Pressure * Marriage

After Izuna left, the Hokage Building was quiet for a while.

Then.

"Gurgle--"

A deafening explosion rang out.

Madara silently looked at Hashirama.

Hashirama stood frozen in place, clutching his stomach with both hands.

"... Haha." He chuckled dryly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm hungry."

Tobirama silently took out a Sealing Scrolls from his robes.

Unfold and form a hand seal.

With a soft "thump," a stack of Rice Balls wrapped in Oiled Paper appeared on the table.

Hashirama's eyes lit up instantly.

Tobirama! You really are my younger brother!

He lunged forward, grabbed a Rice Ball, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Tobirama sighed as he watched him wolf down his food.

Eat slowly. Nobody's going to take it from you.

Hashirama gave a mumbled reply, but his hands didn't slow down at all.

Ban leaned against the window, watching him without saying a word.

These days, Hashirama is under immense pressure.

Izuna's ideas are all very good.

Very good.

They were so good that it was hard to let them go to waste.

A good idea doesn't guarantee good execution.

The Amusement Park, the Appointment Ceremony, the school, and other basic matters that Konoha needs to handle daily.

Every single thing requires attention.

Hashirama is about to become Hokage, and now everyone is watching him.

Although the matter is already settled and there can be no other outcome, the pressure I feel sitting in this position is immense.

This is much harder than being the village chief at the beginning. Back then, he only dealt with some trivial family matters, which might have involved some bloodshed and violence, but he was still able to keep things under control.

After all, he and Madara are the strongest, and everyone has to listen to them no matter what.

The village was lifeless at that time, and everyone was watching and waiting, but at least he could go out and gamble a couple of times to relax.

Now?

Working non-stop.

Not only them, but the entire Konoha seemed to be riding Hurricane of the times. Everyone, whether they had a grudge or not, whether they had something to do or were idle for various reasons, all joined in.

Everyone started to work together towards the same goal.

That's good. Izuna inspired everyone's desire for peace, making them truly see themselves as part of the village.

But the feeling of "not wanting to let everyone down" also came on strong.

In the past few days, when only the three of them were around, Hashirama hadn't even smiled once; his brows were furrowed, and the aura around him was frighteningly low.

He's been eating less and less these days.

Sometimes I would only eat two pieces of dry food all day, and then bury myself in piles of documents.

If it weren't for Mito's serious explanation that Military Rations Pill couldn't be eaten as a meal, Hashirama would have really relied on Military Rations Pill to get through the whole day.

Madara and Tobirama tried to persuade him, but it was no use.

Hashirama would always smile and say, "It's alright, it's alright, I'm not hungry," and then continue with his work.

He could only manage to eat everything when Mito or Izuna were around.

The spots droop down around the eyes.

Actually, he's the same as Tobirama.

Who isn't under pressure these days?

Tobirama was the most terrifying guy in his eyes. His Strength wasn't that great, but his self-control was like a monster's. His daily routine made him wonder if he was a puppet being manipulated by Puppet Technique.

Eat when you're supposed to eat, drink when you're supposed to drink, sleep when you're supposed to sleep, and work when you're supposed to work.

Even though Madara disliked this guy, he knew how much anxiety was hidden beneath that poker face.

After all, this guy actually started talking to him.

She remained unmoved even when he mocked her.

That's really strange.

As for himself, he at least ate some breakfast and dinner because Izuna was with him.

I couldn't eat lunch at all.

Tempura doesn't count. Tempura is something my younger brother likes to eat, and he'll be very sad if I waste it, so he has to eat it.

Hashirama picked up the second Rice Ball, eating it a little slower this time. As he chewed, he suddenly stopped and looked at Madara.

"Ban, do you want some?"

Ban raised an eyebrow. "Who's like you? I've already eaten."

"Shall we have another one?"

Madara paused for a moment, ignored Tobirama's gaze, and said in a low voice, "Then I won't be polite," and reached out to take one.

The sun was shining brightly, warming the open space in front of the Hokage Building. Several children ran by, their laughter ringing out.

As he ate his Rice Ball, Ban thought back to last night.

When Izuna said that Envoys from the Four Nations were coming, Hashirama's expression changed.

His expression was fine then, but he became noticeably quieter in the latter half of the night.

When we met this morning, Ban gave him a special look.

There is a faint bluish tint under the eyes.

The same goes for Tobirama.

He usually looks fine, but this morning, his eyes were bloodshot.

The arrival of the Envoys from the Four Nations was indeed a pressure, but what truly broke the camel's back was the arrival of the Envoy from the Land of Whirlpools.

The maternal family of Mito Uzumaki of the Land of Whirlpools.

One of the things that Hashirama the biggest headache.

Every time someone from the Land of Whirlpools came, Hashirama would become very... silent.

Those were his wife's relatives; he couldn't simply dismiss them like he would any other trouble.

But those people always come with all sorts of ulterior motives.

Sometimes they want to collaborate, sometimes they want to leverage resources, sometimes they want to gather information, and some, like today, come with suggestions like "you should do this or that."

Hashirama finished receiving them, he would sit alone for a long time.

Ban took a bite of the Rice Ball, and as he chewed, his thoughts drifted away.

Come to think of it, he was also arranged a marriage back then.

Back then, my father was still alive, and those old guys in the clan would constantly nag, "Madara should get married soon," "The Uchiha needs an heir," and "Look how wonderful so-and-so's daughter is."

It's so annoying.

After much deliberation, they finally settled on a girl from the Chinoike Clan.

The Chinoike Clan is a family specializing in Dōjutsu; their eyes become bloodshot when they are angry. They are said to have some connection with the Uchiha. The old guys in the clan say that this marriage is good; it can strengthen the alliance and enhance their bloodline.

At the time, Ban didn't care.

It doesn't matter who I marry, as long as they're not too annoying.

Before they could even meet the higher-ups, something happened to the Chinoike Clan.

The girl caught the eye of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.

It was said that they had taken a liking to her, but in reality, it was the Clan Head of the Chinoike Clan who personally sent her there. The conditions offered by the Land of Lightning were so good that they felt it was worth it to exchange a daughter for all that.

Madara remembers hearing the news while he was skipping stones with Hashirama the river.

After hearing Hashirama, Hashirama was stunned for a long while, then cautiously asked, "Are you... alright?"

Ban then threw out the last stone in his hand, watched it bounce seven times on the water's surface, and then sink.

"Ah," he said, "I've never seen it before."

Later, the Chinoike Clan moved to the Land of Lightning and became confidants of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.

That girl is now the wife of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning; I've heard good things about her.

After that, Madara broke with Hashirama and took on a long-term mission, leaving for more than half a year. This allowed him to avoid criticism from his clan and perfectly evade the pressure to get married that followed.

By the time he returned, the situation had changed.

Hashirama had not yet awakened Wood Release at that time, but his abundant Chakra reserves from childhood had already shown their power.

Back then, Senju was dominating the Uchiha, and the old guys in the clan didn't care about his marriage; they were holding meetings Tenten to discuss how to deal with Senju.

Later, his Strength grew to the point where no one dared to interfere, and with village construction, reconciliation, and a whole host of other matters to handle, the pressure to get married was never mentioned again.

Ban took another bite of the Rice Ball.

Looking back now, I'm actually quite glad I did.

Otherwise, he might have to deal with some "family members" right now.

Those people from the Chinoike Clan are now following the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. If he had really married that girl back then, they might be among the Envoys coming to Konoha right now.

Well, I'm pretty lucky to have been single all this time.

He raised his head and looked at Hashirama.

Hashirama was eating his third Rice Ball, clearly very hungry, and was trying to stuff a fourth one into his mouth.

... That's really unseemly eating.

Ban stuffed the last bite of Rice Ball into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

He patted the rice grains off his hands and said, "Let's go, let's get to work."

Hashirama froze.

He swallowed the Rice Ball in one gulp, his face contorted in pain, and it took him several mouthfuls of water to recover.

"Spot!" he wailed, "Couldn't you have waited until I finished eating?!"

Ban raised an eyebrow.

"Can you eat and walk at the same time?"

"That's not the same! Is eating here the same as eating on the street?!"

"What's different?"

"Of course they're different!" Hashirama exclaimed indignantly. "Eating here is resting! Eating on the road is traveling! Can resting and traveling be the same thing?!"

Ban fell silent.

He looked towards Tobirama.

Tobirama put down his teacup expressionlessly, stood up, and dusted off his clothes.

"Let's go," he said. "Let him wail on his own."

Hashirama: "???"

When did you two become so close?

Before he could protest, Ban had already turned and walked towards the door.

Tobirama followed behind him.

Hashirama paused for a second, then suddenly jumped up.

"Wait for me! Wait for me!"

He hastily tidied up the things on the table, then stumbled after him, clutching his lunchbox.