Something something, Hashirama making Tobirama perform Madara’s autopsy as a punishment.
And some word vomit on that:
Maybe it starts like this: tired of the war, Hashirama makes Izuna… slip. Right as Tobirama goes and attacks him with his Hirashin. Turning what should have been a painful but ultimately harmless strike into a debilitating and, in the end, deadly injury.
Izuna is, after all, the biggest hurdle to peace, and the biggest danger to his brother’s safety.
What are a few sacrifices for peace? Madara should have just listened to him.
But he has his village! His brother is safe, and his best friend is there too! Everything is perfect!
Meanwhile, Tobirama… knows something happened. He never meant to kill Izuna, he wasn’t even aiming to kill, just to injure him. He expects Madara to confront him, and he accepts it when it happens. They both relive that moment, together, from all three sides. It isn’t a kindness on Madara’s end, but… while they don’t know how, Izuna did slip. Moving as fast as he was, Tobirama couldn’t have pulled his strike. It isn’t forgiveness, but it’s close to it.
They don’t mean to fall in love, but they’re both so isolated from those around them that they’re drawn to each other. Madara isn’t stupid enough to not realize his own role in Izuna’s death, and selfish though he is, he won’t let himself destroy another person he loves. And so he subtly encourages Tobirama to take on students, work on his jutsus, anything to separate him from Madara’s side.
While all of this is happening, Madara’s hate of Konoha is still festering, of course, but he’s been… replaying Izuna’s death. Obsessively. And he sees it. That little bump of a root. It isn’t Konoha he hates, it’s Hashirama.
This isn’t something he can keep from Tobirama. So he tells Tobirama, then tells him he’s leaving Konoha. Tobirama begs to come with him, but Madara can’t have that. Tobirama must stay here. Because once Madara kills Hashirama—hopefully—Konoha is going to need Tobirama.
It isn’t until their final battle that Madara reveals everything to Hashirama. Because he never expected to lose. Tells Hashirama how he knows about how he made Izuna trip, costing Madara his last brother, and his clan’s loyalty. In the end though, Madara got something more valuable, at least to Hashirama—Tobirama’s loyalty and love.
He doesn’t see the strike coming until Hashirama’s sword is through his chest. Oh…
Tobirama isn’t sure what to think when his brother calls him to the hospital. It isn’t… Madara’s corpse. In an operating theatre. With people everywhere. Having to cut open the man he loves while everyone watches is torture, treat him like a test subject instead of like a person. How he gets through it without crying or vomiting he doesn’t know.
As Hokage, Hashirama has access to all of the clan’s scrolls. Tobirama will be much happier if simply never remembered he cared for Madara at all. The Yamanaka scrolls say the jutsu shouldn’t be used long term, but he’s sure it will be fine. Shaky and weak from his ordeal, Tobirama is barely aware of what’s happening, much less resist the jutsu. It’s fine, though. His anija has him.
When Madara wakes… well. Zetsu had been a useful ally before. There’s no harm in listening to the thing still, right? It isn’t like he has anything important he needs to think about.
Headcannon that the shadow clone Madara left behind in his place in the tomb/stone coffin in Tobirama's underground secret lab number 203b could only last SO LONG.
It eventually had to pop! And any all all memories the clone incurred would rebound back to the original Madara upon its dissolution. AND! Madara would have no awareness of the clones experiences until then.
Imagine (brainworms now/fic territory) he miscalculated and Tobirama did consider a time delay jutsu which is why he kept the corpse in the first place. Well, that and to prevent organ thieving.
Imagine Tobirama periodically checking in on the corpse. Trying new jutsu, new seals, anything!! To crack to the truth that Madara would never simply die! Imagine he pushes it a little too hard one day until 'pop!' And somewhere in the Mountain Graveyard Madara who was sitting connected to the gedou statue is brutally hit with a solid year of INTENSE physical memories that were not intended for living bodies to survive, let alone feel. All at once.
Now Madara is LIVID. Tobirama is equally furious at being fooled with his own damn technique. And Madara is clearly alive and in hiding somewhere and he cannot tell elder brother because look at what happened last time!
The hunt between them is on! And Madara cannot really move from the statue, so he prepares quite the trap that not even a hirashin could escape.
Excerpts of importance: Madara violently vomiting and shaking and having chills as the worst torture he could have ever imagined is physically being relayed to his body like a bad medicine reaction and all he can do is fucking ride it out. He also has lots memories of being spoken to openly and honestly by his tormentor in a way he never had experienced in their tumultuous relationship before.
Tobirama feeling 80 levels of shame as he knows the clone will transfer all memories of his doings to the original. Determined to end this on his own, the ugly merciless ways: no rules, no Morals, poisons, explosives and jutsu.
They clash messily and Madara barely wins. They are now Both stuck in the cave and have to Talk About The Autopsies yes that is plural.
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