High above the Ferris wheel...
"Madara... um... when can we get off this thing...?" Hashirama trembled, his face buried against Madara's lower stomach as he clung to Madara's thigh and asked in a quavering voice.
He had thought he would be fine, since he used to stand on top of his enormous Buddha without any trouble. But once he got up here, he realized he had been wrong... Back then, he had usually been busy fighting on top of the Buddha and had never spared a thought for what was below him. This was different...
"...Let go." A vein bulged faintly on Madara's forehead...
"No... when is this thing going back down...?" Hashirama hastily shook his head and buried his face even deeper...
Just as Madara was about to resort to physical force to get Hashirama off him...
"Didi Call-for-Backup would like to remind you that you have a new order."
"Madara, I have to go to work. Sorry, I can't stay with you!" Hashirama sprang to his feet, gazing up at the sky with a solemn expression as he declared firmly.
Madara stared, dumbfounded...
Then Hashirama shoved the cabin door open and leaped out. A few flips and a Body Flicker Technique later, he vanished...
Kirigakure...
"Juzo Biwa, heh, heh. Are you sure you want to fight me?" An eleven- or twelve-year-old boy looked scornfully at the boy before him.
"Jinpachi Munashi, you're pretty cocky today. Feeling confident?" Juzo asked with a sneer.
"Heh, heh. I might as well tell you. A big bro of mine in Kirigakure's ANBU is coming back from his mission today. Across from school after class—got the guts to show up?" Jinpachi chuckled twice.
"Calling in backup? You think I'm scared?" Juzo looked disdainful, but inside, he was panicking...
Jinpachi had a big bro