Silver Fox and Slimy Snake
Moon bleeds, so red and stark, veiling the entire village in its vermilion embrace. Each street bathed under its shadows, every corner a starking new shade, mimicking the horrors of war. The absence of rustic, putrid stench being the only reminder of the peaceful times, as children slept tucked warmly under the embrace of their mothers.
He sighed, a quiet, peaceful exhale of fresh air. Soft breeze combing through wild hair as his shadow followed with each step. Hands tucked under the long sleeves of his dark yukata, shoulders relaxed under the calmness of spring breeze.
Deliberate sounds of a sharp blade cutting through air grasped his attention. Calm, practised and distant like it always was; like he always was. His feet paced without his knowledge, each step firm, digging deeper into soil. Slowing only when at a safe distance from the practising swordsman.
Covered in a sheen of sweat, glistining his pale frame, there he was, practicing his sword, eyes sharp and focused as each muscle flexed with his practised swing.
Madara stood still, his eyes looming darkly over the senju- his sword, his arms, his eyes- each movement a stark reminder of his brother's demise. If it wasn't for peace; the ultimate good for his clan, he would have long broken the alliance and bathed in the anguish of his former enemies. But he wasn't foolish, no, he knew the repercussions of breaking the established peace, which would turn his own men against him, who have long wanted peace and safety for their families just like senjus.
Though he still needed it, his vengeance, far from something quick and easy like death in a war, then buried like a hero for this senju? no. It needed to be more suffocating than that, like that of a snake coiling around its prey until it couldn't move, couldn't breathe. At least not until the snake wants.