Tobirama began walking toward her slowly, immediately putting the beauty on guard.
But for the sake of dignity, Izunai could not retreat.
"Izunai, we're here to negotiate, not to fight…"
To her surprise, Tobirama chuckled, even patting her shoulder.
"See? Why hold on to so much hostility?"
"As future allies, you awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan only makes me glad…"
Izunai slapped away the hand resting on her shoulder, her eyes wide with shock.
Wait—were those really words that bastard Senju Tobirama could say?
And how did he even dare to pat her shoulder?
Wasn't he afraid such a careless move would give her the perfect chance to stab him through?
How could Senju Tobirama dare this!
"But… although you've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, if it truly comes to blows, I still won't lose to you." Tobirama rubbed the arm she had knocked aside, his tone casual but his words carrying unshakable certainty.
"Heh. We'll see about that, you bastard!" Izunai snapped, unwilling to exchange another word with him. As expected, Senju Tobirama was still the same insufferable man who never spoke anything pleasant…
The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan—she would have to prove it by beating Tobirama into the ground, forcing this stubborn man to admit defeat in humiliation!
[Detected emotional fluctuation from Uchiha Izunai. A certain amount of alien temporal aura has been extracted.]
[Your chakra form and nature transformation abilities have been restored. Sage Body is gradually unlocking.]
Faced with Izunai's curses, Tobirama's smile only deepened.
Compared to Izuna, Izunai seemed far more emotional—her moods swayed easily.
For the Uchiha clan, this was not necessarily a bad thing. The more emotional they were, the more charged their Mangekyō Sharingan became, and in theory, the stronger the dōjutsu and techniques it unleashed.
But for Tobirama, standing before Izunai, this was an even greater boon.
He needed her emotions to rise and fall like a roller coaster, constantly releasing her alien temporal aura so that he could rapidly restore his former peak power.
At last, Tobirama began to understand why Kazuki had chosen Izunai as his matchmaking partner.
In the past, to shirk an arranged match, Tobirama had laid down a series of impossible conditions—five in total: beauty, strength, compatibility, potential for research, and bonds. He had intended to make Kazuki give up.
But truth be told, Izunai seemed to meet all of his conditions…
Her looks and strength went without saying. And after fighting side by side with Izuna, Tobirama had to admit—two people who had both achieved the Eternal Mangekyō through eye exchange could hardly be incompatible.
As for research potential, that was really a measure of intellect, and she passed that test as well.
The matter of bonds… that was supposed to be the hardest part. Having already weathered countless storms, Tobirama could hardly return to the innocence of early growth, could hardly relive from nothing the adventures that built ties with the woman in his heart.
But Kazuki had made it possible—by throwing him straight back into the Warring States era. It was, in effect, a forced forging of bonds.
And combined with this matchmaking system of Kazuki's—absorbing alien spacetime aura through emotion…
In every respect, whether for matchmaking or for seizing Shibai's Remains, Uchiha Izunai was the most suitable candidate!
'Hm. I'm not here for matchmaking. I'm here to finish Kazuki's task as quickly as possible…'
Tobirama gave himself this bit of psychological massage, then once again sized up Uchiha Izunai at his side. The more he looked, the more satisfied he felt.
Honestly, she really was quite good-looking. A beautiful Uchiha, without a doubt… I, Senju Tobirama, acknowledge you!
Tobirama relaxed completely, paying no heed to the dagger-sharp glare coming from Izunai.
After all, just looking cost him no chakra. And if a mere glance from him was enough to stir her emotions, that only helped him keep unlocking abilities…
"Like staring, do you? Fine, I'll remember that…" Izunai ground her teeth, already itching to start the fight!
Soon, she would knock this white-haired bastard to his knees, throw him in the Uchiha clan's dungeon, and torture him day after day!
"Hashirama, what do you want to discuss in these negotiations?" Uchiha Madara, oblivious to the tension at his side, was wholly focused on his conversation with the young Hashirama—as he always was.
"Ah… I want to seek an alliance with the Uchiha. Can we not keep fighting? If we joined forces, we could end this chaos and bring the brutal Warring States era to a close."
Hashirama's words landed like a thunderclap. "This was Tobirama's idea. I think it's excellent—what do you say?"
For a moment, Madara was stunned, staring blankly at the young Hashirama.
"Ah?"
Wasn't that leap a little too far?
Just a few days ago, our fathers died fighting each other—before the seventh day's rites were even over, you're already talking alliance?
Wouldn't that make their deaths meaningless?
Yet the more he thought about it, the more tempted Madara felt… Indeed, if not for Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma insisting on their duel to the death, then given his childhood bond with Hashirama, there truly was no need for the fighting to continue.
But forging an alliance was no simple matter.
The blood feud between the Senju and the Uchiha could not be severed so easily.
If an alliance were truly to be formed, it would require a catalyst…
For instance, the outcome of a great battle—just like in the original timeline, where Izuna's death and Madara's defeat gave Hashirama the chance to extend an olive branch, and only then could an alliance be forced into being.
With both clan heads dead now, even if an alliance were made, it would be like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, its detonation unpredictable.
Even Uchiha Madara himself…
He wanted both to ally with Senju Hashirama, and at the same time to cross blades with him on the battlefield and decide the victory!
"Brother, don't listen to Senju Hashirama's nonsense! Right now, both you and I have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—this is nothing more than that bastard Senju Tobirama's stalling tactic!"
With heroic bearing, Uchiha Izunai shouted: "The Senju clan wants an alliance? Very well! But you must become vassals of the Uchiha, surrendering vast resources and ninjutsu from within your clan!"
"If you refuse, then we'll settle it on the battlefield!"
In an instant—
All around the valley, at Izunai's furious command, hundreds of elite Uchiha appeared at key positions.
"Madara, what is this?"
Hashirama frowned deeply. "Didn't we agree not to bring anyone else?"
Madara's heart tightened, and he waved his hands in denial. "This wasn't me… Izunai, what are you doing!"
"Don't worry, Brother!"
Izunai continued her orders: "Everyone, fall back three hundred steps! Guard against reinforcements and prevent their targets from escaping! Until I give the word, no one is to act!"
"Senju Tobirama, didn't you say you wanted an alliance?"
Drawing her katana, Izunai fixed her sharp gaze on the white-haired man before her, whose calm expression only infuriated her further. "Then first, fight me one on one! If you lose, you'll lead the Senju to become vassals of the Uchiha!"
"And if I win?"
Tobirama chuckled as he looked at Uchiha Izunai. "Will the Uchiha then become vassals of the Senju?"
"I could never lose to you!" Izunai snapped coldly.
"In that case, if I lose, it will be as you say…"
Tobirama's eyes lingered on Izunai, his tone light as he coughed softly. "But if I win… the Uchiha need not become vassals of the Senju. All I ask is…"
"…that you marry me."
Uchiha Izunai's face went blank, as if she had just been struck full force by one of Hashirama's Wood Release giants—not with rage, but with utter bewilderment.
Wait—what in the hell are you even saying?!
Senju Tobirama!!!
Tobirama's words silenced the entire valley.
Every face bore the same look of disbelief—Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, even the hundred Uchiha elites blocking the road.
And Uchiha Izunai herself.
It was nothing but pure bewilderment… Tobirama said that if he won, he would marry Uchiha Izunai?
Wasn't that…
A bit too shocking?!
"You… what did you just say?"
For a moment, Uchiha Izunai thought she had fallen into some exceedingly advanced genjutsu, one that even her Mangekyō Sharingan could not dispel.
"Say that again?!" Uchiha Izunai raised her blade, its tip aimed directly at Tobirama's throat, her delicate face flushed red with anger.
That damned Tobirama—how dare he humiliate her like this!
In that instant, her impression of him plummeted to the lowest depths.
Izunai couldn't believe Tobirama harbored such thoughts about her. Since childhood, the two of them had been locked in a state of mutual hostility that would never end!
In truth, on the battlefield between the Senju and the Uchiha, Tobirama and Izunai rarely even clashed with others. The moment they laid eyes on each other, they would immediately fight, never managing to settle the score after all these years.
They were the kind who wished the other would drop dead the very next second…
So to Izunai, Tobirama's words sounded like venomous mockery! As if sneering that she would never marry in this lifetime, while also hinting he intended to trample her beneath his feet.
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