The next morning.
Dawn had barely broken, and not even the first bird had called, when Tobirama Senju sat on the edge of his bed with a miserable expression, nowhere near rested enough.
He rubbed between his brows in agony.
The task ahead of him was a journey so absurdly long that even a horse would cough up blood at the thought of it, traveling for days and nights while eating and sleeping out in the open. And the sole purpose of this ordeal was to reach the Akatsuki Ninja Village and attend the funeral of Uchiha Madara, that Naturally Evil old Uchiha bastard.
Back in the Warring States Period, when he had been a young man in his twenties or thirties, even a glance at the map for a journey of this scale would have given Tobirama Senju a headache. But at least he had been young then, vigorous and sturdy enough to grit his teeth and run for days and nights.
And now?
He was old!
Over the past few years, Tobirama Senju had spent his days facing endless paperwork and disputes over the various clans' interests. He had also spent day and night holed up in his underground laboratory, tinkering with the development of forbidden techniques that consumed enormous amounts of energy. All of it had long since drained his body dry.
Yet even so, Tobirama Senju still had to steel himself and personally accompany his headstrong, willful big brother on this trip.
As a result, Tobirama Senju was in an absolutely foul mood.
Especially when he walked out of his room with a dark expression and immediately spotted his big brother in the courtyard. His foul mood reached its peak.
Hashirama Senju had already changed into understated casual clothes suited for stealth. He even had a