Chapter 13

"My name's Itama. I didn't expect you to be so good at cooking!" The boy who called himself Itama managed a faint smile on his expressionless face and complimented Mingye.

The moment he heard the boy give his name, Mingye confirmed his identity: he had to be Tobirama Senju. Butsuma of the Senju of the Forest had four sons. Senju Itama had been killed by a Hagoromo Clan ninja when he was seven, while Itama had been killed by one of their own ninjas about half a year ago. Butsuma had only two sons left. The one who had come with Hashirama had to be Tobirama himself. Mingye hadn't expected Tobirama, who had injured his older brother Izuna, to show up here completely unharmed. Second Brother really is no match for him. As he mocked Izuna in his heart, Mingye turned to Tobirama and asked again.

"You're pretty good yourself! Itama, can you build three fire pits? I have quite a lot of food to make, so one won't be enough!"

"Sure!" Tobirama didn't think Mingye's odd smile was mocking him for hiding his name. He didn't care in the slightest, simply nodding before setting to work on two more fire pits.

"Is this enough blood? Ah, it's a whole basin, Mingye!" Madara carried over a basin of pig's blood, then quickly corrected himself after realizing what he'd said.

"What do you need pig's blood for?" After Mingye nodded, Hashirama stared curiously at the basin of foul-smelling blood. He found the smell unpleasant and asked Madara, confused.

Madara rolled his eyes at Hashirama and didn't answer. When Hashirama got no response, he asked again.

"You're not going to make us drink pig's blood, are you?"

Impatient, Madara glanced at Mingye with disdain and said arrogantly, "I say you're stupid, and your brain really is made of pig brains."

"Sorry." At Madara's taunt, Hashirama drooped again. Madara really didn't want to keep having this nauseating conversation with him, so he explained what the blood was for.

"My little brother's a genius. If you freeze this pig's blood, it'll form into blocks. They make a delicious soup when stewed!"

"Oh! But how do we freeze it?"

"Uh..." Hashirama asked again, and Madara grew conflicted. When it came to cooking, he was quite capable—one fireball could solve everything. But freezing things left him stumped. Tobirama had finished building three fire pits nearby. He got up, came over to Madara and Hashirama, and took the basin of pig's blood from him.

"I'll do it. I know a jutsu that can freeze things. Hand it over!"

"Hahaha! My younger brother's a genius too. He's best at Water Release!"

As Madara looked on in confusion, Hashirama boasted loudly about having such a wonderful younger brother. Madara stared at Tobirama, displeased, and demanded, "I haven't even asked your name yet!"

"My name's Itama," Tobirama replied flatly. Hashirama burst out laughing, then suddenly remembered Tobirama's name. He stared at him, bewildered.

"Hahaha! Madara, what do you think? My little brother's called Tobi—Itama?!"

Tobirama looked at Hashirama expressionlessly, then invited him along as he turned and walked toward the river.

"Come into the river with me, big brother. I haven't quite gotten the hang of this jutsu yet. Keep an eye on me!"

"What a strange pair of brothers!"

Madara was only puzzled for a moment by Hashirama's dazed reaction to hearing Tobirama's name. He didn't think much of it, instead hoisting four or five chunks of pork over his shoulder and walking toward Mingye.

"Why did you lie?" At the riverbank, watching Tobirama wade into the water, Hashirama asked reproachfully. Tobirama was silent for a moment, then looked up at Hashirama with a cold expression and answered.

"My suspicions were right."

Hashirama showed no expression. He turned away and looked at the smiling Madara and Mingye, feeling a pang of envy. He answered casually, "So what?"

Tobirama frowned, unable to understand why Hashirama was pretending not to see the point of his question.

"Big brother, you know what I mean."

Hashirama sat down by the river and took a deep breath. Then he smiled at Tobirama, his voice tinged with sadness.

"I just know I came here to eat today. I don't want to have any regrets today. Tobirama, you'd better not make me angry!"

"Hmph!" Tobirama snorted. He understood what Hashirama meant and no longer felt the need to leave at once. He'd let things be. After all, an older brother was like a father, and he didn't want to embarrass Hashirama at a time like this. Besides, the food looked delicious, and he wanted to try this so-called pig's blood soup.

"Whoever they are, you and I are their friends today. Even if it's only for this one day, I'm asking you to treat them as your friends too. I'm not asking for much. I just want us to enjoy one meal together!" Hashirama didn't know what was going through Tobirama's mind. When Tobirama didn't reply, he assumed his brother didn't want to share a happy day with him. He spoke again, his voice almost pleading.

"I understand."

Tobirama nodded silently to show he understood, then lowered himself into the water.

"Hahaha!..."

Laughter and playful insults rang out along the riverbank. Hashirama and Madara traded barbs while Tobirama quietly watched them, never cracking a smile. Mingye suddenly felt a sense of relief. The pain of losing his family seemed to have eased a little. He didn't know how Madara and Izuna had managed to forget such searing grief, or whether they had truly forgotten and moved on. He only knew that he wouldn't let go so easily...

"Mingye! Tell us what you think!"

"What? What do you mean?"

Mingye had been lost in thought when he suddenly heard someone call his name. He hadn't been paying attention to their conversation, so he asked in confusion.

"Of course, about the war going on now!"

Hashirama smiled at Mingye's bewilderment and repeated his earlier question.

"The war... What could I possibly think about something so cruel? People are always starving. They can't even afford meat, and spend all day chewing vegetables like livestock. That isn't really living. I don't have any particular thoughts about war. That's for the grown-ups to worry about. I just want to be happy every day. That's all!"

He spoke calmly to everyone, then lifted his head, trying to feel the sunlight they talked about. He sought some sensation beyond the warmth his skin could feel. Narrowing his eyes, he repeated the last four words over and over: "Be happy every day. What a luxurious dream!" Tobirama lowered his head in silence, his face still unsmiling. If they wanted the so-called shinobi wars to end, perhaps Mingye's wish fit the meaning of life in this world best. A person's life lasted barely a hundred years. How wonderful it would be to live each day happily. But luxury would always remain a luxury—especially for shinobi. For them, that dream would always be out of reach.

"You'll be happy every day. And your eyes aren't completely useless, so stop talking like such a defeatist! You're my little brother, after all!" Madara grinned proudly and spoke to Mingye with conviction.

"Madara, your little brother seems more impressive than you! He even beat you at skipping stones!" Hashirama, who seemed to have caught the meaning of being happy, suddenly chuckled and teased Madara, getting in another jab.

"Bastard! What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me? Fight me one-on-one!"

Fuming, Madara jumped to his feet with a stone in his hand and roared at Hashirama.

"Sorry! I shouldn't have brought up your weakness!"

Hashirama instantly turned glum and apologized again, getting in yet another jab. Madara snorted and tossed the stone in his hand at the lake, but for some reason, as if the heavens were deliberately teasing him, it skipped only twice before sinking beneath the water.

Madara suddenly realized that Hashirama existed solely to put him down—or maybe just to annoy him. Passing the blame again, he yelled at Hashirama, "It's all your nagging! You made me mess up! It's your fault!"

"Sorry!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

One was angry and the other downcast, but when they looked at each other, they both burst out laughing. Watching his idiot brother have so much fun, Tobirama found himself growing curious about Madara. Those two were bound to accomplish something together in the future.

Tobirama kept his thoughts to himself. Mingye spoke up again. "The world of shinobi is cruel by nature, because shinobi themselves are weapons. We don't have the right to choose now, and even in the future, we won't be able to refuse to fight. What we can do—or what we need to work toward—is to seize that right to choose for ourselves."