moor

"who knows Madara better than Izuna (and vis versa)?"

DING DING DING. YOU GOT IT!!!!! There's SO MUCH happening between the brothers as they grow up and learn and learn from EACH OTHER.

I know it's a brutal awakening for Izuna in this scene, to move from having a crush on someone who is universally shared between and respected by all of them (which kept them all in line), to understanding that Madara broke away from that group at some point; Madara did something *different* and *away* from his brothers. Madara stepped beyond the boundary Izuna thought they'd all been mostly happy to respect and keep in place. And Sakura had *let* Madara do it. I feel like this is what blew Izuna's mind--that he and Madara were no longer equals in this, any longer. Madara had moved forward and done something without him--intentionally excluded him, even. That's hard for a younger brother to accept, especially one like Izuna who idolises Madara.

Thank you so much for reading, Birk. <3 I hope you're enjoying yourself and doing well <3 I miss you.