[Detected: Black Zetsu's emotions in violent fluctuation. Certain fragments of alien temporal aura extracted. Target's extractable aura exhausted.]
[Your Six Paths power unlock rate has slightly increased further.]
Hearing this, the corner of Tobirama's lips curled into a cold smile.
This Yin-Yang escape creation was already worthless.
"As long as I draw breath, I will protect Uchiha Izunai, protect those close to me, protect both Senju and Uchiha alike…"
Turning his back to Izunai, Tobirama deliberately straightened his posture, letting his shoulders and silhouette appear even broader. His voice thundered with conviction: "No one can harm those I love—or the ones who love me!"
Black Zetsu looked at Tobirama with powerless fury, its gaze shifting to Izunai, whose expression seemed ready to melt beneath the burning weight of that declaration. Its hatred almost solidified into reality.
If Tobirama were to die right now—!
Black Zetsu was utterly certain that Izunai would lose her mind, becoming the most terrifying madwoman in the history of the Uchiha clan.
But this man was like a mountain—impossible to cross.
"Die, worthless thing…"
The Mangekyō in Tobirama's eyes whirled violently. The malevolent fire of Wakatsuki, capable of annihilating both soul and spirit, interlaced with senjutsu chakra and burned—on all sides—through every wisp of chakra that made up Black Zetsu.
The mastermind behind the shinobi world turned to drifting ash.
Izunai stared blankly at Tobirama's back.
Under Wakatsuki's black flames, his profile could be called handsome, yet the overall impression he gave off remained grim…
All the more because Wakatsuki's malevolent fire has a devastating effect on spirit and soul; for the Uchiha—shinobi whose spirit is strong—merely drawing near Wakatsuki brings a natural, full-body unease.
But right now, Izunai felt Tobirama looked warm—and handsome!
He had accounted for everything; even this kind of sage's fallback could not so much as scratch him…
Most importantly, in a moment like this he had shown no hesitation in laying bare his feelings for her, stating outright that he would protect Izunai for life!
A confession made between life and death—this was exactly to the Uchiha's taste!
If not for the young Hashirama and Uchiha Madara still being present, Izunai could hardly have restrained the love in her heart for this white-haired man; she wanted to rush up and devour him by every method she knew!
The thought rose—
Izunai's gaze toward Uchiha Madara took on a hint of grievance: why was Elder Brother so utterly lacking in sense? Why hadn't he left yet?
And that cockroach-whiskered Senju, too—yes, I know you're Tobirama's elder brother, but could you please step aside right now?
[Detected: violent fluctuation in Uchiha Izunai's emotions. A large amount of alien temporal aura has been extracted!]
[Your Six Paths power has reached Moderate.]
Tobirama smiled to himself, though he also felt a twinge of emotion.
So this is the power of love? The Uchiha leader who once could not be provoked no matter what—now swayed so easily by a few tender words…
Love—ultimately a good thing, or a bad one?
With that in mind, Tobirama turned around.
At that moment, his gaze collided with Izunai's love-filled eyes; like water striking fire, it instantly raised a mist of feeling.
And that mist spread not only through Izunai's heart…
It seeped into Tobirama's heart as well.
Such pure, undiluted affection made his usually calm heart tingle, unsure of what to do…
For a moment, even Tobirama could not say for certain.
Were those words of tenderness just now meant to draw Izunai's alien temporal aura and restore his strength—
—or did they truly spring from his heart, and he had simply needed a pretext to say them?
Or perhaps it was both.
Ever composed, Tobirama still found himself unable to make sense of his own feelings beneath Izunai's sincere, burning gaze.
Off to the side, Uchiha Madara watched in silence.
It was obvious: his younger sister Izunai had fallen completely—incurably—in love with the man who had once been the Uchiha clan's most terrifying enemy…
But as an elder brother, Madara had to admit: Tobirama, who in an instant had grasped Black Zetsu's intention to harm Izunai, was a brother-in-law he could acknowledge.
So be it…
With complicated feelings, Madara patted the young Hashirama on the shoulder and said softly, "Come. Whatever the matter is, we'll speak of it later."
The young Hashirama stared blankly at Madara, then after a moment came to himself. He glanced at Izunai—already in Tobirama's arms—and nodded quickly.
Thus, only Tobirama and Izunai remained in the secret room.
"You… I didn't really say anything," Tobirama murmured, turning his eyes aside, a little flustered beneath Izunai's gaze—scorching like Amaterasu. "Those were simply my true feelings, and what I ought to do."
Izunai licked her lips. The way she looked at Tobirama was like a hunter beholding perfect prey. Her hand corrected her lover's line of sight, forcing him to meet her eyes.
Excitement and love at their absolute peak flooded her Mangekyō. In a blur, Izunai set several barriers to block perception and sound.
Fixing the bewildered Senju Tobirama like a hunter sighting down a target, she leaned to his ear, placed his hand upon the sash of her haori, and—her breath like orchids—whispered: "Come then. Let this wicked Uchiha see whether Senju Tobirama-sama's taijutsu has fallen off…"
...
No one knew what Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izunai had done together in that sealed chamber.
They only knew that from that day on, the feelings between them warmed rapidly…
In the days since, Uchiha Izunai even moved into the Senju compound. She naturally assisted Tobirama with daily affairs and advised him on how to end the age of chaos as swiftly as possible.
From time to time, Tobirama would also stroll through the Uchiha compound. With that pair of exceptionally pure Mangekyō Sharingan, and a manner gentle yet never lacking in firmness, he made friends with the young men there…
It was obvious: the Uchiha respected strength.
Especially when it came to someone like Tobirama—who could switch seamlessly between the traditional Uchiha style and a style designed to counter the Uchiha…
Even those who had once held a grudge, after being cheerfully knocked flat and then patiently coached, now looked at him with open admiration.
After all, this wasn't that Senju Tobirama… this was practically Uchiha Tobirama!
To promote the fusion of Uchiha and Senju, Tobirama took the lead and, together with Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, and Izunai, aligned their story: they adapted the tale of Indra and Asura to a certain extent and spread it vigorously throughout both clans.
—Why were the Senju and Uchiha enemies? Because of the Sage's arrogance and conspiracy!
—Ancestors who threw their descendants into a hell of hatred and war should be called to account!
Under Tobirama's guidance, the blood feud the Uchiha and Senju had built up over centuries was entirely laid at the feet of two people: Indra and Asura…
Tobirama also, quietly, edited parts of Uchiha and Senju history. He inserted "evidence" suggesting Indra and Asura had been controlling both clans, so that a few sharp-eyed clansmen would stumble upon it by chance—be shocked—and then pass it on to others…
It was, in essence, altering the stone tablet—just like Black Zetsu.
With this line of messaging, Senju and Uchiha both became victims on the same side…
Two shinobi clans, like puppets made to slaughter each other by strings held in unseen hands…
Once no longer blinded, should they go on with meaningless killing? Of course not. They should find the true instigator behind it all—and let the ones who deserve death die!
You could call it a grand reconciliation of the century.
And to wipe out the splinters lodged in Senju and Uchiha hearts once and for all, Tobirama also pushed strongly for intermarriage between the two clans.
After all, when Uchiha and Senju—yin and yang—unite, they bring forth the myriad phenomena…
That is an objective reality.
While it could not be like Indra's and Asura's chakras combining to awaken the Rinnegan, it could still produce a similar effect…
It would leave the descendants with fuller eye power and more abundant chakra. Senju chakra, too, nourished the Sharingan and helped suppress harmful emotions…
This was an open stratagem.
Although Uchiha and Senju both held very deep prejudices against each other, when such a great benefit was laid plainly before them, who could refuse—a chance for their descendants' aptitude to soar?
Besides, there was an excellent precedent.
Izunai and Tobirama got along extremely well; like a model couple, they were setting an example for Senju and Uchiha alike…
Thus, a great wave of matchmaking began to spread between the two clans.
Before they truly came to know one another, there was still resistance on both sides.
However, once they actually began to talk, the Senju and the Uchiha were surprised to discover that the two clans who had been enemies were, in fact, the most compatible…
Whether in parity of strength or in complementary gender balance…
This, too, was exactly as Tobirama had calculated.
Even if there had been all kinds of grudges before, once everyone truly became one family in the full sense, many things would naturally be buried.
If we're already sharing the same bed, then let's not bring up the dead again…
Better to look to the future before us, family.
Time slipped by.
The entire shinobi world realized that the situation had undergone a major change.
The Senju and the Uchiha, once the weather vanes of war, after announcing Izunai and Tobirama's engagement, changed their ways: as if they had stepped off the battlefield entirely, they took part in no wars at all…
This calm before the storm filled every shinobi clan with fear.
If the Senju and the Uchiha didn't move… who would dare ignite a major war?
For a time, the whole shinobi world fell into an uncanny quiet, everyone waiting for the Senju and the Uchiha to act first…
The war that all despised yet yearned for simply vanished, inexplicably.
During this period, beyond accelerating the integration of Uchiha and Senju, Tobirama was busy courting Izunai…
Tobirama came to understand what Kazuki had said.
Upon reaching the Six Paths level, one's power and body have already transcended the mortal realm, yet a person's thinking, by inertia, still lingers where it used to be.
Under such a disparity, if human nature loses an anchor, it is indeed easy to twist and warp amid the conflict…
Though Tobirama regarded Kazuki as his greatest anchor, having Izunai as another was a welcome safeguard…
In this pleasurable stretch of time, Tobirama was happy.
Izunai was happy as well, yet within that happiness an anxious mood began to grow in her heart.
From childhood to now, Izunai had considered herself and Tobirama to be in a state of "relative equality," each with their own strengths, evenly matched across the board.
But from the moment Tobirama awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—
Izunai gained a man who had loved her since childhood, but that balance was broken…
There was no need to say much about battle: Tobirama, proficient in all Senju and Uchiha techniques—even the proud Uchiha Madara could only shake his head in frustration and admit he truly had no confidence in defeating him.
In fact, Tobirama had long since been recognized within the Uchiha and Senju as the foremost man of the shinobi world.
As for governing shinobi clans, Izunai had thought she could help Tobirama greatly—at least become an indispensable part of him.
But what shocked Izunai even more was this:
Tobirama, as if he had already commanded a complex army of 100,000, handled the Senju and Uchiha with immaculate order; he dissolved potential conflicts on every front and, by advancing along two lines—public opinion and tangible interests—he promoted the two clans' integration with the momentum of the prevailing trend.
Even when Izunai strained with all her might, she could only keep pace with part of Tobirama's tempo, becoming a competent executor, yet unable to provide him with ideas of greater value.
Nor was any of this Izunai's illusion.
As the former overall commander of the shinobi world coalition that had fought the Ōtsutsuki clan, the volume and complexity of information Tobirama had handled were beyond anything a Warring States–era Izunai could imagine…
Perhaps the Warring States era was brutal, but in sheer population it could not compare to the era of one country, one village.
Let alone serving as the coalition's overall commander—his experience as the Second Hokage alone was enough for Tobirama to handle two shinobi clans with absolute ease.
But Tobirama did not notice any of this.
To him—the man who, together with Kazuki, had erased both the Ōtsutsuki clan and the planetary consciousness—no matter how rarely beauty and prowess were united in one person as they were in Izunai, how could she possibly measure up to him?
She only needed to live safely under his wings.
As for whether Izunai had thoughts of her own, Tobirama never considered that… On the track of romance, this otherwise unfailing strategist was only a genin.
...
A few months later.
Senju compound.
"After spending so long with Izunai, sure enough, every time I cross hands in taijutsu with this 'wicked Uchiha,' a portion of alien temporal aura gets siphoned off…"
Tobirama chuckled, recalling the patter he'd used the first time he'd faced Izunai at close quarters, and murmured so in his heart.
[Sufficient alien temporal aura has been extracted. You may choose to initiate repatriation—]
In Tobirama's mindscape, a line of golden script floated at the center.
It was a prompt from Kazuki.
By now, Tobirama could choose to take the Izunai of the other spacetime home… Even with the laws of spacetime in the way, he would be able to keep Izunai by his side long-term.
"Not yet… It's not only that I have to settle the hidden dangers in this shinobi world—Black Zetsu may be dead, but there are still the nine Tailed Beasts…"
A stubborn light flashed in Tobirama's eyes. "Most importantly, even though Kazuki told me this trip was for matchmaking—that I should head back once I found someone I liked…
"If I really did that, what would that make me?
"Kazuki burned through so much precious spacetime energy just for my blind date? No. I don't accept that."
In Tobirama's self-understanding, he was Kazuki's greatest helper—the only one who could help him.
Since that was his role, Tobirama felt that, having come to another spacetime, he had to help Kazuki obtain Shibai's Withered Bones.
Even though Kazuki had emphasized that this venture into another spacetime was merely a forward probe to test the laws of spacetime, and that they should proceed step by step regarding Shibai's Withered Bones—there was no need for him to act personally.
"If I just went back like this, wouldn't that make me useless to Kazuki? I'm not one of those freeloaders who lie back and live easy on Kazuki's achievements!
"I have to prove I'm different from the others! Even when it comes to Shibai's Withered Bones—if I put my mind to it, there's no reason I can't take it!"
Tobirama's Mangekyō began to turn in utter silence. Even he failed to notice that, at this moment, he looked exactly like an Uchiha pushed into an extreme state—and exactly like Izunai, tied in knots day and night.
The logic was the same; only the object was different.
Izunai felt she could not be a valueless appendage under Tobirama's wings, no matter how sweetly love nourished her.
As an independent person, strong-willed since childhood, Izunai had to make her existence of value to Tobirama.
Otherwise, she felt, such a relationship would not last—and she could not accept that…
At the very least, she had to do something for him.
As for Tobirama, he believed that, as Kazuki's most singular counterpart, the bond between them ran incomparably deep—from enmity at the start to absolute mutual trust, able to entrust their backs to each other without a second thought.
Even when they stood against gods and the planetary consciousness, Kazuki could hand the key to the final deployment—and control itself—over to him. It was trust as close to one hundred percent as it gets.
And after Kazuki became a god, he casually gave Tobirama a chakra fruit whose power far surpassed Kaguya's, without so much as an extra word, as naturally as sharing an apple with a friend.
Kazuki might not have said anything, but how could Tobirama fail to understand the fruit's value? It was a terrifying power coveted even by the Ōtsutsuki main house—
even for Kazuki, it was no small thing.
Tobirama would never allow himself to merely live off Kazuki; he had to have value of his own.
So even though the golden script had reminded him several times that he could return… the stubborn Tobirama had long since set his own standard—no matter what, he would bring back Shibai's Withered Bones for Kazuki!
For a time, Tobirama and Izunai entered a curious resonance together…
Tobirama pondered how to bring value to Kazuki, while Izunai pondered how to bring value to Tobirama, forming a closed loop.
The door eased open. Smiling, Izunai stepped in. "Tobirama, what are you up to?"
But at once her brows knit.
Though Tobirama quickly smoothed his expression at the sound, that split-second shift was still enough for Izunai to catch a clue.
What was Tobirama thinking just now—to be so tangled up?
In that instant, Izunai's heart ached.
Clearly, Tobirama had his own knot to untie, yet he hadn't told her…
It's because of the vast difference in strength, isn't it? Izunai thought. Her vivid red nails pressed into her palm without her noticing, while outwardly she kept her smile.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique you taught me—I've already mastered it!" Perhaps to keep him from noticing her unease, Izunai's smile grew even brighter. She drew out a special kunai and waved it before Tobirama's eyes.
It was a finely made kunai.
"As expected of you, Izunai…"
Tobirama smiled and gently stroked her black hair. "I knew it—learning the Flying Thunder God Technique wouldn't be hard for you…"
They leaned close, cheek to temple, sharing a sweet, intimate exchange.
Some time later.
"Izunai, the Uchiha and the Senju have integrated enough to campaign across the shinobi world… It's time to bring this age of chaos to an end."
Straightening his slightly rumpled clothes, Tobirama spoke slowly.
"No problem, Tobirama… I think it's time, too." Izunai nodded obediently, nestling against her lover's chest as she toyed with the kunai bearing his name.
They each held their own thoughts, yet this was not 'sharing a bed, dreaming different dreams.' It was a tempering—from simple love to an ascent of character and soul.
And from this moment on—the two war machines that were the Uchiha and the Senju began to operate at once!
...
Shinobi world.
"So you really won't just bring Izunai back—you're going after Shibai's Withered Bones instead?" Kazuki smiled and murmured to himself.
"Truly like an old man who refuses to admit he's old…"
"No matter. The other-spacetime aura you drew from Izunai is enough for me to descend briefly into that world."
"With me covering you, do as you please…"