A familiar presence

It began to rain.

Soft threads of rain fell like needle points.

The wind was gentle, the rain fine and icy cold.

The untended courtyard was already shrouded in a dreamlike veil of moisture-a fine drizzle easily mistaken for mist.

Date Yuzhi passed through the open gates of the Senju Clan's Clan Leader's Residence, and damp blades of grass closed around him.

Washed by the rain, every plant in the courtyard glimmered faintly.

The sight was so wondrous that Date Yuzhi couldn't help taking a few more looks.

Date Yuzhi stood in the courtyard for a moment, surveying his surroundings.

Just as he was about to move on, Date Yuzhi suddenly sensed someone entering the courtyard.

Looking closely, Date Yuzhi saw two children approaching from ahead, neither very young nor quite grown.

They were a boy and a girl, both with silver hair and red eyes.

The boy's silver hair was cropped short, while the girl wore hers in two ponytails.

They dressed alike and looked remarkably similar.

The outdoor light fell across the side hems of their elegant green robes, spreading like ripples over the lustrous fabric.

Above those fine robes were youthful, flawless faces, deep, bright eyes, and delicate, gentle brows...

The boy's face was cold, but the girl's smile was radiant.

Despite their striking resemblance, their temperaments were polar opposites.

The silver-haired boy and girl approached and passed Date Yuzhi in silence.

As they brushed past, both children gave Date Yuzhi a slight nod of greeting.

Date Yuzhi hurriedly nodded back.

At that moment, the Senju Clan Shinobi leading the way suddenly called, "Lord Yuzhi... Lord Yuzhi?"

The Senju Clan guide was named Maki. He had already walked some distance ahead, but when he realized Date Yuzhi had stopped, he retraced his steps.

"Ah... Those two just now were..." Date Yuzhi couldn't resist asking.

"They are the Clan Leader's two children. Lord Yuzhi, the Clan Leader is already inside. Please come this way."

Date Yuzhi concealed his embarrassment with a smile. "It's rare to see such adorable children. How rude of me."

The corner of Maki's mouth twitched. Even if Yuzhi admitted he had been stunned by Yanbai's beauty, Maki wouldn't have found it strange. Everyone had experienced that.

Still, Date Yuzhi was their patron, so Maki couldn't expose him to his face. He could only chuckle twice before saying, "I'll take you to see the Clan Leader."

"Sorry for the trouble." Maintaining his aristocratic manners, Date Yuzhi bowed slightly to Maki.

With an unspoken understanding, the two continued on their way.

Meanwhile, Yanbai and Tobirama Senju had already left the residence.

"Yanbai, that's the patron who wants to work with the Senju Clan-Yuzhi, heir to the Date House, which rules the Land of Pines," Tobirama Senju said coldly. "Supposedly, they sent Yuzhi himself to invite us over as a sign of respect."

Yanbai's smile remained unchanged. "The little animals told me that Yuzhi came here seeking refuge. All the Date House's male heirs set out together, but some third-rate ninjas attacked them on the way. Yuzhi calmly used several of his younger brothers as shields. That's how he made it to the Senju Clan alive."

At that, Tobirama Senju abruptly stopped and looked at Yanbai with a frown. "What?"

Yanbai glanced around before quietly explaining the situation to Tobirama Senju.

At the start of the dispute between Saionji and the Date House, the Date House had been the side under invasion, forced onto the defensive.

Last time, internal strife within the Saionji House had caused the lords of both houses to suspend hostilities.

Earlier, Butsuma Senju had followed Yanbai's plan and ended the war through underhanded means.

The Uchiha Clan weren't fools. Of course they knew the Hagoromo Clan had been framed.

But so what?

The Uchiha Clan weren't saints, and they had no obligation to save the Hagoromo Clan.

Instead, the Uchiha Clan had learned from Yanbai's ruthlessness and hired assassins to kill their enemy's patron.

Rather than act themselves, the Uchiha Clan directly hired other Shinobi to do it, which was still enough to make life miserable for the Date House.

To stay alive, Zhixing, head of the Date House, had to seek the Senju Clan's help again.

The Uchiha Clan's vicious reputation was well known. The Date House feared they would all be wiped out before the Senju Clan arrived.

That was why they had sent the eldest son, Yuzhi, with all the male heirs to fetch the Senju Clan. But the journey was perilous, and only Yuzhi had survived.

"The tactful version: we respect the Senju Clan."

"The blunt version: we want the Senju Clan to protect us."

Tobirama Senju's brow furrowed. "This Yuzhi is despicable."

Yanbai gave a wicked smile. "All his younger brothers are dead, right?"

"What do you mean?" Tobirama Senju shot Yanbai a sideways glance.

Then Yanbai said, "The animals rescued two of his younger brothers. One was Haizhi, and the other was Sencang."

"You saved them?" Tobirama Senju looked at Yanbai in bewilderment. "You're planning something..."

"How could I be? They died of their wounds." Yanbai chuckled. "I didn't save them, but I memorized both their faces. If this Yuzhi disgusts me, I'll have someone's face 'corrected' to look like one of his dead brothers and let him fight Yuzhi for the inheritance. Or if Yuzhi happens to die on the return journey, I'll find someone to impersonate Haizhi or Sencang and inherit the Land of Pines in their place. There's no way we'll fail the mission."

Tobirama Senju was speechless for quite a while before saying, "In other words, my elder brother and the others are certain to encounter danger while traveling with Yuzhi this time."

"As long as the assassins aren't members of the Uchiha Clan themselves, they should be fine." Yanbai wasn't particularly concerned, because Hashirama Senju was strong.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Yuzhi urged the Senju Clan to set out.

Tobirama Senju had relayed Yanbai's intelligence to Butsuma Senju overnight.

For this journey, Butsuma Senju had therefore instructed the team leader, Senju Longshu, to bring Yanbai along.

Afterward, Yuzhi sat upright in his sedan chair, surrounded by several dozen surviving bodyguards, and traveled toward the Land of Pines with the Senju Clan's Shinobi team.

With Yanbai leaving home, Tobirama Senju naturally followed him. Their clothes were almost identical, their hair and eyes were the same colors, and even their faces looked nearly alike. At first glance, they seemed like a pair of boy-girl twins.

Walking at the very rear of the procession, the two silver-haired children exchanged opinions in low voices, yet no one else could hear so much as a word.

Suddenly, Yanbai and Tobirama Senju both stopped talking, their expressions gradually going blank.

A familiar presence was deliberately concealed somewhere in the shadows on either side of the Imperial Road.

Yanbai's sensory ability was a reward he had received for healing Tobirama Senju, so the two sensed the same thing.

Yanbai knew this sensation very well. He already knew who the enemy was.

Tobirama Senju, who was closest to Yanbai, couldn't help asking quietly, "You know..."

Boom! With a tremendous crash, the towering trees on both sides of the road suddenly burst apart and toppled. Broken branches and wood fragments flew everywhere, throwing the procession into chaos.

The attack came without warning. Severed tree trunks cut off the retreat of Yuzhi's sedan chair and Hashirama Senju, who had stayed close to guard him, separating them from the Bodyguard Unit and leaving them unable to support each other.

Yanbai and Tobirama Senju were at the very rear of the procession, so they naturally lost contact with Hashirama Senju as well.

Yuzhi's bodyguards reacted a little too slowly. Tree trunks slammed into them, and agonized screams rang out without pause. The casualties were severe!

"Yanbai, the Uchiha Clan are here..." Tobirama Senju's expression was grave.