The fragrance of food drifted through the Princess Mausoleum.
A wolf guarding the area stopped beneath a nearby tree and sniffed the air, moonlight and the trees casting dappled shadows over its gray fur.
A breeze carried the scent of a human.
That faint human scent mingled with the rich fragrance of roses, roast meat, wild boars, foxes, rats, all manner of plants and animals, and, of course, wolves.
The scents of happiness and death lurked in the night breeze.
Before long, a few little rats dragged over a cloth bundle, bringing the wolf its dinner.
The animals in this forest that possessed spirituality all shared what they had, thanks to that person's presence.
Animals without spirituality stood at the very bottom of the food chain, prey for everyone else.
The wolf's paws were a little damp and as hard as stone. It greeted the delivery crew, then began to eat.
Inside the inner chambers of the Princess Mausoleum.
In the dining room.
Madara Uchiha sat at the dining table.
Muye and Silver Moon had returned that day, so Yanbai had not set the meal out in the narrow corridor, nor was alcohol the only thing on the menu anymore.
Although Muye and Silver Moon were both grown, they were still children in Yanbai's eyes, and they still needed proper meals.
"Come sit down and eat, children."
Yanbai set the last dish on the table, then took out a lunch box and began packing a meal for Sasori, who was still working.
The first dish was a soup made with fish from Konoha's river. The steaming broth was milky white, fragrant with white radish and scallions.
Next came sweet, crispy chicken brushed with sugarcane juice and roasted over sugarcane pulp, Squirrel Fish, Matsutake-Stuffed Meat Rolls, Golden Shrimp Balls, egg rolls,