Truce Agreement

At night, in the Uchiha encampment on Mount Kumogakure.

To prevent Tobirama Senju from escaping, Izuna personally kept watch outside the prison cell.

The two men, inside and outside the cell, remained silent.

After a long while, Uchiha Gakugyo walked in from outside and said, "Young Clan Head Izuna, go get something to eat. I'll take over watching him for a while."

Izuna rubbed his somewhat empty stomach, nodded, and left the dungeon.

Soon, a Uchiha Chunin brought Izuna a bowl of soup made with wild greens and wild boar meat.

"Young Clan Head Izuna."

"Mm, thanks."

"Don't mention it. If you hadn't saved me today, Young Clan Head, I'd probably have died on the battlefield."

The Uchiha Chunin spoke with an expression of admiration.

Izuna noticed that one of the man's eyes had lost its luster and turned completely white. He couldn't help frowning and asking, "Did you use Izanagi?"

Even among the Uchiha Clan, Izanagi was a Forbidden Jutsu that could not be used carelessly, an ultimate genjutsu capable of twisting reality.

The Uchiha Chunin covered his blind left eye and smiled bitterly. "I did. But compared to losing my life, losing an eye was well worth it."

After chatting for a little while longer, the Chunin left. Izuna sat casually on a stone platform nearby, savoring the meat soup, which had been seasoned with a little salt.

For the Warring States Period, this was already a feast.

"Izuna."

Just then, Madara Uchiha walked over.

"Ah, big brother."

Izuna replied, and the two brothers sat facing each other.

"Thanks so much for today. Who knows how many more of our people would have died otherwise?"

It was hard to connect those words with the Ninja Asura of the future. But from what Hashirama Senju, brought back through Impure World Reincarnation, had said, Madara had actually been a man who valued loyalty until Izuna Uchiha's death.

It was everything that happened afterward that changed him.

In the end, he set out on a path of no return.

"When I came over, were you planning to use the Mangekyo, big brother?"

Izuna asked.

Like Hashirama Senju, he could sense the cold Chakra emanating from the Mangekyo.

Madara shrugged and smiled bitterly. "I don't want to admit it, but without the Mangekyo, I'd have a hard time beating Hashirama."

The next second, however, Madara's confidence returned. He declared proudly, "It may have side effects, but I can definitely use this power to defeat Hashirama. I won't lose the next time we fight."

No, you'll still lose.

Izuna grumbled inwardly.

Though he'd only seen the latter part, he had witnessed some of Madara's battle with Hashirama Senju.

Hashirama Senju hadn't awakened Wood Release yet, but the wounds on his body could already heal on their own through Wood Release Chakra.

It was a sign.

Izuna guessed that Hashirama Senju would awaken Wood Release in the near future.

When that happened, Madara would be almost completely suppressed.

But Izuna didn't undermine the little confidence his big brother had left. He stayed silent.

Fortunately, Madara changed the subject. "Still, do you think the Senju will agree to your terms?"

"No,"

Izuna replied without hesitation.

Izuna figured the Senju wouldn't agree to withdraw from the Uchiha territory on Mount Kumogakure either.

As for compensating the Uchiha for all their losses and agreeing to a full five years of peace, that was practically... no, definitely impossible!

The Uchiha and Senju had fought for more than a hundred years. There had never been a single instance when they went even half a year without fighting.

Madara asked in surprise, "Then why did you make such demands?"

Izuna clicked his tongue inwardly.

Madara Uchiha might have been strong, but he was truly hopeless at politics and reading people.

No wonder he couldn't outmaneuver Tobirama Senju, even though Tobirama was weaker than him. In the end, when Madara left Konoha, not a single Uchiha was willing to follow him.

"To drive up the price."

Izuna explained, "It's like selling vegetables. You name a price, but you don't expect to actually make the deal at that price. You state your offer first, then lower it, and finally make a deal at a price both sides can accept. War negotiations work the same way."

Madara listened, utterly bewildered, and still didn't really understand.

His way of thinking was basically: if there's an enemy, charge straight at them.

Izuna shrugged. Never mind. It didn't matter if Madara didn't understand.

Just as Izuna had expected.

At that very moment, in the Senju encampment on the other side of Mount Kumogakure,

more than a dozen Senju leaders, headed by Senju Takeuma and Hashirama Senju, were locked in heated discussion over Izuna's demands.

For the sake of Tobirama Senju, such an important figure, agreeing to a truce with the Uchiha was unavoidable.

But agreeing to all of Izuna's terms was out of the question.

After nearly three hours of discussion, the Senju Clan leaders decided to accept the proposal put forward by Senju Takeuma.

Hashirama Senju frowned. "Will the Uchiha agree to these terms?"

Senju Takeuma patted Hashirama Senju on the shoulder. "You still have a lot to learn about politics. Uchiha Izuna seems to be making a sky-high demand, but he never expected us to agree to his terms. He's waiting for us to bargain them down."

Hashirama Senju was much better at politics and reading people than Madara Uchiha, but he still couldn't help asking, "Izuna thought that far ahead?"

Senju Takeuma snorted. "Hmph, that little fox may not be as strong as Madara Uchiha, but he's every bit as cunning as his father, Tajima Uchiha. And he even managed to capture Tobirama. I wonder what trick he used."

Hashirama Senju wondered to himself, "So Izuna is already stronger than Tobirama?"

Early the next morning,

the Uchiha and Senju gathered once more on Mount Kumogakure's battlefield, still thick with the smell of blood from the previous day's battle.

"Did you bring the documents?"

Uchiha Gakugyo asked in a low voice.

The future undoubtedly belonged to the two pairs of brothers: Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.

But for now, the most senior and experienced members of their clans were Uchiha Gakugyo and Senju Takeuma's generation.

So this meeting was still led by people of their generation.

At that, Senju Takeuma brought out two document scrolls and asked, "Where's Tobirama?"

Uchiha Gakugyo stepped aside. Izuna led Tobirama Senju forward, his expression calm. "We'll release him after the Truce Agreement is signed."

"Tobirama!"

Hashirama Senju called out anxiously.

"Big brother, I'm fine."

Tobirama Senju replied.

Uchiha Gakugyo and Senju Takeuma sat facing each other on two extremely crude chairs.

Senju Takeuma spread open the document scrolls, revealing the specific terms of the truce.

There were three main points:

1. The Senju would withdraw from the area west of Mount Kumogakure and return all Uchiha territory they had previously occupied.

2. The Senju would compensate the Uchiha for two-tenths of their losses in this battle.

3. The two clans would maintain a truce for two years. Neither the Uchiha nor the Senju could set foot in the other's territory.