"Y-you two, what are you going to do?"
The Senju brothers closed in step by step, their towering figures blocking most of the light and making Shingetsu's petite frame look even more delicate.
Seeing these two obviously ill-intentioned men not only staring at her but also surrounding her like a pair of fearsome demons, Shingetsu trembled in terror. Even her voice began to shake.
Master, hurry up and save me!
"Whoa, whoa, don't cry! We're not bad guys!"
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Hashirama Senju hurriedly pulled the candy jar he had prepared from his pocket and stuffed it into Shingetsu's tiny hands. An exaggerated, ingratiating smile spread across his slightly stiff face.
"Look, Konpeito!"
"We just want to talk to you about a few things."
Tobirama got straight to the point. He could see perfectly well that Shingetsu was only pretending to be about to cry. Only an idi-an honest man like his big brother would let a little girl like her run circles around him.
"Talk? About what?"
Shingetsu opened the jar, poured out a few pieces of sweet Konpeito, and tossed them into her mouth, chewing contentedly like a little hamster. Overwhelmed by her cuteness, Hashirama cheerfully scooped her into his arms.
"A few matters concerning Konoha's policies."
"Are you serious? I'm only five!"
Shingetsu blinked in bewilderment. She could understand those Uchiha idiots, whose political intelligence generally hovered around zero, coming to her with questions like this. But why was Tobirama Senju joining in? If even matters this important had to be put to a five-year-old brat, did Konoha really have a future?
"Five isn't that young."
Without the slightest shame at exploiting child labor, Tobirama replied calmly:
"Back when we were still at war, children from shinobi clans went to the battlefield at