Chapter 2.2

Dust motes gently curled, not wanting to fall to the floor, in the light of the incandescent sun, which shone aggressively, despite the fact that it was not even at the zenith. During the day, an incredible heat will surely come, that even the usual methods of cooling will not help.

Tobirama, in this case, was more lucky than the others: having the element of water, he could cool his body without any problems, using his own techniques nimbly. Without lying, he could admit: a long time ago, when Tobirama was very young, he dreamed of creating a unique technique so that he would never sweat on a hot day. It seemed to him that in this way he would become incredibly popular, known all over the world, just like Anija.

Years later, realizing the stupidity of a childhood dream, he still believes that the "Body Cooling Technique" would really be useful and regrets that he did not create it earlier, since now his thoughts were busy with "adult" affairs.

His legs were already burning, the tatami was too hot in the sun, so it was becoming more and more painful to sit, but Tobirama did not pay attention to this, because now he was thinking about something completely different: his face, like his thighs, was burning, but not because of the heat, but the look with which otou-san was looking right at him.

Tobirama woke up only recently, coming to himself abruptly, as if emerging from the water column. He did not remember how he fell asleep, even how he reached the room, only a difficult conversation with Anija, which did not end with anything. Anyway, he remembered his brother's promise to tell his father everything, so he was not surprised when, as soon as he opened his eyes, he was called to Otho-san, as if waiting for him to wake up right under the door. Tobirama remembers listening to his brother's enthusiastic exclamations of no-no, but hoped that he would be right, still realizing how stupid it sounds.

Now he was sitting on his knees in front of his father, waiting for a reprimand. It was unclear what was in his mind; the silence pressed on his shoulders, forcing him to slouch, but Tobirama knew that otho-san did not like this, confident that the punishment should be borne proudly with a necessarily straight back, forcing the children to think and do the same.

Tobirama expected that he would be angry at Aniju for telling everything, but after thinking about it, he realized that if his father found out about it later, when it would be impossible to hide a pregnant belly, he would literally— Whatever it was, it didn't matter. Don't think about what didn't happen.

— Where's your report? — Otou-san, without looking up, was sorting through the papers on the table, as if deliberately ignoring his son. Apparently, he decided to go in a roundabout way, wanting Tobirama to tell everything himself.

Of course, he didn't have a scroll: he didn't have time to write anything yesterday, so now he was sitting quietly, afraid of attracting anger to himself.

Having remained silent, he understood that he was only making things worse, but it was also clear that there was nothing to answer: the report had fallen out, a new one was not ready yet, and a more serious conversation was brewing ahead.

Despite the coating created so that the tatami did not heat up much, the floor baked mercilessly under the light of the sun, everything in the room seemed to be on fire. Looking out the window, he could see that the picture of what was happening seemed to blur, evaporating and heading upwards. The table in front of him, made of dark expensive oak, turned red-hot, threatening to burn through the floor. The chair and cabinets made of the same material looked exactly the same, repeating the fate of the table.

What was happening was like the delirium of a patient. Maybe Tobirama has a sunstroke?

Realizing that nothing had worked out, Butsuma, in turn, still looked up, looking at his son.

— Yesterday you staged a circus in front of me, and now you're sitting here quietly, as if nothing had happened? — changing tactics, he decided to scold Tobirama, like a little child who stole chocolate without permission. — It seemed to me that something important had happened, since you were not ashamed of such an act, but, — "such an act", ha. Butsuma spoke with such an intonation, as if tears, meanly bright in the light of fire, disgrace not only Tobirama, but also his family, which, however, he was I'm sure so is the whole Senju family. After a short pause, Butsuma continued, — Today I learn from your brother that during the mission you decided to <i>have fun</i> and as a result defamed the clan! — the hands came down with a bang on the table, the contents rattled loudly, falling. The body stood up, blocking the sun, towering menacingly over Tobirama, who was trying his best not to show his emotions; his father's words about "entertainment" flowed bitterly through his veins, the realization that this is how most people see this story, sharply bit into his numb legs. It was clear that the father was angry not only because of the "entertainment", pregnancy, but also because Tobirama did not tell about it on his own, shamefully hiding behind Aniji's back.

Butsuma's eyebrows were hanging low, the corners of his lips were tense, his eyes were running over his son's face, looking for something. Finally, he pronounced a sentence:

— A month without food. — the voice dropped to a dangerous timbre, but everyone in the room understood that this punishment was not enough. — I'm giving you a task: a gang of robbers numbering about a dozen is operating in the village of Kitayama, — deal with them. And so that when you return, the story with <i>this</i> will be exhausted. — the hint was so bold that it is impossible not to understand it.

It would be unforgivable for the clan if the heir had an illegitimate sacred child, so it is necessary to get rid of him quietly and without witnesses.

In fact, Butsuma did his best: given the number of people who need to be dealt with and the fact that Tobirama will not eat during this period, it will be easier to deal with this.

Obediently taking the scroll with general information, Tobirama could already say that nothing worthwhile was written there. Most likely, the villagers ordered Shinobi to deal not just with bandits terrorizing houses, but with real ninjas, but because of the high price they lied. Such tactics were far from new, and certainly not, but the head of the clan had to be able to recognize obvious lies.

Anyway, the complexity of the task increased because of this, so it was stupid to send one — albeit experienced — shinobi. Ideally, the squad could consist of three medium-level shinobi, but it's not for Tobirama to judge, because given his additional mission, these problems that have appeared will only play into his hands.

Walking towards the exit, feeling the heavy disappointed look of his father, he tried for the umpteenth time not to limp, but this time the reason was only his numb legs, which right now seemed to be pierced by needles.

As soon as shoji was pushed aside, Hashirama jumped up in front of him, waiting outside the door. Looking at Aniju, Tobirama wondered if there was someone else eavesdropping on the conversation between father and son.

— Well? — the brown—haired man asked excitedly, pulling his brother aside.

Without allowing another question or remark to be inserted, Tobirama abruptly, pronouncing all the letters, said:

— I'm going on a mission, — it was said with such an intonation, as if nothing had happened yesterday, and the father simply called his younger son to him.

Hashirama frowned in puzzlement in response, the question was read in his eyes: "Is it possible?", which Tobirama could not stand and, looking straight into his brother's eyes, said:

— He's not happy. — Tobirama himself was not surprised by this, but Hashirama, unlike him, distorted his face in shock, resembling a child. From the emotions so clearly visible, it was clear that he wanted to question his brother, really not understanding why his father made such a decision.

Not wanting to answer questions that would surely be similar to one another, Tobirama decided to leave. It would be unbearable to explain to Anija why the child is terrible, because he knew that Hashirama is not just an optimist, but also an ardent defender of "nature" and nature not just in the sense of "trees, birds", but also "traditions". In Hashirama's thoughts, it could not be kept that the pregnancy could be terminated, that the girl would not remain faithful until marriage, that not every person is kind and unselfish. Without warning, he turned around and headed straight down the corridor, ignoring the shouts from behind.

The two of them have always been different, it was clear even in childhood, and it's not about appearance, but about their views on the world: they are not just an optimist and a pessimist, they, first of all, differ in faith. In faith in people, in faith in the good. While Hashirama is sure that he will succeed, it is only necessary to talk, Tobirama assumed that violence is what will help to change his mind. He was not cruel, as a child it also seemed to him that the world was huge and promising, but growing up was too difficult. People around do not want to change, do not want peace and stability, despite the fact that it is necessary. It is necessary to interrupt a series of senseless deaths, it is necessary to finally allow children to grow up. In that case, it would be nice to make them change their minds, — that's how Tobirama thought, who was on his way to his laboratory right now.

He remembered the reason why he didn't want to leave the house so much. Experiment. A pleasant word earlier now only cut my thoughts, reminding me of a failed gift.

His laboratory, unlike all the rooms in this building, was behind a sliding door, not a sliding one, moreover, heavy — all these measures were taken for security purposes, although Hashirama did not see any sense in this, considering that there were ordinary seals prohibiting outsiders from entering, as well as those who, as a barrier, they contain the explosion, that's enough, which Tobirama did not agree with, too principled about this, although, it's worth considering, he still uses the listed seals.

The room was in complete disarray: sheets of paper made of kozo were scattered on the table, then on the floor, scrolls cluttered the shelves, looking at the visitor without any system, and the inkwell was probably empty now: Tobirama left it open. It was unusual for him to leave the office in this form, but, firstly, the notification of the mission came too late, and, secondly, he childishly hoped that if he left everything in the same condition, inspiration would come as soon as he entered the apartment, which, unfortunately, did not happen.

Going deeper into the room, he looked around, criticizing himself for being untidy. Approaching the table, he tried to read what he had written, so crookedly written earlier.

As Tobirama remembers, before the ill-fated mission, he made progress in creating a completely new technique.

The fact is that before that he was only inspired. For example, all the water techniques created were mostly spied on by nature or by other already existing techniques. The same "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu" technique was stolen from the Chinoike clan living in the land of Lightning, where Tobirama wandered, again, on assignment. Representatives of this clan, controlling the iron in the blood, could create an eight-headed dragon attacking on command. The technique was called "Ketsuryūgan: Ketsuryūshōten", and Tobirama, as soon as he saw it for the first time, was so shocked that for a long time he believed that what he saw was an illusion. Much later, attempting to repeat, he realized how difficult it was: his created technique was only a parody, unable to attack at the will of the Shinobi, but only mindlessly heading straight at the enemy. At such moments, he regretted his meager Fuuinjutsu skills, which did not allow him to create something worthwhile.

The same could be said about the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu which, in fact, was only an improved version of Bunshin no Jutsu. Tobirama could not downplay his achievements, admitting that the shadow cloning technique was much better than the usual cloning technique, at least because the clones could now act independently, having a semblance of consciousness, but he also understood that all his work was modification by the techniques peeped at Nara.

Sometimes it seemed to him that he, like Uchiha, was simply copying what he saw, but this thought was so disgusting that Tobirama immediately discarded it. It was incredibly insulting to even think about it, because from time immemorial it was believed that copying other people's clan techniques was prohibited: this opinion appeared during the fact that these same clans persistently hid their Jutsu. He was not going to justify himself with something like "this is not copying, this is art" and with a pure heart he is ready to admit on occasion that yes, there is a sin and accept any punishment put forward by the heads of other clans, but this has not happened yet, so he flattered himself that "this is not copying, this is art."

But the current technique was different: Tobirama created it himself. Not inspired, not adapted, not improved. His nascent brainchild is Hiraishin no Jutsu. The main idea was that the user could, by creating a space-time window, overcome incredible distances with minimal speed. Senju was so pleased with the appearance of a simple idea that he was already thinking how to improve the technique that had not yet been created. One of the options is "Hiraishingiri", the meaning of which is not just to teleport, but also to strike with a weapon. However, the only drawback of these techniques was the need for "Jutsushiki" (- 術式, "Formula of technique"), which allowed to make a jump between "here" and "there". Tobirama still couldn't figure out how best to make a label so that it would allow him to move, for example, to a branch, and not to a tree, but recently it dawned on him.

Now, as he walked around the room, touching his manuscripts with his fingertips, he realized that he remembered absolutely nothing. Reading the hastily written scribbles, which were proudly called "notes", Tobirama quietly cursed at another inconvenient habit: he encrypted absolutely all his notes, leaving no keys to them, believing that he would guess himself. This usually happened, since he never lost his thoughts even after a long period of time, but now he was not himself, so the advancement of technology was postponed for an unknown amount of time.

Bitter resentment pounded in his head, insistently claiming that he was to blame for everything. It was not surprising that something went wrong on the mission, and he, as a child, was not enough that he allowed this to unsettle him, but also worsened the situation with behavior - childish, stupid, not characteristic of himself.

The vile creature that was taking root in him right now, not allowing something really dear to him to develop, was annoying. The gut demanded to get rid of it not on a mission "by accident", but now, despite a thin voice whispering that it was a sin, that the child was not to blame, that what the father disparagingly called "it" was sacred, which suspiciously resembled the deep timbre of Aniji.

There were not only scrolls with seals and notes in his laboratory. There were a variety of herbs, both medicinal and not, in order, of course, to develop science. Until this day, Tobirama had never had the idea of using fragrant plants in this way, at the same time, until this day, there was nothing in it.

The idea, to be honest, was not a bad one. Nothing prevented him from setting it up as an accident, and in any case no one would know about his sin except his father and brother. In addition, it was not difficult to rub a couple of herbs, light them so that the smoke rose up the wall, curling on the ceiling, and take a deep breath. Dizziness and nausea do not frighten as much as the prospect of producing a child who is doomed to misfortune even before they birth.

His hands were already reaching towards the shelf, filled to the top with jars and bottles of liquid substances of a pleasant green color, his legs obediently went in this direction, his head quieted down, without disturbing the conflicting thoughts that had been pounding in his temples before. Right next to him lay the necessary utensils, here to the left of him was a special stand for cooking the products received, here were hands nimbly choosing the most effective herbs, here were voices in his head that suddenly began to shout something loudly: "This is a sin!", "Dangerous!", "Impossible!". What if Tobirama inhales too much poison? Will he die? It's okay, he's destined to die anyway. The palms, which had been frozen before, grabbed a couple of flasks more confidently.

Heading to a deep dish, next to which was a pestle, with which you can conveniently grind herbs. And what will happen to Hashirama? How will Anija survive the death of her last brother? No way, Tobirama was sure. Of course, it will be sad, incredibly painful for him if his younger brother dies in such a stupid way, but he will be able to survive it. He will survive and will live on. Maybe because their relationship is not so close that they mourn for Tobirama for a long time? For a second it seemed that Hashirama might be grieving for the unborn child even more than for his own brother, but it didn't matter too much.

The fingers were already moving nimbly, forcing the leaves to become smaller and smaller, to secrete their juice. It was a dreary, long business, but soothing in its own way. The repetitive actions showed the constancy that Tobirama needed now. But, as soon as stability continued for too long, uncertainty about what is happening now reappeared.

If he survives, what will it be like for him to live with a grave sin somewhere behind his sternum? How does it feel to look into the eyes of a brother, knowing what shame he has brought on the clan? Will he still be Senju at all? According to beliefs, intentionally getting rid of a child is the most disgusting thing a woman can do. Even if the child was conceived in a sin, it must be born, because the gods so wished. What can we say about sacred children whose parents are honorary representatives of clans?

Perhaps Kukunochi no kami, the patron saint of Senju, will be so angry that he will curse the entire clan? What if Tobirama can't get into the Pure Lands with his younger brothers? What if he never finds peace after death?

The body froze, startled by the thoughts that came to mind. Looking down at the hands that had been doing their job confidently before, he was amazed how he had managed to believe that this venture would end well. Throwing out the mortar, spilling the contents, he stepped back a few steps, as if shielding himself from what was happening.

It is necessary to put the room in order by putting the scrolls in the right order, wiping the dust and airing the room so that such conclusions will never be knocked out of the rut again. Order in life is order in thoughts.

But he was unable to slowly clean the room: his movements were too intermittent, which caused everything to fall and topple over, causing even more mayhem.

Realizing that nothing good would come of it, Tobirama ran out of the room, heading towards the shrine, which was located very close to the forest that surrounded the settlement of Senju on the east side.

It was necessary to beg forgiveness from the gods for sinful thoughts, so that they would not be angry. The father believed that even a thought was enough to be considered a sinner, since "If you think about the unforgivable, then you are only a few steps away from committing sin." Perhaps he said this only in order to execute the objectionable because of "wrong" thoughts, or maybe he really thought so, but Tobirama in any case hoped that it was not so: no matter how terribly he lived in this world, he still wanted to find peace at least after death.

At the same time, he remembered the task given by Otou-san. Glancing at the scroll, which had been lying behind Easter all this time, he remembered that the village in which the task will take place — Kitayama — is known for the fact that there is a fairly large jinja (— Shinto shrine, sanctuary with a large area around) on its territory. It would be nice to pray there, instead of going to the tiny temple, which was located on the territory of Senju. It seemed to Tobirama that his attempt was a sufficiently strong sin, so that the inside literally screamed that forgiveness should be prayed in the sanctuary, showing enough reverence, and not just somewhere nearby, as if carelessly.

Stopping halfway, he quickly came up with a plan of immediate actions: go to the room, finally read what kind of task he was given and prepare. Most likely, the mission will begin tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and his injuries, which recently prevented him from moving, and are now completely absent, will not affect the effectiveness in any way.

The private apartments were greeted in the same way as the laboratory — there was a mess here. However, unlike that time, Tobirama had a clear intention to collect weapons in a calm atmosphere, polish his armor and choose an approximate tactic, in other words, to be in full combat readiness for tomorrow, so that a little chaos on the desktop will not bring down the mood.

Going deeper, already deciding where to start, he lit the candles that were on the table in order to light up the room and simply see the scale of the devastation reigning in the room.

Lately, he did not like it when the room was not lit or when the only light source was the moon: someone's body was constantly visible in the shadows, without a face and breathing, but every time writing it off to imagination, Tobirama lit candles more actively. In any case, right now it was a little pointless, since evening had just arrived, twilight had not yet arrived, but he still felt irrational anxiety.

This time, however, nothing prevented me from putting things in order, as my thoughts were busy with the upcoming task.

So, a dozen robbers who prefer to steal the food of the inhabitants, because of which they could not pay their feudal lord properly. There was nothing new in this, every Shinobi at least once, but faced with this.

The only problem is that the village is small. Once Tobirama crosses the border of Kitayama, gossip will spread everywhere, and it will not be possible to secretly scout the situation. Even using henge and justifying himself, for example, by tourism, he understood that no one would believe: the village was far away, not lying on the way to some city, the sanctuary is the only interesting place there, so it is necessary to come up with something more substantial. Why not show up straight to the elder with a request to keep quiet about the presence of Shinobi? Too simple, but at the same time effective. This, in fact, was the job of Shinobi — to act simply and effectively.

It is also important to understand what is hidden under the concept of "robbers", so intelligence is very important. What if it's not just ordinary robbers, but a ninja team? What if there are nukenins in their ranks? In this case, the tactics change dramatically.

Usually a small investigation of the overall picture of what is happening takes less than a week, if raids are rare, it can take months. An experienced Shinobi does not disdain to endure, waiting for the victim, whom Tobirama considered himself to be. Plus, in this case, getting rid of <i>this</i> would be much easier.

But the report says the opposite: the raids are too frequent. Maybe only better? If the bandits feel so confident that they allow such misguided frequent raids without fear of punishment, then Tobirama will be only too happy to shut their mouths. At the same time, this means that there is at least one experienced Shinobi in their ranks.

At that moment, my gaze fell on the cleaned table, almost shiny with gloss. The room now took on its former appearance: all the things were in their places. Fine, he got out without even noticing.

Sitting down at the notorious table, he took out a scroll, carefully reading what he had written. Where did he stop?

There was no problem in fighting the ninja, no. But the peasants running around could interfere. It was worth considering that twelve people supporting a weakling was a serious task, since commoners, if they smelled danger, began to become bestial. Not knowing how to use the chakra, having no experience in battles, they simply ran towards death with a loud shout, hoping for something. It got in the way. Distracting.

Tobirama admitted that he sounded arrogant at such moments, but sometimes ordinary people could bring a lot more trouble than an experienced politician simply because officials thought before they did it, and peasants acted impulsively, wanting to get their way with a rough revolution.

On the other hand, getting rid of amateurs is not so dreary. You can quietly get rid of them, and then proceed to a more complex opponent. Did Tobirama want to attack from behind?

In these cases, he remembered something about the fact that Shinobi has no honor, so it's not worth worrying about such pathetic tactics. The same Tobirama was widely known as a rat that endures attacks, and then hits from somewhere in the rear. He could be offended by this, but his father taught that this is not what "rats" do, but "experienced shinobi", since in order to dive under the sword and inflict damage, you need a mind peculiar only to real ninjas.

Pulling himself away, he noticed that lately he has been constantly justifying his dirty deeds by raising his father. Surely Tobirama is not going to be the same parent?

Butsuma was a cruel and strict father. His upbringing has echoed to this day, which is worth his confidence that the youngest son, no matter how far away from home, will definitely not eat the allotted time, as previously agreed.

The fact is that Tobirama remembers how he was punished as a child and did not wish the same to anyone. Previously, he did not understand how his father found out every time that he even had a little snack secretly, but now he understands that a person who has not eaten for a month and a person who has eaten only slightly for a month are very different at least in appearance, so Tobirama did not even risk trying to deceive his father in his already conscious years, since over the years the punishments became stricter, as if Otou-san had pitied them before.

In fact, given his fear of his parent, it became a little sad: other children almost certainly did not have this, no matter how strict their father would not be. A long time ago, Tobirama even envied the neighborhood kids and was fiercely sure that when he grew up, he would never become the same as otho-san.

At that moment, he remembered that right now <i>it</i> is reverently comfortably settled somewhere inside and is settling down, claiming rights.

A child is a big responsibility. A person who is not able to be responsible for his own actions, justifying himself with orders, will not be able to raise a normal person, therefore, a disgusting parent from Tobirama. He is obliged to get rid of the child, so as not to tempt fate, since any baby should be loved by default, so what should I say to an unborn baby, whom his own parent hates right now. Tobirama does not wish him a childhood filled with cold, which he met from his father's side all his youth every time he tried to get his care.

Remembering how he was raised by his own mother, he realizes that at the same time he is not able to devote so much time and attention to something, simply because his whole consciousness is busy creating something new, research.

Oka-san was a caring woman who truly loved her children. She tried to give each of her sons as much attention as she could. Although, sometimes it seemed to Tobirama that he was being deprived, since his mother, as soon as his training began, did not protect him as fiercely as, for example, Itama. He justified it by saying that Itama and Kawarama were the youngest, so it was no surprise that she adored them so much. She loved Hashiram, because he was a bright and perky child, which cannot be said about Tobirama. In the end, the mullion is always slightly disliked as much as the rest of the family, right?

Maybe it was well deserved, since literally right now he is trying to justify the sin of killing a child by simply not being able to give a loved one what he needs — care, attention and love. So what kind of parenting can we talk about?

No sooner had the acrid disappointment spread through his hands, heading straight somewhere in the solar plexus, than Tobirama saw a shadow behind the door. There was someone standing there for who knows how long.

He had always been proud of his ability to feel the chakra far beyond the borders of the land of Fire, but right now Tobirama did not feel anything, although the man was standing just a few steps away, hiding behind a thin door. He was lucky that the silhouette reminded him of Hashiram, although he did not want to admit that when he entered the room, he really wanted to avoid talking to his brother.

Inviting him inside and pretending that he had been busy all this time, since he did not notice, he allowed Hashirama to sit at the table and looked at him expectantly, noticing how much he shrank, as if he was not used to Tobirama's heavy gaze, which he had used since childhood. It seemed to him that the upcoming conversation would certainly be much more unpleasant than the usual scowl.

Tobirama remembers the mood in which he left Aniju. Leaving him without answers, he simply ran away and hid in the laboratory, which no outsider could enter. Given his joy at the news of pregnancy, he definitely came up with something incredibly stupid for himself, making others worry because they did not understand why the plants were swaying excitedly in the next few ri. Hashirama probably walked around all day after and waited for him to finish. But the question arose: "For what?". It is unlikely that the brown-haired man could persuade his father from sending him on a mission: he was too stubborn. Was he able to get Otou-san to put someone as a partner?

— I understand why you were so unhappy this morning, — Hashirama said gloomily, as if chewing the endings of the words out of resentment. Did Anija finally realize that it was not that he was sent on a mission, but what was hidden under this task: the need to forcibly terminate the pregnancy, which he was so happy about.— Father has completely forgotten himself in his war, since he allows you to go on a mission in such a state! What if something happens to the child? — The eyes that had been looking expectantly at Hashirama before, waiting for him to continue, dimmed. No, he didn't understand anything. — I tried to get through to his common sense, but it didn't work out. He doesn't even want to send someone with you, — waving his hands to the sides, he looked around, noticing the cleanliness of the room.

Silence greeted the response. Tobirama didn't know what to say to his brother: he didn't want to make a scene like yesterday, so he decided to just keep silent.

The brothers looked into each other's eyes, each expecting something. With every passing second, as Hashirama's gaze became more and more confused, Tobirama began to fear that he would ask who... The father of the child.

He didn't want to mention Madara, he knew how much Anija adored this man. Maybe the brown-haired man will even think that what happened was not rape, but happened with full consent and will force them to marry, despite the reluctance of both the Senju clan and, for sure, the Uchiha clan.

What if the child looks like a second father? How to hide it from the whole world? It is impossible to guess what kind of appearance the child will be born with, so the need to get rid of him has only increased.

It is necessary to distract his brother so that he does not even have a thought to ask such a thing, the same father believes that Tobirama decided to get laid with an unknown peasant and accidentally got pregnant, so let everyone think so, because if shameful rumors will avoid a forced marriage with a monster and his child by his side, then so and be. He had already seen what it was like to be surrounded by an entire clan hostile to him and his body.

However, asking something as trivial as "How are you?" would be incredibly stupid, so it was worth thinking about as quickly as possible.

At the same time, a thought crept into my head: why not answer the unasked question with a hint. Maybe Tobirama was completely mistaken, and Hashirama did not want to ask something like that at all, or maybe his brother will still take the hint.

— So... How are things with the Uchiha? Are they not responding to your offer of peace? — it sounded from his lips casually, as if meanwhile.

Hashirama's eyes lit up at that moment, everyone knew Senju how much he loved Uchiha and what his intentions were for this clan. Some even joked that a peace treaty would have been signed long ago if a girl had been born in the warring clan of the main branch, they say, Hashirama would have definitely struck her on the spot with his beauty, Tobirama, listening to these stories, believed that the girl was not needed in this equation: remembering whom the courtesans reminded him of that fateful day Of course, he believed that the marriage, if Anija had proposed it, would have been enthusiastically recognized and not by anyone, but by the heir of the Uchiha clan himself — Madara.

— You know, until I become the head of the clan, they won't take my suggestions seriously, —Tobirama always used this topic to distract his older brother, so this technique worked flawlessly this time. — This old man has served his sentence for a long time, what prevents him from helping me spread my wings? — Hashirama said jokingly. No matter how much he complained about his father, he had no thoughts of doing anything with him, because, again, parricide simply does not correspond to his principles. His older brother is a wonderful man, which cannot be said about Tobirama.

Listening briefly to Hashirama's stories about what kind of village he wants to build, the younger one tried to understand how it happened that they were so different. They were brought up so similar, but in the end Tobirama became the "daddy's" son, and Anija, in turn, stood in the opposite direction from them.

Maybe it was the friendship that Hashirama remembered so reverently? Did this short period really affect the brown-haired man's worldview so much that he is ready right now to discuss the death of his own parent with a light joke?

Sometimes Tobirama wished he had made friends with someone like Madara back then. Not because I wanted Uchiha as a friend, but because I wanted at least someone who could, like Madara many years ago, share thoughts and games for two. Now, remembering Uchiha's act, he believed that no, he definitely did not need such a friend.

How did Hashirama ever find an opportunity to escape from the settlement towards the river? Tobirama's childhood was filled with grueling training and cruel punishments. Is their adolescence so different?

— Anyway! — Hashirama suddenly exclaimed, drawing attention to himself. — You have to get up early tomorrow, right? — there was still a task scroll in front of them, so most likely the brown-haired man read the contents, despite the fact that the sheet was turned over. — Be sure to get some sleep. With a wink, he started to get up.

Escorting his brother out of the bedroom, Tobirama was surprised that Hashirama began to behave like this. Was he still worried about his health?

When he reached shoji, the brown-eyed man turned around and looked at his younger brother with a long thoughtful look.

— Be careful, okay? — Hashirama bent down slightly and hugged Tobirama.

The embrace was warm and so alien that at first Tobirama did not even understand what had happened. His hands were raised to take them away in response, as the brown—haired man continued his thought:

— It's unlikely that my nephew will be happy with such trips, so you have to be more careful with your body, — Hashirama recoiled slightly and buried his forehead in his brother's forehead, looking deep into his soul, — Promise?

Tobirama blinked more often, as if trying to hold back tears, but no, he wasn't going to embarrass himself today.

Aniji's gentle words and touches were not directed at him, not at all. The older brother took care of the child. A child whom Tobirama himself hated and planned to ruin on the notorious task, and Hashirama at the same time asks to be careful. The irony of what was happening was tearing apart.

Taking a deep breath and finally responding to his brother's embrace, Tobirama nodded, knowing inside that the promise would not be fulfilled, in response receiving only a dazzling smile from his dear brother.