The Duo (Part 2)

"I wonder if you two could kindly point me in the direction of the Uchiha Clan compound? I've been out for so long, it's about time I headed home..." Qile asked again, his face wearing a smile and his tone sincere.

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback for a moment before revealing an awkward, slightly foolish grin. "Uh... haha, what a coincidence. You only need to turn around and look to find it..." As he spoke, he pointed in the direction behind Qile.

Qile was full of doubt, but he obediently turned around and looked in the direction Sarutobi Hiruzen had indicated.

There, on the wall behind him, was a clan crest shaped like a ping-pong paddle.

Clearly, the Uchiha Clan compound was right there; he only needed to follow this wall forward to eventually find the main gate.

Seeing this, Qile quickly turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō and said, "Since I've found the way back, would the two of you be willing to come with me to the Uchiha Clan compound as guests? I would certainly treat you both with great hospitality..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, he was surprised to see Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen shaking their heads frantically in refusal, as if under a spell; the speed was akin to two rattling drums being shaken wildly.

Faced with their resolute attitude, Qile scratched his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "Alright, since that's the case, I won't force it. But to express my gratitude for showing me the way home, how about we meet tomorrow at noon for... uh... lunch! How does that sound?" As he spoke, Qile paused, a look of embarrassment crossing his face.

After all, having just arrived, he truly knew very little about the dining options in Konoha at this time.

"No need..." Shimura Danzō refused almost without hesitation, his tone exceptionally firm.

"Sounds great! We'll both be waiting for you right here tomorrow at noon." In stark contrast to Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted with delight, a bright smile hanging on his face.

Just like that, two completely different responses rang out at the exact same moment.

After they had each spoken, they exchanged a glance, and invisible sparks seemed to surge where their gazes met.

Seeing the reaction of these two, Qile didn't say much more, simply making a clean decision: "It's settled then, meet me here tomorrow at noon! I'm off, see you tomorrow!" Before the words had even faded, Qile ran off along the base of the wall.

Watching Qile's retreating figure, Shimura Danzō couldn't help but break the silence, whispering to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Hiruzen, have you lost your mind? That guy is from the Uchiha Clan! Has your father never told you never to provoke those people from the Uchiha Clan lightly?"

However, faced with Shimura Danzō's questioning and accusations, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared completely unbothered.

He simply shrugged his shoulders and replied indifferently, "But I didn't go out of my way to provoke them; I just wanted to make a friend, is that not allowed? Besides, we're all from the same village now, you haven't forgotten that, have you!" With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen walked away in the opposite direction of Qile.

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's nonchalance, Shimura Danzō was anxious and quickly quickened his pace to follow, unable to wait to warn him: "Do you really not understand..." Halfway through, he scanned the surroundings vigilantly, and only after confirming no one was nearby did he lower his voice. "Don't you know who their clan head is? When he was running for Hokage, our two clans didn't cast our votes for him. Aren't you worried at all that he might find some excuse to take revenge on us?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head dismissively upon hearing this, responding with a tilt of his head: "Even if he wants revenge, if we don't provoke him, what's meant to come will come regardless. Since that's the case, we might as well stand tall and face it bravely; why live in constant fear and hesitation?" As they spoke, the two gradually walked away...

Just then, a light breeze blew, and Senju Tobirama appeared silently on the scene.

As it turned out, he had been following Qile the whole time; the reason the pedestrians Qile encountered on the road didn't dare stop was entirely because of the hand signals he was making behind Qile's back...

He had intended to let Qile wander around Konoha a bit more before appearing to escort him back to his clan.

After all, Qile had clearly become the focus of Madara's attention, and Senju Tobirama truly did not want to see Qile encounter any mishaps at this moment.

Otherwise, there was no telling what Madara might do!

Yet, the unexpected had happened anyway!

Qile had accidentally run into Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō. Moreover, these two were already on his list of candidates for assessment; if things went smoothly, he would take them both as his disciples...

Not only that, but the three of them had actually interacted, a situation that had greatly exceeded his expectations.

However, despite this, he was quite pleased to see the connection formed between the three of them deep down.

Because if Qile could build a deep bond with the two of them, it would undoubtedly be a wonderful thing.

It was just a pity that the age gap between the three was quite significant, a full seven years. Facing such a generational divide, building a close connection would likely not be easy, unless...

He shook his head slightly, his gaze returning to Qile, who was still struggling to find the gate along the wall.

Qile was staring intently ahead, completely unaware that he was moving further and further away from the correct direction.

Watching this scene, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness, then slowly turned his head to look at the other side of the wall...

As it turned out, the gate to the Uchiha Clan compound was right there!

But why was this child so unwilling to turn his head and take a look?

Could this be the stubborn temperament shared by those of the Uchiha Clan? Once they set their sights on a direction, they stick to it to the end, never looking back...

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but let out a wry smile, sighing to himself: "It seems this Qile is indeed a child of the Uchiha family; this stubbornness is exactly the same."

Finally, Senju Tobirama looked up at the sky, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. If all went as expected, by the time Qile circled the Uchiha compound and found the main gate, it would be just about time for dinner...