Once Shingetsu realized Hashirama had played her, she wanted nothing to do with him. She stayed holed up in the clan compound for several days, refusing to come out.
Madara was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet. After kicking that nuisance Hashirama out, his world had become considerably quieter. Hashirama, however, was beside himself. He loitered outside the Uchiha Clan Compound every day, only to be unceremoniously chased away by Uchiha Hōkaku, the Konoha Fist Emperor. And so Hashirama, hanging his head like a large dog banished from home by its owner, became the Uchiha Clan's favorite target of ridicule.
Many peaceful days passed like this. But late one night, someone suddenly shook Shingetsu awake from a sound sleep. She opened her eyes groggily, only to find Hashirama's stupid face looming right in front of her.
"Shingetsu, wake up!"
Shingetsu glanced at the cold, bright moon outside the window, then at Hashirama's ingratiating face. After a long moment, she finally managed to force out a single word:
"Huh?"
"I've prepared a present for you! Hurry, or we'll miss it!"
Before Shingetsu could say anything, Hashirama scooped her out of bed, leaped nimbly off the second-floor balcony, and landed directly on the Wood Dragon's back. Too bewildered even to struggle, Shingetsu had only one thought circling through her head-
Why does everyone love jumping onto my balcony so much?
The Wood Dragon soared swiftly into the sky, soon leaving the Uchiha Clan Compound and all of Konoha far below. Shingetsu glanced down, instantly snapped awake, and shrank trembling into Hashirama's arms.
It was already late at night, and everything around them was silent. A cold wind swept damp mist over them. Even tucked into Hashirama's warm embrace, Shingetsu still felt freezing. Looking around at nothing but empty air, she felt