𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

83

"... I get that Madara-sama is appealing the council's decision forbidding him from going out and finding [Name]-chan, but why do they have to bar him from leaving the village?"

As Sakura and Izumi walked through the streets of the Uchiha wing of Konoha as their children ran ahead of them, Sakura grimaced at Izumi's question.

"It's obvious that [Name] ran away for a reason," said Sakura, thinking back on the long, arduous process Madara had had to deal with following his wife's sudden disappearance. "Hashirama-sama is probably just worried about what Madara-sama would do if he found [Name]."

After taking the matter to the council, of which Madara was also a part of, it had been decided that [Name]'s decision to leave the village had been a voluntary one. Aside from the note she had left the Uchiha, further investigation showed that a good number of her personal belongings were also gone, meaning that this was a choice she had had the time to think over for a while and prepare herself for.

Seeing the seething rage in Madara's eyes at [Name]'s decision to abandon her husband and daughter, Hashirama had taken the precaution of forbidding the Uchiha from venturing out of the village, out of fear that upon finding [Name], he would endanger her life. As a result, Tobirama had been assigned to make sure that the clan leader stayed in line; even though Akinobu had offered to send his own shinobi out to find and retrieve his disobedient niece, Hashirama ruled that [Name] was to be left in peace, barring anyone from seeking out the missing Kouhage.

The tedious process had taken over a month, and now, all Madara could do was vent his frustrations at home, and on the training grounds. Every time he even stepped out of the compound, Tobirama always appeared and prevented him from going any further, much to his ire.

"I just don't understand why she would leave so suddenly," frowned Izumi. "She appeared to be happy with Madara-sama. I mean, who wouldn't be?"

Sakura's heart softened as she remembered [Name]'s final farewell to her and Sarada.

"... you never know what goes on behind closed doors."

"Are you implying that Madara-sama was abusive towards [Name]-chan?"

"I don't know. But you never know what goes on in someone else's married life."

"That's so sad," sighed Izumi, keeping her eyes focused on her son as he played around with Sarada in front of the two mothers. "I never would have guessed that [Name] would have been unhappy with Madara-sama. She always seemed so happy when they made public appearances."

"I guess she was just better at masking her emotions than the rest of us." 

With a sigh, Sakura looked up towards the heavens, wondering if [Name] was finally happy with where she had ended up.

"... I hope he's been fine looking after Sayuri," said Sakura in concern, remembering the updates Kagura had been giving her regarding Sayuri's growth. Following the council's decision, Madara had abruptly ended Kagura's term as Sayuri's midwife, meaning that for the past few weeks, he had had sole responsibility for his young daughter.

"Well, I guess that's where we come in. Sarada! Kazuki! Come here!"

The pair and their children stopped in front of Madara's home, which had changed drastically over the course of the last few weeks. The guards he had employed to keep [Name] in had been dismissed, and all the household servants had been released from their duties as well. Now, it was literally only Madara and Sayuri living at home, and that fact in itself worried Sakura. Not only was the Uchiha mentally and emotionally unstable at the moment, Sakura doubted that he had a single paternal bone in his body when it came to taking care of a child as young as Sayuri.