Junlin stared at Izuna, utterly speechless.
All right, he understood why now.
Perhaps everyone back then had thought Yanbai belonged to Madara, so no one dared covet him. Even if the thought crossed their minds, they quickly put a stop to it.
After all, very few people could beat Lord Madara.
But Yanbai had still had far too great an influence on the way they thought.
It was just like how, with Yanbai's example before them, no one now dared volunteer to become Hokage, afraid they would be dragged out and compared to him.
Never mind how well they actually did.
After enough comparisons, forget going your own way and letting others talk. When the gap was that enormous, any normal person's confidence would crumble.
And that wasn't all. If they used Yanbai as their standard for a partner, finding a wife really would be difficult.
There was only one Yanbai in the world.
Yanbai had beauty, which could improve their children's looks;
His gentleness and understanding could improve the emotional well-being of both his partner and their family;
Yanbai was also strong enough that no one needed to worry about him being bullied or killed;
Yanbai was someone who could make people feel safe.
Being with Yanbai meant never having to worry about the strain of poverty or enemies coming to their door.
Yanbai wouldn't be bullied. It was already a blessing if he didn't bully others.
But women who were beautiful, powerful, considerate toward their husbands, good-tempered, and able to earn money were truly rare.
Meeting one or two of those conditions was already quite good. Meeting all of them was simply too difficult.
Especially since women who excelled at everything generally had a temper. Without one, they seemingly couldn't become all that strong either.
Once a woman's