Hashirama knocked Tobirama out and smuggled him out of the clan compound

[Host, are you really... going to dress as a woman? You don't actually have to spoil him this much. You only need to change his fate.]

"Shut up. I'm going to investigate what magic the reincarnation of that lump of Asura's chakra possesses to have utterly bewitched my chakra's reincarnations twice."

Indra refused to admit it. He certainly wasn't doing this because his little brother had asked him to.

Wish System: ... You're obviously just feeling guilty for hitting him too hard and trying to make it up to him.

The source of the Uchiha's hereditary habit of saying one thing and meaning another had been found.

The wish-makers were right. You couldn't listen to what the Uchiha said; you had to watch what they did.

Meanwhile.

At the Senju Clan Compound.

Tobirama Senju furiously dragged Hashirama along the ground, his older brother clinging tightly to his leg. Veins bulged on his forehead as he clenched his jaw and forced a few words through his teeth. "Don't even think about it!"

Hashirama was dragged back and forth across the ground, but he showed no intention of letting go. He earnestly pleaded, "Tobirama, you have to help your big brother. Whether you get a sister-in-law depends entirely on you making me look good."

"Hey, have you considered that someone might be tricking you? That person could be an evil Uchiha! Let go of me!" Tobirama Senju roared in exasperation, shaking his leg desperately to fling off the idiotic older brother stuck to it like glue.

Hashirama remained unmoved, however, and continued arguing his case. "Impossible. He's definitely not an Uchiha. He doesn't know Fire Release."

He knew the Uchiha well enough. Fire Release was their specialty. No Uchiha chased people around with Water Release in one hand and Lightning Release in the other.

Besides, Invincible seemed highly skilled at them. It didn't look like an act.

"Then maybe he's disguising himself," Tobirama Senju countered with a cold snort, still refusing to budge.

Make me dress as a woman? Ha, dream on. He's probably just been duped.

He would have to report this to their father.

Once they captured the other party and interrogated him, the truth would come out. If he was an Uchiha, all the better.

"Tobirama, I've already bought you a dress and a wig. Come with me! Maybe you'll take a liking to my friend's older sister! Then you won't have to enter an arranged marriage, either."

Hashirama began trying to brainwash Tobirama. One way or another, his brother had to wear the dress, and he had to look pretty, too. Otherwise, Hashirama would lose face in front of his friend.

His friend had said his sister was powerful, and Tobirama was pretty powerful himself, so there was no need to worry about Tobirama getting the short end of the stick. Maybe the two would hit it off!

Heh~

Wouldn't that let me lure my friend and his family into an alliance, then attack the Uchiha together?

Once I wait Father out... until he steps down, and become clan head myself, I'll ally with the Uchiha. Then my little brother will never have to go to the battlefield again.

"Impossible! Don't even think about it! I, Tobirama Senju, would sooner die, enter an arranged marriage, marry into another family, or marry an Uchiha than dress as a woman! Give it up!"

Tobirama Senju would rather die than submit. He would never dress as a woman in his life.

"Well, if that's how it is, I have no choice." Hashirama sighed helplessly and made an utterly inhumane decision. Then he raised his fist and struck Tobirama hard.

Before Tobirama could even react, his vision went black and he passed out.

Hashirama promptly slung Tobirama over his shoulder and headed to his room.

Back in the room, Hashirama laid Tobirama on the bed, took the green sleeveless dress he had prepared out of the wardrobe, and changed him into it.

Once he had dressed him, however, Hashirama looked him over from every angle and still felt something was missing.

After pondering it for a while, Hashirama suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He slapped his thigh and rushed out like the wind. Before long, he returned with a box of rouge and powder in his hands.

With his tools in hand, he dabbed and painted away at Tobirama's face.

When he finished, he inspected his masterpiece with great satisfaction.

Sure enough, Tobirama was prettier than even the girls in their clan.

Next, Hashirama found a sack. Before stuffing Tobirama inside, he checked for any exposed scars. Once he was sure everything was in order, he smuggled him out of the clan compound.

He hurried all the way to the banks of the Naka River, where he set down the sack and dragged Tobirama out.

Then he deftly set up a simple grill by the river, caught a few fish, and put them on it to roast.

Time slipped quietly by. The entire morning passed without the eagerly awaited arrival of Hashirama's friends. Instead, Tobirama, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, slowly came around.

He opened his eyes and instinctively reached up to touch his throbbing neck, only to feel a chill along his arms.

Looking down, he discovered to his horror that his sleeves... were gone!

His trousers... were gone, too!

All he had on now was a knee-length piece of cloth hanging from two straps.

Spotting his older brother humming as he grilled fish, Tobirama felt anger surge through him. "Big Brother, where are my clothes?"

"Your clothes? Aren't you wearing them?" Seeing that his little brother was awake, Hashirama handed him a grilled fish. "Have something to eat first. When Invincible and his sister get here, make sure you don't give yourself away."

"You're my little sister now, not my little brother. Speak more gently!" Hashirama thumped Tobirama Senju on the shoulder several times.

"Damn you! You knocked me out, stuffed me in a sack, and smuggled me out of the clan compound, and you didn't even give me clothes to wear! Give me back my clothes!"

Tobirama Senju grabbed Hashirama's outer robe. If an enemy ninja caught him dressed as a woman in a couple of scraps of cloth, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash his head against it.

He couldn't bear that kind of humiliation.

At the Uchiha Clan Compound.

It was nearly noon when Madara Uchiha woke up.

"Awake?" Noticing that Madara Uchiha had woken, Indra put down his book and waited to eat with him.

Madara Uchiha opened his eyes groggily and realized it was already noon. Two meals sat on the table. He got up to wash, then returned and sat opposite Indra. When he spotted a kimono laid out on a rack, his eyes lit up. That beating really hadn't been for nothing.

He waited until his older brother picked up his chopsticks before starting to eat. Perhaps because both of them minded their manners, neither spoke during the meal.

After eating, Madara got up without being prompted and went to the kitchen to clean up the dishes and chopsticks.

When he returned, he happened to catch Nii-san changing into women's clothing. Although his face remained expressionless, the upward curve of his lips betrayed his good mood.

"Big Brother, should we let your hair down?" He took the initiative to walk behind Indra and undo his hair tie. Before he could release the hair in his hand, however, he found himself staring into a pair of scarlet eyes bearing three tomoe.

This time, Madara wasn't afraid. It was only another beating, after all. Even if Nii-san beat him to death, he would bring him back. He even gave the hair a few tugs.

Indra moved swiftly, seizing Madara's wrist and flinging him onto the nearby tatami. He delivered a kick that was neither light nor heavy and snorted coldly. "Just this once."