Chapter Text
One moment, Mito and Madara were holding hands and the next, they were flung apart as the jutsu took hold and rapidly, a meteor the size of the Moon formed around Otsutsuki Kaguya right in front of their eyes. Just before they were all suddenly thrown on the last - hopefully - dimensional trip, Madara thought he saw nine balls of energy and a body fall out from the forming celestial body and then he was slamming into the earth harder than he would have liked.
Judging by the various groans around him, he wasn't the only one who hadn't appreciated the harsh landing.
"It would seem you have succeeded, young Uchiha." An unfortunately familiar voice said from above him and Madara opened his eyes - all three of them, which was just weird because the Rinne-Sharingan seems to have the ability to show him entire different dimensions and worlds beyond theirs and he wasn't sure if he'll ever get used to that or if he even wants to for that matter - to glare at Otsutsuki Hagoromo, who looked unhappily impressed with their success.
He smirked, just to annoy the crazy old bastard, who huffed and vanished. Madara wasn't sure if that pleased him or not. He kind of wanted to antagonize him more but there were still things that needed to be taken care of. Like the nine cat-sized biju all cozied up on him and the fact that Uchiha Sasuke, back to normal, was slowly dying several feet away. With a sigh, Madara got to his feet and walked over to his ancestor just as everyone else started gathering themselves.
Sasuke looked tired, beaten, done. He didn't even glare at Madara when he came and unsealed a katana from the storage seal on his wrist. "I can end your suffering honorably, as an Uchiha doing an Uchiha a favor. You won't survive this. Having the Juubi yanked out of you isn't something even the Sage could have survived." He looked up as he heard groaning wood and couldn't fight a grin when he saw Ryujin was on the verge of snapping the God Tree like a twig.
"I only wanted to give Naruto a world in which he could be happy, Itachi a world in which he wouldn't have to sacrifice," the ancient man, for the first time, sounded as old as each of his years. At his words, Itachi-sama's crow - Kuro Onyx, he'd called it - landed on Madara's shoulder and gawked down at its first master's brother. Sasuke obviously recognized it, judging by his bittersweet smile. "Maybe they're finally happy and at peace in the Pure Lands."
"You could ask them," Tobirama said from behind him and Madara turned to give him a curious look. The white haired Senju had something in his hand and a look of determination on his dirty, sweaty face. Without prompting or explanation, he ran through a series of hand seals that almost looked like Edo Tensei but for three additional seals. From the ground up rose a figure, the shape easily becoming recognizable moments later as Uzumaki Naruto stood before them with cracked skin and eyes black around his blue irises, dressed as he had once been as Shodaime Hokage.
His entire face lit up when he saw Sasuke. "Oi, teme! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you in the Pure Lands! You still owe me a bowl of ramen!"
"Naruto, you usuratonkachi," the downed Uchiha said fondly as a single tear slipped from his eye, eyes never actually closing as though in fear that the blond Uzumaki would disappear. "You were always too forgiving."
"That's what friends are for, teme," Naruto said as he knelt down beside his long lost, estranged friend. He smiled up at Madara before looking back down excitedly at Sasuke. "Did you see Tsuna's Team Disaster? Did you? My grandniece made such a clever little team! You should see them! They kind of remind me of how we used to be once the village was built with Sakura-chan, though she still always admonishes me to call her sensei now since she was the first proper doctor and all. Oh! I recently saw Obito! He finally came to us. Kakashi cried when he saw him. Obito cried when he saw Rin. Rin cried when she got to hug them both. I think they might be trying to figure out a three-way romantic relationship, though I have no idea how that's going to work. Itachi-niichan and Shisui-niisan have been playing with these three adorable little Uchiha boys for a while now and Hinata-"
The blond kept talking and talking and talking for five minutes, Sasuke listening to his every word, drinking in the sight of him like a drowning man does air, right up until Sasuke's eyes started slowly closing. Naruto smiled down at him sadly, eyes full of overflowing affection.
"It's okay, teme. It's time to come home now."
"That sounds ... good ... to ... m..."
Naruto had to look away to gather himself, obviously needing the moment so he can smile up at Madara again in his sunny way without showing just how much his death's friend - again - had affected him. "I see that Itachi-niichan left his dream in your hands. I entrust you and your friends with mine, too. Until we meet again, Uchiha Madara." And without a single hand sign from either him or Tobirama, the old Uzumaki disappeared as nothing more than dust on the wind.
Madara threw Tobirama a questioning look. He shrugged. "My new and improved Edo Tensei. Not as strong as the original but it is far more ethical since it doesn't require a live sacrifice. I figured even he deserved to die in peace, even if he had robbed so many others that same opportunity."
"Aw, Tobi! You're such a sweetheart!"
"Shut up, anija."
Madara just shook his head and looked up at the Moon. He met Ryujin's eye, even from this distance, and they exchanged a nod. "Time to end this." He put together his hands and made the right hand seal, purging himself of all the borrowed power that still coursed through his body and the Rinne-Sharingan's design on the Moon disappeared, the Infinite Tsukuyomi dispelled.
The last thing Madara was aware of before he was knocked out cold by the release of such power was Ryujin snapping the God Tree in half and several voices calling out his name.
00000
"Finally awake, brat? It's about damned time, too. A month! This is your new record, you know." Tsunade-sama's voice was the first sound that reached him when he opened his eyes again, drowning out temporarily the beeping of the machines monitoring his vitals. A hospital, then. He looked to the side where the voice had come from and blinked in confusion at the fact that Tsunade-sama wasn't dressed in her doctor's coat but was instead laying on a bed beside his own, dressed as a patient like he himself was, no doubt. She seemed mighty amused by his reaction. "Yeah, when Uchiha Sasuke's Susanoo stabs you in the gut and you use up your Byakugo seal, you have to be stuck in hospital like the rest of the world instead of as the best iryo-nin of our time."
"What happened?" While I was sleeping went unsaid. "Where are-"
"Ryukyu-sama and Izuna are fine, as is Hikaku and all of your clansmen, for that matter. They somehow recovered from this the best because apparently the Sharingan helped them resist the worst of the chakra drain from that goddamned giant weed. The Senju are all mostly fine, due to their natural vitality, as are Uzumaki. Hashirama took Mito out on a date today since she got out of her coma last week and finally felt up to it. The both of you losing so much chakra left your bodies unbalanced and they needed time to get used to how its temporary presence had changed them. Also, by the way, seriously? The Sage of Six Paths himself?! Only you, brat, only you and that damned team of yours. Anyway, Minato is with Kushina and little Menma, enjoying this time of respite while he settles in into his new office-"
"New office?" Madara interrupted, frowning a little because that ... Made no sense to him, none whatsoever.
But the blond Senju grinned, taking obvious delight from his dozy state. "Yup, new office. It will be official once we hold the proper ceremony but no one wanted to name him Yondaime Hokage without all three of his precious, cute little students there to witness it!"
"Yondaime Hokage!?"
Oh, the busty woman was definitely getting a kick out of this. She must have been bored to death in her own hospital as a patient for once. "Of course! I'm sick of the hat. It's time someone else takes over and given that Team Disaster just saved the world, it had to be one of you little buggers. Of course, everyone wanted it to be you and you know exactly why-" Madara couldn't help the full body flinch he gave at that, indeed far too aware why he'd be the preferred candidate. Minato-sensei tended to indulge Tobirama and Mito in their scientific curiosities and they, well ... They could get lost in them the second Madara wasn't around long enough to supervise them. There have been rumors all around Konoha that he'd be made Hokage for no other reason than to ensure he can never leave the village so there could be no more disasters that usually cropped up whenever he did. "-but I managed to convince everyone that you were still far too young. You're not even of drinking age yet, for crying out loud! So it was between Minato and Kushina and we all decided that Minato was probably the better choice. Not sure why, now that I think about it, but what's done is done. The official ceremony will happen now that you're awake and as soon as you are strong enough to stand through the whole thing."
"I'm fine," he grumbled, earning himself a disbelieving and slightly incredulous snort.
"You tell that to your goddamned body! I have no idea what you did and neither did anyone else since the main annoyances were all knocked out. Kushina was freaking out by the time we found you and Ryujin-sama nearly decimated us all on principle had Ryukyu-sama not been with us. When they woke up two days after we hospitalized you lot, Hashirama and then Izuna told us about your little meeting with the Sage and everything that happened since we were trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and up to the end of the fight, but Hashirama was lost on some details and Izuna didn't actually know all that much about how the borrowed powers affected your and Mito's bodies. Minato woke up five days later and gave us theories and by the time Tobirama woke up two weeks ago, we were hanging on his every word. When Mito woke up and explained more about he after effects of the Six Paths Chakra, we grew kind of worried because you had even more than either her or Obito or Sasuke or anyone for that matter because we weren't about to count the Sage himself in that. We feared that the withdrawal of the power would kill you but guess again! You really are an impossible miracle, brat. I should have guessed you'd be waking up sometime soon since your hair finally went back to normal some hours ago."
"Normal? Went back to normal? What do you mean by that?" He asked, a bit worried as he tiredly brought a hand up to tug on his long hair, bringing it into view. It looked like it always had, but then he remembered seeing strands of hair dancing around him, white as Kaguya's, as Sasuke's had turned when he'd entered Six Paths Sage Mode.
"Well, it was all white and you had horns, for that matter. And a third eye. Please let's not talk about the third eye, okay? It was creepy and freaked everyone out." A glance back at Tsunade-sama showed her shuddering at the thought of the Rinne-Sharingan, apparently. "Anyway, we ran some scans. Amazingly enough, you retain some of that power still and it's not interfering with your normal chakra. Mito, Tobirama and Minato are trying to wrap their heads about it as it's driving them insane since no one else kept any of the additional powers they got, but they're satisfied for now that it isn't harming you. Tobirama even hypothesizes that you probably won't be able to reach it without some rigorous training, so you should be on the lookout for behavior similar to when you awakened the Mangekyo."
"And what is Tobirama up to, now?" He'd kind of cut her off before she could get to his boyfriend. "I'm kind of surprised he's not here right now."
"I kicked him out after three days. He was getting annoying, camping out here." Well, that answers half of it. "As for what he's up to, I hear he's doing some research in his lab or something. He's been blissfully quiet as everyone gets their feet under them. It hasn't been an easy month, Uchiha brat. We lost two hundred shinobi, to battle and injury and chakra exhaustion, and we have over a hundred more injured. Not everyone's blessed to be from the Sage's bloodline-"
"More like a curse disguised as a blessing," Madara grumbled to himself even as Tsunade-sama went on and on about the post-war cleanup and all the things that have been happening since. He was, of course, glad to hear that everyone was slowly going back to business as usual, if the missions were stopped for now, but he just wanted to get himself lost in his own thoughts for a while, to process some things. Like the fact that he still had some leftover power from absorbing Kaguya's chakra, for instance, or that he was now apparently a hero and that Minato-sensei was quite literally required to name Madara his successor to the Hokage hat. He couldn't help but tune back in properly when the biju were brought up.
"-Surprisingly, the Ichibi decided to stay with Raza, who sends his well wishes, and the Hachibi is staying with Killer B, who is demanding a spar once every member of Team Disaster is well enough to take him up on it. The other biju scattered, hiding away before anyone could tag 'em and bag 'em. Ryujin-sama helped them run off. Though you should probably go out later, no matter what the other doctors say and deal with your dragon. He refuses to leave Konoha until he's seen you're well with his own two giant purple eyes. He's some miles out but still on our territory and I'm sure he'll come to you if you call. Also, Nekomata and the Nibi are still hanging around. He wants to introduce you two, apparently. I guess we finally have confirmation that those two are mates. Kyuubi-sama went back to Mito-"
"Kurama did?" He interrupted, blinking in surprise several times.
The blonde glared at him but answered with a huff, anyway. "Yes. Said he liked it how his life had been before. Asked Tobirama to bring back Uzumaki Naruto again to talk and then just went back inside of Mito's seal. Said he's perfectly happy to continue being a member of Team Disaster, that life wouldn't be as interesting otherwise. He's helped a great deal in stabilizing Mito's condition, to the point some started suggesting we put Nibi into you. Since your team already has a seal that would grant her freedom at wish and since you have a connection to Sora-Ku, Nekomata was almost thrilled since it meant you'd have to visit more. Tobirama did not like it and neither did the Nibi. Those two get along surprisingly well, so I'm guessing there definitely will be more visits. Izumi-san and Shishi-kun will insist on it since they and Kuro Onyx stayed sentinel throughout the month."
He blinked again in confusion and followed her finger to where it was pointing to his two favorite nekonin, curled up together by his ankles and sleeping off their exhaustion after who knows how many sleepless days. A caw from the window had his eyes, softened from the sight of the two tired felines, turning in the direction of the noise and seeing his new companion staring down at him with one black and one Sharingan eye.
"Your damned birds took shifts to watch over you but that one never left. Kushina tells me it's a gift from Uchiha Itachi."
"It is. He said he entrusts me with his dream and his most faithful companion." He smiled when Kuro Onyx made space for two of his hawks, the birds of prey only reaching over to preen the black feathers before chirping for their master's attention. Honestly, they can be so bratty sometimes! "No one will mind if I go out and visit everyone?"
Tsunade-sama's eyes soften, that fond look she so often shots at Team Disaster no matter how big of a headache they might have caused her that day. "Just go, brat. I'll deal with anyone who tries to object. Besides, I'm pretty sure the villagers will be happy to see you up and about and there might be a surprise for you on the main square."
The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at her, immediately suspicious. "What did you do?"
The woman had the gall to grin at him. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Just my last decree as Hokage, officially. From what I hear, the people are rather pleased with the results." No prodding got him any more details so he huffed, got dressed quickly and left before the nurses or doctors might come up to check on the two patients. He wanted freedom, damn it, and he had quite a few people to visit before the hospital staff might try to hunt him down.
Kuro Onyx followed him from the sky above and it took a while to get used to the fact that he now had an at-will ability to get its view point, a weirdness he knew he will have to get used to since he was quite literally stuck with the crow. Not that he particularly minded. He loved intelligent birds and he already had hawks, falcons and even two owls so a crow won't be too out of place. Besides, the birds eye view was quite handy when he realized he got to see Izuna making a complete fool of himself in front of Touka while he tried to give her flowers just a few streets over, something pure sensing would never allow him to do. As much as he wanted to go check up on his brother immediately, the truth was that there were others who probably deserved and needed him visiting them first.
Ryujin didn't like being exposed humanity. He didn't like humanity, period. Ninety percent of why he'd even fought for them - stopped the worst of the drain during the fight with Kaguya as she was drawing power from the God Tree when they proved to much for her on her own power as it was, four instead of two bearers of Six Paths Chakra, two sages and Kushina-sama - in the first place was only because his two summoners, those he called kin were also of humanity, seven percent was to avenge his home planet and his kind and the rest was sympathy for another species going through what his own had, a wish to stop others from experiencing his own pain. If Ryujin was staying for longer than he usually would just because of Madara, letting himself be in the open like that where humans might try to take advantage of him for their own gain, then he deserved to be the first one he visits.
Luckily, the dragon hadn't been left alone, as he had feared, and it allowed him to see his mother and alleviate her own worries as she'd been camping out with him to keep him company, using ninneko to bring her work for the clan so she can stay here but be productive. The Uchiha Dragoness and their shared summon were indeed incredibly happy to see him, almost smothering him in their relief to see him up and about again. He spent an entire hour just letting his mother cuddle him while absently putting at Ryujin's jaw as they leaned against him, comforting them both with his presence. His Kaa-chan deserved to hug him as much as she wished given how scared she must have been to see one of her two remaining sons in whatever condition he had actually been in when they came upon Team Disaster.
After they finally let him go, his Kaa-chan shooed him back to the village, saying there were others that needed their share of reassuring that he was fine and that she'd be along shortly, just to pack up and say a quick farewell with their dragon. Madara gave him one last stroke and promised they could go gallivanting through the stars again once things calm a bit before taking his leave, heading straight for where he could feel biju chakra cozing up with Nekomata.
Matatabi was an interesting individual and he could see why Nekomata would be so fiercly fond of the feline. She and Madara hit it off immediately an she teased him about how good his choice in a mate was, since apparently Tobirama was one of her favorite humans ever. He spent some fifteen minutes with them before heading off to find his brother, still hanging out with Touka on what he soon realized was probably their first date. They didn't seem to mind him interrupting for a while, especially not if the way the Senju kunoichi actually hugged him fiercely was any indicator after Izuna let go of him from his own round of cuddles. Apparently, he really had scared them all quite a bit. He didn't intrude on them for long, despite them trying to make him stick around. This was Izuna's moment, one he'd been waiting for since he was still in the Academy and admiring Touka from afar. (Or relatively afar, given the Uchiha and Senju siblings and cousins tended to spend most of their days together when they can.)
He decided to take the streets instead of avoiding people, just to judge how everyone was taking the post-war world. He was pleasantly surprised to see how excited, relieved and pleased people were to see him walking around again. He'd always been popular, with his good looks and highly praised mind - even if he wasn't nearly as smart as Tobirama - but never before had people stopped what they were doing just to wave and smile at him. Some of the younger kids playing in the streets even squealed at the sight of him, giggling to themselves about seeing one of the heroes. He brushed it off and made his way back to the Uchiha Compound to check on his own people, his clan. They seemed to be doing fine and most of the officers were already back to work in the Konoha Military Police Force station.
He was pleasantly surprised to find his two favorite cousins as well as his sensei and the Namikaze-Uzumaki family helping Fugaku and Mikoto out with some paperwork and other jobs.
"Madara-sama," the adults and Hikaku greeted respectfully while the ever cheerful Kagami just waved at his Clan Heir. "It is a delight to see you up again. Are you sure you shouldn't be resting?" Mikoto asked, sounding worried even as young Menma cried out his name happily and launch his small body at one of his most favorite people in the whole world.
"I'm doing just fine, Mikoto. Tsunade-sama knows I'm here and she'll waylay anyone who tries to drag me back for more bed rest. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright. I'm glad to see everyone healthy."
Kushina-sama had no qualms about reaching out and dragging him into a hug, ruffling his already messy bed head. "We're all just fine and it 's all thanks to you, Mito and Tobirama. Your names are being sang in praises and prayers all over the continent, so I'd suggest not leaving the village for a while. You've probably got quite the fanclub, as though the one in Konoha wasn't bad enough."
Madara looked at her weirdly, not sure what she was talking about but Minato-sensei's chuckle drew his eyes to the blond, his sensei, his future Hokage. "I hear congratulations are in order, Minato-sensei. Or should I say Yondaime-sama?"
"Please, Madara-kun, as though I'd ever ask my cute little students to be so formal with me," the kind blond waved him off gently, warm blue eyes scanning him from head to toe for any signs of fatigue or new injuries. "I already see you three as my family. The bonds we share might not be of blood but they're just as strong. Besides, everyone knows I'm pretty much holding on to the position for you."
"Come now, Minato, don't be so harsh on yourself," Fugaku teased, sitting in his office chair and apparently not tiring his broken legs too much by letting his friends/family do the grunt work for once. Madara had to admit he'd been a good replacement for his Tou-san as the Captain of the KMP. Tajima had been all but born for it and it would seem he had trained his SIC more than well enough to take over should anything happen to him before one of his sons can take over or in the case none of them wished to. "I'm sure you'll make a fine Hokage."
"Shut up, Fu, you're only saying that to tease me. Mo was at least honest in his delight at watching me struggle under the paperwork," the Yellow Flash crossed his arms and employed the Tobirama Pout™️, completely unrepentant in how it made the passing secretary nearly trip over his feet when he glimpsed it.
"Sakumo takes too much after his uncle," the Captain could be heard grumbling under his breath while the women snickered over their husbands' behavior.
Madara left them to their day soon after, going over to the Senju Compound to check on Kira-sama, where he also found Sakumo-sensei, the two distant cousins for once sitting down together to drink tea, the man complaining about a pain in his lower back as a result from an injury in the war. The two Hatake welcomed him with open arms and expressed their well wishes for his full recovery before filling him in on the Orochimaru-Kabuto situation and the fact that Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Sasuke had been buried by proper Uchiha tradition, something he hadn't really even thought to ask about. The two snakes were put under lock and key deep underground in Konoha's prison and Mitarashi Anko herself kept an eye on them since she considered Orochimaru and his many misdeeds her responsibility, not accepting anyone's words otherwise. No one argued against her regarding her once apprentice and she didn't seem to mind.
Apparently, she'd made it a sport to terrify Kabuto daily by throwing her used up dango stick at him and mocked - read tortured - Orochimaru by bringing some of Tobirama's research notes down, not even bothering to read them and just keeping them there, where he can see them but not letting him read them. Tobirama had apparently even made her a copy of his Raijin no Ken notes so she can burn them in front of the Snake Sannin and watch him wail in despair over 'lost precious knowledge'.
Jiraiya surprised them by joining them for tea, leaning heavily against one of his toads when he appeared and complaining how he won't be field able for months due to a bad kink in his leg. He got off better than Rock Lee, who will be in a wheelchair for the rest of the year, if not longer, before he can use his leg muscles safely again. Doctors were apparently stunned he'd even survived or wasn't completely paralyzed, so he'd gotten off rather well from whatever injury that had worried them so.
Maito Dai and Hyuuga Boruto seem to have ended up in the hospital, too, but they should be fine. Shizune-san got them covered.
Madara stayed about two hours with the three white haired people just chatting before he managed to wrestle himself free, running into Hashirama on his way out of the Senju Main House. His best friend predictably let the waterworks flow even as he heartwrenchingly gently held Madara in what was apparently a much needed hug. Madara let him, even leaning against his slightly taller friend.
"I'm fine, you idiot. It'll take more than something as measly as that to take me down." Hashirama just laughed and let him pretend they hadn't all been in mortal danger the entire time, instead babbling away at how he'd spent his days in the last month. Madara let him in turn before bidding his farewells as he still had people to make sure were alright.
Unsurprisingly, he found Mito next, just where he thought he would.
Surprisingly, she wasn't enjoying the delicious smelling ramen despite standing in front of Ichiraku's.
Instead, the redhead smiled, wrapped him in a gentle, careful hug and wished him a welcome back to the land of the living. Then, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the main square, which reminded Madara of the 'surprise' Tsunade-sama had mentioned.
"Hashirama made it himself," she said before getting out of his way so he can see 'it' properly. His breath hitched in his chest, feeling overwhelmed even as Mito leaned against him, to support him and to find her own comfort after the long worry. The flares in her chakra told him she was inviting Tobirama to join them but he couldn't take his eyes off of the statue in front of him. "Aunt Kushina, of course, carved hundreds of preservation and stasis seals into the wood so it will never rot. The villagers seem to like it. Find comfort in it. It lets them know their best team will always be there to protect them and to inspire others to fight as fiercely as we did. Also, your uncle is making his way to Konoha with Kyoko-himesama and Mio-san since they've grown worried. Haku and Zabuza-san are escorting them."
Madara may as well not have heard her at all. He was seriously a bit too focused on the statue and he was a bit horrified to feel his eyes tear up.
It was them, Team Disaster in all its glory, carved in perfect detail in mokuton wood. The four of them, in their usual ninja garb, stood back to back, their characteristic weapons on display and even Kurama was there, as well as miniatures of their summons at their feet. Madara stared up at his own image, Tobirama to his left, Mito to his right, Minato-sensei at his back, all of their arms linked together in various positions. His likeliness had one hand reaching up and back over his shoulder, holding his beloved gunbai at his back, the right arm linked with Mito's left where she had a seal talisman held high in the air, his left arm linked with Tobirama's right that held a kunai dangling from his finger, his Hiraishin mark clearly carved into the handle. A miniature of Ryujin rose from his feet like he was ready to strike, Nekomata to his left and his new crow companion to his right. Even without color to the statue, it was clear his Sharingan was active and he was sure he'd find an uchiwa on his back under the billowing hair.
Mito on his right had her Kongo Fusa out, some hanging low at her feet, other's high over her head. Her right hand held her infamous tessen, angled in such a way that it linked with Minato-sensei's left hand that held a Rasengan practically resting on the wide open tessen. Her most loyal platypus summon, Peri-kun, sat at her feet, including the funny little hat he always wore. Mito's kimono shirt opened at her navel in the statue, allowing for the carving of her Jinchuriki seal to be clearly visible. Above all their heads, resting on the Kongo Fusa chains stood Kurama looking ready to attack any moment even if he was barely larger than a midsize dog. The nine fox tails identified him well enough, even without the slit pupil and the Bijudama forming in his mouth.
Minato-sensei's right hand was linked with Tobirama's left hand, Minato-sensei's favorite kunai held in threes between his fingers, a few toads resting at his feet. He had Sage Mode activated on the statue and seems to have acquired a trench coat with what appears to be flames at the bottom hems. Strapped to his back, hanging by the neck was what could easily be recognized as the cone Hokage hat, signaling to future generations that this was when he'd become the Yondaime. He had strapped to his waist the same bells on a string that he'd used for their test to pass into true gennin-hood, a symbol of Team Disaster's unbreakable bond.
Finally Tobirama, with the Raijin no Ken proudly held high at chest height in his left hand, had all the obvious markings of his Sage Mode on his face, even if the three red tattoos were carved deeper to stand out more. He had his favorite white fur collar around his neck, as usual, and at his feet stood none other than Kaida-sama herself, proud and regal as any snow leopard - or feline in general - should be. Litered around the Senju were clear depictions of his exploding tags, books and scrolls, one even open enough just to read Edo Tensei if one looks close enough. Madara nearly laughed when he realized Tobirama's usual scowl was in place.
Overall, the statue was magnificent and that's not even mentioning the dedication carved in the foundation. Konoha's Team Disaster, Our protectors, Our friends, Our Comrades. May their legend be eternal. He's pretty sure no Kage had ever gotten something like this.
"Madara!" Tobirama's call had him whipping around, the statue all but forgotten just as his lover barreled into him, nearly knocking him down. He wasn't even the one who caught them before they could fall over, probably wouldn't have even been able to if he'd tried. Tobirama did, though, and was shaking as he held him close. "Thank whatever gods you Uchiha respect that you're alright. We thought- I feared- I'm just glad you're okay, now!"
"Hey, now, relax. I'm fine. We're all fine," he whispered into white hair even as he leaned on Mito, letting her support them both. He dodged his head so he can kiss Tobirama's cheek, his jaw, under his ear, making the younger teen look up. "Everything is just fine. It's all over now, Tobirama. Though I am kind of hungry. Inarizushi?"
His teammates, his family laughed, the three of them once again all standing on their own feet, even if they didn't move enough away so that they weren't touching. It wouldn't be unusual for the people of Konoha to practically see them glued to the hips.
"Fine, but only this once," Mito relented, referring to the fact they mostly ate ramen when they went out for lunch. Madara just grinned and lead the way, pausing only long enough to drop a peck on Tobirama's lips before going back to singlemindedly leading his friends to the best place that sells heavenly inarizushi for him to enjoy.
He was aware that their story was far from over, that it had only just begun, but he can think about that tomorrow.
Today, he just wanted to enjoy this victory and live his life without a care in the world.
Tomorrow, Team Disaster can go back to business.
OWARI