Why did Izuna decline Hashirama’s offer?
“Due to having fallen victim to the Curse of Hatred like many of the other Uchiha, Izuna was unable to see the greater good outside of his clan. When Hashirama offered to have their clans join forces to eliminate the non-stop wars and heavy blood-shed, even willing to heal Madara's younger brother, Izuna willingly went to his grave telling his brother not to trust the Senju as it would mean the demise of their own clan, despite the Senju clearly outclassing the Uchiha.” (Source)
This is quoted directly from the Narutopedia and I would like to analyze further, why I think Izuna declined Hashirama’s offer. So let’s look at things from Izuna’s perspective to understand his distrust for Senju:
He probably lost a close friend, or another very precious person (e. g. Tajima) whose death gained him Mangekyo Sharingan, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they died at the hands of Senju, since they were at war with each other (yes, I know Itachi said both Izuna and Madara killed their friend to gain power, but Itachi’s version is unreliable)
He lost his brothers, and their blood is likewise on Senju’s hands
Just by listing these two reasons alone, it should be clear Izuna’s distrust was very justified (at least from his perspective). Why would he trust those who took his family, his clansmen, and perhaps his closest friend from him? However, it is also important to note that the circumstances when the offer was made matter greatly and shouldn’t be overlooked when analyzing this situation.
This is the scene in manga, where Izuna declines Hashirama’s offer. First of all, I would love to point out one thing – Hashirama wasn’t even talking with Izuna in this scene, only with Madara. You might be thinking “oh, but that’s because Hashirama knew Madara and was his friend”, and yes, that is correct and could be true. However, from Izuna’s point of view:
Hashirama’s brother, Tobirama, just mortally wounded him and Hashirama didn’t even mention this when he was offering a truce. Hashirama’s first words were “Madara, you cannot win against me”, and with these words, Hashirama is proclaiming his higher status (of power), he is certainly not offering peace, at least not yet. Only afterwords Hashirama proceeded to talk about how the wars would eventually stop if their clans joined forces. There is not a single mention of Izuna in any of this. I repeat: not a single mention of Izuna. Why would Izuna accept a truce from a clan whose one member just mortally wounded him and the other talks, as if he wasn’t even there? As for Hashirama offering to heal Izuna; I reread the chapter in the manga and I see NO mention of Hashirama offering to heal Izuna. I don’t know, when and where was Hashirama supposed to give this offer, but I just don’t see it anywhere in chapter 624? Hashirama offered his hand to Madara, yes, that is a gesture of peace, but, and I repeat AGAIN – he didn’t say anything about Izuna.
From Izuna’s point of view, it’s also quite logical why he would think Hashirama is only trying to deceive them. Hashirama only offered the truce after Izuna was mortally wounded, in other words, after he (Hashirama) knew Madara would be in an incredible emotional distress due to his little brother dying and therefore would be much more likely to accept the offer. I can see how that would look suspicious in Izuna’s eyes.
I will not even comment on the “ victim of a curse of hatred” part as other amazing bloggers have already made great posts defying and critically analyzing this pseudoscience. I will only state that Izuna was clearly concerned with the greater good of his clan. And again: why would he trust Senju? Why would he, heck...why should he trust his murderers?
Lastly, Izuna foresaw where this so-called peace would lead to even before Madara did. He ended up being right.
