"Cough, cough… Orochimaru…"
Orochimaru turned to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, with a spark of curiosity. His attention had been glued to Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, so he hadn't caught the conversation between Tobirama and Izuna Uchiha.
But something about Tobirama's expression seemed… off. Awkward, even.
"What's up, Lord Second Hokage?" Orochimaru asked.
Suddenly, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto Tobirama, making his awkwardness practically palpable. And behind him, Izuna Uchiha was cackling like a maniac—his signature Uchiha mad laugh echoing through the room!
Feeling the weight of everyone's stares, Tobirama couldn't take it anymore. Just moments ago, he'd been about to ask Orochimaru to transplant a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes into him. But now? With all these people watching? The words just wouldn't come out.
Especially after all his talk about the "evil Uchiha" in the past—could he really go through with getting a pair of their eyes?!
Nah, he'd just have to pull Orochimaru aside later in private.
Clearing his throat again, Tobirama coughed twice more. "Cough, cough…"
Orochimaru, watching Tobirama cough nonstop without saying a word, was clueless about what was going on. "What's wrong, Lord Second Hokage? Got a chicken feather stuck in your throat or something?"
"My throat's fine, you snake!" Tobirama snapped.
"Then why all the coughing? What's the deal?" Orochimaru pressed.
"Uh… cough, cough… It's nothing. I just… suddenly felt like singing a song for everyone!"
"Back in the day, my tears wouldn't dry~
A match made in heaven by a ribbon in the sky~"
"So, how's that? Pretty good, right?" Tobirama grinned awkwardly.
Orochimaru blinked, utterly baffled. All that coughing and squirming just to… sing a song? And why was Tobirama staring at him the whole time?
Wait a second… was the Second Hokage trying to… pair up with him?! No, that couldn't be right. Wasn't Tobirama's "partner" supposed to be Izuna Uchiha? Besides, Orochimaru already had a partner—Jiraiya might be a bit of a goof, but he was adorable in his own way.
"Pfft… Hahaha!" Izuna burst out laughing, clutching his sides. "Gods, a song?! Tobirama, you're gonna make me die laughing! All that squirming and coughing, and you're too embarrassed to even say it? Fine, I'll say it for you!"
Turning to Orochimaru, Izuna declared, "Orochimaru! This evil Senju Tobirama—oops, I mean evil Uchiha Tobirama—wants to transplant a pair of Sharingan eyes! But he's too shy to admit it, so he coughed up a storm and sang you a song instead. I'm dying over here!"
Tobirama's face turned red as his temper exploded. "Damn it! You evil Uchiha, shut your mouth! I swear, I'll slice you in half with a Flying Thunder God Slash!"
"Tch, evil Uchiha Tobirama," Izuna taunted, smirking.
"Argh! Izuna Uchiha, I'm gonna kill you!" Tobirama roared.
"Tch, evil Uchiha Tobirama," Izuna repeated, unfazed.
---
Hirofumi Ito, watching the scene unfold, was dumbfounded. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, wanted to transplant Sharingan eyes?! This world was insane—mice were bridesmaids for cats now!
What kind of wild plot twist was this? Even Kishimoto himself probably couldn't dream up Tobirama wanting a Sharingan!
Lost in thought, Hirofumi muttered to himself, "Is this… fate? The way of the world?"
Naruto, fresh off his own Three-Tomoe Sharingan transplant, leaned in curiously. "Hirofumi, what're you talking about? What's 'the way'? Like a big, shiny road we're walking on?"
Hirofumi, striking a wise, sagely pose, replied, "The way is the way… The way that can be named is not the true way. It's doing what you want, when you want. Following your heart—that's the true path! Do what you love, be with who you love. That's the way."
Naruto scratched his head, not quite getting it but nodding like it was profound. The others overheard, feeling like something was off about Hirofumi's words but unable to pinpoint why.
Meanwhile, Hirofumi stood with his hands behind his back, gazing skyward like some enlightened master—though really, he was just posing to look cool.
Then, Hashirama Senju zoomed over, eyes sparkling. "Hirofumi's right! Being with Madara is doing what I love! Hanging out with Madara is being with who I love! Madara, we're the ones meant to be together!"
WHAM!
"Shut up, you idiot!" Madara snapped, smacking Hashirama. "It's 'being with the right person,' not 'mating with them'!"
"Oh… right. Then let's go do what we love!" Hashirama grinned.
"Like what?" Madara asked, suspicious.
"Skip stones! Or maybe a peeing contest!" Hashirama suggested gleefully.
And with that, Hashirama dragged Madara off by the arm, practically clinging to him as they left the research lab to "do what they love." Well, "dragged" might be generous—Hashirama was basically glued to Madara's side.
---
In the end, Tobirama ended up on the operating table. With Orochimaru's help, he successfully got his pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes.
Deep down, Tobirama felt incredibly awkward about it. He kept making excuses to himself: This isn't just about getting Sharingan. It's about understanding the Uchiha's eyes so I can develop new forbidden jutsu to counter them! Yeah, that's it! I'm a genius!
Izuna, meanwhile, stood nearby, staring intensely with his Mangekyo Sharingan activated. He even pulled out a video camera to record the whole thing—yep, this world had cameras, even movies!
"Evil Uchiha Izuna! Put that damn thing away!" Tobirama barked.
"Heh, evil Uchiha Tobirama," Izuna shot back.
"I'm Tobirama Senju! Argh!" Tobirama yelled, losing it.
"Heh, sure, whatever you say," Izuna snickered.
---