A light drizzle soaked his splendid robes.
It was summer rain, yet it was as cold as snow.
Moisture hung all around him, and the rain chilled the back of his neck.
Racing through the mist-laden air, Yanbai reached the place where he had arranged to meet Madara Uchiha.
It was a Cherry Blossom Grove near the Naka River.
It was a paradise the little animals of the Forest had planted for Yanbai.
Yanbai walked into the Cherry Blossom Grove.
Cherry blossoms bloomed here year-round, not because time had stopped, but because the grove was planted with cherry trees that flowered at different times. There were always some in bloom.
The place resembled an untamed woodland, overgrown with weeds and as silent as the wilderness.
There were no children's voices, no traces of human life.
Yanbai carefully sniffed the rain-washed air, then suddenly stopped in a clearing. He closed his eyes, and wisps of white mist began rising around him. The steaming moisture fled his body like startled animals, leaving everything on him dry in an instant.
To avoid having to do it again, Yanbai stood beneath a thick canopy of leaves.
Before long, a dark figure approached from afar, appearing before Yanbai like the wind with the Body Flicker Technique. It was Madara Uchiha, dressed in black robes.
On this rainy day, white mist shrouded their surroundings.
At dusk, the Cherry Blossom Grove looked like clusters of rosy clouds.
Madara looked calmly at Yanbai and said softly, "I heard about your father. I'm sorry."
Though every glimpse of Yanbai made Madara feel as if his heart were about to stop beating, he still tried to appear calm so he would not lose his composure.
Then, once Yanbai turned and left, that overwhelming joy and sense of cherishing him would