It was late at night in Konoha Shinobi Village.
A soft blue glow lingered over the streets.
It came from Artificial Night Pearls and wind-powered streetlights.
The Hokage Building remained Konoha Shinobi Village's landmark.
Even after decades, the building that towered into the clouds still left visitors from home and abroad awestruck.
The streets of Konoha Shinobi Village were as quiet as a corpse.
All the bustle had been taken over by the Hot Springs Bathhouse beside Konoha Shinobi Village.
After decades of expansion, the Hot Springs Bathhouse had grown enormous. Many Nobles of the Land of Fire lived there long-term, enjoying extravagant luxury that ordinary people would never see in their entire lives.
High above the Hot Springs Bathhouse, a few fools with money and time to spare paid Didi Beast-Ride's flying Ninja Beasts to carry them around in circles, just to experience air travel.
At the top of the Hokage Building, one could look down over all of Konoha.
Yanbai stood atop the building, with two figures in hooded cloaks beside him.
"Konoha has changed so much. Has it really only been that long?"
A hoarse voice rang out, like the wail of a ghost that had crawled out of the Abyss of hell.
Yanbai smiled faintly. "Yes. Many other places in the Land of Fire have changed, too. Konoha is practically an antique by comparison. You should get out more."
"Yanbai... You menace, you actually lived this long. I had a feeling you would, but seeing it with my own eyes is still quite a shock."
The hoarse voice spoke sharply. "Did you wake me through Impure World Reincarnation at a time like this just to comfort my departed soul? That isn't your style."
As he spoke, his hooded head trembled slightly, then turned toward the other