Let me straighten that out for you

"Hmm... but becoming stronger than everyone else is pretty hard."

Madara Uchiha stared ahead expressionlessly, though he sounded somewhat relieved as he said, "Your little sister is right. Opinions from weak people are no different from barking. Without strength, you can only accept the rules laid down by the strong."

A smile crept onto Hashirama Senju's face as he recalled what Yanbai had been doing around the Clan Grounds lately.

Singing to animals, taking kittens out to release them...

It all looked incredibly idiotic, but it never failed to make people laugh, as though even their gloom could be eased.

"It's incredible. I thought my little sister was the only person in this world who understood how I felt. I never expected you would, too..." Hashirama Senju said wistfully. "Just like my little sister said, we're... foolish children who want to change this world of war."

"Were you really born to the same parents?" Madara Uchiha pondered for a while. "You have decent taste in clothes, yet you say your little sister made them. But your hairstyle is unbelievably lame."

Hashirama Senju scratched his head foolishly and said, "My little sister said a stupid hairstyle like this would make me seem approachable, like an idiot. Look at you. Didn't you end up hanging out with me?"

Madara Uchiha: "..."

Sure enough, I still really want to... beat him until he cries...

"Brother Zetsu~ come on out~ come on out already~"

Yanbai sang to the plants in the vegetable patch.

Tobirama Senju stood behind Yanbai, looking utterly speechless.

Unless Yanbai spoke to him first, Tobirama Senju wanted nothing to do with him.

To the civilians who helped farm the Clan Grounds, Yanbai's antics were simply the sort of thing children often did while learning to talk: either singing or endlessly babbling to themselves.

In fact, because Yanbai was so good-looking and his melodies were pleasant, everyone was very tolerant of his behavior.

Tobirama Senju, however, thought Yanbai's antics were downright moronic.

If he hadn't needed to keep a close watch on Yanbai, Tobirama Senju wouldn't have wanted anyone to know this idiot was his little sister.

Tobirama Senju believed Yanbai was trying to drive him away with those embarrassing antics.

If he refused to leave, Yanbai would soon find some other way to disgust him.

Sure enough...

That afternoon, Yanbai stopped singing. He stared at Tobirama Senju for a full seven or eight minutes, feeling his face and examining his teeth.

Then Yanbai said solemnly, "Brother Tobirama, I know why you can't smile."

Tobirama Senju's brow twitched as he stared silently at Yanbai.

He knew it. Yanbai had come up with another trick to torment him.

Yanbai continued, "There's something wrong with the nerves on one side of your face."

Tobirama Senju frowned at that. He didn't quite understand, but he knew better than to engage with an unfamiliar theory, or Yanbai would lead him around by the nose.

"Second Brother, you never chew with the teeth on your left side, do you?" Yanbai asked, tilting his head.

Tobirama Senju finally couldn't help asking, "How did you know?"

Yanbai said very seriously, "Your upper and lower teeth on the left don't line up. They can't bite together."

Tobirama Senju rolled his eyes. So that was it.

Tobirama Senju didn't want to continue the conversation. So what if his teeth couldn't bite together? As long as it didn't kill him.

But Yanbai didn't stop there. He continued, "If you keep not using your left teeth, your face will become asymmetrical. That will affect your facial bones, then your facial nerves. You'll find you can't open your mouth or smile. You might even lose all facial expression."

Tobirama Senju: "..."

So what? As long as it doesn't kill me.

Why would a ninja need so many expressions anyway?

Yanbai continued, "And that's not all. Once your bones are affected, the bones in this area will affect other parts of your body, too. Your potential will be limited, and your physical strength will suffer some side effects."

Just as Tobirama Senju was about to tell Yanbai to stop.

"Don't worry, Second Brother. I'll straighten them out for you." A radiant smile spread across Yanbai's childish face.

Tobirama Senju's eyes widened. "I, no..."

Bam!

Before Tobirama Senju could finish, he saw Yanbai's eyes flash with blue-green light as he shot out a hand and punched him hard.

The entire courtyard fell deathly silent.

Caught completely off guard, Tobirama Senju felt his whole body lift into the air as the scenery around him moved forward.

His body cast a heavy black shadow across the sun-scorched ground.

In that instant, Tobirama Senju tasted the metallic sweetness of blood.

Several hard objects flew from Tobirama Senju's mouth. They were teeth covered in blood, flying away as though desperate to escape his mouth.

"Aah!"

Pain surged through Tobirama Senju's mouth, and he clutched his left cheek.

Tobirama Senju looked up in shock.

Only to find Yanbai approaching him with measured steps.

He instantly healed the injury to Tobirama's left cheek, and the knocked-out teeth grew back.

Just like that, Yanbai had straightened Tobirama Senju's crooked teeth.

"Why...?"

Although the injury had healed instantly, Tobirama Senju could still feel the delayed, lingering agony.

It was unbelievable.

Tobirama Senju's mind was in turmoil.

No way.

This can't be real, can it?

Was Yanbai going to keep beating him up, healing him, then beating him up and healing him again?

"You can feel it, right, Brother Tobirama? Both sides are symmetrical now."

Yanbai's smile was warm and gentle, but at that moment, Tobirama Senju became keenly aware of the gap in strength between himself and his young little sister.

Of course. If Yanbai could easily dodge their father Butsuma's attacks, how could he possibly be weak, pitiful, and helpless?

That was nothing but Yanbai's disguise!

Before, Yanbai hadn't been able to find a reasonable excuse to beat him up.

Now... Yanbai had found one.

Looking at Yanbai's satisfied smile, Tobirama Senju suddenly had an ominous premonition.

What followed proved Tobirama Senju's ominous premonition correct.

"Second Brother, there's something wrong with your shoulder blade. Let me straighten that out for you..."

After that, Tobirama Senju's screams rang incessantly through the courtyard.

Many passing clan members were startled enough to come in and look, but once they saw Yanbai treating Tobirama Senju, they simply assumed Tobirama Senju was undergoing some brutal form of training.

After this happened a few times.

No one came anymore when they heard Tobirama Senju scream again.

"Second Brother, your legs aren't the same length. Let me straighten that out for you..."

"Second Brother, your XXX hasn't developed properly. Let me straighten that out for you..."

In just one hour, Tobirama Senju was beaten to a pulp and healed countless times.

Tobirama Senju had no idea whether his strength had improved, but his looks certainly improved by leaps and bounds. After all those "corrections," he finally looked more like Yanbai's biological older brother.

After Yanbai finished beating up Tobirama Senju, Itama Senju and Senju Kawarama, who had been watching the fun in the courtyard, weren't spared either.

"Brothers, your XXX haven't developed properly. Let me straighten those out for you..."

All three older brothers who had stayed home were "corrected" by Yanbai several times.

At dusk.

When Hashirama Senju bid farewell to his dear friend, returned to the Clan Grounds, and pushed open the door to his home, his three younger brothers immediately rushed toward him.

The three children cried in unison, "Big Brother, hurry up and take Yanbai away!"

Hashirama Senju: "????"