This was Yanbai's real goal

In the Senju Clan's Clan Grounds.

Beneath a night sky thick with clouds.

After dinner.

Yanbai went out for his routine walk.

The chilly evening breeze carried a hint of autumn.

"Kawarama, what's gotten into Yanbai today? Doesn't he usually drag me out for a walk?"

Hashirama Senju watched Yanbai lead Tobirama Senju outside by the hand and spoke to his younger brother beside him.

Senju Kawarama sighed. "Don't you come up with all sorts of excuses every day to avoid walking with Yanbai, big brother? Now that he's pestering Tobirama instead, you should be happy..."

Hashirama Senju scratched his head, looking conflicted. "Uh... I guess you're right!"

Ignoring Hashirama Senju's pointless remarks, Yanbai led Tobirama Senju farther away.

They crossed the residence's courtyard, and Yanbai led Tobirama Senju out through the main gate.

Tobirama Senju asked expressionlessly, "Aren't you going to explain things to our eldest brother? He might be upset."

"I already told him. I said I was going for a walk with you."

Yanbai looked baffled. What was there to explain? He had made it perfectly clear over dinner.

Tobirama Senju said nothing. He knew Yanbai must have something to discuss if he had specifically brought him out.

Still, Yanbai's treatment of Hashirama Senju had earned him a label in Tobirama Senju's mind: "lacking emotional intelligence."

There were no lights in front of the residence.

Their surroundings gradually sank into darkness.

The clansmen were all resting indoors. Not a soul was on the road outside, and only the chirping of insects and birds could be heard.

A breeze swept past, rustling the bamboo grove around the residence.

A strange feeling welled up inside Tobirama Senju. He had the urge to return to the residence immediately, but held himself back.

Tobirama Senju knew that if he walked away now, Yanbai would never come to him to discuss anything again.

Walking through surroundings that stirred such intense unease, Tobirama Senju spoke first. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

Yanbai stopped abruptly and turned to look at Tobirama Senju beside him. "Tobirama, can I trust you?"

Tobirama Senju answered almost instinctively, "Of course..."

Yet the moment he said it, Tobirama Senju had the unsettling feeling that he was about to be dragged into something against his will.

Yanbai spoke earnestly, every word full of trust.

But that was precisely why Tobirama Senju felt even more pressured.

The night deepened, and the darkness grew thicker.

Yanbai and Tobirama Senju stood facing each other, far from the clansmen's houses.

Yanbai stared at Tobirama Senju in the darkness, then suddenly leaned close and spoke into his ear in a calm, unhurried voice.

The more Tobirama Senju heard, the more tightly his brows knitted.

Yanbai spoke for a long time.

Throughout it, Tobirama Senju never interrupted him, though his expression changed countless times in quick succession.

Only after Yanbai finished did Tobirama Senju sigh. "Even if I object, you won't change your mind, will you?"

"No." Yanbai nodded.

In the end, Tobirama Senju said, "All right. I'll help you."

At that moment, Tobirama Senju understood.

That morning, Tobirama Senju had thought his "confession" had allowed him to reconcile with Yanbai.

He had never expected that less than half a day after their reconciliation, Yanbai would drag him into this.

The Clan Leader's Residence in the Uchiha Clan's Clan Grounds.

In the middle of the night.

The distant croaking of frogs and chirping of nocturnal insects reached his ears.

Madara Uchiha opened his eyes, startled awake by a nightmare.

He stared at the pitch-black ceiling, yet something felt wrong.

At some point, an intoxicating fragrance had begun to drift through the room.

Madara frowned the moment he caught its scent.

He seemed to have smelled that unusual fragrance before, but for the moment, he could not remember where.

Before long, as the fragrance enveloped the space above his head, Madara Uchiha grew tense.

Soon, Madara Uchiha sensed the scent drawing closer and was about to get up to face the intruder.

Then a familiar voice sounded above his head.

"Madara, do your wounds still hurt? I healed them all for you, didn't I?"

A voice as lilting as a nightingale's, accompanied by the scent of roses.

It's him...

Madara Uchiha's guarded expression crumbled instantly. He abruptly rolled over and sat up, staring at Yanbai, who had somehow appeared just behind where his head had been.

At that moment, Yanbai wore dark robes that nearly blended into the night.

Madara Uchiha lowered his voice. "What are you doing here?"

Honestly, Yanbai nearly scared me to death!

Wait!

This is deep inside the Uchiha Clan Compound. How did Yanbai get in?!

What Madara Uchiha found hardest to accept was that Yanbai had entered their Clan Grounds unscathed and appeared in his room without making a sound.

Yanbai blinked. "You were hurt, weren't you? I was worried about you."

Madara Uchiha covered his face, feeling a headache coming on. "How did you get in? Did anyone spot you?"

"I sent little animals to scout out your Clan Grounds ages ago. I have a way in, and nobody spotted me." Yanbai smiled. "There, all healed. I'll head back now."

With that, Yanbai moved to slip into the darkness.

"Hold on," Madara Uchiha said irritably.

What did Yanbai just say?

He sent little animals to scout the place out ages ago?

The more Madara Uchiha thought about it, the more frightening it became.

"What is it? Does something else hurt? Do you need healing?" Yanbai looked at Madara Uchiha in confusion.

Madara Uchiha: "..."

Nothing hurts, but...

Seeing that Madara Uchiha could not give him a reason, Yanbai said without any change in expression, "If you don't need healing, I'll get out of here."

"Don't go." Madara Uchiha still looked thoroughly frustrated. "Didn't you say you were grounded over that business with the clothes?"

"I'm still grounded. I asked my second brother to keep watch for me, so I have to get back by the time we agreed on." Yanbai wore a smile, his tone perfectly calm.

That evening, Yanbai had told Tobirama Senju that he had a chance of copying the Sharingan. He had also said that he wanted it very badly, and Tobirama Senju had agreed.

Most importantly, Tobirama Senju knew he could not beat Yanbai in a fight, and that telling their father would ruin his relationship with him.

Out of his acceptance of Yanbai and confidence in him, Tobirama Senju had decided to cooperate.

Madara Uchiha looked at the smiling Yanbai and lowered his voice in irritation. "It's too dangerous. I don't need you to heal me. These wounds will heal on their own if I take my time recovering. They won't kill me! Why would you go this far?"

Yanbai thought to himself, Isn't it obvious? While Madara's injured, I can use "worrying about him" as an excuse to come touch him and make it seem perfectly reasonable.

Uh... though I still haven't managed to get the Uchiha bloodline by touching him.

This bloodline is really playing hard to get.

Yanbai thought that when the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan faced off in battle, he would ask his eldest brother Hashirama to beat Madara within an inch of his life. Then he would sneak over at midnight to "heal" him.

Hashirama would take the blame, while Yanbai got to play the angel.

He would keep at it until he obtained the Uchiha Clan's bloodline through touch.

Although he could do without the Sharingan, Yanbai really could not accept having touched him so many times with nothing to show for it.

Besides that, he also needed to obtain Indra's chakra before he would have a chance of awakening the Rinnegan.

"I didn't think that much about it." Yanbai gave an all-purpose answer, then added, "You know it's dangerous for me to stay here, so stop holding me up. I'm leaving now. I'll come hang out with you again next time."

With that, Yanbai waved goodbye, swiftly slipped out the window, and vanished into the night.

Madara Uchiha: "..."

Next time... please don't come again...

That night, Madara Uchiha could not sleep. He fully understood Hashirama Senju's earlier fear of Yanbai. His compulsive tendencies would not let him sleep...