Night had fallen over the Uchiha encampment at Mount Kumo.To prevent Senju Tobirama from escaping, Izuna personally kept watch outside the prison cell, his eyes never leaving his captive.
Inside and outside the cage, neither spoke a word.
After a long silence, Uchiha Takeya finally entered from outside and said,"Izuna-sama, young clan leader, you should go eat. I'll take over the watch for a while."
Izuna touched his stomach, which had begun to feel hollow, and gave a small nod before leaving the underground prison.
Soon after, a Uchiha chūnin approached, carrying a bowl of stew made from wild vegetables and boar meat, and offered it respectfully."Izuna-sama."
"Mm. Thank you."
"Please don't say that. If you hadn't saved me today, I'd have died on the battlefield."
The Uchiha chūnin looked at him with open admiration.Izuna then noticed one of the man's eyes had lost its light, the pupil a cloudy white. His brows furrowed slightly."You used Izanagi?"
Izanagi—the forbidden technique that even among the Uchiha was rarely used. The ultimate genjutsu, capable of twisting reality itself.
The chūnin covered his ruined left eye and gave a bitter smile."Yes… but compared to losing my life, giving up one eye was worth it."
After exchanging a few more words, the man departed. Izuna sat casually on a stone ledge nearby, savoring the taste of the stew, lightly seasoned with nothing more than salt.For the Warring States era, this was already a feast.
"Izuna."
At that moment, Uchiha Madara approached.
"Ah, Brother."Izuna greeted him, and the two brothers sat facing one another.
"Thank you for what you did today. If not for you, who knows how many more clansmen would have been lost."
It was hard to reconcile these words with the ruthless demon the world would later remember as the Shura of the Shinobi World. But even Senju Hashirama, after being reincarnated through Edo Tensei, had admitted it: before Izuna's death, Madara was, in truth, a man who valued bonds deeply.
It was only later, because of everything that happened, that he changed…And walked down a path of no return.
"When I arrived, you wanted to use the Mangekyō, didn't you?" Izuna asked.
Like Hashirama, Izuna could sense the chilling chakra that the Mangekyō radiated.
Madara gave a wry shrug."Though I hate to admit it, without the Mangekyō, I can't match Hashirama."
But in the next instant, his expression sharpened with confidence again, his voice proud and unyielding."Even with its side effects, I'll use this power to defeat him. Next battle, I won't lose."
No—you will still lose.
Izuna muttered inwardly.
He had seen fragments of their battle earlier—only the latter half, but enough.At this point Hashirama had not yet awakened Wood Release, but already his wounds could heal automatically with Wood-style chakra.
A sign.
Izuna judged that Hashirama's awakening of Wood Release was imminent.And when that happened, Madara would be completely suppressed.
But Izuna did not crush the little confidence his elder brother still clung to. He stayed silent.
Thankfully, Madara soon shifted the topic."But tell me—do you think the Senju will agree to those terms you demanded?"
"They won't," Izuna answered without hesitation.
In his estimation, there was no chance the Senju would accept withdrawing from Uchiha land west of Mount Kumo.As for compensating the Uchiha for their losses and agreeing to a full five years of peace—almost… no, certainly impossible.
The Uchiha and Senju had fought for over a century. Not once had half a year passed without conflict.
Madara looked surprised."Then why propose such conditions?"
Izuna clicked his tongue inwardly.Madara's strength was unquestionable, but politically, and in terms of social cunning, he was woefully lacking.
No wonder he was always outmaneuvered by the less powerful Senju Tobirama.And no wonder, when Madara left Konoha later, not a single Uchiha followed.
"To drive the price up." Izuna explained patiently."It's like selling vegetables—you don't expect to sell at the first price you name. You start high, the buyer counters low, and eventually both sides settle on something acceptable. War negotiations are the same."
Madara blinked, still baffled. His way of thinking was simple: if there was an enemy, charge head-on and crush them.
Izuna shrugged. Forget it. Whether he understood or not didn't matter.
…
As Izuna had predicted, that very night, in the Senju camp on the far side of Mount Kumo, the clan leaders gathered.
Senju Takuma, Senju Hashirama, and more than a dozen others argued heatedly over Izuna's proposed conditions.
For the sake of rescuing Tobirama, agreeing to a truce with the Uchiha was unavoidable.But to accept Izuna's terms in full was absolutely impossible.
After nearly three hours of debate, they settled on the compromise suggested by Senju Takuma.
Hashirama frowned."Will the Uchiha agree to such terms?"
Takuma clapped his shoulder."You're still lacking in politics, Hashirama. Uchiha Izuna's demands looked outrageous, but he never truly expected us to agree. He's waiting for us to counter."
Hashirama was certainly sharper than Madara when it came to political sense, but even he couldn't help murmuring,"Did Izuna really think that far ahead?"
Takuma snorted."Hmph. That little fox. He may not have Madara's sheer might, but his cunning rivals their father, Uchiha Tajima. And somehow, he even managed to capture Tobirama—I've no idea what trick he used."
Hashirama pondered in silence."So Izuna's strength has already surpassed Tobirama's…?"
…
The next morning.
The Uchiha and Senju once again gathered at Mount Kumo, on the same bloodstained battlefield where they had fought the day before.
"Did you bring the documents?" Uchiha Takeya asked in a deep voice.
Though the future would belong to the two pairs of brothers—Madara and Izuna, Hashirama and Tobirama—for now, the ones with the highest standing in their clans were Takeya and Senju Takuma.
Thus, it fell to them to lead the talks.
At Takeya's words, Takuma drew out two scrolls."And Tobirama?"
Takeya glanced aside. Izuna emerged, escorting the captive Tobirama, his expression calm and unreadable."Sign the truce agreement first. Then he'll be released."
"Tobirama!" Hashirama called out anxiously.
"I'm fine, brother," Tobirama replied firmly.
Takeya and Takuma sat across from one another on crude wooden chairs.Takuma unrolled the scroll, revealing the proposed terms of the ceasefire:
Three main points:
The Senju will withdraw from the west of Mount Kumo, returning all Uchiha lands they had occupied.
The Senju will compensate the Uchiha for twenty percent of their losses in this campaign.
A truce of two years: neither Uchiha nor Senju may trespass on the other's territory, not even a single step.