Izuna's pupils abruptly contracted. He looked at his older brother in disbelief, as though something precious were shattering piece by piece.
"Brother, you actually lied to me?"
In his fury, Izuna would not even call him "Onii-san" anymore.
That subtle change in address pierced Madara's heart more deeply than any accusation could.
"Don't believe his nonsense, Izuna-"
Madara glared furiously at An, instinctively raising his fist to beat the troublemaker to death.
But the instant he raised his fist, An changed his hand seal, and Madara was immobilized again.
The invisible shackles tightened once more. Even his anger became a puppet string to be manipulated, forcibly reducing his blazing fury to futile struggle.
Every tensed muscle, every surge of chakra, only proved how helpless he was, how completely he was at another's mercy, bringing him unbearable humiliation and resentment.
"Damn it!"
Madara bristled with rage, veins bulging along his neck. He wanted to chop An into pieces and devour him.
The Mangekyo spun wildly within his blood-red Sharingan, reflecting An's hateful smile as though he meant to brand it into the depths of his soul and turn it into a curse that would endure until one of them died.
But the angrier he became, the happier An grew. Like someone showing off for an audience, An laughed beside Izuna and shouted gleefully, brimming with the malice of someone who had successfully toyed with his prey.
"Hahahaha-"
"That's right, there's only one truth! Your brother, Uchiha Madara, just wanted to make up with Senju Hashirama!"
"The Uchiha Clan's hatred, the pain of your other brothers' deaths-none of it mattered as much as one happy smile from Senju Hashirama!"
"That's not how it was, Izuna-" Seeing the disappointment and pain filling his younger brother's eyes, Madara grew anxious and hurried to explain.