The next day arrived and Madara headed out to the Naka river in the hopes of meeting Hashirama there. He hopped onto a big boulder and sat down as he listened to the nearby waterfall. A large hawk flew overhead letting out a screech to acknowledge its perception of his owner far beneath on the ground level. Madara glanced up and smiled at one of his birds that he liked to keep free whenever not in use. He granted them their freedom as much as he could, especially now during more calm times, and it gave him much joy to watch them in the wild. His fascination for birds started at a very young age and he decided that he would dedicate his spare time to training them for battle. With the control of a sharingan these birds of prey could be quite useful in obtaining information from far up in the sky where no one could reach. In turn, Madara provided them regularly with food and good care.
He sensed the familiarity of Hashirama's chakra not long after he had arrived himself. Apparently the brunette had a thing for knowing when Madara was at the river. He rose up from his place on the boulder and turned to see Hashirama arrive jumping down from a tree branch near the river. It had been a while since they had last seen each other and naturally that meant Hashirama was an emotional wreck, well... according to Madara at least. Hashirama leaped forward and hugged Madara into a tight embrace as if they hadn't seen each other in years. "Enough already…" Madara managed to say before he would be crushed. Hashirama laughed and excused himself saying it was just his usual greeting for someone he had missed.
Madara suggested they take a stroll along the riverbank and Hashirama happily followed. "So, did you manage to set up the alliance with the Hyuuga?" Madara asked, curious as always and straight to the point. So much for small talk, Hashirama thought with a chuckle. "Yes, actually we signed the paperwork yesterday. They were happy to know we would join." Hashirama said, thinking back to the conversation with Hiashi, his father and brother. As he glanced over to Madara he couldn't quite tell what the look on his face meant so he reached his arm out to take a hold of Madara and stop him in his tracks. "What's wrong?" He asked, concern lacing his voice as he watched his friend.
Madara seemed to need a moment to think about the right words. His normally stoic face went through an array of different twitches before he finally settled on a puzzled and worried look, very unlike him. They were both aware that there was not yet any form of a treaty between Senju and Uchiha. The Uchiha did not even know that there was a new additional alliance between Hyuuga and Senju. Could it be that Madara was worried that it would not turn out the way they had hoped? Surely Madara had enough skill to convince his father and his clan that a treaty would be the best way forward.
"I… need to ask you something." Madara started.
"Anything." Hashirama said with a nod and a smile.
"In the case that things turn out to go differently than we had planned in order to get our clans to sign a treaty… Can I be sure that you would have my back?"
Hashirama searched Madara's face for some sort of an indication what this was all about, but he couldn't find any in the mask Madara was upholding. The raven clearly didn't want to show his worry, but Hashirama was probably the only person who could read him regardless. The brunette didn't really need more information to answer that question. "Of course I would." He replied steadfastly.
Madara merely nodded before he turned and continued on his walk, expecting Hashirama to follow suit which he indeed did. He was glad that Hashirama didn't pry any further, because frankly he did not know exactly what to tell him. Hell he wasn't even sure if what he suspected was going to happen, but it felt good to know that he would have the support of someone who matched him both in intellect as well as strength. Now that they had been able to grasp at the idea of a village without any war or violence he could not imagine ever releasing that hold again and go back to the horrible past.
They chatted for a good hour before they arrived at the lake near the base of the waterfall. The misty water created a beautiful rainbow that danced on the water drops while they cascaded down to join the basin. Hashirama sat down on a patch of grass, patting the space next to him for Madara to join him. Madara rolled his eyes but sat down nevertheless. He reached into his navy blue yukata and took out a small, beautifully wrapped gift shoving it towards Hashirama as he turned his face away in embarrassment. "Here."
Hashirama blinked at the sudden gesture and looked down at Madara's hand reaching out to take a hold of the elegant box. "To what do I owe this?" He said with a smile that reached both his ears as he gently started unwrapping the gift paper. Madara muttered a reply under his breath. "It reminded me of your love for nature and seeing as it's Greenery day…"
"Oh Mada, I love it!" Hashirama exclaimed as he instantly flung around his friend's neck to thank him for such a wonderfully thoughtful gift. The jewelry box revealed a deep cyan and light sea green gemstone attached to a black necklace that would suit Hashirama's skin tone perfectly. Madara was taken aback by the sudden hug and felt the heat on his face rise even further, thankful to have long black hair that was able to veil most of his face. Hashirama didn't hesitate a second to take the necklace out of the box and open the clasp, holding the necklace at the right height and urging Madara to attach it for him. Madara took both ends of the necklace and clicked it into place standing just behind Hashirama who was holding his hair to the side to expose his neck. The brunette touched the gemstone with his fingertips, feeling how the gemstone was infused with nature's essence. The color cyan representing a restful, calming color and sea green that of luck, freshness, innocence and youth. A flawless representation of their underlying kinship and dream.
The fact that Madara had remembered that today was an important national holiday to him made it all the more special to receive this gift. "I will cherish it for the rest of my life." Hashirama said when a tear dropped from his eye, softly rolling down his cheek as he looked at Madara. The Uchiha looked everywhere but back at him, far too embarrassed by the whole scenario, but hearing the Senju starting to sniffle he finally glanced back and reached up his hand to wipe away the tear. 'As I will you,' Madara thought to himself.
They parted ways a short while after, both needing to handle clan matters and not being able to sneak away for long without it being noticed. Madara returned to the Uchiha compound and was met by his father wanting to talk to him. They took place in the main living area where Tajima placed two sake cups and a bottle on the table. "Son, in two weeks' time you will be a fully grown man and start on a new journey with your wife. I wanted to take this opportunity to have a drink together." He filled the two sake cups to the brim and handed one to his eldest son raising his cup. "Kanpai!" (Cheers!) Madara joined him, although more out of obligation than desire, drinking sake with his father and chatting over familial matters.
Taka stopped by not much later, bringing them a new sake bottle and sitting down by them. She chatted with Tajima casually as he asked her about her choices for the wedding like the type of flowers, catering and guests she invited. She seemed to have a soft glow over her features when she spoke about her ideas and sometimes glanced at Madara to see whether he approved as well. "I was thinking we could have the ceremony inside and then a nice reception outdoors. The weather should remain sunny in the next few weeks so it shouldn't be a problem. A lovely dance among the blossoming cherry trees would be so splendid!" She giggled softly hiding her face behind one of the Uchiha fans she had acquired at a local shop. It seemed that she had adjusted to life as an Uchiha wife rather well.
Once they finished talking about wedding matters Madara looked over to his father. "Oto-san (father), I have something I want to discuss with you regarding the rogue attack, but these are private matters." He glanced at Taka and she got the hint, getting up swiftly and bowing to excuse herself and give the men some space. Madara waited for her to leave the room and close the shoji door before he began. "I have reason to believe that the rogues far stronger than me are planning to attack our clan again after the next full moon, when our sharingan is weak." Madara's tone was serious as he addressed his father. Tajima was visibly shocked by this information, not having heard anything himself from the Uchiha intel squad. He wondered how his son had acquired this valuable piece of information, but then again he expected nothing less from Madara. "I didn't think they would be returning so soon, especially after the beating you gave them…" Tajima crossed his arms in deep thought about how to handle the situation. The next full moon would be in 2 days and didn't leave them much time to prepare against an assault.
"May I suggest something, oto-san?" Madara asked as he waited for Tajima's nod of approval. "The Uchiha tablet at the Naka shrine may contain helpful insights as to how we can use the moon to our advantage when the sharingan becomes weak. I can study the tablet starting early tomorrow at dawn and I'm sure that I can find the way to stop the attack. But I must study the tablet alone and in silence, it's crucial that I am not disturbed in any way." Madara explained to his father in the hope that he would see that this might be the only way to rescue their clan members from annihilation.
"Very well I give you leave to go, tomorrow at dawn you will start deciphering the tablet and I will assemble the shinobi within our clan to prepare for battle." Tajima said having listened intently to Madara's suggestion. He put a lot of faith in his son and he knew he was one of the few he could entrust this task to. "I will make sure you will not be disturbed." With that, the plan was set into action. Madara excused himself saying he would get sleep early that night so he would be well-rested in the morning.
However, Madara planned on doing anything but sleep that night. He grabbed his usual gear; the indigo mantle and pants, the weathered bandages around his legs, his enclosed black shinobi shoes and his obi with pouches. Tonight was a night where he would be fully ready and at the top of his game. He collected his weapons among which his kama and gunbai, and for the first time in a long time also some kunai and shuriken for good measure. He smirked as he saw the gleam on the little shuriken knives, such a pitiful weapon. So small and insignificant. What damage could it ever hope to do?
When night had fallen and everyone was asleep inside the Uchiha house Madara moved silently through the house to his father's bedroom. Carefully, he woke him up and activated his sharingan to put his father under a genjutsu. It was the only way he could communicate with him without having to speak words. Of course Tajima was immediately alert when Madara had never before used his genjutsu on his own father. But Tajima understood soon enough with the message Madara relayed to him. Madara then broke the genjutsu as Tajima returned to his senses and dressed himself in his armor after which they left for the Naka shrine together through the darkness of the night.
Madara instructed Tajima to wait nearby and conceal his chakra while he himself would enter the shrine and ensconced himself in a dark corner with view at the stone tablet. It didn't take long before he sensed the chakra he was expecting to show up. Unfortunately, this meant that his conjured theory was indeed correct and his clan was at a bigger risk than they imagined. The form entered the shrine enveloped in a dark brown cloak; the hood covering most of their face as they progressed towards the stone tablet inside the hidden chamber of the Naka shrine.
Madara reached for the shuriken in his pouch and readied himself as the person squatted close to the tablet and started to pry to remove it from its position. He aimed… hurled his arm back…and swung the shuriken forth with such a strength that in a mere second it sliced off the single button that held the cloak together at the front. At least these knives were good for one thing. The silken fabric came detached and slid off of the form before they could prevent it to reveal a very familiar Hyuuga kunoichi. Madara stepped out of the dark shadows of the shrine glancing down at her with disgust written all over his features. Taka's lavender eyes darted up in shock at her exposal. The sight of Madara's wrath and his red, activated sharingan made her fear for her life in a way she had never before experienced.
"Some wife you are, betraying your future husband even before you share the bed." Madara spat at her as he grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her to her feet. At that same moment Tajima entered the hidden room and nearly slipped on the steps down when he realized who it was that Madara held by the arm. So that was what his son wanted to show him, the ultimate betrayal of his own fiancé. No wonder that Madara didn't want to go alone, who would believe him if he told the story?
Taka knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against Madara, let alone when his father was also present. She wasn't the type of kunoichi to simply accept her defeat, but now wasn't the right time to oppose them. Soon she would have the strength of her entire clan to back her up as well as the newly formed alliance with the Senju who matched the Uchiha in strength. The time had finally come to overthrow the cursed clan of hatred!
Madara dug his nails into her arm as he threw her towards Tajima. "Get this bitch out of my sight." He turned his back on her and pointed his attention towards the stone tablet to check if no harm was done before he intercepted. He retrieved the shuriken that had struck the wall across from him and grimaced at it. He still had many questions for her when the daytime came. Like how she dared to obtain the Uchiha weapons at the blacksmith by pretending to buy them for him as a present and taking on the Uchiha name so nobody would notice a peculiar registration in the records. T. Uchiha. Taka Uchiha. She wasn't even an Uchiha by marriage yet nor would she ever find the honor of carrying his name as her own. The anger made him sick to his gut to the point where he felt he needed to unleash it somehow. But, not here where he could damage his clan's property. No… he had a much better idea. He would have his fun shortly when the news about her betrayal would be made public.