hey

I've found the account of the artist who made this official art, and there's a post where they explain it and idk I felt the need to share it with the world (post)

"This is a momentary scene from the time that Hashirama described as "like a dream." The "dream" here seems to be a sad word that does not know when it will end, and if anything, I think Hashirama was the one who understood that. The Uchiha people have a tendency to entrust their hearts to them once they make a decision, so Madara certainly had a moment when he had the same dream, but from Hashirama's point of view, Madara always seemed a certain kind of precarity... I tried to put all these thoughts into one piece.

It's a banquet like a social gathering for the Uchiha and Senju. I think they happened often at that time. They've already become quite close. The postures of the people at the banquet are casual. And by this time, Hashirama had already gathered the popularity of the Uchiha people, and Madara suddenly left the group and was drinking alone on a tree while looking at the flowers. I think the more you are in a circle of people, the stronger you feel loss. He is drinking with Izuna, thinking of his younger brothers. And then you're in a special seat again! "Hashirama comes climbing the tree with a bottle of sake hanging from his arm. In the rough draft, he had brought a box of food from the banquet (because Hashirama is fully intending to stay here for a long time), but given his position, he should have asked someone to pack it for him, but I thought it would be fake to prepare that much, and it would be better if he just took the bottle of sake and disappeared without a trace, so I decided not to.

Tobirama glares at the two of them (or rather, Madara) with reproachful eyes for the leader who left the banquet. Given the situation, I wanted Tobirama to wear a haori coat, but changing his costume was a no-go.

This is the scene where Madara notices Hashirama climbing the tree and the stern gazes following him, so Madara's gaze is actually on Tobirama. I wanted to create a mysterious atmosphere with the cherry blossoms that Madara could blend into, so I made them talkative, but if I drew each blossom as it was, it came off like something from a shoujo manga, so I redrawn them all to make them look fluffy.

original video under the cut