𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

48

Emerging from the trees, [Name] and Madara immediately caught sight of the two they were supposed to be meeting.

Across the river, Senju Hashirama was a tall man with tanned skin and dark eyes, with his long black hair worn down to his waist. Beside him, a fair skinned woman with red hair and crimson eyes stood considerably shorter than him, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face as she watched [Name] and Madara walk forward together.

Upon seeing the pair, the corners of Hashirama's lips turned up in a smile, noticing that all four of them had come dressed as if they were ready for battle.

"We hold a meeting to discuss peace, yet still come dressed for war," chuckled the Senju warmly, his kind gaze meeting [Name]'s eyes. "Hello there. I take it you are Kouhage [Name]?"

"Yes," replied [Name] curtly. "That is I."

"How interesting," said Hashirama, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at Madara. "Madara, are you going to stay there forever? Why don't we come together and discuss our terms? I have a plan in mind that I would be very honoured to have the Uchiha clan included in."

Madara glanced warily at the bridge before them, nodding at Hashirama to make the first move.

"As you are the one who wished to hold this meeting, you may approach us," said Madara slowly, indicating the bridge for Hashirama and his accomplice to cross over. The Senju laughed and shook his head, but walked forward anyway.

"If it makes you feel better."

He led the crimson haired Uzumaki across the bridge towards the two Uchiha, eventually standing before them with a broad smile on his face.

"Shall we start with introductions?" suggested the Senju brightly, prompting [Name] to make eye contact with her counterpart. The Uzumaki woman merely scowled at [Name], eliciting a small, internal sigh from the Kouhage. At this rate, she would be saddened by the loss of Hashirama as he seemed to be a very genuine and kind man, but she would have no qualms whatsoever when it came to eliminating the other woman.

"News has gone around about your marriage with Mito," coughed Madara, in an attempt to create banter. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," chuckled Hashirama, his hands on his hips. "Hopefully when you wed, it will be during friendly times between our clans. If you ever wish to marry a Senju woman, I can easily make that happen."

Madara grimaced, and [Name] felt him tense up at the Senju's words. Although Hashirama had said them in good will, he had no idea that Madara would much rather be dead in a ditch than marry one of his relatives.

"I appreciate your offer, but it is unnecessary," said Madara pointedly. Both he and [Name] were counting down the time until Izuna reached the meeting point; after which, it was all but a matter of waiting for the precise moment to strike.

"Ah, so standoffish as always!" exclaimed Hashirama. "Anyways, let's finish these introductions and get the meeting started. Kouhage-san, this is Uzumaki Karin. Karin, this is Kouhage [Name], as you must have already guessed."

"Pleasure to meet you," said [Name] carefully, bowing to the Uzumaki but never taking her eyes off of her once. The redhead returned the favour, albeit with an equally suspicious look on her face.

"Now, shall we proceed with our meeting?"

As soon as those words escaped Hashirama's lips, Izuna appeared from what seemed to be thin air, wielding his katana and immediately aiming for the Senju's throat. It didn't faze him; he simply dodged gracefully to the side, prompting [Name] and Madara to draw their own weapons.