"Will it be death while still holding strong to faith, or a long life gained by renouncing it?"

Hanzo

The weather was strangely warm despite the gusting mountain winds that threatened to swish their hair in every direction; it was every bit fierce. There were no animals scurrying about or insects making their calls, there were no ants trailing through the forest floor or racing up trees. There were no towering trees dense with vegetation, and the trees that were present were scarce and brittle. This was every bit the Lightning country; high and wide treacherous mountain passes and dry and weak trees that caught fire every time there was a thunderstorm. Nothing like the Fire country.

The journey back to the Fire country was relatively silent and uneventful. Nobody spoke, there wasn't even an attempt at pointless idle chat just to pass the time, whether this was because everyone was on edge after the recent events or they simply had nothing to say was hard to determine; it would have to be a mix of both. Ten guards running into your room with their speaks pointed right in your face wasn't the best way to start the morning.

The aftermath of the last battle where they had to quite literally smash their way through giants among other things was still visible. The plum clouds were gone, the bodies what remained of them anyways-was in the late stages of decaying and being feasted upon by insects, scavenger animals, birds, and vultures, it was a grizzly and gruesome scene some of the birds and animals were dead having fought for first bites and the insects continuously battled each other but they had all seen worse in their lifetime. The terrain was even more treacherous than before if it was possible the indents on cliff faces and crumbled mountains, and heaps of debris that formed a 'slope' blocked one side of the mountain off from the other, forcing them to jump over it entirely-which was simple enough and they continued on uninhibited.

Nobody attacked them surprisingly enough not even a small ambush took place, in fact there wasn't a shinobi presence around for hundreds of miles easily within the next country but nowhere around them. It was unsettling.

Hashirama welcomed the change of pace. It was no secret he didn't like killing. He did what he had to do, outside of the Senju compound's walls it was kill or be killed... But, he'd never kill a child.

Thankfully that old practice for the most part was put to a stop, though some clans... Unfortunately... Wrongly... Still did it.

He felt awkward in the silence though. He was never good at dealing with his emotions. He was prone to sulking. He wasn't so good at dealing with tense or awkward situations either. However, he felt a pang of guilt. The marriage hadn't been arranged, but regardless Hitomi wasn't present, a severe boulder had been thrown right into their plans. He cast his dark eyes to his sides sighing silently as he noted both his brother, Syrus, and Usagi looked furious-everyone did for that matter even his own kinsmen looked displeased. He wanted to speak, but Haji was oddly enough calm, though his eyes were downcast as if he were deep in his thoughts.

I guess... We tried after all. Hashirama thought ruefully.

The large gates of the Damiyo's estate were the first things that greeted them. It was always a wonder staring at the gates all of them were impressive and mammoth. His own compound gates were huge. "I'm going to speak with the damiyo." Hashirama told everyone turning around fully and smiling softly despite himself. "You can all and get some rest." He turned to Syrus and Haji with an expectant look and both of them nodded slightly in return keeping silent.

"Sounds good to me, I'm going to go that sweets shop if you need me." Usagi told them. She turned towards Toka with a curious expression. "Toka-san, you want to come with?"

"I wouldn't mind." The older woman said with a light smile stepping towards her. "Osen-san?"

Osen contemplated this for a moment, before leaning up and giving Ryoku an affectionate kiss on the cheek and hug before stepping away from him and making her way towards the other two girls. "I'll come with." She wasn't overly fond of sweets but she could indulge a little bit every now and again. And, it would also be a good bonding experience for them as women, women from different clans. she'd hope it turn out good in the end. At this point, she already knew it was pointless to be rigid. "Have you tried the pudding?"

Toka shook her head. "I have not. I don't come here often."

"It's really good. No air bubbles." Osen said, recalling Usagi's fondness for sweets, especially this particular sweets shop. "But, they're famous for their Red bean paste."

The three girls set off to their destination leaving the men behind. Ryoku and Tsugi set off in the opposite direction Tsugi going to the estate and Ryoku down a road and hanging a right.

Unfortunately the Senju and Subatsu brothers didn't have the pleasure of such luxuries and made their way to the estate to speak with the damiyo. It had been a while since they've been here and even though they'd taken care of many things for the lord of the land, there was still one very big problem that was evading them-or they were evading.

All in all it was a daunting task to undertake, but it had to be done, no matter how tremulous they thought on it. Finally, Syrus broke the silence as Hashirama opened the door to the estate, letting the trio walk in front of him before shutting the door silently. "Think it's about time we take care of that."Syrus spoke bluntly, sharply. His voice taking on a serious edge. "We'll force the beast from this area with some luck, we could drive it into the next country."

"Is such a thing possible..." Hashirama mused softly. He had an enormous amount of chakra, but even he was certain he compare to them. Nothing could compare to them, besides the Ten Tails-which has long been considered a mere myth and tale like Rikudo Sennin and Kagyua. Their very existence, their bodies were comprised of chakra. And, yet they always managed to evade human eyes for centuries, it seemed normal sensory abilities couldn't even hint at a trace of their chakra.

"Heh, we don't know until we try." Syrus couldn't help it and smirked.

"In any case." Hashirama blinked once coming out of his thoughts, and focusing on Haji who spoke dryly and was resting his hands in both of his sleeves clenching onto his forearms. "We can't let the beast do at it pleases, they know nothing but hatred... Stupid things." Disdain drifted into his tone as he made his way up several flights of stairs, left, right, corkscrew, left and then right again. It was much like his thought process at this moment constantly shifting and changing.

"Defeating it soundly though..." Tobirama spoke for the first time, and if it weren't for his soft steps neither would suspect him being present. "We'll need to force it out of here that's our best chance. Hopefully the damiyo hasn't thrown caution to the wind and sent out search parties. It'd be borderline asinine."

"Let's hope not." Hashirama muttered. Though that would be too much to ask or wish for. All damiyos to some extent were pompous and arrogant, they were so confident in their own forces they never stopped to consider defeat, didn't contemplate defeat, and in all honestly were far too arrogant which always led to their demise in the long run of things. The faster they took care of this problem the faster they could leave, and the less time he'd need to keep his focus split between one monster and two leaders of prominent clans. I get the feeling, that's just too much to ask for, however...

Madara was donning his scarlet-red armor, his Sharingan blazing in all of its glory. He stood at the gates of the Uchiha compound arms crossed over his armored chest an impatient breath drawing itself away from him. His sword, the sword Mikito got for him was secured tightly by his side. It was typical Izuna would be late, after that fool had him do all of those dishes prior to his departure. He knew Izuna would be coming any second, but he should have been here already like Hikaku and Aito were along with about ten of his men making up their unit.

Yuto leaned against the compound's walls on the far side, his eyes closed with a stoic expression on his face. He was tall and lean built, he had the typical black hair just about every Uchiha did kept up in a ponytail which allowed a row of bangs to frame his face. Despite his young appearance he was over forty, which was a rarity in this era, he had been one of Madara and Izuna's earliest mentors and one of his father's most trusted advisers. He was also an accomplished shinobi who excelled in genjutsu naturally and was one of the best interrogators in the entire Uchiha clan.

Even Madara had grimaced witnessing his brutal and methodical approach to interrogation. Izuna downright detested it, torture had always been one thing he could never really stomach.

"Brother!"

Madara directed his one visible eye up, watching Izuna jog his way towards him his long legs making it look as if he were sprinting. Izuna was dressed in similar attire to Madara with slightly darker armor and six swords in total visible on his person. Izuna slowed himself down. "What took you so long?" Madara asked a bit snappishly.

"The Council wanted you and Mikito to sign the marriage papers." Izuna stated, padding his hip where the scroll most likely was. He would have been here much earlier, but he just didn't blow off the Council like his brother did, they said it was of the utmost importance and Izuna wasn't going to argue or say one thing or the other. It was a pleasant surprise that it was to have the papers signed officiating that his brother and Mikito were betrothed. "I told them you were busy and we needed to head out to the Sand country for business, and that I would give it to you once we have enough time." Izuna explained matter of factly.

"I see." Madara felt a bit silly for being so impatient, but that's just something he couldn't help. He liked things done orderly, perfect, and on his time. If someone couldn't stay up to par with that, then they could jump of the nearest cliff for all he cared. Madara had a half mind to march to the Council and throw that paper right back into their face, but he thought better, he'd have more than enough time to blow off some steam on this mission. Then he'd tell the Council to kiss his ass and make his triumphant exit. Leave it to them to delay this mission for something so stupid... "Hang onto that for me."

"Knowing you, you'd end up losing it." Izuna quipped with a small grin, ignoring his brother's light glare. "So, now we can be on our way."

She had received many congratulations from her fellow kinsmen. Honestly it flustered her and she wasn't sure what to do besides give a sincere smile and thank you. Mikito was never good with being showered, she didn't mind attention granted all of it wasn't fixated on her at once, but she never actively sought it out. News of her betrothing to Madara seemed to spread quite literally overnight, and again she just found herself completely at a loss, she had known gossip and news could travel fast but not this fast. She was glad she wouldn't be present to hear all of it.

Knowing Madara he would want kids right away and a lot of kids at that.

Serizawa had contacted her earlier in the day to sign the marriage papers... Something she had on her person, at this point resisting just came down to a matter of pride.

Mikito was ready for battle, she had discarded her black kimono for her battle clothes and donned her dark almost black armor as she neared the gates of her compound. There was a light mist showering everything at the moment and the humidity was slowly growing as the minutes passed but there was still a slight chill gusting through as the soon had risen, but had yet to peak through the tall and powerful trees. She would definitely need to enjoy this moisture and dewy air, it'd be quite the polar opposite in the Sand country. Dry and stagnant. There were just a few men and women out tending to their homes and getting ready for the day some were chasing after their children who were bustling with energy so early in the morning and running away playing, instead of cleaning and helping.

Their escapes didn't last long however.

Finally, she arrived at the gates where Souji, Misaka, Hiro, and Mitsuki were all present each of them looking rather comfortable idly talking or staring off at nothing in particular. Mitsuki and Misaka were leaning against opposite walls of the compound's entrance and Hiro was sitting on a huge rock that almost was a boulder looking rather content as he read through a scroll, about ten more people were present just leaning and relaxing filling the rest of their unit out to ten, which was more than reasonable. Upon seeing her everyone stood to attention, except for Hiro who remained seated but stared on with full intent.

Mikito felt very awkward suddenly, which was rare since she normally didn't ever feel that way.

"Congratulations." Misaka said, a small smile gracing her face.

"Thank you, Misaka-san." Mikito smiled back, though she noted Misaka's eyes twinkled with some amusement... Mikito was never good at really hiding her emotions. The older woman could definitely pick up on how flustered she was.

"Sekizawa-sama talked to me earlier." Mitsuki spoke up thankfully. Idly she kicked at a rather long and awkward branch that was close to her twirling out from a tree not far away. "Guess I'm marrying Hikaku-san, that's fine with me though."

"You're taking this rather well." Souji remarked. He himself wouldn't be too pleased with it, and he was ready to flip his lid last night upon hearing both Sekizawa's and Serizawa's statements-he came pretty close. Serizawa's statements bothered him the most between the two aged men. Mitsuki was very upbeat and enthusiastic, but he thought she'd be just a little peeved.

"Not like I'm marrying an ass or pervert." Mitsuki shrugged lightly, continuing to kick at the branch. She had seen many Uchiha-not nearly all of them, but the ones she had seen were all very... Stoic. Distant. Closed off. At least it seemed that way. The only exceptions from what she had seen so far was Izuna, Kagami, Hikaku, Yuko, and Aito. They seemed to be a bit more open and forward which she really liked, she wasn't one to throw hints and skirt around the bush, and Yuko had been in the compound for a long while and was always seen with Ahiko and was rather an open book. Hikaku was pretty amusing and she'd say he was shy rather than stoic, and he was extraordinary in battle, even saved her skin a few times. something she just wouldn't overlook. "Hikaku-san is pretty nice, quiet, but I don't mind that." She kicked at the branch again.

"Can you stop?" Hiro voiced his annoyance with her kicking.

"I'm not doing anything." Mitsuki gave her a bemused look.

Hiro stood up from his rock, and ripped the branch completely off from the tree a few yards away, tossing it off to the side and promptly returned to his seat turning his focus back onto his hands. "You're right, my mistake." He didn't even humor her by turning in her direction, knowing Mitsuki she was either giving him the finger or scowling at him, oh well. A few people snickered at the scene.

A few long moments passed.

Mikito's eyes immediately darted straight ahead and Souji's were quick to flick soon after followed by everyone else. That chakra was definitely unmistakable Uchiha have very distinctive chakra and Madara's and Izuna's were almost beyond comprehension, she guessed they weren't bothering to suppress it since there wasn't another shinobi clan around for a good hundreds of thousands of miles, perhaps millions. She narrowed her eyes, peering deeper into the dense vegetation and lush undergrowth spotting a blur of movement in the branches several meters head, the moisture flying from the leaves was definitely a dead giveaway. So Madara decided to come.

Madara landed swiftly in a crouch his long and dark mane blowing gently in the morning breeze, he slowly stood up turning his eyes directly onto Mikito before glancing to his side as Izuna landed followed shortly by Aito, Yuto, Hikaku, and everyone else.

"Ah, you've come! Madara." Mikito called towards him as she began to stride towards him, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips. A part of her had been nervous and unsure if he'd even consider coming along. She stopped just a few feet away from him waiting for him to close the gap. "Isn't a fantabulastic day? I didn't think I'd see you again so soon." Mikito said. Madara tensed for a moment while Izuna grinned at her.

"It is indeed fantabulastic." Izuna agreed. Madara tensed again.

"It is fantabulastic!" Mitsuki cheered in response. "What do you say, Hikaku-san?"

"I...Guess..." Hikaku blinked, a bit unsure if he should really be answering this question.

Madara pressed his gloved hand against his forehead. Looks like they're going to get started early. "Of course I've come, I can't let you go have all the fun and get all the glory." Madara arrogantly raised his eyebrow, a devilish smirk crossing over his face. "Would you expect anything less from me, Mikito." It was a statement rather than question. "And, enough with that fantabulastic." He said firmly. He didn't mind if Izuna and Mikito did their usual thing, much, but he was not going to be tolerate them saying fantabulastic for three seconds longer. It was already a few seconds too many for his taste.

"Okay, so I figured." Mikito got serious, steering the conversation back onto the steady course. She definitely appreciated Madara's straightforward attitude at the moment, as well as him not mentioning their marriage... She didn't find it bad... But, she was still adjusting to it, and it was going to take her a while. "It'll take us one whole day to get to the Sand country, we can rent out an inn and rest, and then we can be on our way in the early morning."

"We could make it there before nightfall." Madara countered, fixing her with a steady gaze daring her to object. "There's more than enough daylight left for us to get there in one go from our current location, though we won't be able to stop once we're on the move..." They wouldn't be able to afford it.

"I was going to rent out an inn for us." Mikito repeated a bit more firmly. And, that was precisely why, so they could rest. Preventing them from sprinting through the baking desert in the early and late afternoon, when the sun was nearing its highest point or would be at its highest point. Mikito fixed him with a stern gaze, crossing her arms over her armored chest, waiting for him to say something.

"It won't be necessary." Madara told her, forcing a smirk down as he saw her nostrils flare just a bit, showing she was very agitated. He oddly enjoyed ruffling her feathers, she made it too easy at times. "That town is way too crowded normally, and if I recall correctly there are Sarutobi blocking trade routes, which means that town is going to be even more crowded... We'll move without delay, and once we get to the Sand country we'll rest. There should be a route right around here that heads straight towards the Sand country a few miles out from that town, if we take that it'll be even faster." Madara tilted his head. This time he let the smirk cross his face, Mikito had yet to make an objection or point out a flaw in his approach. "This is more than agreeable is it not?" Madara folded his arms over his armored chest arrogantly.

"I don't have a problem with it." Izuna said. "It'd be a good idea to stop in the next town though for a few minutes, at least, get some more water." One could never have enough water when going into the desert.

"I don't." Mitsuki said.

"I don't." Aito said with a light shrug.

"I have nothing against it." Souji said.

"Fine by me." Misaka said.

Mikito scowled slightly as she watched Madara's smirk grow and arrogance fill it out. She so badly wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face. There were a few drawbacks with this course of action the pace they'd need to move at consistently in order to clear that much ground in one day was borderline ridiculous. Especially since they'd be traveling through the Sand country-that hot, dry, and barren desert. But, it was six to one.

She wet her lips, she wanted to badly object to his idea, but Ahiko seemed a bit frantic and worried in her letter, so perhaps it'd just be better to agree. "This is agreeable." Mikito conceded with a small nod, she stared straight into his eyes, defiantly almost as if she were challenging him.

"So, we're finally on the same page." Madara chuckled as they began to head for their destination at full speed jumping into the thickets of huge branches and vegetation. "I am so glad that I meet your standards."

"Madara..." Mikito muttered glaring lightly at him. His sarcasm was dully noted. "Don't be an ass..."

Yuko was never good with dealing with her emotions. She wore them on her sleeves, all the time, and found it increasingly difficult to suppress them except in the heat of a battle-that just came naturally it was kill or be killed. But, moments like this when she was nervous and anxious had to be the worst times period. End of the story. Luckily nobody was really paying attention to her pacing except for Ahiko who stood just a few feet away with a rather amused expression on her face.

She had befriended Yuko the first day she met her and began training her, it didn't take long after that for them to bond. Yuko had no parents or friends as far as Ahiko had known at that point in time, though, she was more than happy to take that place. She soon discovered Yuko was stubborn, determined, and strong willed but on the opposite hand she could be indecisive, prone to anxiety, and was very gentle. Now they were like sisters and inseparable. Ahiko smiled. "Calm down Yuko-chan, they'll be here soon."

"How can I calm down?" Yuko asked a bit frantically. She was overjoyed to hear that there was a chance Izuna would be coming, that joy turned into trepidation as the situation finally settled in. The last time she had seen Izuna was when he gave her that kiss, back in the cottage when she had finished one of her first training sessions, a long time had passed since then... What would he say to her? Would he still find her attractive? Would he be impressed with how far she had progressed in her training? Impressed with her skills? Or would he mock her? This was why she was so nervous, she honestly had no idea what Izuna would think.

It was so hard to read him... But, he kissed her... So he must have feelings for her? Right?

She had no idea what to think.

"Well, first stop pacing." Ahiko pointed out the obvious. A small trench had formed in the pact sand where Yuko was pacing, it was still early so they didn't need to combat the harsh wind or scorching grains of sand which were picked up in its midst. This was definitely a blessing because once that gust picked up there was no stopping it or what followed-which was sandstorms more often than not. "I know Izuna-san will be happy to see you." Ahiko said gently, walking towards her pacing friend and clasping her shoulders. "My sister will be happy to see you too. Have faith, Yuko-chan." Ahiko explained further, grinning widely, and Yuko found herself smiling despite herself-it was hard not to smile with Ahiko.

"I guess you're right." Yuko nodded slowly calming her nerves.

"Of course I am!" Ahiko beamed. "And, I'll also be here with you so you're not alone!"

"Ahiko-chan..." Yuko found herself in awe with the girl. It was at times hard to believe they were in fact the same age, just a few months apart from each other. But, even more why she was in awe with her is because Ahiko meant everything she was saying, there was no doubt or hesitation, Ahiko would go to the ends of the earth and through hell with her. It was overwhelming, she never had anyone in the Uchiha compound show her such compassion and friendship, it was very liberating. She loved it. For the first time in her life she felt like she belonged and was rooted. "Thank you." Yuko said softly.

"What are friends for?" Ahiko asked, draping an arm over her shoulder and pulling her close. "They talk about boyfriends and share all of those secrets, too."

"Ahiko!" Yuko flushed red. She already told Ahiko about the kiss, and even though it was just a kiss she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "I haven't even-"

"I never said you did." Ahiko smiled, wagging her finger.

Neither of them decided to speak. Yuko was too busy fighting off a blush and realizing that Ahiko had just made her fall into that one. Ahiko was patiently observing her friend with an amused expression. Ahiko's mind drifted back to the recent battle, and just how vicious it had gotten in such a short amount of time. First it was just the Sarutobi, and she handled them with Yuko allowing many merchants and traders to get through, but then the Akimichi came in a giant horde and quickly smashed into the Sarutobi's ranks... However, this wasn't alarmed her the most, it was the Sarutobi's camp and how it was set up... was like they were going to be here a long time-there had been hundreds of them in that camp.

The Sand country wasn't a place you'd just 'camp' out in whether it was a short or long term mission. The terrain was unforgivable for starters, and the most important factor was there was nowhere to hide... A shinobi's first tool was always stealth and a blind man could see it wasn't in favorable terms to something so ludicrous. However, shinobi always did something for a reason, whether it was to cause bloodshed and mayhem or cause inner turmoil there was always a goal to accomplish big or small... But, she couldn't even think of a possible thing the Sarutobi had to gain by doing this.

"Don't think too hard." Yuko's humored voice tore Ahiko from her thoughts. The curly haired girl turned to Yuko blinking twice before tilting her head. "Your brain might pop." Yuko quipped with a small smirk.

"We're even now." Ahiko laughed despite herself.

Yuko grinned. "Yup!"

The first thing to assault them as they entered the Sand country was the baking sun and scorching grains of sand. The sun beamed down on all of them, and the coarse grains flew at them at surprisingly fast speeds. They had passed through nearby town, and to nobody's surprise it was packed-as packed as far as it could do. Merchants and traders were opting to stay there, the threat of bandits and shinobi plaguing the roads effectively striking fear into their hearts. They passed through with little to no trouble aside from a mere glance and a few looks of fear they weren't bothered.

There were no natural paths to make it to the Sand country unlike the Fire country which had mazes of trees, rivers, and vegetation which sprouted in many little paths snaking outwards, and much unlike the Lightning country which was composed of treacherous mountains that all lead to one destination there was no defining traits of this place other than the rolling hills of sand. If there were pathways they definitely weren't visible even the Sharingan couldn't pick out hidden routes. They were quite literally in the middle of the desert.

Madara narrowed his eyes to slits. The sand was pelting at him and it was getting rather annoying. Truth be told he rarely ever ventured this far out, most of the contracts he had were with the Fire damiyo, Water damiyo, and Earth Damiyo though the last two were pretty rare. He and his clan had a good relationship with the fire damiyo and had been in his service many times, he always paid well and wasn't as pompous as the rest. There had also been a few occasions he ventured out to the Monsoon country and Thunder country.

"Sheesh." Izuna rubbed his hand against his neck, feeling sweat slick and wet his hand. It was his usual attire, a high collared black shirt, all Uchiha warriors wore them it was practically mandatory. Normally he found the top to be comfortable it helped keep his neck from getting cold depending on where he was, and also kept the bugs from biting at it as well. But, he found it hard to completely ignore that was sliding down from his face and dripped onto his neck. He cast a wry glance in Mikito's and Souji's direction-Mikito was just a few inches ahead of his brother still sprinting without any signs of stopping. "How much further do we have to go?"

"We'll be getting there soon." Mikito glanced at him feeling just the same way. "I'd guess a few more miles."

"How can you tell?" Madara asked more smartly than he intended to.

"I've been here several times, over the years." Mikito told him. "The damiyo lives in a castle that oversees the country itself, the village is situated just a few miles away from it. It is quite the setup... And, have you taken notice? The terrain is flat and there's not as much hills?" Mikito cast a curious glance in the Uchiha's direction waiting for his answer, no doubt Madara had an answer for everything from her experience.

"I see. I did notice, but I didn't think much of it." Madara replied. He had noticed the change in landscape but just summed it up to being in a different part of the desert and nothing more. He was never here that often and whenever he did come he was normally in a hurry or it was to rest coming back from a mission.

He always thought it seemed more advantageous for the damiyo to use the hills to his advantage, but then again the invaders could use the hills as a post of sorts and launch a long range attack thus forcing the damiyo to either take the offensive and charge or maintain defense and little by little his forces get chipped down. But the uneven terrain would ultimately give the damiyo an advantage since he knew the land better than anyone. By somehow making it entirely flat, he was able to oversee the entire battle and mobilize much faster, they were on even ground to some extent.

"I think we're here." Mitsuki stated the obvious as a castle loomed in the near distance. Its guard posts the most prominent and massive feature besides the 'bridge' running from each post forming a square. The village while much smaller in comparison could be seen in the far distance, but there was nothing discernible other than its mammoth gates. that were open all the way-a big surprise.

"It appears Ahiko informed the damiyo, we're expected." Souji surmised, slowing down his sprint into a brisk jog. That saved them a lot of trouble.

Mikito nodded understandingly. That would be the only explanation since the gates were normally closed. "Well, we're here."

"I can see that." Madara retorted. He slowed his pace but didn't lessen his stride. "Let's just take care of these pests."

"Sure thing bossman!" Mikito raised her hand in a salute.

Madara breathed out a sigh, overhearing Izuna snickering. "I told you not to call me that." Madara sent a glare Mikito's way which she returned with an amused expression, her eyes shining with mirth. Izuna continued to snicker and Madara found himself sighing once again. These two... He shook his head. This was going to be a long mission.