Advanced Chapter on my Patreon patreon.com/JoshRichie2 for just $5. Also, I just began Volume 4. Which is Naruto Arc. I'm a couple chapters, I'll be finishing this FF. Stay tuned.
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Title: Izuna's Death and Change
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Dreary. That was the only way to describe the atmosphere in the Uchiha clan right now.
Everyone looked dull and depressed for the same reason.... They were tired. Angry. Sad. Grim. Soulless, and dismal.
The successive losses had hit them painfully, and to top it all off... Their clan leader's little brother, the second strongest person in the clan was at deaths door.
The dreary atmosphere didn't come from only one emotion... Far from it. It came from the many emotions that they've all bottled up over the years.
A lot of them had asked... Why were they fighting? But the only answer they got was... "They were the Uchiha clan." There was pride that came from that very name "Uchiha" the prompted them to fight whenever a Senju was involved but lately... They had all grown tired of it all... But what could they do?
Nothing... That's what. They were powerless to change the status quo. Their thoughts were inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and what they could only do was to follow...
Follow and rush to their deaths... Leaving their young and beloved ones to carry on their hatred into the next generation.
Nobody wanted that... But the blood and hatred of the previous generation hadn't been forgotten, hence the eternal circle of violence, hatred and deaths.
...
In a well lit and spacious room, two figures could be seen. One lay on his back, his breath weak, and his face pale. The other sat on his knees, having a look of loss and concern at the same time as he watched the figure breathing weakly, as though he could breath his last at any moment.
As the figure sitting was lost in his mind, the figure lying down opened his eyes weakly and looked at him. "You don't have to worry about me Nii-san, I'm sure you'll take revenge for me."
The young man sitting on his knees frowned and said. "Revenge isn't important, Izuna, what matters now is to save you... I pulled you out of there due to the circumstances, but now, I think what Hashirama proposed isn't all that bad."
Saying this, he smiled. "We can save you, and then stop this meaningless war... Our children wouldn't have to figh-"
"Lies!" Izuna shouted weakly. "Don't believe... what they're... saying Nii-san. They're... just deceiving you... I..I know you're kind... Nii-san... I know... But you can't trust them."
Listening to his little brother's plea, he couldn't help but frown. "Then what about you?"
"Don't worry... about me... Nii-san. You just have to avenge me." Izuna said while looking at Madara with a resolute gaze despite his weak appearance.
"Sigh... Izuna. What are you saying. You're all that I have left in this world. Even if you don't want Hashirama to save you, we can always ask the Uzumaki clan or even the secretive Tengoku clan." Madara pleaded with his brother with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Nii-san.... You shouldn't... Cry... You're... The strongest..." Izuna's weak voice said. Looking at his face, Madara saw a proud smile on his little brother's face.
"I'll...ask you...to do me...a favour... Nii-san." Izuna asked
"Anything. Just ask." Madara hurriedly answered.
"I know...the drawbacks of the Mangekyou Sharingan...and I know yours.... should be...getting blind now..." Izuna said and coughed blood.
"Careful, Izuna. Don't force yourself, you just need to rest and you'll recover slightly, then we'll take you to that island. Just rest, you can ask me anything later." Madara pleaded with him again but Izuna's resolute gaze never left Madara's face.
"Don't mind that.... Nii-san... I know... I can't make it... it's my body afterall.... Just do me...the favour...of taking my eyes... I hadn't used it...after I discovered it's drawbacks...I saved it... specially...for you." Izuna smiled as he closed his eyes.
"Don't refuse Nii-san.... This was...I can still follow you...into battle...and see you continue to win..." Izuna said as he raised his hand and brought it over to his eyes.
With a fluid movement, he plucked out his eyes before Madara could realise what he was doing. The most astonishing thing about this was that, despite having his own eyes plucked out, Izuna didn't even let out a grunt of pain.
"Izuna! What are you doing?" Madara screamed witnessing this horrendous sight. This was his little brother, his only surviving close relative, the one person he had sworn to protect. His Reason for becoming the strongest.
He watched as this very person plucked out his own eyes.
"Don't worry... too much Nii-san... I'm dying anyways... This is the first and... last favour... I'll ask...of you... Please..." Izuna said, but before he could finish, his breath suddenly stopped and his hand fell.
"IZUNA!" Madara screamed in terror and pain watching this scene that his Mangekyou Sharingan activated by itself while his eyes were literally bleeding.
This scream of his managed to resound throughout the Uchiha clan, cluing them in on what has happened. Their clan head and lost his brother.
...
Far from the the Uchiha clan, at the place the battle had just taken place, the Senju clan were relatively jubilant at their victory while some were emotionally down as some of their friends had died.
These friends had wives and children waiting for them back at the clan. Although they all came out with convinction, knowing that they might die, for it to actually happen left them pained.
Hashirama looked around with a pained expression, of course he knew what what everyone was feeling at this moment, this was not something he wanted to keep seeing. He wanted for all this to come to an end but alas...
At this very moment, he felt a slight tremor in his soul and looked towards the direction of the Uchiha clan with confusion before realization dawned in.
His pained expression became even more severe as he could guess what had just happened.
'He died, huh?' he thought sadly and looked at Tobirama while trying to imagine how he would feel if he was killed. He shook his head at the thought before putting back his resolute gaze. 'This meaningless battles have to stop. No matter what.'
....
Three figures could be seen in a well decorated and spacious room watching what was going on in the Uchiha clan with Interest, while indulging themselves to some snacks.
"Hmm... that unreasonable hate of his wasn't normal." One of the figures said. The figure's voice sounded feminine. She had a pitch black hair flowing down her back all the way to her waist.
"Of course it isn't. That child probably had something to do with it." Another feminine voice answered, affirming the other person's statement.
"Well, I wouldn't know about that... I believe that was just his ignorance and pride speaking...and well, plot." The only male amongst them stated.
"Plot?" The two female asked.
"Yeah... Plot. How else do you want him to power up?" The male asked rhetorically. "You see, unlike old man Hagoromo and Indra, the current Uchiha bloodline is quite diluted."
"Why else do you think they think the Mangekyou Sharingan is the last evolution?" He asked.
"Because no one ever had the idea to preserve their eyes for their brother or sister?" The black haired woman asked.
"Wha? No... Well, yes but that isn't it... But coming to think about it, that makes sense." The man said as he thought about it... 'I mean, what if two related family members did exchange their Mangekyou Sharingan?'
"Well, that's a possibility, but even amongst family members, having the kind of blind trust Izuna has for Madara is rare. But back to my answer. Hagoromo and Indra were just too Overpowered that they could both go from the Mangekyou Sharingan to the Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan respectively." The male explained.
"I think it's related to the trust levels between family members and not bloodline dilution." The white haired woman said.
"Oh?"
"Mm... They're part Otsustsuki, that bloodline can't be diluted, as far as it exists, and there is chakra, achieving anything is possible." She said. "Of course, for them to get the Rinnegan, both the Senju and Uchiha chakra has to merge, but I don't see that happening anytime soon."
"Why is that?" The male asked.
"Well, their hate levels is too high for that to happen, and even if they forgot their hate, I don't see you letting that happen." She answered with her ever stoic face.
"Hey! That's slander." The male shouted.
"Would you?" She asked as she gave him a questioning glare.
"Of course I would, after the world achieves relative true peace." The male assured.
"I see." The white haired woman simply said as she continued watching the wailing Madara.
"Damn, i'ma show that child of your a whole level of pain when I get my hands on him... Look what he's making Indra-nii go through." The black haired woman said in both anger and sadness.
"As I said, plot." The man said. "But I'm still going to make Zetsu know the various levels of hell in my universe."
"He's my will incarnate, he can't feel pain." The White haired woman said as she looked at the black haired woman and white haired man.
"Humph, and you seem to forget that I am God, since he has sentience, then be has a soul, and since he has a soul, he can be tortured.
"Hmm... That's true." The white haired woman nodded in realization. She didn't have amy particular feeling towards Zetsu, it was just something she gave a directive, 'Find a way to release me.'
Whatever it did after that was all on it.
However, she was already released and had no need for it anymore. If not that Shun had said to leave it be, she would've likely absorbed it back... Not like she needed it anymore, considering how strong her Will and Soul are now.
Madara looked at the bloodied eyeballs in his little brother's hand, not knowing what to do with it.
'Exchamge them.' a soft whisper said in his ears.
'These are Izuna's eyes... How can I just implant them?' Madara thought with a frown, not putting much thought to the whisper.
'It was my little brother's last wish.' the whisper came again.
'I made a promise to protect him, yet, he was taken from me.' Madara thought.
'Yes! I have to get my revenge.' the whisper came again.
'But isn't peace what I've always fought for?' Madara thought.
''They're trying to deceive you!'' Izuna's words suddenly rang in his head.
"Yes! Hashirama was probably trying to deceive me." Madara said to himself. 'But... Izuna's eyes.'
After a couple of minutes spent in an internal dilemma Madara collected his brother's eyes, plucked out his own and placed them into his eyes sockets.
"Damn. That's one of the many wonders of this world." Shun said in admiration.
"Crude but effective... For some reason." The black haired woman, Ria said.
"Exactly. That's the plot working right there." Shun said with a sagely nod.
"I see."
Madara who had just implanted his brother's eyes suddenly felt the last dregs of his chakra flowing rapidly towards his eyes, and despite his good chakra control, controling it didn't come easy as before he could react, blackness overtook him.
"Phew... For a moment there I thought Plot would play out again and have his eyes immediately evolve." Shun said as he released a deep breath.
The two girls who still hasn't understood the omnipotence of plot looked at him weirdly. "What?"
They both shook their heads and continued watching as some Uchihas walked into the room were the two brothers were.
Seeing the lifeless body of Izuna and a bloodied Madara, they felt even more depressed and pained.
Some noticed the pupil-less eyes of Izuna and immediately thought of the worst while some saw this but didn't think too deeply into it.
Following that, they pulled Madara off of his brother and tidied him, while laying him down peacefully on the futon in the room.
As for Izuna's body, they quickly took it out to perform the due rites while they waited for Madara to awaken and send his little brother off.
As for Shun, he stretched his hand into the void and pulled out a glowing crystal. This crystal gave off a unique energy fluctuation that the three were familiar with.
"What are you doing with his soul?" Ria asked.
"Nothing much... People like this deserve a happier life after death, don't they?" Shun said curtly and smiled.
"I see." The two ladies understood and kept quiet.
****
That's it for the death of Izuna and Madara's blackening, at least, the beginning of his blackening.