By the time their conversation on Hokage Rock ended, the sky had darkened.
Yanbai drew Madara Uchiha into Dream Illusion, then let him out again.
Madara Uchiha knew they had to leave because it was getting late, but he still wanted more.
With their meeting for the day officially over, they headed back toward their respective clan grounds. Along the way, Madara Uchiha suddenly recalled the details of his eavesdropping trip with Yanbai.
In the past, Yanbai had never left any traces when he did something underhanded.
Today, however, he had left behind their eavesdropping equipment... Frankly, Madara was certain Yanbai was plotting something.
"You deliberately left evidence for Hashirama and the others just now. They'll realize we were there listening in." Madara Uchiha finally couldn't resist asking.
"I was just letting my brother know that I'm on your side," Yanbai said as he looked around.
At those words, Madara Uchiha smiled without replying.
Madara found it remarkable. When they were young, Yanbai's words and actions had been infuriating, but because he was always quietly doing things for everyone, they all treated his aggravating behavior as unintentional and could only willingly put up with the torment.
Yet, at some point, Yanbai's words had begun to make Madara Uchiha feel happy through and through.
Even if Madara was brooding one moment, Yanbai could coax him into bubbling with joy the next.
When he was with Yanbai, Madara Uchiha didn't need to hide his true self or force himself to tolerate anything.
What Madara Uchiha didn't know, however, was that after cheering him up, Yanbai's heart remained heavy despite his smile.
After parting ways with Madara Uchiha, Yanbai returned to his room.
He still couldn't extract Indra's chakra through touch, and he had given up.
Taking Madara Uchiha's blood and transfusing it