"Madara?" Uchiha Izuna's eyes widened in utter confusion.
"!" That was Tobirama Senju and Watanabe Ichiro's reaction.
Their impressions of Madara Uchiha were still rooted in the battlefield.
To Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha was a powerful mortal enemy. One moment of carelessness, one opening for him to exploit on the battlefield, could cost Tobirama his life.
To Watanabe Ichiro, Madara's most famous feat was the battle where he had utterly steamrolled the Allied Shinobi Forces. His performance as the Rose of the Battlefield had left a lasting impression, while his later fate-having Black Zetsu punch through his chest after deceiving him his entire life-had also earned him some sympathy.
All in all, ruthless, aloof, and ready to fight anyone who challenged him were the keywords the two associated with him.
"Haha, Madara really is a gentle person..."
"Ahem. Take that boy called... Ichiro, right? Take him out for a meal. I'll have a talk with Tobirama."
"Yes, yes, yes! Oh, Madara, you've finally come around! I told you there were a lot of misunderstandings between you two. Madara is gentle and kind, and Tobirama is sensible and adorable..."
"Enough!" Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju snapped in unison, mortified and annoyed.
Uchiha Izuna, however, could not hold back his laughter. He leaned against the table, muttering "sensible and adorable" under his breath. Smiling, Tobirama Senju drew the blade at his waist-the very one that had once gravely wounded Izuna-gave it a flourish, then slowly sheathed it again. Izuna's mood darkened too, and he stared back with his Sharingan, returning a positively lethal smile.
Watanabe Ichiro did not know much about what happened afterward, but judging by the way Madara Uchiha lowered his head in thought after hearing Tobirama Senju's suggestions, at least some of it seemed to have gotten through.
Hmm, Madara Uchiha was much milder before transplanting his younger brother's eyes. He really was a completely different person from his original portrayal.
At least, Watanabe Ichiro could not imagine the outrageously domineering Madara from the original story apologizing to a junior weaker than himself.
While Watanabe Ichiro was thinking, Hashirama Senju quietly observed him.
So tiny, with white hair. He didn't fuss or get scared even in an unfamiliar place, and he was such a well-behaved, independent boy. He really was like Tobirama as a child, chasing after me and calling me "big brother."
("Nii-san" and "ani-ja," the term Tobirama used in the original story, both mean "older brother." However, "nii-san" is more affectionate, while "ani-ja" is more respectful and carries a slight sense of distance.)
Cute. I want to pet him. He acted on the impulse immediately, reaching out to ruffle Watanabe Ichiro's soft hair.
"What would you like to eat?"
"Anything is fine. I'll leave it to you, Lord Hashirama."
"Oh, no, no, no! What's this 'Lord' business? That's too distant. Just call me Hashirama. If you like, you can call me Big Brother Hashirama, like Tobirama does."
"Big Brother Hashirama..." Well, fine. My last Disguise called you Big Brother Hashirama too, once we got familiar. You really do love collecting little brothers.
Watanabe Ichiro readily switched forms of address, and Hashirama Senju took his hand and led him to Konoha's specialty food street.
Huh? A food street? Was there anything like that in the original story? That didn't sound like a Japanese name. It sounded more like...
"I once had a friend who was very good at cooking. His food was incredible, and he treated us to all sorts of dishes we'd never even heard of."
"Maybe they were recipes from the Watanabe clan. Nobles really do know their food... I remember him saying that back home, they grouped eateries together and called the place a food street."
His expression grew complicated, his eyes shining.
"If he were still alive, he would definitely love this place. I saved a hot pot shop for him in the central area. Unfortunately, none of our clansmen could recreate the flavor of his hot pot. I haven't found any leads on that seasoning called chili pepper either, though it apparently came from the east..."
"But, well, I suppose Madara and I have fulfilled his wish. No need to worry about who we'll have to kill on the battlefield tomorrow, or whether our loved ones will die. I hope that in the future, the only difficult choice people have to make is what delicious food to enjoy for their next meal..."
He sank into his memories, beginning to murmur to himself.
All right, so it really was my last Disguise.
Watanabe Ichiro regretted his laziness. If he had known, he would have used a different name. Stirring up grief and making people suffer emotional gut punches like this was a little underhanded.
Easy, easy. Once I have enough points, I'll repair the broken card and pay to put it on autopilot. As for those of you who knew my Disguises, once I've collected the materials for Impure World Reincarnation and saved up enough points, I'll use a new Disguise to cast Impure World Reincarnation followed by Rinne Rebirth, and pull you back from the afterlife.
Let those who want to live stay alive, and those who want to rest sleep in peace.
At least in the world of Naruto, Watanabe Ichiro could afford the price of resurrection.
Accordingly, he had no real qualms about stirring up trouble. They would not stay dead anyway. A few extra emotional gut punches now would help toughen their hearts. He had plenty more suffering in store for them, so they might as well start getting used to it.
Watanabe Ichiro sat in the restaurant eating some rather inauthentic hot pot while Hashirama Senju filled his ears with "stories from the past." Too lazy to keep humoring him, he yawned and pretended to be sleepy once he had eaten his fill. Hashirama Senju carried him on his back to the Uchiha Clan Compound and left him in Uchiha Kagami's care, then hurried back to eavesdrop on Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju.
Yep, people in Naruto really did love eavesdropping.
There was not much to say about the days that followed.
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha concealed Watanabe Ichiro's identity as a traitor's descendant, but there was no hiding his white hair, which stood out glaringly among the Uchiha. Besides, every Uchiha knew that the Senju's second-in-command, Tobirama Senju, had white hair.
Tobirama Senju's reputation was far too well established. Even now that the two clans had allied, their hostility toward each other could hardly change overnight.
So a conspiracy theory spread like wildfire: Watanabe Ichiro was actually a Senju who had undergone an experimental Sharingan transplant and been planted among the Uchiha as a spy.
Well, the reasoning and logic checked out. It just happened to be completely at odds with the facts.
Uchiha Izuna found time to suppress the rumors a few times, but Watanabe Ichiro's rogue ninja father had such a terrible reputation that the explanation about an Uchiha bloodline wandering outside the clan convinced no one. Besides, Hashirama Senju had carried the boy here himself, and Uchiha Kagami could attest to that.
So Watanabe Ichiro really was unwelcome in the clan.
Though he was not beaten or verbally abused like Naruto had been as a child, the strange looks the Uchiha clansmen gave him would have been enough to leave an ordinary child dejected for quite some time.
But Watanabe Ichiro was no ordinary child. If the Uchiha had not shunned him, he would have had to devise a way to make it happen.
Now that no one paid attention to him, he did not have to act like a child at all. He stayed quietly within his designated area, leaving the system on autopilot whenever no one was watching. If someone came to check on him, he immediately possessed his Disguise and pretended to be diligently training.
Slacking off felt fantastic. Especially when he wandered around near the Hokage's Office in spirit form and saw that Tobirama Senju had somehow been persuaded to join the daily paperwork grind. The contrast made it feel even better.
The joy of slacking off was built, in large part, on the suffering of other corporate drones!
Watanabe Ichiro sat off to one side in high spirits, rubbing his chin as he considered his future plans.
Step one, returning to the clan, was complete. I just needed to give them a little more time to establish Konoha's framework.
Next up...
He watched Uchiha Izuna working away with his head down, and a faint smile curled his lips.
Working overtime every day was too exhausting. Better to take a break in the afterlife. Let me think... how should I take you out of the picture?
Uchiha Izuna sneezed, feeling as though there was something unclean in the room. He turned and shot a fierce glare at Tobirama Senju, who was handling paperwork across from him.
Tobirama Senju looked up in bewilderment. Huh?
Before you continue