Tobirama drew a deep, satisfied breath.
Izunai's dōjutsu was like watching a thrilling autobiography, allowing Tobirama to relive, from beginning to end, the process of joining hands with Kazuki to annihilate the Ōtsutsuki clan.
It also gave Tobirama a new perspective on the Uchiha problem.
Indeed, even Kazuki, objectively speaking, bore the same demonic tendencies of the Uchiha…
Radical, extreme.
But without that relentless will to win, that obsession with seizing the one-in-ten-thousand chance to overcome the Ōtsutsuki, that persistence to endure the hesitation and grief of those close to him while clinging to ultimate victory—
How could this small shinobi planet ever have overturned the colonizing Ōtsutsuki clan across the cosmos?
Even the demonic side of the Uchiha, if the beast within their hearts was mastered, could become divine.
"You… give me an answer!"
As Tobirama savored his memories, Izunai, unable to glimpse into his inner thoughts, finally lost patience. She snapped fiercely at the white-haired man.
Was he stalling for time?
Or did his Mangekyō have some power that could resist the "Totsuka: Izanami"?
Otherwise, after hesitating this long, the Totsuka Sword should have already struck Tobirama down!
'An answer?'
Tobirama looked at Izunai, her face flushed red, and a strange thought stirred in his heart.
No—was she exhausted from forcing her dōjutsu on him? Then why did it look so much like she was embarrassed…?
Even now…
Tobirama's old stereotypes of Izuna still held sway. He did not realize that the person before him, though similar to Izuna, was fundamentally different…
Tobirama had not considered one question…
Could it be that Izunai, because of his words, truly had begun to feel something for him?
The steel-hard brain of a lifelong bachelor failed to make the connection. Instead, he stubbornly believed Izunai only wanted an excuse to fight him.
'Hmph, such pretentious posturing… Fine then, I'll make you lose so thoroughly you'll accept it without complaint!' Tobirama sneered inwardly.
With great strides, he marched right up to Izunai.
Izunai instinctively stepped back. What was he trying to do?
But Tobirama's movements were faster.
At once, Tobirama swiftly compressed the shield of Ama-no-Iwato deep within himself, then seized Izunai's arm, pressing his own Mangekyō close before her eyes.
"I know what you're thinking… You suspect that I might have prepared some countermeasure, some hidden technique to resist your Izanami, don't you?"
"Look straight into my eyes. Feel the fluctuations of my dōjutsu and my chakra—you know I am not using any ocular art. Since you believe I could never acknowledge an Uchiha, then I'll prove you wrong!"
Izunai was stunned as Tobirama clutched her arm.
That bastard—he was like he lived inside her head, guessing even the faintest flicker of doubt…
Tobirama raised her arm high, Mangekyō locked unflinchingly on the Totsuka Blade hanging in the heavens above.
"I would give everything—even my life—for an Uchiha."
Not the slightest loophole in his words. The Totsuka Blade, which judged falsehood, remained utterly still.
In that instant—
Izunai's pupils trembled.
Impossible… those words Tobirama had spoken before—could they truly all have been real…?
But he didn't stop there.
"I would share all my strength, talent, and wisdom with an Uchiha. Whether in failure or triumph, I would stand unshakably at their side, facing every hardship together—"
"Whether fighting ten thousand enemies, or clashing with the legendary Sages themselves!"
"I would, for an Uchiha, if they one day met with misfortune, stop at nothing to bring them back to life! Even if it meant endless obstacles ahead, even if it meant turning against my former friends."
"And I also believe—there is an Uchiha who would do the same for me."
Turning to Izunai, Tobirama's eyes gleamed with pride. "So, do you understand now?"
Izunai looked up at the Totsuka Blade in the sky, desperate for confirmation.
No reaction. No reaction at all…
And from the arm she now grasped in return, she felt no trace of chakra disturbance.
From every angle—
The words Tobirama had just spoken were genuine, validated by Izanami itself!
"You—" Tobirama shifted his tone, ready to sneer and deliver his final flourish.
But before he could finish—
The illusion of Izanami shattered in a thunderous instant.
Izunai suddenly threw her arms around him, her voice unable to hide its joy and sweetness, playful reproach woven through her lighthearted tone: "I… I'll marry you, then! Really, all you had to do was not lie to me, treat me a little better—that's enough. I never said you had to fight Sages for me, or even resurrect me…"
"You sure do overthink things!"
"But—I like it. I like it a lot."
This time, it was Tobirama's turn for his pupils to quake.
Wait—what?!
You… you're actually serious about this? I thought you were joking!
Weren't we just teasing each other?
And yet, in the moment Izunai embraced him—
The Senju and Uchiha present erupted into chaos.
Because that embrace—no matter how one looked at it—looked exactly like the motion of drawing a blade…
In an instant, the sound of clashing steel rang through the hall.
Especially Senju Momoka and Uchiha Setsuna.
After a single exchange, both of them had gone for kill-for-kill strikes, their blades already pressing against each other's vital arteries…
But at the very moment Izunai spoke,
Both realized something was wrong. Summoning every ounce of strength, they pulled back their strikes—barely, just barely—stopping at each other's throats.
Momoka and Setsuna, as if staring into a mirror, saw the other's pupils trembling wildly.
Wait—could it be real?
Uchiha Madara swept his gaze over Izunai and Tobirama, his heart full of conflicted feelings. Closing his eyes for a moment, he turned his head toward the two who now stood frozen like statues, Momoka and Setsuna.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh… Madara-sama, this… this is…" Uchiha Setsuna's mind raced. Forcing a wide grin onto his face, he quickly blurted out: "That's right! Doesn't our Uchiha clan have a custom? To celebrate newlyweds coming together, those closest to them perform a dance with blades, as a way of expressing heartfelt congratulations to the couple!"
"Momoka and I were just thinking that! We were simply too happy, maybe a little too eager to begin our performance!"
Setsuna furiously shot winks toward Momoka.
"Oh, oh, oh—yes! That's what Setsuna told me just now!" Momoka, seeing Hashirama's face darken like ink, instantly joined Setsuna's side.
The two exchanged a glance—and then, unbelievably, began to move their blades as though truly dancing…
"Forget it. Since they're shinobi, bringing weapons to a wedding can be considered… barely reasonable, I suppose." Uchiha Madara glanced at the crowd of relatives and comrades who had nearly cut each other to pieces, and let out a helpless sigh.
"What do you say, Hashirama…"
"Of course, Madara! Look—every single Senju and Uchiha here is carrying a weapon. That means it's as good as if none of us were carrying one at all!" Hashirama laughed heartily.
"Everyone's being open and honest with each other!"
"Anyway, don't mind the little details! What matters is preparing the wedding for Izunai and Tobirama!"
"What twisted logic… But, you're right. Since Izunai has acknowledged Senju Tobirama, then as her brother, I have nothing more to say…"
"Let's hold a grand wedding—in the name of both the Senju and Uchiha clans!"
At that moment, Tobirama still hadn't recovered from the sudden turn of events. He simply held Izunai in his arms on instinct.
Only Kazuki's voice echoed in his mind, congratulating him for completing the first stage of his arranged marriage task…
...
Meanwhile.
The shinobi world.
"Kazuki… Do you know where Senju Tobirama went?"
Uchiha Izuna approached Kazuki, asking in puzzlement: "That guy… Didn't he say he'd settle things with me one-on-one, with equal strength? Why can't I find him anywhere…?"
"Well… he went on a matchmaking meeting."
Kazuki blinked, coughed lightly, and said, "Tobirama told me he couldn't find a woman he liked in the shinobi world, and he didn't want to force himself—so he went off to another world."
"Hah? Matchmaking? Senju Tobirama?"
A spark of intense curiosity lit up in Uchiha Izuna's eyes. "So—did he succeed? That bastard, always looking like a block of stone, actually went and took the initiative to go on a matchmaking meeting?"
"That… I don't know either, since he went on his own. But I should be able to see what's happening on his side… So, do you want to take a look?" Kazuki asked with a cheerful grin.
"Of course!" Uchiha Izuna burst into laughter. "I want to see just what kind of person he'll marry!"
"I can't wait to mock him when he comes back!"
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