Uchiha Madara was pissed.
Those damned Hagoromo had crossed a line. Madara should have known they were nothing but a clan of glorified bandits.
Their audacity alone was enough to make him march straight into Hagoromo's territory and burn their entire clan to the ground.
An hour ago, one of the shinobi from his brother's team had returned with news that the Hagoromo clan had ambushed them on their way back after the two clans had reached an agreement.
During the ambush, Izuna had sent one of them to report back to Madara for backup while he and the rest distracted their pursuers.
Madara's eyes darkened, and his pace quickened.
To think they would dare lay a finger on his people! On his brother! Did they not think Madara would retaliate for such a transgression?!
Madara would have gone through with it by now, but charging into enemy territory while his emotions were running high would accomplish nothing but a bloodbath. And really, the one thing Madara needed to focus on was finding Izuna.
If anything had happened to Izuna-
He would make anyone named Hagoromo regret ever existing.
He had been tracking the direction they were supposed to have taken, but the trail had grown difficult to follow. Yet the scent of blood lingered in the air, faint but unmistakable.
Madara stopped atop a tree branch, his eyes scanning the ground below.
Six bodies lay scattered across the forest floor, broken and bloodied. None of them bore the Uchiha clan symbols, and Madara didn't suppress the cruel, satisfied smirk that tugged at his lips.
They were all Hagoromo. That meant one of his clan members should be nearby.
His Sharingan spun as he scanned the forest ahead, searching for any traces of chakra.
Two chakra signatures lingered in the distance. One was weak, barely more than a flicker. And the other-
Madara would recognize it anywhere. He leaped from the branch, landing several meters from his brother.
"Izuna!" Relief washed over Madara's face.
Izuna's head snapped toward the sound. "Nii-san!" Izuna tried to straighten, grunting as pain shot through his injured leg.
"You're alive." Madara stepped forward and grabbed his brother by the shoulders.
"No thanks to you! Why were you so late, Nii-san?!" Izuna pouted.
Madara's eyebrow twitched. This brat. "I made it here as fast as I could." Madara turned to look at the body lying next to Izuna. "Izuna, this is?"
"That's Shigure." Izuna leaned forward to pull off his clanmate's mask and reveal his face. "He is injured, but he will make it through, thankfully."
If Madara remembers correctly, Shigure was one of Izuna's close friends. Izuna must be beyond concerned.
"It seemed you handled yourself just fine."
Izuna winced. "Um, actually… I almost fell into those bastards' hands earlier."
Madara frowned at the defeated slump of his brother's shoulders and gently maneuvered him to rest back against the tree. "How did you get away then?"
Izuna laughed sheepishly as his back slid against the tree, allowing him to sit on the ground. "Well, you see, I got a timely save from a Hatake."
Izuna groaned. "I knew you lied when you said you memorized the Land of Fire map I gave you!" He kicked at Madara with his uninjured leg. "The Hatake's territory is only a few hours from here!"
Madara scoffed. "Still, why would a Hatake help you? What were they after?"
The Hatake were a small clan, but that didn't mean they were harmless. A shinobi wouldn't simply throw themselves into a conflict between two other clans without a motive.
Izuna shrugged helplessly at his brother. He, too, had been quite suspicious of this, but-
"It didn't seem like she was after anything. It actually felt like she wanted as little contact with the Uchiha as possible."
"She?" Madara asked in surprise.
"Ah…" Izuna's face flushed. "Yeah… it was a Hatake kunoichi who helped me…"
While the Hatake were not enemies, that didn't mean Madara trusted them. There was a simple lesson Madara had learned long ago.
If a stranger helped you, there was always a reason.
Madara studied his brother and thought for a moment. "She didn't demand anything in return?"
"No."
Perhaps she wanted information. Perhaps she had recognized Izuna. Maybe she even was-
"Are you sure she wasn't sent to seduce you?" Madara suddenly asked as the idea struck him.
If she dared use such underhanded tactics on his brother to put him in a vulnerable position, Madara would search for this woman and tear her apart.
Izuna sputtered and kicked at him. "What are you talking about? Kakashi-san was a respectful woman!"
"How could you be so sure?" Madara crossed his arms.
"If she had been trying to seduce me, why would she have half her face covered?! And she even called me little Uchiha-kun! You don't call a guy you're trying to seduce little! That's the quickest way to make them lose interest!"
Madara barked out a delighted laugh. "She called you little?!"
Izuna flushed and tried to kick at him, but his brother had backed out of reach. "Shut up! Kakashi-san was really tall! I bet she is even taller than you!"
Madara's laughter died immediately. "Yeah, right! I bet she wasn't even that tall. It just seemed that way because you are so little!"
"No, no, she was really just that tall!" Izuna told him angrily.
The entire time they were talking, Madara studied his brother closely. Unlike Madara, Izuna had never been particularly cautious around women.
His little brother … how to say this, ah yes, his little brother tends to chase after them.
Madara had seen him do that enough times to tell when he was blindly smitten with someone. But this didn't seem like that case right now.
Strangely, though, he seemed to… hold the woman in great esteem.
"She was also so strong," Izuna continued. "Her chakra control was amazing, and her taijutsu was unlike anything I've seen before. And she was incredibly kind." This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
A kind shinobi?
Kindness had no place in their world.
Even if she was a woman, no shinobi could truly afford to be kind. Even the likes of Hashirama had their cruel moment.
Madara scoffed. "What did she do for you to call her kind?"
"Shigure had a kunai buried in his side. I thought he was going to die, but she healed him." Izuna rolled his eyes at Madara's tone but answered anyway. "She said she wasn't a medical ninja, that she only knew the theory, yet she still helped Shigure. And didn't even ask for anything in return."
Huh, if this woman was actually all that impressive, why hadn't Madara heard about her before?
Did the Hatake hide themselves that deeply?
Izuna let out a weak chuckle, his mouth trembling.
Watching his brother's shoulders shake, Madara began to understand why Izuna seemed so awestruck by the woman. That kunoichi had spared him the pain of burying a close friend.
He supposed he, too, owed her for sparing his brother that pain.
Izuna looked at his brother, eyes teary. "Nii-san, I failed our people today."
Madara reached out and hit Izuna on the back of the head.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Izuna rubbed the back of his head with an offended pout.
"Stop saying such foolish things!" Madara crouched in front of him, his expression hardening. "You were ambushed by a clan that broke the agreement we had just made. None of this was your fault!"
Izuna's gaze fell to the ground. "But Nii-san, my team- they-"
"Ah, yes, we will have to search for their bodies."
"I'm sorry… if only I had been stronger…"
Izuna had always been like this. He cared too much, blamed himself too easily, and somehow still threw himself into danger for everyone around him.
It was a good quality in a shinobi, but as his big brother, it also pissed Madara off.
Madara reached forward and flicked his brother on the forehead.
"Ow! Stop hitting me!"
He grabbed the back of Izuna's head and forced him to meet his gaze. "You are alive. That is the only thing that matters to me, little brother."
Izuna rolled his eyes and shoved him away, discreetly wiping at his eyes. "Of course I can't die now! You would be lost without me!"
Madara pretended not to notice the tears. He wasn't particularly good with sentimental moments.
"Now, where did the Hatake go?" Madara asked. "If she helped you that much, I owe her my thanks."
Izuna glared up at him. "Nii-san, your reputation is too fierce!"
"Huh?!"
"The moment she heard you were coming, she took her student and left!"