At the highest point of the Konoha Ninja Academy.
The clamor outside mingled with the chirping of cicadas and the distant tinkling of wind chimes, drifting through the window lattice on the night breeze.
Tobirama Senju stood before the remodeled window and glanced at the brightly lit Konoha Shinobi Village. He turned slightly to look at Yanbai, who sat behind his desk with his legs crossed.
As the academy's principal, he had a tremendous workload. Besides compiling textbooks, he also had to personally keep track of the children's studies and their physical and mental well-being.
Years of using Multiple Shadow Clones to handle several demanding tasks at once, combined with his advancing age, had left Tobirama Senju's health in steady decline.
The world's corrections naturally played a part in this as well.
Having escaped death at the hands of the brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku at the originally appointed time, Tobirama Senju had already lived many extra years.
"What brings you here so late, Yanbai... cough, cough, cough..."
Tobirama Senju spoke slowly, but as he talked, he involuntarily raised a hand to cover his mouth and began coughing. A twisting pain seized his lungs, and he clutched the fabric over his chest, his entire body trembling.
Dressed in black robes, Yanbai rolled his eyes. "What else would it be? I'm here to heal you, obviously. Look at you-you sound like you have consumption."
The words "heal you" brought Tobirama Senju helplessly back to his childhood.
Back then, Yanbai had chased after his eldest brother, Hashirama, like a lunatic, while showing nothing but disdain for him, the second brother.
Now Tobirama Senju was receiving the same treatment his eldest brother once had.
No... in fact, Yanbai had treated him this way when Tobirama Senju first began researching the Flying Thunder God Technique,