As an Uchiha I became the Jinchuriki of Senju Tobirama

Uchiha Izuna instinctively took a half-step back, quickly withdrawing the hand that had been gripping the doorknob. He raised it warily to his chest, and in an instant, the patterns of his Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life.

He entered a state of extreme vigilance.

Even as his lifelong rival, he had never seen Senju Tobirama like this…

Back in the Warring States Era, when Tobirama's brother was ambushed and killed by the Uchiha clan, Izuna had thought that such a devastating blow would finally shake the man's composure.

That it would be the perfect chance to crush him in one swift stroke!

But during the surprise attack that followed, what Izuna saw was a Tobirama whose eyes remained cold—at most tinged with a trace of sorrow—yet who still calmly and methodically commanded the Senju clan's forces to respond…

It was at that moment—

Izuna had concluded: perhaps there truly was nothing in this world capable of shaking Senju Tobirama's mind.

He was a devil—so calm he bordered on heartless.

But the Tobirama standing before him now shattered that belief.

Where was the calm?

Right now, Senju Tobirama looked like an Uchiha who had just watched a loved one die before his eyes—his emotions spiraling so violently that he was on the verge of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan…

Izuna knew this look all too well.

The frenzied, violent surge of ocular power… the heavy, cold aura cloaked in darkness… everything about him screamed of resentment and agony.

'This pain… surpasses even my own!!' Izuna thought in shock. What could Senju Tobirama have experienced… to make someone who's hated the Uchiha his entire life now look so much like one of us?

The so-called Uchiha curse—the deep, dangerous madness—was embodied perfectly by Tobirama's current state: the tendency to fall into extremes when emotions ran high, ultimately leading to actions so deranged they defied comprehension.

As for this so-called Uchiha madness—though Izuna personally loathed the term—he had to admit, from a pragmatic standpoint, that during his time as the actual head of the Uchiha clan, he had always remained wary of it… precisely because it could render a clansman dangerously unstable.

If Senju Tobirama is the one descending into madness…

Izuna's heart skipped a beat. That was the one thing he genuinely feared witnessing.

Because under the current backdrop of the Shinobi Allied Forces' formation—this group built primarily to pass Kazuki's test—without Senju Tobirama, it wouldn't be able to function at all…

Only Tobirama understood Kazuki best. The strategies and methods he devised were the most likely to help Kazuki break free from the influence of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

As for the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura—exalted as they were—even in Izuna's eyes, their planning abilities didn't hold a candle to his elder brother's…

And if he looked at it without rose-colored lenses, even his brother and Senju Hashirama—those two—weren't suited to be leaders. Their ideal role was that of pure warriors on the battlefield.

'I'm not fit either… Even if I'm not inferior to Tobirama, he has that strange bond with Kazuki… and an unmatched, shameless audacity that lets him do absolutely anything…'

Izuna cautiously observed Senju Tobirama, remaining silent and keeping his distance, while such thoughts flashed through his mind.

The reason he'd come to see Tobirama today—

Was largely because he had seen, during Uchiha Madara's lesson, that Tobirama had disguised himself as a mere bystander just to cheer him on. That support had allowed his brother to better integrate into the Shinobi Allied Forces and gain even more popularity…

This, no matter how you looked at it, was hard to call a bad thing.

If Senju Tobirama had done this sooner, Uchiha Izuna truly didn't believe that his soft-hearted older brother—no matter how deceived he had been by Infinite Tsukuyomi—would have had the heart to reboot the entire shinobi world.

And while all the fault did lie with Senju Tobirama—

Uchiha Izuna nonetheless found himself seeing the man in a slightly different light because of it. That was why he'd come to find Tobirama tonight—to ask him what he really intended to do.

About Kazuki. About the future of the shinobi world. About many things…

Tonight, Uchiha Izuna had decided to set aside his bias and pride, and have a genuine, heart-to-heart conversation with Senju Tobirama.

But what he hadn't expected—

Was to find Tobirama in such a violent, almost Uchiha-like state…

Was this even still the same man?

"…Sorry you had to see that, Uchiha Izuna," Tobirama muttered hoarsely, lowering his head and covering his eyes with one hand. "Take a seat. You came at the right time. I wanted to talk to you too."

Izuna gave a slow nod and walked over to the chair beside Tobirama's bed, quietly sitting down, staring at his lifelong rival in silence.

Tobirama picked up a tissue and wiped the blood off his face haphazardly, then looked up to meet Izuna's gaze.

"Let's start with you. My situation… it'll take a while to explain."

"You…" Izuna began, then sighed.

It might've been better if he hadn't wiped his face.

Before, the blood had just been two dark-red streaks. But after wiping it with a dry tissue, the crimson smeared across half his face. Combined with those bloodshot eyes and the ferocious intensity behind them…

Under the dim moonlight, he looked downright terrifying—like a wraith that had clawed its way back from the depths of hell.

"…You've lost your composure. I don't know what happened to you, but surely you understand now, don't you? The Uchiha don't suffer from some inherent madness. We just… feel too deeply. And those emotions, if not properly guided, spiral out of control."

Izuna's gaze swept across the room as he reached for a towel nearby.

In the blink of an eye, the towel was soaked with Water Release, and in the next instant, enveloped in flames—

—but the fire vanished just as quickly.

"Here. Wipe your face. After all, you're still Senju Tobirama," Izuna said, handing over the towel he'd flash-heated using an incredibly refined control of chakra.

"If there's something on your mind, you go first. I don't have anything that urgent."

Tobirama let out a habitual snort and was about to refuse.

How could he possibly accept a kind gesture from Uchiha Izuna? That clan… born evil, every last one of them…

But in that moment, Kazuki's face inexplicably flashed through his mind.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Tobirama held them back. In silence, he accepted Izuna's gesture and placed the towel—warm enough to loosen the stiffness in his face—over his skin.

He let out a long breath.

Steam curled gently from the cloth. And under its cover, as Tobirama recalled the way Kazuki had feigned ease while preparing to sacrifice himself for the shinobi world, his nose stung.

Two silent tears slipped down his face.

At least Izuna can't see them, Tobirama thought, a bit embarrassed by his loss of control. He cleared his throat on purpose, trying to gather himself.

A moment later, he carefully wiped the blood clean from his face.

Watching him do this, Uchiha Izuna felt a strange sense of relief.

Good. It's been too long since I used Water Release… I almost forgot how to properly heat it with Fire Release afterward.

'If I overheat the towel, won't Tobirama think my chakra control's garbage?'

'Can't afford to show weakness—stay sharp!'

Senju Tobirama set the towel aside. Maybe it was just psychological, but after wiping himself down like that, his restless heart did feel a bit calmer.

"…Thanks, Uchiha Izuna."

"Hmph."

This time, it was Izuna's turn to scoff.

Faced with Tobirama's rare show of gratitude, he genuinely didn't know how to respond.

"…What I've encountered is… complicated."

Tobirama paused, thinking it over for a moment.

"I was wondering if I might need your dōjutsu… Your Kanrō—it can seal chakra and space, right?"

Tobirama stared directly into Izuna's eyes, not bothering to sugarcoat his words.

"If… if your ocular power is strong enough—can you seal consciousness?"

Izuna froze for a moment.

He had never considered such a possibility. After all, when facing human opponents, once you restrained their chakra and locked down their position, a single blade or Fire Release was all it took to finish the job.

Why would anyone bother sealing consciousness?

"To be precise," Izuna said slowly, "Kanrō' core ability is to suspend all matter within a domain… It's like crushing an area's flow of time beneath a massive stone forged from dōjutsu."

"If the ocular power were limitless, it might be worth a try…"

"In theory, it's possible."

Tobirama's eyes lit up at that—just as he'd hoped.

"So it can seal consciousness after all… But what are you planning?"

Izuna frowned. "Are you trying to figure out how to seal away the Ōtsutsuki chakra consciousness inside Kazuki, once he's been defeated?"

"No… Not exactly."

Tobirama shook his head. "This isn't something I can explain in just a few words."

He extended a clenched fist toward Izuna.

"You've only ever used chakra to kill, but… you should still know what this means, right?"

Izuna curled his lip and reluctantly raised his fist, bumping it against Tobirama's.

"And what, you haven't only used chakra to kill? Give me a break…"

Still—

Even so—

These two lifelong rivals…

On this day, their fists met. The source of thɪs content is 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍

Just as the Sage of Six Paths had once dreamed.

In that moment, chakra truly became a medium of connection between people.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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