naruto (c) masashi kishimoto
based of an art by ponooopk on twitter
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dance with me!
the invitation came unheeded at first, because senju hashirama had more pressing matters at hand—namely the mother of all beasts who ran to destroy them, and he would use his powers to protect these people—the future he once dreamed of,
but even the god of shinobi couldn't ignore the tug in his heart, the desire rekindled in his awakened soul, and the itchy feel plaguing his feet and fingers—all beckoning him to dance;
uchiha madara's hand was still stretched out to him
up above in a cliff overlooking the bloodshed they tried to stop to stop to stop in their faraway childhood
the faces of shinobi forces were alight with newfound hope; but death hung above them all, his scythe hungry for blood
(their blood)
madara swung
hashirama's body moved without thinking, following a pattern his muscles memorized since his boyhood, submerging himself in the familiar adrenaline and chakra mixture as his fingers commanded woods to root and spread and bind and protect—
don't lie to yourself, hashirama! i promise it'll feel great!
just sit and wait for me, madara!
yet he didn't; his invitation echoed echoed echoed like a faraway cry—
tempting him—
reminding him of the days long past—
but it's not now, it's gone beyond salvation,
then the scythe descended, threatening to take away more lives; madara roared with laugh as more shinobi fell under his attack, and nobody was strong enough—not even by a hair's breadth—to hold him off; the assembled forces were just ants before a lion
(and this battlefield is his pride)
the mother of all beasts raged before him, but hashirama looked back;
his ashen skin cracked with maddening glee as their eyes met, black and red—
dance with me!
so hashirama danced
soaring far above the battles, the natural forces fighting each other in an intricate stand-off, flames against trees, outdoing each other endlessly, shattering the earth—
the battles were far behind and they were running on a land unknown to man; madara's gunbai and scythe met his trees, and hashirama wondered how does one stop a dead man?
i am unstoppable, madara exclaimed, sending dragon shaped flame to scorch his old friend; i am invincible!
new trees rose in a split second. i will stop you!
then get serious!
hashirama summoned forth his strongest technique, the thousand armed deity, but he saw no fear in those scarlet eyes
only glee
madara spread his arms, as if welcoming the endless attack he sent
come forth!
they danced they danced they danced fire after wood after fire after wood after fire endlessly endlessly endlessly shaping the terrain as they went and leap and jump and hashirama was now more determined to stop him although the adrenaline in his veins said otherwise—
he's bloodless and he's bloodless so what's flowing in their rotten veins?
see? see? you feel it don't you?
a pause, followed by a breathless laugh leaving hashirama's mouth
i told you it'd be so good!
perhaps the days long past weren't beyond salvation; still reachable with the thousand wooden arms of his, and they could just spar like in their childhood beside the river—
cracked lips bloomed into a grin; hashirama never felt this alive before
dance with me, madara!