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Uchiha Madara watched his brother's pyre burn in the flames he'd ignited. The flames eating away at wood and flesh searing hot, just like the flames which now burned in his chest, feeding on the pain and loss which filled the gaping hole in his heart that had once been filled by his little brother's presence.
Izuna's last gift to him- beyond the gift of his eyes, was something Madara had never quite dreamed- nor even considered... one of their greatest enemies, delivered unto him, with his little brother's last battle with the man that stole his baby brother from him... Izuna had confided to him, on his deathbed, of the complex seal he'd managed to nail Tobirama with, even as the Senju had landed the blow which ultimately killed Izuna.
His brother had managed to use a technique he'd only unlocked after acquiring his Mangekyou, to rewind a few seconds of time... He'd known the blow was coming, then, but had also known he wouldn't be able to evade it enough, to make a difference, and so had chosen to use that second chance to ready and use a piece of fuinjutsu he'd been carefully cooking up and crafting for some time, as a failsafe, should the worst happen.
He'd not been expecting to need it so soon, but he'd had the completed seal ready, anyway, and seeing no way out of a mortal blow regardless, had chosen to use it, and help Madara and the rest of his Clan, with his death...
With this seal, he'd effectively removed the White Demon, known as Senju Tobirama, from the field as their enemy. Provided the seal took properly- and Izuna was sure it would, given all the effort he'd poured into boobytrapping the damn thing, the Senju would be forever bound to Madara's command; the demon brought to heel at Madara's feet, never to threaten their Clan again, since Madara would never allow it.
Watching as his brother's corpse was reduced to ashes, Madara thought he would far rather have had his brother back than to have his killer serving him...
As the pyre collapsed under its own weight, constructed as it was, so that it would do so safely, Madara felt the flames in his chest burn hotter as his brother's death flames stretched up into the sky. His eyes burned with both tears that would not fall, as he'd wept himself out in private, already, and had nothing left at present, and also with the Sharingan- Eternal Mangekyou. A combination of his brother's pinwheels and his own... The sight of his brother's pyre forever burned into his memory and heart. The empty ache inside him crawled up his throat to choke him, but still, he stood there, unwilling to leave his brother's side until the blaze was naught but ashes.
Only then, did he turn on his heel and vanish into the forests around the Uchiha compound, gunbai and scythe at his back and hip. He wanted- needed to destroy something, and he dared not unleash this within the compound. As he reached the bank of the Naka River, he paused, a burning maelstrom like a living thing within his breast, as he stared into the waters beneath his sandal, suddenly recalling the first time his brother had properly crossed blades with the boy who would go on to kill him.
Eyes blazing, Madara turned his glowing gaze in the direction of the Senju compound, and, without stopping to consider further what he was about to do, he flared his chakra in a basic cipher, demanding Tobirama come to meet him.
