Mito

As Qile slowly regained consciousness, the environment that greeted his eyes remained unfamiliar. He subconsciously raised his left hand to rub his still-sore and swollen right wrist, then slowly sat up.

Looking at the completely foreign layout and furnishings of the room, Qile couldn't help but frown slightly.

This was clearly not Madara's home...

Just as Qile was racking his brain to figure out where he was, he suddenly heard a gentle voice from behind: "Little one, you're awake?"

Hearing this, Qile turned his head sharply, only to see a beautiful woman with a dignified appearance standing there with a smile.

The woman was dressed in a simple and elegant kimono, possessing an outstanding temperament. Most striking of all, however, was her dazzling red hair.

With just a single glance, Qile had already guessed who the person before him was—in Konoha, besides the famous wife of Hashirama Senju, who else could possess such unique hair color?

"What? Is there something wrong with me?" Seeing Qile staring straight at her, the woman couldn't help but lightly cover her lips and giggle.

"Uh..." Qile instantly snapped back to reality. Realizing his previous rudeness, he hurriedly climbed off the bed, bowed to the woman, and said respectfully, "Hello!"

"Oh? You don't recognize me? Hehehe... but that's understandable. After all, with that foul temper of Madara's, how could he possibly introduce me to you little ones?" Mito said with a light laugh, her beautiful eyes curving like crescent moons.

Although she looked youthful, every gesture she made and the elegant aura she exuded left no doubt that she was a noble lady.

Qile watched Mito quietly, and when his gaze landed on the purple diamond-shaped mark still clearly visible on her forehead, his heart felt enlightened.

Clearly, Mito was already using the Yin Seal to maintain her appearance.

Just as Qile was about to say something more, a boisterous, uninhibited voice suddenly came from outside: "Mito! Is that little guy awake yet?"

Following the voice, a head quickly poked in through the nearby window.

And the moment the owner of that head caught sight of the awakened Qile, one could clearly notice his eyes brighten a few degrees.

"Hokage-sama..." Qile looked at Hashirama, who had suddenly appeared before him, and greeted him.

Even now, he still felt as if he were in a dream; he found it hard to believe that after losing consciousness, he had actually been brought to the Senju clan estate!

"Don't be so formal!" Hashirama waved his hands carelessly, then took a few steps back before lunging toward the window, preparing to vault into the room with a dashing flourish.

However, before his movement was even complete, Qile felt a chilling sensation, as if a cold wind were blowing directly against his back, making him shiver and subconsciously look back with caution.

He didn't know what to expect, but upon looking, Qile was completely stunned.

Mito's expression was now terrifyingly gloomy, colder than the ice and snow of midwinter, enough to make one tremble with fear.

Gone was the feeling of a spring breeze she had projected just moments ago...

In fact, it wasn't just Qile who felt this; even Hashirama, who was in the middle of climbing through the window, sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

He paused for a moment, his body stiffening, and then, as if frightened by something, he quickly pulled his leg back out of the room.

Faced with this situation, Qile, who was well-versed in the art of coaxing women, rolled his eyes and immediately had an idea.

Without hesitation, he turned his head, flashed a flattering smile at Mito, and said, "Hokage-sama, may I ask who this beautiful sister is to you?"

Hearing this, one might think it disrespectful to Mito, but miraculously, perhaps due to a woman's innate sensitivity to praise, Mito not only didn't get angry, but the intimidating aura surrounding her instantly dissipated.

"Oh~ hehehe~ sister~." Mito giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes curving as she looked at Qile, then said softly, "You little rascal, go ahead and chat with Hashirama; I'm going to prepare some delicious food for you." With that, Mito turned and walked gracefully toward the door.

Watching Mito's departing back, Qile and Hashirama, who was standing outside the window, both let out long sighs, as if they had been holding their breath the entire time.

"Hokage-sama, you owe me a big favor for this one!" Seeing that Mito had left, Qile immediately turned to look at Hashirama, who was preparing to climb through the window again, and spoke impatiently.

"I know, I know. But come to think of it, do you really not know who she is?" Hashirama asked Qile curiously as he nimbly jumped into the room.

"Just from her attitude toward you, plus that long red hair, it wouldn't be hard to guess she's Mito-sama, would it?" Qile curled his lips, staring at Hashirama with an expression that said he was looking at a fool.

Hashirama didn't take Qile's slightly disdainful look to heart at all. Instead, he spread his hands nonchalantly and said with a grin, "So that's how it is. Hehehe, how about we play a game of dice? It's fascinating! Besides, it'll take a while for Mito to prepare the food."

As he spoke, he revealed that he had been holding several dice in his hand the whole time.

Qile glanced at the dice indifferently; he had to admit, Hashirama's gambling addiction was truly massive!

However, he didn't want to lose his composure first thing in the morning!

"Instead of playing dice, I'd rather figure out why I ended up in your house for no reason."

"Hi, is that all?" Hashirama looked at Qile's disinterested expression, shrugged helplessly, and had to put the dice back into his pocket with a sense of boredom.

"After you passed out last night, you were brought here by Madara. You should know that there are basically no people in your Uchiha clan who can master medical ninjutsu."

Qile finally understood, so he hurriedly asked, "So, you were the one who treated me last night?"

Hashirama waved his hand and replied with a smile, "That's not it. The one who treated you was actually Mito. I'm far too busy; you know, as Hokage, I have a mountain of..."

However, before Hashirama could finish his sentence, his body suddenly shuddered, and in the next instant, he vanished from the spot as if he had never been there at all.

Qile was stunned, and just as he was feeling confused by Hashirama's behavior, a White-Hair suddenly appeared at the window!

The White-Hair glanced coldly at Qile with a blank expression, a trace of undisguised contempt and disdain curling at the corner of his mouth, and he snorted, "Hmph! You naturally evil Uchiha brat!"

Faced with this situation, Qile certainly wasn't going to let him have the last word: "Tch~ disgusting White-Hair."