It's the best way to keep your brothers safe, Madara reminds himself as he stands at the centre of a vortex of roaring flame, barring his once-friend's mokuton from lancing among his clan, every minute detail of the battlefield seared into his memory forever.

It's the only way to keep your brothers safe, Madara reminds himself as he washes away soot and ash and blood, his heart aching and his mouth cool as ashes in the aftermath, his eyes closed against the softer burn of tears.

We could be so much more than this, Madara remembers, and his heart throbs painfully, his breath catching, his mind filled with the surety and the beauty of crimson eyes meeting his gaze without fear and steady hands twined with his own.