Early that morning, after sending Cherry Ink to deliver some "warmth" to Madara Uchiha, Yanbai learned that he could not "touch" a skill out of someone unless he treated them in person.
After that, Yanbai stopped thinking about Madara Uchiha.
With that done, Yanbai went to the outskirts of the Clan Grounds and talked some wild chickens out of a nestful of eggs.
He held the eggs up to the sunlight, picked out the ones that could hatch into chicks, wrapped them in cloth, and put them in his basket.
Basket in hand, Yanbai headed for the chicken coop.
When Tobirama Senju came striding back from outside, he happened to see Yanbai carrying his basket toward the coop.
Tobirama Senju was in a terrible mood after what had just happened, and he silently followed Yanbai.
Keeping his distance, Tobirama Senju followed Yanbai into the chicken coop.
Among the eighty-odd chickens, the two hens with spiritual awareness were nestled together.
The two chickens took turns going, "Cluck, cluck, cluck..."
Tobirama Senju had no idea what the two hens were talking about, but they looked quite happy.
Then Yanbai smiled and greeted the two hens.
"Good morning, Harusame and Natsumi."
When the two hens saw Yanbai appear with his basket, they huddled up tightly and stared at him in bewilderment.
Yanbai crouched in front of them and set the basket beside him.
Yanbai took two eggs from the basket and placed them in front of one hen, saying with a smile, "Harusame, here are the two eggs I borrowed from you a few days ago."
The hen named Harusame immediately used his beak to carefully tuck the two eggs beneath his feathers, then settled down firmly over them.
Beside him, Natsumi tilted her head in utter bewilderment. "????"
Had Yanbai really come to return the eggs?
"Natsumi, see that? Harusame is so nice. He lends me eggs every day. You should do the same. Lend me an egg today, and I'll return it tomorrow." (Lend me an egg without a chick inside today, and tomorrow I'll return one packed with a baby...)
Yanbai stroked Natsumi's comb, her beak, and her cheeks with his slender fingers.
The petting only left Natsumi the hen even more bewildered.
Then Yanbai suddenly slipped his hand beneath the bewildered hen's feet and took out the egg Natsumi had just laid, saying, "It's a deal. I'm borrowing it today, and I'll return it tomorrow. Got that?"
Natsumi: "Cluck, cluck, cluck (Got it)..."
Yanbai solemnly stroked Natsumi's head. "Thanks for your hard work, Natsumi."
The two chickens thought Yanbai was quite trustworthy, and both rubbed their cheeks against the pale back of his hand.
Tobirama Senju stood at the entrance to the chicken coop, utterly speechless.
Unbelievable!
Every day, Yanbai swindled eggs from these hens, then went outside the Clan Grounds to sweet-talk the wild chickens, promising their children a friendly, harmonious, warm environment to grow up in. Then he used those wild chicken and bird eggs to fool the hens in the coop all over again.
And those chickens actually believed him?
Tobirama Senju had been quite angry and had struggled to suppress the urge to confront Yanbai outright.
But now, faced with this absurd scene, all the scolding Tobirama Senju had prepared vanished. He even felt like laughing.
How could someone as devious as Yanbai possibly be fooled by the Uchiha Clan?
Surely the Uchiha Clan were the ones being fooled?
Those clothes, those rice balls, those things that could heal injuries... they were all bait, weren't they?
If Yanbai really did do something, Tobirama Senju felt that the Uchiha Clan would be the ones suffering for it.
Honestly... Yanbai wasn't a big oaf like my older brother Hashirama. All that worry for nothing...
Tobirama Senju covered his face. He suspected Yanbai disliked having him tag along because he could see through Yanbai's true nature.
Yanbai was afraid of exposing his true nature, which was why he disliked having his "smartest" second brother follow him.
Yanbai had noticed Tobirama Senju as soon as he started following him.
But he watched Tobirama Senju go from expressionless to conflicted, then cover his face as if he had thought of something so embarrassing that he could not face anyone.
Yanbai: "????"
What was wrong with that sneaky bastard Tobirama?
Hmm... Tobirama hadn't said anything, so I might as well pretend I hadn't noticed.
After returning the eggs, Yanbai arranged today's "borrowed" eggs in the basket's "egg" section. He wrapped the eggs in the "baby" section in cloth and feathers, saving them to "return" to Harusame and Natsumi next time.
When he reached the coop entrance, Yanbai smiled and greeted Tobirama Senju. "Second Brother, I'm heading to the kitchen."
Tobirama Senju folded his arms, raised an eyebrow, and gave a cool nod. "Ah... go ahead."
Yanbai shot Tobirama Senju a puzzled glance. Hmm, he really had nothing to say to me, right? If not, I'm leaving.
Yanbai left without a care. He delivered most of the eggs to the communal kitchen at the Clan Grounds and kept a few to take back to his own kitchen.
After putting the eggs away, Yanbai did not sit idle. He went to check on the dogs that guarded the property.
Tobirama Senju still had not left and continued watching Yanbai from a distance.
A pack of little puppies were fighting, which was a common occurrence.
Normally, nobody in the Clan Grounds bothered with something so trivial.
But Yanbai was not just anybody.
Yanbai walked over and separated the puppies.
Yanbai kept chattering, sounding as though he was talking to himself, yet also as though he was genuinely chatting with the dogs.
"What are you lot up to now? Stop fighting... oh... you didn't sleep last night?"
"Oh... is that what happened? The scent of strangers scared you. Have those strangers left? Good, as long as they're gone. Why don't you get some sleep now..."
"Huh? Seriously? You're already this big, and you still need someone to coax you to sleep?"
It was a soothing sight. Many clan members put down their work when they saw Yanbai start playing with the dogs and quietly gathered to watch.
Everyone wore a kindly expression.
They watched Yanbai cradle the puppies' heads and rock them back and forth, humming a gentle song.
In less than ten seconds, all the puppies had tipped their heads back and rolled belly-up, lying flat like humans and sleeping like the dead. If not for their snoring, the onlookers would have thought the dogs had died.
Tobirama Senju silently looked at the clan members around him. Warm smiles filled their faces, as though Yanbai's simple, heartwarming actions had soothed them.
For people worn down by war, such happy, ordinary moments were rare...
If only there were no war.
An environment without war, where children did not have to take up weapons.
As that thought flooded Tobirama Senju's mind, something seemed to occur to him, and everyone and everything around him receded into the distance.
Countless words circled through Tobirama Senju's mind.
The Senju Clan... the Uchiha Clan... reconciliation... restraints imposed by rules... after a few generations...
After an unknown length of time, his surroundings returned. Tobirama Senju stared at Yanbai's small back as he held the cats and dogs, unable to help wondering, Could Yanbai be showing goodwill to the Uchiha Clan for the sake of reconciliation?
Tobirama Senju recalled the two Uchiha he had seen that morning. Perhaps it was already having an effect...
Before you continue