Did Hashirama realize the implications of his question? Debatable. Would it stop his ever optimistic self from pursuing his goals? Even more so. Madara chuckled to himself as he pondered the matter. It wasn't really a question to begin with, was it? Rather a romantic demand that Hashirama posed he should answer to. As far as he could see there would be nothing but trouble if he would agree to it and cancel his engagement, but as per usual the Senju didn't see his way of things. It was a miracle that the both of them saw eye to eye when it came to their plans for the peace village. Perhaps, in addition, their underlying bond had cleared the way for more amiable negotiations.
Madara walked out of his room the next day overhearing his father talking to some of the advisors about his last mission. It seemed they had uncovered more information about the weapons from the rogue ninjas. When he joined his father and the advisors they informed him that the weapons originated from the same blacksmith where the Uchiha had their weapons forged. Could this mean there was a traitor among the Uchiha clan? Upon closer inspection Madara noticed that these weapons were indeed identical. He hadn't realized before when he collected them from the scene. Maybe because Hashirama had distracted him at the time, but he also didn't use most of them anymore himself now that he had his gunbai and kama (scythe). They discussed the potential risk of a deserter among their midst that forged weapons only to sell them into enemy hands. Or did the blacksmith have no knowledge about it as the buyer pretended to be of Uchiha descent? More research would have to be done to know for certain.
When he exited the room he found Taka just outside the door looking a bit out of sorts. He gave her a sharp glance that seemed to add to her nervousness, yet she regained her composure and asked whether he had time to accompany her to a local store to buy some hair accessories. Madara didn't have any missions or tasks planned for that day and couldn't find any excuses when she put him on the spot like she had. He agreed and watched as she hooked her hand around his arm and pulled him along to head out. The store wasn't very far from the Uchiha complex so they travelled on foot. It was set in a small village which was a combination of stalls and stores, much like a marketplace. The people that shopped there seemed to be a mix of neighboring countries and the soft hustle and bustle gave a nice glow to an otherwise idle village had it not laid on the travel routes. A few of the passersby gave them a look when they saw Taka clinging to his arm. Truthfully he wasn't the type of person to ever condone public affections, but any of his attempts at creating distance proved futile.
They entered the shop a little after midday and were greeted by an elder lady whom instantly took to Taka and happily gave suggestions about the products she had on display. Madara browsed some shelves by himself and stopped when an interesting looking gem caught his eye. The stone had different shades of blues and green including dark cyan and light sea green. When the light hit it there were also some darker hints of emerald and black. The gem was enclosed by two metallic chrome beads on either side and hung on a thin black leather necklace. "It's a beautiful ornament. Would you like to buy it, sir?" Another younger shop lady asked him as she appeared next to him all of a sudden. He returned out of his daze having not realized he was captured by its essence. He simply gave her a nod which was enough for her as she gave him a dashing smile before she took it from the shelf and headed to her station to wrap it for him. He paid for it and quickly put the small wrapped present inside his haori. Not much later Taka returned to his side with some items of her own which Madara paid for as well, earning him a thank you and more clinginess to his arm. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking the village street along the other shops before they returned to the Uchiha complex where Taka went to her room to admire her new supplies. Madara was quite drained from the trip and informed his parents that he would be taking the evening off. They gave him permission to do as he pleased so Madara decided that he could do with some relaxation in the Uchiha onsen at the edge of the complex. He headed to his room and grabbed a patterned furoshiki (wrapping cloth) and a spare set of clothes, wrapping them inside the furoshiki like a carry-on bag before heading out.
Meanwhile at the Senju complex a heated discussion was held between both Senju brothers as well as their father Butsuma. Everyone had been on edge ever since the proclamation about the Uchiha-Hyuuga wedding and now Hashirama had the guts to come forth with the idea of an alliance between the Senju and Hyuuga. Butsuma thought his son had completely lost his wits given that the Hyuuga had just formed an alliance with their most infamous enemy and now suggested they do the same thing. Hashirama had tried to calmly explain that the Hyuuga clan could be used as a potential buffer in the development of a treaty between Uchiha and Senju. Butsuma was not so easily convinced that the Uchiha would just sit back and accept the fact that their allies would form other bonds in the meantime without their explicit consent. If posed with the proposition of a merge with the Senju surely all hell would break loose.
Of course, Hashirama knew more than he could let on. He was sure that Madara would see reason and convince his father that a treaty between Uchiha and Senju was the only forward and to stop the incessant wars. He was confident that it would work. If it didn't, then over time the Senju clan members would most likely become more and more anxious about the increased power of the Uchiha-Hyuuga coalition to the point where an outburst would be inevitable. When Madara would take a stand with him they could finally begin to work on their childhood dreams. Perhaps then those dreams could become reality.
Unfortunately, there was only one major inconvenience about his plan. The fact that Madara, his Madara, would marry to the Hyuuga kunoichi. The brunette had thought long and hard about the drama that would unfurl had Madara actually decided to cancel his wedding. Needless to say Tajima would not be able to handle the disgrace it brought forth onto the Uchiha clan. Nor the potential danger of retaliation from the Hyuuga. Let alone the fact that he would find out about Madara wanting to form a pact with Hashirama and create a village based on fantasies, as Butsuma would call it. It would not go down well. Thus, his current plan seemed to be the only valid plan there could ever be and if it meant that he would have to keep his feelings pent-up even longer then so be it. At least if this plan worked he would be able to have an actual, openly displayed kinship with Madara for the first time in their lives.
Tobirama was not keen at all to follow his older brother's ideas about the amalgamation. From a very young age he had been indoctrinated to hate everything about and related to the Uchiha clan. His entire posture resembled it from his crossed arms to his tense shoulder and the tick in his jaw. He could only foresee turbulence and a nearing war whenever the Uchiha were mentioned in the conversation. The Hyuuga he could actually deal with and were reasonable and resourceful shinobi, but not the cursed and filled-with-hatred devils. It seemed his anija was too far gone and too set on his goal to reason with anymore. And so seemed his father when Hashirama's persuasive nature set in and attract people into his schemes like bees to honey. Over time Hashirama convinced Butsuma of the benefits that would come up with a merge of two of the strongest clans that currently existed. Rather than opposing one another think about what could be achieved if they were on the same side, he said to Butsuma. The peace, the resources, the wealth, the invincible force they would become. Why would anyone want to say no to that?
Butsuma let out a long sigh considering everything that had been said in the past few hours. It was a precarious plan, but if it worked like Hashirama believed it would then surely they would have less to worry about than when it would be Senju versus Uchiha and Hyuuga together. "Very well, I will put the plan forth to the clan elders and set it into motion with their approval." Butsuma said as he rose from the chair and excused himself. Hashirama had to refrain from grinning like an idiot at the fact that his tactic worked, mostly because Tobirama was staring him down like he just committed a crime.
"I don't know where this is coming from, but I smell something fishy." Tobirama said as he approached his older brother with a hard stare. "Your behavior has been nothing but suspicious lately." He eyed Hashirama down, making his older brother gulp. Hashirama tried to keep his back straight as best as he could, but hiding and lying to his younger brother about his relationship with Madara had never sat well with him. The immense guilt of it was working up his nerves with each passing day. Why was it so hard to choose your own friends regardless of the past? Hashirama gave Tobirama a playful push. "A- Ahahah I don't know what you're talking about Tobi." Hashirama laughed a little fakely with tension. "Aren't you glad we will finally have some peace around here?" He smiled a genuine smile at his younger brother, reflecting on the relief it gave him that his younger brother would not be dying in vain soon unlike their other younger brothers. Tobirama couldn't argue with him on that but was still not pleased with the whole scenario. Hashirama assured him that things would turn out just fine and that Tobirama would be thankful for it later. He then excused himself saying he had an urgent matter to handle after which he left the Senju estate. He could not wait to see Madara.