are doing.
That’s why it confuses Tobirama when his brother stormed into his room and states that he had gravely injured Izuna with his latest technique.
It confuses him because he remembers Izuna’s smile after using Hiraishin, he remembers the thumbs up while being teased as a show-off. And now Hashirama is telling him that Izuna is dead.
But now the truth is out, the guilt that was dawn on his shoulder is now lifted.
He didn’t kill his friend, his first friend, his best friend. His platonic soulmate.
It was Izuna and Tobirama’s hiding spot first before Madara and Hashirama found it. It was they who first forge some kind of truce because unlike their brother they know the clan of each other at their first meeting. It was them who got the first idea regarding peace.
“Our brothers are idiots.” Izuna snickers beside Tobirama as they watch their brothers toss some stones.
“Grown-ups are stupid.” Tobirama agrees.
Like Hashirama, Tobirama found comfort with an Uchina regarding his brother’s death. Tobirama remembers Izuna’s comfort was much more warmer and gentle unlike his clan’s. His words were harsh and direct but it was comforting in some ways.
It was Izuna who plans what they will do if their father found out about their brothers, it was Izuna who signals him to get Batsuma cause Tajima is fast approaching, and it was Izuna who comforted him when Hashirama got angry at him for ratting him out.
“Don’t mind him, Tobi, your brother doesn’t understand that if you didn't tell your father, he’s already 6ft under.”
That’s why when Zetsu confirms his suspicions, happiness dawns on him for the first time ever since Izuna died. He ignores his brother’s pain screamed as he releases his mokuton against Zetsu, ignoring Madara’s burning anger that radiated all thru out the field. He ignores Zetsu’s scream and the cry on the battlefield.
He’s free.
———————————————
The fight ended as soon as it started, with both the reincarnation of Asura and Indra on one side, Zetsu never stood a chance.
Not that Tobirama ever doubted their victory. He knows they will win. And now he can rest. Hopefully this time, forever.
He felt his brother’s enormous chakra nearing him, and for some reason, Tobirama doesn’t want to talk to him or anyone else. He’s at peace.
And as he felt the sage releasing them, he suddenly heard Madara and the sage’s conversation
“One more chance.” Madara growls
And the sage agrees, “One more chance.”
———————————————
Tobirama didn’t understand it at first, but when he woke up in his old bedroom in the Senju compound, he now fully realize what was happening.
“Fuck!” He screams and ran at the same time as he felt his brother’s gigantic chakra nearing him.
———————————————