Madara's outrageous antics in Genjutsu

Besides, now that he had Nii-san, half his affection went to his younger brother and half to his older brother. As for Hashirama... all that remained was a treacherous, despicable Senju.

After all, when dealing with someone who stabbed you in the back, no amount of destined compatibility could erase the resentment.

Their relationship could only be described as that of evenly matched rivals.

Besides, Madara Uchiha got stabbed in the back by Hashirama a thousand times every night. It had already left him on edge.

Compared with the clan compound, the town was exceptionally lively. Bustling crowds and vendors' cries filled the streets, and the noisy energy of everyday life was everywhere.

Here, many shinobi disguised themselves as ordinary civilians. Some gathered intelligence, while others relaxed and spent money.

"I heard several clans went to war on the border of the Land of Fire not long ago. I wonder which clan won in the end."

"That's got nothing to do with us. I just hope they don't bring the fighting here."

"I'd rather they quieted down a little. Who knows what they're thinking?"

"Hey, watch what you say."

The person gossiping immediately covered his companion's mouth, afraid a passing shinobi might hear.

The four of them made their way through the streets and alleys, listening to the civilians exchange all sorts of outdated information and prayers.

Everyone except Indra looked moved.

These civilians feared shinobi, but their words also betrayed an unmistakable loathing.

Whenever clans went to war, towns like these often became battlefields in an instant.

The people here would inevitably suffer the ravages of war.

Their homes would be destroyed, and their friends and relatives might die while fleeing the battlefield.

Hashirama Senju clenched his fists, longing for peace more than ever. Looking at his three silent companions, he broke the silence. "Why can't we set aside our differences? If everyone trusted one another and became brothers, with no more wars, wouldn't things here stay this way forever?"

"Hey, hey, hey, big brother, watch what you say." Tobirama Senju grabbed Hashirama by the waist and twisted, afraid his mouth would run away with him the next second and expose their Senju identities.

"Ouch, Tobi... ko, why are you pinching me?" The pinch hurt enough that Hashirama hurriedly rubbed his waist, bewildered by his younger brother's behavior.

Sure enough, a younger brother just wasn't as considerate as a younger sister.

Just look at that older sister...

His gaze shifted to Invincible. They had already sat down at a stall selling rice dumplings, and the table was covered with them.

Madara Uchiha had intended to buy two skewers to eat as they walked, but Indra had grabbed a whole handful. They had no choice but to sit at the stall and finish them before leaving.

Hashirama and Tobirama didn't like sweets. They had only bought a token pair of skewers and joined them at the table.

"Uh, doesn't eating so much of something that sweet get sickening?"

Just watching them made Hashirama's and Tobirama's teeth ache, though their expressions differed.

"No." Indra not only stuffed skewer after skewer into his own mouth, but fed Madara Uchiha as well. When Madara didn't refuse, he fed him with even greater enthusiasm.

In the past, because Asura disliked sweets, he had usually catered to his tastes and rarely cooked anything sweet.

Later, when his talent earned him important responsibilities, he was even less likely to make a point of eating sweets.

In Ninshu, no one-not his father, his brother, or his friends-had known that a genius like him enjoyed sweet foods.

"Tsk..." Watching them eat, Tobirama Senju was already feeling phantom toothaches. He shoved his skewer of three-colored dumplings, of which he had eaten only one, into Hashirama's hand. "You two have... really good teeth."

"Mm, we're still young." Madara Uchiha enjoyed being fed by Nii-san, his eyes narrowing like a great cat's. Seeing the despicable Senju brother and sister staring at him and Nii-san, he asked, "Hashirama, what were you saying just now?"

"That took you long enough to register! Ah, but..." Hashirama's mouth twitched. He had said it ages ago, and only now had it reached Madara. He looked at the bustling streets and sighed. "When will everyone be able to set aside their differences, shake hands, and become brothers who trust one another, bringing an end to the wars in the Shinobi World?"

Hearing that, Madara Uchiha drew a deep breath. That familiar tone, those familiar lines. Then his younger brother would be killed, the Uchiha would surrender, the Uchiha would betray him, and the Senju he called his brother would stab him in the back. He went through that sequence a thousand times every day in Genjutsu.

What was he supposed to say?

Unleash a torrent of curses?

Even in Genjutsu, he had remained proud and restrained.

But after enough repetitions, his temper had flared too. Knowing his older brother stopped watching him once he cast the Genjutsu, he couldn't help cursing the Senju every time his heart got gouged out.

"Marry all the important figures from every clan in the Shinobi World. Then they'll all be your brothers and sisters."

Madara Uchiha had tried plenty of outrageous tricks in Genjutsu, including having Hashirama marry into other clans. Following the logic of the illusion, they really had all become brothers. Meanwhile, those women had fought one another viciously over bearing Hashirama's children.

Unfortunately, the result was that the clans stopped fighting the Senju and started fighting one another instead.

After being stabbed to death, he had Hashirama get together with the men of other clans instead. The Uchiha refused to join in their depravity and were ostracized again. Later, he left alone, returned with the Nine-Tails to fight, and once again got stabbed through the heart.

After being stabbed countless times, he became certain that the main reason he kept getting his heart gouged out was that he trusted Hashirama too much, believing he wouldn't stab him in the back.

The main reason Indra, who created the Genjutsu, chose not to control it was that he wanted Madara to see the true face of Asura chakra's reincarnation. The illusion changed entirely according to Madara's thoughts, yet it always ended with his heart getting gouged out.

What he had seen while drifting through the Shinobi World was Madara's life, and only its most superficial layer. He had never realized how wildly Madara's thoughts could wander.

"Isn't that just a marriage alliance? Take the Uchiha and the Senju, for example. They could never marry into each other!" Tobirama Senju raised his own objection. "Besides... how strong would someone's kidneys have to be to withstand all that?"

"That's a good question, but I'm not an Uchiha, so I can't answer it."

Indra finished his last skewer of three-colored dumplings and answered the question. But the way he looked at Madara had changed slightly. He planned to check tonight just how far Madara had progressed in the Genjutsu.

"What I believe in least is mutual understanding and trust."

Even his own brother could betray him, let alone people who already bore grudges against one another. He believed only suppression through force could end this age of chaos.

Asura had constantly claimed that bonds and mutual understanding could bring peace, yet he had used the power he received from their father and joined forces with outsiders to fight him.

Hashirama Senju had constantly spoken of bonds and mutual understanding too, but hadn't he still suppressed everyone with force? The moment he died, war had broken out.

Finally, that brat named Naruto had kept talking about bonds and treating everyone as his brother, yet in the end, he too had ended the Fourth Shinobi World War with force.

How laughable.

Hearing Indra say he wasn't an Uchiha, Madara Uchiha sank into thought, his mind wandering again. Could big brother be planning to kill these two, then frame another clan to wear down the Senju's fighting strength?

That differed slightly from his own plan, but it wasn't unworkable.