A Test * A Spar

Hashirama set off immediately.

His figure flipped out of the window, landed lightly on the roof, and disappeared into the shadows of the buildings in a few leaps.

Madara and Tobirama followed silently.

It's not about helping; I just want to see the result with my own eyes.

Izuna walked briskly along the stone-paved road leading to the Commercial Street.

The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on his dark blue Clan Attire.

He was humming a tuneless little tune and occasionally deliberately stepping on the shadows, seemingly in a good mood.

Hashirama crouched in the shadow of a rooftop about fifty meters away from him, holding his breath.

He adjusted his breathing to suppress it to an almost imperceptible level.

Then, he pulled a Kunai out of his Ninja Tool Pouch.

A simple attack, without aiming for vital organs, will suffice.

Hashirama gripped his Kunai, his gaze becoming focused.

But the moment his expression turned serious, Izuna abruptly stopped in his tracks.

The next second, his head whirled around, his gaze precisely locking onto the roof Hashirama was hiding.

Those dark eyes were full of alertness and sharpness.

Hashirama was stunned.

That's too fast.

He hadn't even had a chance to unleash his killing intent; he had only prepared for it.

The changes in his aura during that state were so subtle that even an ordinary sensory Ninja standing right in front of him might not be able to detect them.

But Izuna... was fifty meters away, with her back to him, yet she reacted the instant he made the thought.

Izuna stood still, raising an eyebrow.

For a fleeting moment, he heard a faint drumbeat in his mind.

That was a warning of impending danger, but the drumbeats quickly stopped, and no judgment was made.

Who is it? Trying to ambush me? Could it be Sasuke's gang of bastards?

He opened the System Map and glanced at it.

Then his expression turned strange.

On the map, three dots are distributed on the surrounding buildings.

One crouched in the shadow of the roof, one hid behind a corner wall, and another hung among the branches of a big tree.

The three dots are identified as: [Hashirama Senju], [Madara Uchiha], and [Tobirama Senju].

Izuna: "..."

He looked up and shouted at the roof Hashirama were hiding.

"Hashirama- kun? What are you doing?"

Silence reigned all around.

Then, a head slowly peeked out from the shadows of the roof.

Hashirama wore an awkward smile and waved at him dryly.

"Hey, Izuna... What a coincidence, you're shopping too?"

Izuna looked at him expressionlessly. "Hmm, what a coincidence. You ended up on a rooftop while shopping."

Hashirama's smile froze on his face.

Izuna then turned his gaze to the corner wall not far away.

"Brother Ban, stop hiding, your hair is too noticeable."

There was a moment of silence behind the wall, then Ban Earth Flow, his steps stiff, his eyes unfocused.

Izuna finally raised his head and looked at the branches of the big tree.

"... Tobirama, how long are you going to keep it hanging there?"

A rustling sound came from the tree canopy, and then Feijian emerged from among the branches and Tobirama, stiffly jumping down from the tree.

The three top Ninjas of the era stood before Izuna, their expressions more fascinating than the last.

Hashirama scratched the back of his head, laughing like a child who had done something wrong.

Ban crossed his arms, tilted his head slightly to the side, and his ear tips were red.

Tobirama's face remained expressionless, but the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.

Izuna looked at this and then at that, and suddenly sighed.

"... What I'm saying is," he drawled, "If you want to slack off, just say so. Why bother sneaking around like this?"

Hashirama was taken aback.

Ban was also taken aback.

Tobirama's expression subtly changed.

Izuna continued, "I know you've been very busy lately and exhausted. It's normal to want to slack off and not do any work."

"But couldn't you have just said so directly? Sneaking out like this, and," Izuna glanced at Hashirama, "And hiding on the roof... speaking of which... were you trying to ambush me just now?"

Hashirama: "Ahem! Uh, well, that..."

He stammered, his eyes darting around, and sweat was almost dripping from his forehead.

How do I explain this?!

You can't exactly say, "We suspect you have a problem with your perception, so we're testing you," can you?

That would be better than just saying, "We're so bored we wanted to spy on you while you were shopping!"

Just as Hashirama's brain was about to overload, a calm voice interrupted from the side.

"Big Brother wants to spar with you."

Tobirama spoke.

Hashirama was taken aback for a moment, then nodded frantically as if he had found a treasure. "Yes, yes! A spar! That's exactly what I want to do!"

"But he's too stupid," Tobirama continued, his tone still calm, "So he could only come up with this clumsy method. He hid on the rooftop intending to ambush you, but he was discovered before he could even make a move."

"Hmm... hmm?"

He slowly turned his head and looked at Tobirama.

Brother, why did you insult me?!

Tobirama looked back at him expressionlessly. "I'm just trying to smooth things over for you, so stop being so picky."

Hashirama opened his mouth, wanting to refute but not knowing what to say.

A muffled laugh came from the side.

Ban tilted his head, his shoulders shrugging, and although he tried hard to suppress it, laughter still escaped from between his teeth.

Hashirama felt even more aggrieved.

Izuna suddenly realized.

"Just say it!" He walked towards Hashirama. "I'm always happy to spar with you! No need to be so sneaky."

Hashirama opened his mouth, wanting to say, "I didn't really want to spar," but when he met Izuna's sincere eyes, he swallowed the words back.

"Okay," he replied dryly.

Izuna flexed his wrists, a look of eager anticipation on his face.

"Let's go spar first. Eating at ten is too early. Let's warm up first."

The moment he finished speaking, Hashirama's eyes lit up.

He had wanted to fight Izuna for a long time, but due to various reasons, he hadn't been able to send an invitation until now. He never expected that he would be able to arrange a fight this time by chance.

"Great!" he laughed. "Then let's go to the Training Ground..."

"Go outside the village."

A calm voice interrupted Hashirama's excitement.

Hashirama turned his head and met Madara's gaze.

Madara looked at him, his eyes carrying a Suggestion that only the two of them understood.

Outside the village.

This is not Training Ground.

Hashirama's excitement subsided slightly; he understood Madara's meaning.

From the moment Izuna appeared before them, he fought solely using Taijutsu.

He didn't even spare the simplest Fire Style, let alone the Sharingan.

In his duel with Hyuga, he used taijutsu (Taijutsu).

He crushed those kids in the Theatre Troupe using Taijutsu.

In his first battle against the Uchiha, he only demonstrated Taijutsu.

He also claimed he didn't remember the technique used to pursue Black Zetsu, and that he had only activated his Sharingan once.

This is very strange.

Madara didn't distrust Izuna; on the contrary, he wanted to believe in his younger brother more than anyone else.

But it is precisely because he cares so much that those tiny, illogical details feel like thorns pricking his heart.

Why do people subconsciously only use Taijutsu?

Is it because they're hiding their Strength, or is there something else going on?

Could it just be a habit? But as Uchiha, wouldn't it be too strange not to use Fire Style?

Ban wanted to know the answer.

Hashirama paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Then let's go outside the village." He turned to Izuna, his smile returning, but his tone was much more serious than before. "Izuna, you absolutely can't hold back when you fight me, you really will get hurt."

Izuna's lips curled into a smile.

"Of course."