Constructing a coherent narrative of Izuna Uchiha that the manga never did. Analyzing culture, linguistics, and values. Defending the honor of the Uchiha name.
More Izuna artwork. Enjoy. Please give all the credit to me as the artist.
He is practicing a kata during battle. I am proud of the way the shading turned out. My blog is called “prouchihaclan,” yet the only one who I really draw is Izuna XD. He is the one closest to my heart. Perhaps I should add some more characters to the list of people I draw.
We Izuna stans have a tough life, guys. Our favorite character only appeared for 20 seconds during the entire series and we know almost nothing about him, except that he was a genius on the level of the Second Hokage, had the Mangekyou Sharingan, but everyone calls him Madara's brother.
I've drawn a map of the Uchiha headquarter house during Madara's leadership. Compounds were mobile during the Warring state era. As mercenaries groups, they were expected to follow movements of major conflicts. Their houses were made of wooden boards without nails. The boards could be imbricated one into an other like pieces of a puzzle. They only need a couple of days to dismantle an entire site and move it from one place to an other. Size of it also varies depending of the season. It can be isolated groups of 10 units to a large assembly of 5000 houses. During military campaigns they prefer middle to small group more flexible in case of sudden retreat. In winter time and during important festivals they tends to come together. Generally the main compound where the leader resides, is the bigger one.
The love story between Uchiha and falcons is ancient. Originally they were use to help them hunting up in the mountains. In the beginning of the Warring state era, one hundred and fifty years before Madara's birth, falcons were trained to recognize their owner's chakra anywhere in the world and enable uchiha groups scattered in the country to communicate quickly. In a time where messages went at human' speed, falcons are able to exceed 320 km/h in dives. Uchihas reputation for collecting informations and act fast was renowned and feared in battlefield.
During Tajima's leadership, Uchiha Shinobis united their forces under a single authority but remained mostly nomads. In Madara's time, they started to slowly accept a more permanent headquarter with some factions still in motion like satellites protecting the core. Finally, after many tribulations, they definitely settled down in Konoha alongside other clans, signing the end of a nomadic way of life.
I'll explore more of this period in chapter 5 : A name carries power from my fic Madara Golden Age. I'll release it this saturday 22/10 at 12pm (CET).
You can still refresh your memories by reading everything from the beginning in the table of contents and my AO3
I suppose a person who had known Madara from the Warring States period, from his birth up to his twenties, would have been SHOCKED to discover the older version of Madara from the Naruto era as the epitome of the lone (yet dangerous) wolf.
Madara in his youth was ALWAYS with his brother. They were known throughout all the shinobi world as just "The Brothers", without needing to specify which clan we meant. They were constantly moving together like a sword and its sheath; on the battlefield, on missions, or ruling over the clan. One started a sentence, the other could finish it. At some point they looked so much alike that people often mistook their names, thinking they were twins, and I wouldn't be surprised if Madara grew his hair extremely long as a way to look visually distinct from his brother — he loves Izuna, but he loves being glorified by HIS NAME even more!
Yes, Izuna was his most precious brother, but also the only person in that cruel world he could trust with his eyes closed. They trained together from the moment both of them could walk, and as a result, part of their fighting style was designed to be performed as a duo. Even if Madara was naturally more creative and aggressive in his presence, all his war strategies took into consideration having Izuna as his most loyal ally. This dynamic was so ingrained in Madara's muscle memory that he unconsciously tried to revive it with Obito when he protected him from an attack (Obito didn't need it at all with his mangekyou's ability), then offered an alliance to Sasuke just because his face reminded him so painfully of his dear brother (but he quickly closed his heart and mercilessly stabbed him later).
Both Obito and Sasuke rejected him. And even if they had accepted, it was a stillborn project — no one could ever replace Izuna. When he passed away, Madara had to reinvent himself... alone. Or maybe the real Madara had died long before, resting forever inside Izuna's coffin. What remained alive was only the Ghost of the Uchiha.
HOLY SHIT IT’S SO GOOD AHHH!!! This is what the original Naruto manga would have done if Kishi knew how to write properly. The Naruto Mobile game is doing it even better than the manga! And Izuna is a real soldier here, not dumbed down. This one video gives more coherency to Izuna’s character and shows his fighting style in a way that the manga never did. He’s exactly as I imagined him to be - graceful and deadly all at the same time.
uchiha practices and customs, hc #1: singing and verbal jutsu
many people are familiar with the uchiha clan's famous ocular jutsu, and its associated traditions. and yet, few have heard of a time where a verbal form was alive, too.
indeed, the caster's own voice could become a vessel for chakra and intent, and it has been used for a variety of purposes. in combat, for offense, incapacitation, and defense.
there were also the much more mundane, or even therapeutic and soothing uses for this. in practice, it was preferred to use communally. it amplified the intention and effect, as well as brought members of the clan together.
often would they gather in a circle around an open flame at the end of the day, and chant together. it was done before major events too, in prayer for prosperity.
madara recalls such memories fondly. though more bitterly, he'd sing to take the heaviness off his siblings' (and his) hearts from the losses of a merciless war. to drown out the silence where familiar voices should have been. to lead into battle with pride.
so fine was the quality of his voice he was frequently chosen to sing for the burial rites of their departed, from a very young age. though, soon, he had no siblings left to comfort.
the practice saw its decline as the uchiha began to have to assimilate in the leaf village. rumors of their famed chants' abilities, though a harmless part of everyday life, struck fear into the hearts of those unfamiliar with them, in an era of uncertainty.
notably, under the second hokage's rule, such gatherings were banned. for anyone found continuing the practice, there was grounds for arrest and investigation. often, they were never seen again.
they stopped being taught.
gradually, the contents of them became lost to time. those that tried to document and revive it have all but died off.
and if you'd ask madara if he could sing at all, he would tell you he could not. that everytime he tried, his throat choked up. that there is no one left to share it with
the memory of those stories, of that voice, has died with his siblings, and the uchiha boy he'd taken in as its final witness. never to be known or heard again
As I get back into my yearly reread, I've been thinking more about the mangekyo sharingan and how it manifests.
This has led me to speculate more on the mangekyo transformations we haven't been shown and what themes/ideas could have been interesting to explore through them since, as with most Uchiha abilities, the development of one's sharingan is so much more than just a simple 'power-up' or upgrade that aids the user in the moment.
Recently, Izuna's has been on my mind.
I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but it will always be interesting to me that his eyes are so consequential to the narrative yet we ultimately know very little about him. The most crucial detail we have about Izuna is that Madara loved him dearly and I do think that's an important idea to always keep in mind when it comes to the two brothers as it can help frame some of these lingering, unanswered questions about the lives they led.
I also think their powerful bond adds an interesting dimension when it comes to speculating about Izuna's mangekyo in particular since, presumably, he wouldn't have endured or reflected on this transformation on his own. Madara would have almost certainly been there to not only witness it but to offer guidance as well - something we know not every Uchiha was given the luxury of.
Further, Izuna exists during a time when war, bloodshed, and loss are all relatively commonplace. He was literally raised in an environment surrounded by perpetual, ruthless violence. Considering his already grim/bleak circumstances, what conditions then needed to be triggered to result in such an emotionally dramatic transformation (which the mangekyo is) that extended beyond this era's 'expected norms/truths' and affected him so profoundly?
This is the piece I keep being drawn back to.
If you've been raised since birth to bear a weapon in your hand alongside the dismal understanding that, one day, no matter what you do, your dear ones will likely die in battle beside you and, at the same time, you naturally become intimately familiar with all the ills that war brings alongside it (famine, abuse, disease, etc) as this is simply an accepted truth of the world you live, then what more could possibly shake your faith, unsettle your psyche, and result in one of the most profound (and rare) eye transformations known to your clan - a transformation that is most often associated with earth-shattering revelations, despair, and anguish?
Basically, when so much pain/suffering is already normalized and deemed acceptable to you, what then challenges your already steeled resolved/hardened emotions and awakens the mangekyo?
The mangekyo sharingan is different from the base sharingan and it's three-tomoe progression. It shares similarities, of course, (namely through its connection/reaction to emotionality) but it's heavily implied that it is something we (the reader) are meant to view as greater, it's even more inaccessible to the average person and is therefore reserved for moments where the bearer is undergoing some form of extreme rapture.
To really reflect on this, I figured I'd first look at what we already know regarding the mangekyo and then speculate with my own personal thoughts/ideas regarding Izuna from there.
Throughout the series, there's something really interesting about the narrative journey we go on when exploring the mangekyo sharingan (how it works, what it means, who has access to it, etc). We (the reader) first learn about its existence through Sasuke and Itachi and our early knowledge of this phenomenon is incredibly limited (and, in some ways, very flawed) because of that.
We eventually come to learn that Itachi has a vested interest in deceiving Sasuke at this stage in the story and many of the 'truths' he offers Sasuke about their clan's abilities are little more than lies designed to set Sasuke on a certain path/encourage him to draw conclusions that benefit Itachi's plans. Now, this isn't to say it's all a lie as some facets do remain true once we are exposed to different narrators/contrary evidence (ie. the mangkeyo is indeed an incredibly powerful evolution of the already coveted three-tomoe sharingan and it's not exactly common by any means) but the actual rarity of it throughout the Uchiha clan's history and the means by which it is 'awakened' are pretty easily debunked (at least when it comes to Itachi's first few explanations which, again, exist for their own specific purposes).
Obviously, building off of this understanding, the 'you must kill your best friend to unlock it' idea is grossly exaggerated. Now, I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility since I'm sure something so intensely emotional and heartbreaking could have the potential to awaken the mangekyo but we never actually see an Uchiha do this.
The two cases of a real-time mangekyo transformation that we do see and know for certain are Sasuke and Obito.
Sasuke awakens his mangekyo due to a combination of factors: 1.) learning that his beloved older brother sacrificed everything (including himself) under the notion that it was the only way to protect Sasuke (this is also amplified by the revelation that the older brother he adored, idolized and loved was still out there all this time) and 2.) that his entire life, all his suffering and sacrifice, was based around a complete lie.
To me (and I do think we can interpret it in different ways), this mangekyo transformation reflects the ideas of unadulterated heartbreak in addition to profound, earth-shattering betrayal. That the village he once called home had deemed the conditions surrounding the UCM acceptable, conditions that led to the merciless slaughter of people whose only crime was being born Uchiha, and that decision then snowballing into Sasuke's life becoming a living hell, was understandably far too much for him to bear.
At its core, Obito has a similar awakening in that he too was essentially forced to grapple with the unjust, unfiltered cruelty of the world he lives in and as he comes to terms with this, it's so devastating that it shatters his faith in reality itself. The hopelessness is profound - trying to save, protect, and do 'good' become warped in his mind as he comes to view them as now-futile endeavors.
While Sasuke's manifestation takes a bit of time to settle as he comes to new internal conclusions and begins to question everything he's ever known up to this point in his life, Obito's is quick, near-instant and it results in an absolutely brutal rampage and slaughter as his emotional turmoil boils over.
Of course, even if it's not depicted directly, we know through context that 'at some point' Shisui, Izuna, Madara, and Indra have all awakened the mangekyo as well.
And here I will add that, naturally, we know Itachi also awakened his. Although, I actually ran into some unexpected issues when I was re-examining his exact experience with the mangekyo (but maybe I'm just missing something - please, feel free to correct me on this).
While I think it's near-universally accepted that Itachi's mangekyo was triggered by witnessing Shisui's suicide (and was therefore also influenced by the implications of that decision/circumstances surrounding it which revealed that shit was about to hit the fan and the peace he so desired was likely impossible/futile), as I was scouring my scans in reference to this post and rereading a few of the chapters I assumed it might be mentioned in, I couldn't actually find a panel that concretely stated any of this. I think it's just heavily implied given the fact we know the bond between Itachi and Shisui was strong enough that Shisui gifted Itachi his eyes for safekeeping, but, yeah, I was surprised I couldn't find more explicit evidence in the manga for this (again, unless I'm just missing something glaringly obvious - totally possible, lol). Don't get me wrong, I'm still under the impression that it was Shisui's suicide/the combined weight of the growing pressure that was placed on him between the village, the clan, and his dedication to Sasuke's continued safety that triggered Itachi's mangekyo. I guess I'm just more surprised this was mostly covered in the expanded material (which is sometimes dubious as far as 'canon' goes) rather than the manga itself.
Anyways, all of this is really to say that I think it's safe to assume the mangekyo, similar to the base sharingan, is unlocked via intense emotion and not the blood libel-esque myths and stereotypes that persist about the Uchiha and their abilities. Since the sharingan can be interpreted/viewed as a reflection of the heart (an analogy I've always found really apt), the materialization of the mangekyo could be seen as the 'shattering' of that heart to better capture the distinction between it and the base sharingan.
But there's still a lot of room for interpretation, of course, and it makes complete sense that something like this wouldn't be an exact science - there will always be outliers and because of that I think looking at it as the experience of 'intense emotional response' coupled with 'radical internal resolve/revelation' better captures the wide breadth of how one might obtain these eyes.
While I love the way Sasuke awakens his mangekyo and find the panels to be utterly harrowing in how they depict Sasuke's emotional response (seriously, go back and reread that chapter if you haven't revisited it in a while, the emoting done with Sasuke is incredible and the anime does not do it justice, imo... it never does, lol), there is just something so brutal about Obito's that I keep returning to.
Both are extremely raw and rooted in deep, unfathomable pain, but the fact we get to see the devastating results of Obito's and how this is not 'just' relentless, unabashed slaughter in response to his despair over Rin's unjust situation/death but it is also the very elimination of who Obito was up to that point is illustrated so well. Here, he transforms and the emergence of the mangekyo serves as the backdrop of that transformation. In this chapter, the charming, inherently kind and caring person Obito once was, ceases to exist in light of his unfolding disillusionment over the futility of life itself.
And that got me thinking...
We know that Madara worked with Zetsu to plan this trial for Obito as a means to manipulate him. He needed to groom Obito into someone who would be capable of carrying out his plan once he died. Knowing this, it really makes me wonder how Madara himself understands mangekyo awakenings (or what might have influenced that understanding) since he essentially had to plan the delicate circumstances of one from scratch to get what he wanted out of Obito.
Sure, he would of course have his own experiences to reflect on, but consider that the mangekyo sharingan is an unconscious, internal evolution... I would assume there are parts of this experience that are simply unknowable to the bearer (the why/how matter far less in the moment than the 'what' which results in the immediacy of this process), especially if we consider they are likely deep in whatever emotional event is triggering it.
In that case, I kind of wonder if Madara's 'true' understanding of the mangekyo (what it is, how it operates, why it happens) only really came after he witnessed his brother endure the process. Seeing it happen to someone else, especially someone he can easily analyze due to how close the two of them are, might have been extremely revealing.
And, playing off of that idea, this then makes me believe that the incident he planned for Obito might have mirrored aspects of the event that resulted in Izuna's mangekyo. Essentially, Madara would have been able to reflect on the change he observed in his brother and then meticulously hand-craft an ordeal that would affect Obito in a similar manner, hoping to capture the same results. Since he had both his own experience and that of his brother's, I think that combined knowledge would bolster his confidence that such circumstances would ultimately result in Obito's despair (again, he needed to make this happen).
So, what I'm picturing is a young(er) Madara (a very different Madara than the one sitting in a cave and planning to weaponize such a harrowing experience against a child of his own clan) watching in horror as Izuna rampages and savagely eviscerates the targets of his ire in pure rage and anguish upon awakening his mangekyo. It's likely devastating for him to watch, a memory that keeps him up at night and serves as just one more reminder of him being unable to protect his brother from the savagery of the world - of him failing as a protector.
To watch his brother he loved so dearly lose parts of himself and transform into someone who (like him) now knew true heartbreak would have (imo) left a lasting impression on Madara.
...An impression that he then utilized against Obito as a ruthless guarantee to not just foster his future successor's power/visual prowess but to also no doubt destroy his belief that any aspect of this world/reality was worth salvaging and therefore the only answer left was Project Tsukuyomi...
That Madara would twist what he knew of Izuna's experience in such a way would also work so well to signal his continued corruption and the departure from who he once was. In a sense, it would be him sacrificing an aspect of Izuna's legacy and essentially soiling its memory by using what he knows to force Obito into a similar state (full well-knowing the emotional/mental cost).
And then it becomes even more tragic when we later see Obito continuing this cycle by drafting the same conditions so he can groom Sasuke (cue the unplanned 5KS gauntlet and pushing him into accepting Itachi's eyes, something he was originally very much against). But that's for a different post, I think.
Mostly, I bring all this up to explore the idea of Izuna's mangekyo and the ideas I'm trying to marry together when I consider my 'headcanon' for it.
To me, these are the key factors at play:
As stated, the mangekyo involves intense emotional revelations that can serve to symbolize dramatic transformation from within the bearer as they come to new conclusions, thoughts, and ideas.
The world Izuna inherited was already dark and unforgiving - whatever triggered his mangekyo would likely need to be an event that shocks even someone familiar with such a bleak reality.
Izuna is deeply tied to Madara and their bond is profound.
I think we can safely speculate that Izuna's hatred of the Senju was similarly profound. Even with his dying breath he refused to see peace with them and his word alone stayed Madara's hand from accepting Hashirama's offer.
I personally think it would be neat to explore the concept of Madara learning from Izuna's experience in such a way that Izuna's mangekyo story mirrors Obito's in terms of its gravity and reaction (ie, bring on the carnage).
All that said, my personal headcanon leans towards Izuna reacting violently to whatever triggers his mangekyo - so violently, in fact, that it's almost difficult for Madara to watch. While Madara might similarly be horrified/angered by the events they're witnessing, I think the surprise of seeing his brother react so intensely (and to have that intensity verified with the manifestation of his mangekyo of all things) would really give him pause as Izuna, blinded by his raw emotions, rampages.
But what could that event be?
It could be the death of Tajima, a close friend making a sacrifice, etc... but I just feel like Izuna would likely be prepared for events like those and might have even come to accept them (I think it's notable, for example, that Madara didn't awaken his sharingan when any of his other brothers died -whom I'm sure he loved/wanted to protect- but rather from the more foreign pain that emerged from realizing his dream with Hashirama, their friendship and connection, was futile).
Now, of course there's a difference between accepting such things may come to be and then actually experiencing them (meaning he can be as prepared as he wants but find himself still deeply affected by the event anyways and therefore obtains his mangekyo that way) but I kind of want to play with some of the other horror elements that lap at the surface of the very fucked-up world that is the Naruto-verse for something a little more new/unique.
This is lowkey 'dark' (so, please mind yourself), but a concept that I find uniquely grotesque in the Naruto-verse is bloodline thieves. While seemingly condemned, we know in actuality it's still a relatively accepted practice behind closed doors even within Naruto's era. We also see how the sharingan in particular is coveted, how corpses are maimed and the dead are defiled to unlock its secrets (à la Orochimaru's whole deal, Danzo harvesting sharingan for himself after orchestrating the genocide of the clan, Tobirama studying Madara's body in search for Uchiha 'secrets' rather than destroying it or returning it to his clan, etc). Additionally, we know that there are issues with the 'plug-and-go' method of 'stealing' a sharingan. For non-Uchiha, the use of the sharingan causes immense drain and there's a natural, inherent finesse/mastery they will never posses.
It's this dark, disgusting reality that I think would really fundamentally change Izuna. He already knows the cruel war tactics of forced starvation, biowarfare, and indiscriminate killing/carnage... but I feel like witnessing the dark depths of bloodline thievery/their tactics would cut too deeply. It's so unsettling and incredibly dehumanizing to not just kill someone but to reap 'trophies' from their body and wear them as if you're entitled to it (and, as discussed, the sharingan is not merely some 'fun' ability all Uchiha bear from birth - there is a significant personal cost to unlocking it that adds weight to what those eyes signify).
We know from his declaration to Madara about not letting the Senju deceive him that Izuna refuses to excuse the past wrongs done to their people. Yes, there's obvious hypocrisy in this idea, but we're just looking at this from Izuna's perspective at the moment. While this conviction was likely formed over countless battles against rival clans, I do think an event where Izuna maybe came face-to-face with the most callous disregard for his kin would have solidified it.
Perhaps it was being faced with a known enemy who now bore the exact eyes of one of Izuna's loved ones as if it was their own. It could be a cousin, a lover, or even Tajima's... but he knows those eyes, he knows what those eyes meant to that person. He might even be there facing this enemy trying to avenge their death and, now, here they are before him - mocking that person's memory and callously bearing their eyes.
Or maybe it was coming across an underground bunker filled with Uchiha women of varying ages. They're chained and being kept captive for the sole purpose of breeding a natural sharingan bearer for the rival clan that plans to mold that child into someone who would fight on their behalf.
Conversely, what if Madara and Izuna received intel that several Uchiha children had been kidnapped? The two brothers mount a rescue and rush to save them only to discover that all the children had been tortured to death in a crude attempt by whoever captured them to force the children into awakening the sharingan so they might harvest it for their own purposes.
There's something so sickening about the concept and methods surrounding bloodline thievery that I think would sway even a hardened soldier like Izuna. It's fundamentally inhuman. There's no moral justification for it, though those who practice it would argue such things aid in their own brutal calculus of survival - it gives them an edge - hence why they're willing to stoop so low.
But seeing that up close, especially with how tight-knit the Uchiha are as a community and culturally what their identity as a family/unique people means to them... I think it would break something inside of Izuna. It doesn't even have to be the Senju who do it (though... I don't know, Tobirama's proclivity for pursuing ethically questionable jutsu/'scientific' study couldn't have appeared out of thin air...), but regardless of the perpetrator it leads to Izuna's revelation that everything must now be framed as the Uchiha v. The World and there's absolutely no room for anything else. If this is how the world will treat them, how it will hunt them down and defile them, then the world should be damned and everyone else can burn for all he cares.
Izuna, bearing his fresh mangekyo, mercilessly slicing down his enemies as he blinks away bloody tears of heartbreak, declares that the rest of the world that exists beyond their clan is dead to him and Madara then watches (perhaps silently) in real-time as gore fills the scene before him and his baby brother's last shred of innocence is decidedly destroyed.
Once the adrenaline and shock finally dies down, Madara regains himself and his big brother instincts kick in. He finds Izuna still wrestling with his feelings and offers whatever comfort he can. Madara also now understands more clearly what the mangekyo means and the revelations it can inspire... he knows his brother is no longer the same person he once was.
I've mentioned it in another post, but I think it makes so much sense for the Uchiha perspective on the sharingan (and its associated powers) to be complicated... for them (given the unique context they possess as it's their culture) to see someone bear a sharingan is to know, on some level, that they've endured something challenging - be it loss, terror, betrayal, pain, etc.
Sasuke actually illustrates this perfectly when he flashes his eyes towards Hashirama and insists that he's not a child and doesn't need to be coddled - in this way, the sharingan (and its transformations) operates almost like a battle scar. It's a visible sign of one's experience and what life they have led... and whatever subsequent transformations might be present in those eyes, reveals the repeated occurence of such things.
Hm, there's always so much to think about, lol, but I fear I'm making this way too long (per usual).
Anyways, I'm mostly curious what everyone else's reads/thoughts are on this topic. How do you think Izuna awakened his mangekyo? How do you think Madara reacted to it?
Disclaimers: I use what we have from the manga more as foundational basis for how I came to imagine Izuna's mangekyo awakening, but I think there can be a lot of varying interpretation given how the sharingan behaves symbolically within the narrative. And I don't mean to make Obito's awakening any less tragic or meaningful to him when I try to connect Izuna to it. I just think it could be an interesting parallel to explore and I acknowledge that the circumstances (meaning the details/how it comes about) would be vastly different... more so, I think the reaction was what I wanted to bridge off of. Where I think characters like Sasuke and (likely) Itachi had more contemplative awakenings, the brutality associated with Obito's was what ultimately intrigued me as a potential example for Izuna (that I could then draw parallels to Madara and connect him to it was just a bonus, lol).
Also, end of the day, this is mostly just headcanon and a drawing I wanted to do.
Here's the uncolored version (I'm so insecure about how I color/know it's one of my weak spots and I've never tried depicting blood before, but I wanted to try something new/take risks):
Okay but can we stop talking about the Darkling like his words and beliefs didn't make any goddamn sense??
He was spitting truth after truth but we have that freaking narrative that painted his words either as "evil" (and therefore wrong and crazy) or as lies.
Honestly this kind of reminds me of Izuna Uchiha from Naruto when he told Madara “not to trust the Senju who killed their brothers and clansmen” and he is framed as a warmonger by certain parts of the Naruto fandom. Both Izuna and Madara are infantilized as childish, dependent characters who “don’t know what’s best for them” and this dumbing down of sincerely intelligent, capable, and independent characters living in a warring states era genuinely is wrong. Where did this even come from? Also, both the Darkling and Izuna Uchiha are hypersexualized in both of their fandoms respectively. Moreover, the Darkling is also living in a “warring” period of time as well when various states in their fictional universe are battling for control over territory and Grisha, and the Darkling is trying to lead his “clan” of Grisha with magical powers to create a state where they have rights.
[POV: You're me, deciding on the plot of your new fic]
Itachi meets (rolls dice) Izuna, who is (flips coin) a timetraveler, intent on saving (spins wheel) the clan. The ghost of (throws dart at corkboard) Minato is there to be a (drops a ball on my keyboard) father figure. All the while Itachi picks up (chooses a playing card) knitting. And Sasuke becomes a (stops on a random page in my dictionary) healer.
i’ve noticed you always seem to be drawing lines in the inner corners of hashirama’s eyes. what are those?
just smth i noticed. the lines under his eyes alwsys seemed to be more prolonged to me, at least in early naruto. then i guess kishimoto sort of ?abandoned? the idea? in the newer versions they arent as pronounced, tho i guess theyre still here. but anyways, i just think they’re a cool part of his design, thats why i always draw them. i tried to draw him without them but he just ended up looking naked [not in the good way.] hope that answers ur questions =^^=“
He was actually much more interesting in the old design, showing how much older he was than the other Senju brothers. Unfortunately, he lost that edge.
Pre-Konoha Cannon that while Madara and Hashirama were pushing each other to the brink in battle as much as they could, Hashirama was definitely NOT going for the kill.
All the while, Izuna is 1000 percent going for Tobirama's life every time. And so is Tobirama. Both of them believe they can sway the tide of the clans balance by taking out the second in command. They move so fast and brutally that they forget their brothers words of restraint. And to maim and injure but not kill. This, rightly so, worries both their brothers.
Tobirama meant to kill Izuna. They are the reflection of what happens without a beforehand childhood friendship, without clan names, to see each other as capable of peace.