Konoha

"Do you think that someday in the future, all the clans will truly be able to overcome their differences and become one family, with no more distinction between clans?" Tobirama furrowed his brow and stepped forward. He slowly lowered his head, looking down at the people and orderly buildings in Konoha, a hint of confusion and uncertainty flickering in his eyes, as though he had no confidence in the answer. His voice was little more than a murmur.

It sounded as if he was asking Qile, who stood beside him, but in truth, he was mostly asking himself.

For such an idealistic and distant vision, even he couldn't bring himself to believe it would ever come true.

However, when Qile heard those words, this time he chose to remain silent.

He neither offered his own opinion nor agreed or disagreed with Tobirama. Instead, he pretended he hadn't heard, casually turning his head aside as if he hadn't noticed what Tobirama had just said, and gave no response at all.

Just then, Tobirama sighed and said, "You know the way home, right?"

Before he could even finish speaking, he vanished without a trace, without waiting for Qile to react or answer. Only a gentle breeze brushed against Qile's face.

Of course, the moment Qile heard those words, his heart clenched, and he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

He instinctively reached out to grab Tobirama beside him, but he was just a fraction too slow.

Though he tried with all his might to stop Tobirama from leaving, all he could do was watch his hand slice through the air and grasp nothing.

"...He still managed to pull one over on me! Damn White-Hair!" Qile grumbled, angrily slapping his palms together with a sharp clap.

Then he looked around, searching for a way down from Kage Rock.

As the seconds ticked by, he had no idea how much time had passed, and his stomach, which hadn't even had breakfast, began to growl even louder.

At last, muttering complaints under his breath, he slowly made his way down from Kage Rock, one step at a time.

When his feet touched the ground again, he couldn't help glancing back at the enormous statue of the First, which was nearly complete.

But Qile merely shrugged and turned away without hesitation, striding off.

He walked along Konoha's still-under-construction streets. Some of the houses on either side were beginning to take shape, while others were still little more than ruins, with building materials piled high.

Passersby hurried past him now and then, their faces showing either busyness or ease.

The view from the street was completely different from the one he'd had while standing on Kage Rock and looking down over the whole village. Being right there among it all felt so real that Qile found it both novel and a little disorienting.

But he wasn't wandering back and forth along the street to get a closer feel for life in Konoha. He had a much simpler, more frustrating reason: he was lost and couldn't find his way back to the Uchiha Clan Compound.

"That can't be right! If I remember correctly, when I looked down from Kage Rock, I should've been able to get back to the clan by following this road straight ahead..." Qile stood still, gazing in confusion at the nearly identical wooden houses around him. He scratched his head, muttering to himself.

Faced with the tangled streets before him, which were like a maze, Qile felt utterly helpless.

Finally, after trying every method he could think of without success, he decided to put his hopes in a passerby. He scanned the area, thinking he should find a gentle older sister and ask her how to get home.

But things didn't go as Qile had hoped. Perhaps because it was the hottest part of the day, around noon, the number of people in the streets was dwindling. There weren't any kind, pretty older sisters to be seen; there were hardly even any ordinary passersby.

Every now and then, he spotted one or two people, but whenever he eagerly approached to strike up a conversation, they'd glance at him hurriedly and then quicken their pace as they walked away.

Just when he felt he was completely out of options, he suddenly noticed two children, around ten years old, acting suspiciously beside a wall not far away. He had no idea what they were up to.

One child was on tiptoe, trying hard to peer over the wall. The other seemed restless, pacing back and forth and occasionally saying something to the one who was peeking inside.

Since he figured it was easier to talk to kids his own age, Qile took off toward them at a run.

"Didn't you say you were bringing me to get dumplings? But what do you do instead? You bring me to watch Auntie Qitian again... Hmph, I'm leaving!"

"Come on, don't be impatient! We're almost at the most important part. Just hang on a little longer, okay? If you keep an eye out and tell me if anyone's coming, I'll give you all my allowance for the week when we're done. How about that?"

The child, who had been torn and unsure, immediately brightened at the mention of getting some pocket money.

Still, he put on a show of hesitating for a moment. In the end, the promise of pocket money won him over, and he nodded reluctantly, agreeing to stay and keep watch.

But just then, the child on lookout spotted Qile running toward them and waving.

His alarm bells went off at once, and he instinctively grew tense.

For a moment, he was too nervous to speak. He could only spin around, desperately slap his companion, and assume a stance as if ready to bolt at any moment.

"Hey! You..." Qile raced over and finally came to a panting stop in front of them. He was just about to say what he'd come to say.

The child with the guilty look nervously waved his hands and hurriedly explained, "I don't know anything, and I didn't see anything. It wasn't my idea either. Hiruzen dragged me here! My mom's waiting for me to eat, so I'm going home." Without waiting for his companion, he turned and started to leave.