The days that followed returned to their old routine.
Madara Uchiha had the birds deliver a message to Yanbai.
Madara wanted to see him, but Yanbai said he had been very unhappy lately and told the animals to pass along a message: he would have to wait.
Still, to keep Madara Uchiha from rushing over to find him, Yanbai used his technique to create healing crystals and had the animals deliver them to Madara Uchiha.
Time slipped by, and seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Early that morning.
Yanbai got up early, washed, and sat in his floating garden, chatting with the little animals.
Then Mito Uzumaki suddenly arrived.
Dressed in the Senju Clan's standard women's attire, Mito Uzumaki approached Yanbai somewhat apprehensively.
Yanbai had no particular feelings toward Mito Uzumaki. He neither disliked nor liked her; he was simply indifferent. Seeing her anxious, troubled expression, he smiled and asked, "Is there something you want to say, sister-in-law?"
Over the past few days, whenever Mito Uzumaki saw Yanbai during the day, she felt that he was a man.
Eventually, Mito Uzumaki realized that this impression did not come from her sensory abilities.
Rather, certain details in Yanbai's behavior and mannerisms felt off to her.
After all, Mito Uzumaki was a woman herself, and she simply felt that Yanbai did not seem like one.
In the end, Mito Uzumaki could only attribute that incongruity to Yanbai thinking of himself as a man, and she decided to stop dwelling on it.
"Yanbai, I'm sorry about what happened before," Mito Uzumaki said quietly.
Yanbai nodded. "You've already apologized. It's fine."
Mito Uzumaki sighed. "I didn't know who else to talk to, so I could only come to you."
Yanbai looked at Mito Uzumaki in surprise.
Then Mito Uzumaki hemmed and