writing in progress…

Madara finds it strange that the Senju bury their dead. Hashirama once explained it was about returning to roots, being embraced by the earth. Their bodies remain unprotected beyond the anonymity and the nearly two meters separating them from the living. The Senju don't have protected kekkei genkai to worry about, so they have no need to burn dead bodies. Yet still, here Tobirama is proving that grave robbers need no special eyes to desecrate corpses.

After a deep breath, Tobirama uses a doton jutsu to split open the ground, dirt spilling to the sides, and drops into the hole. Madara cannot see which body Tobirama chooses to steal from without giving away his position in the trees.

Madara hears the creak of wood and the rattling of bones and swallows the bile that bubbles up from his stomach.

When Tobirama comes out of the hole, his face is grim and one of the scrolls is clutched tightly in his hands. Madara isn't sure he wants to know what was stolen.

What he does know is that Tobirama has not robbed the grave of a random Senju shinobi.