A Relationship That Sparks the Imagination

"Hiruzen! I have always maintained that we shouldn't have too much contact with him. You know as well as I do that the Uchiha clan has always been extremely exclusionary and resistant toward outsiders." Shimura Danzō stared at an unremarkable stone by his feet with a hesitant gaze, his voice betraying a clear lack of confidence.

Unlike the tense Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared exceptionally calm and composed.

He leisurely placed a blade of grass of unknown origin into his mouth, chewed on it casually, and then shrugged, responding with an indifferent air: "If that's the case, then why did you insist on coming along?"

As soon as these words left his lips, Shimura Danzō, who had barely managed to maintain his composure, seemed to be instantly activated; his face flushed red, and he covered the distance in two quick strides.

He raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and slammed it with all his pent-up fury against the large tree Sarutobi Hiruzen was leaning on.

With a dull thud, the thick trunk trembled slightly, and a few leaves drifted down.

He widened his eyes, glared at Sarutobi Hiruzen, and hissed in exasperation: "It is truly chilling to hear you say such things! Do you not realize that the only reason I came was out of concern for you?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose mind had been wandering, was so startled by this outburst that he jumped, clearly caught off guard.

He hurriedly waved his hands, scrambling to explain: "Oh, my! I never meant anything of the sort!"

Before he could finish, he leaned his head forward, deliberately lowering his voice as if afraid of being overheard, and continued: "I specifically went to consult my father yesterday. He told me that having a bit of contact with him now would only be beneficial, not harmful. Besides, I heard from my father that Qile recently moved into that person's home..."

And so, the two of them began to whisper back and forth.

However, at this very moment, neither of them noticed how bizarre their posture appeared to be.

Perhaps they were too engrossed in their conversation, for they failed to realize that three people had already arrived silently beside them.

It wasn't until Qile's voice, laced with a mix of mockery and surprise, rang out: "Hey! Look at you two—don't tell me you're playing at wall-pinning?"

This sudden remark struck them like a bolt of lightning.

In an instant, they both froze, their expressions stiffening until they were as motionless as wooden chickens.

After a long while, they finally snapped back to reality, realizing just how ambiguous and intimate their current position was.

"Ahem... well! You see, Shimura Danzō accidentally got some sand in his eye just now, so I was kindly helping him blow it out." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with a grave expression, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

Yet, he was inwardly lamenting his situation; it was a miracle he could even come up with such an excuse, but he certainly couldn't admit they were discussing the Uchiha.

If that person found out, it wouldn't just be social suicide—it might actually lead to real death!

He was well aware of the difference between physical death and social death.

At this moment, Qile and his two companions watched Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō with eyes full of curiosity, suspicion, and even a hint of mockery.

Qile and his companions exchanged glances, clearly unconvinced by the explanation.

Even the usually gloomy and cold Shimura Danzō, upon hearing such a far-fetched excuse from Sarutobi Hiruzen, felt a primal urge to refute it. His lips twitched, but he couldn't manage to utter a coherent sentence.

After all, he couldn't think of a better or more convincing lie himself.

He shot Sarutobi Hiruzen a meaningful look, as if to say, "No need to explain, I understand~"

"And these two are?" Sarutobi Hiruzen, unable to bear Qile's meaningful gaze any longer, decided to abandon all pretense and abruptly changed the subject.

"This is Kagami Uchiha, my clansman. As for his age, I believe it's about the same as yours," Qile said with a smile, reaching out to pat Kagami Uchiha on the shoulder.

He then pointed to the gentle woman beside him and continued: "And this is Yeling, the sister responsible for taking care of me."

Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen, eager to move past the previous incident, quickly responded: "Sarutobi Hiruzen (Shimura Danzō), a pleasure to meet you."

Meanwhile, Kagami Uchiha and Yeling, standing to the side, smiled and returned the greeting with perfect etiquette.

Qile then waved his hand with a generous, wealthy air and declared: "Is there anything in particular you two would like to eat for lunch today? I have plenty of money on me, so don't hold back—just say the word."

Faced with Qile's enthusiastic offer, Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the guest, hurriedly waved his hands and politely declined: "You are too kind, but we don't have any specific cravings. You decide, right, Shimura Danzō?"

Shimura Danzō, who had been silent and seemingly uninterested in continuing the conversation, was caught off guard when Sarutobi Hiruzen called his name. He blinked, then quickly nodded in agreement: "Ah... yes, exactly."

Watching the two clearly nervous individuals, Qile's lips curled into a sly, mischievous smirk on his adorable face.

He spoke slowly: "Oh? Is that so? In that case, when I left our clan grounds earlier, I happened to notice that some of our Uchiha clansmen were..."

Just as Qile was about to continue, he was interrupted by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen interjected hurriedly, speaking at a rapid pace: "Oh my, Shimura Danzō, let me tell you, there's a newly opened ramen shop that I haven't had the chance to try yet!"

Almost as soon as Sarutobi Hiruzen finished, Shimura Danzō responded with lightning speed: "Yes, yes, exactly! What a coincidence! I've heard of this new shop too. Just on the way here, the smell alone was enough to make my mouth water!"

Seeing the two of them in such perfect, rehearsed sync, Qile added unhurriedly: "Oh? It seems you two aren't interested in visiting our clan grounds after all?"

Faced with Qile's questioning, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō were in perfect agreement, blurting out almost simultaneously: "Not at all! That's not what we meant! It's just that we can't resist the temptation of that new ramen shop."

Hearing this, Qile shrugged, wearing an expression of half-belief.

"Let's go try that new ramen shop then, we'll lead the way!" With that, the two turned and walked away as if their feet were greased, terrified that if they moved too slowly, Qile might grab them and drag them into the Uchiha household.