But hadn’t Hashirama and Madara both tried to cover just a fraction of Tobirama’s workload and found it overwhelming?
So why-
Hikaku took the moment to shift, to rearrange himself around his injury before seizing Hashirama’s attention again by mirroring his own swirling thoughts. “It didn’t make any sense.”
On that, at least, Hashirama could easily agree.
“And then when we got back, there was hardly any time to think on it, we were so swamped. But when you returned.”
Hikaku’s teeth were clearly grinding.
“Things escalated.”
“Escalated? Escalated, how?” Hashirama asked.
If anything, things should have become calmer. Sure, the Hokage duties had been as overwhelming as before. Moreso, but that was to be expected with Tobirama…
Gone. Off on a milk run of a mission. Something easy.
Mutsuhito had-
“You can’t be serious?” Hikaku said, raspy but fierce. He was tiring, his face growing more pale with a sheen of sweat from the exertion of the conversation.
“Hikaku-” Madara tried to quell his cousin, but Hikaku wouldn’t hear of it.
“No, he can’t be that blind. Someone tried to kill us yesterday, and the entire village will think you ordered it.”
What? But- “Me?” That didn’t- “Why would I-”
“Yes, you! You, who’ve sent him on mission after dangerous mission with no rest, who watches as he gets worse and worse and struggles to keep your dream afloat while you seem to do nothing but resent him! Everyone, myself included, has been waiting for the moment when you kill him or he kills you in self-defense!”
None of this made any- Hashirama wouldn’t- didn’t! It couldn’t have gotten that bad. He had only done what he had to. Everyone said he hadn’t done enough. He would never- “I would never hurt my brother!”
“You have hurt him. Your mistrust and indecision led us here.”
The arrow that flies truest hurts the most, and that accusation cut through every lie Hashirama had let himself believe.
Because Hikaku was right. He was right and Hashirama hadn’t even seen it. Hadn’t wanted to believe that his brother would actually betray them, but he hadn’t been willing to rule it out either, hadn’t been willing to launch an investigation, afraid of what he would find.
He’d justified it for so long that perhaps it was better not to know. If he’d found proof of Tobirama’s misdeeds, it would put him in the position to have to act on it. Tobirama had always told him to not ask questions he didn’t want answers to, that sometimes it really was better not to know, to have plausible deniability when family was involved.
Launching any kind of public investigation would never allow for any presumption of innocence. With treason, the suspicion alone would be enough, so Hashirama couldn’t let anyone, only Mito, know that he… had been suspicious.
So he hadn’t asked. Hadn’t launched any investigation into Tobirama for fear of making things worse.
And had let the situation grow worse and worse until Tobirama had nearly died for it.
In that moment, Hashirama knew he’d never forgive himself.
But that was for him to tell Tobirama in person later. Right now, Hikaku required an answer.
