Return

Time passed quickly. More than ten days had gone by since the meeting with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.

During that time, Qile had eagerly awaited Madara's return so he could talk to him about leaving the clan compound to train.

But more than ten days had passed, and Madara was nowhere to be seen.

Without Madara's approval, Qile and Kagami had no chance of going off to train on their own. So Qile could only hold his impatience in check and wait.

At dusk that day, as Qile and Kagami were practicing their horse stances in the courtyard as usual, the figure who had been gone for more than ten days finally appeared. It was Madara!

He carried a scythe, its sharp blade glinting coldly, and had the Gunbai strapped to his back.

Seeing Madara like this, Qile couldn't help wondering what could have happened to make him come back fully armed.

Countless thoughts flashed through Qile's mind, but in the end, he wisely chose to bury his questions.

After all, he'd suffered plenty the last time he'd asked too many questions.

Meanwhile, Madara had just stepped into the house when his gaze fell on Qile and Kagami, diligently training in the courtyard. He clearly hadn't expected someone else to be there, and paused in surprise.

Just then, Kagami noticed Madara. He straightened up from his horse stance, stood ramrod straight, and called out loudly, "Thank you, Clan Head, for granting me such a precious opportunity to train in your home!"

Those unexpected words immediately made Madara understand what had happened.

If he wasn't mistaken, some audacious person had impersonated him and tricked the boy into coming here.

But at that moment, facing the boy, he couldn't bring himself to tell Kagami to leave.

Especially when he could see the light in Kagami's eyes. Was that admiration for him?

So Madara merely nodded, accepting the situation. But he certainly wasn't going to let the culprit, Qile, off easily.

His face dark, he said coldly, "From now on, Qile, you'll extend your daily horse-stance practice from an hour and a half to two hours. You'll also increase your sword swings to a full three hundred!" With that, he paid no further attention to them, turned, and headed inside to wash up.

Qile's faintly smug expression turned into a miserable frown. He turned to Kagami and said mournfully, "Kagami! You'd better repay me someday!"

"Huh?" Kagami looked at Qile suspiciously. Though he was full of questions, he didn't argue or refuse. Instead, he silently crouched back down into his horse stance and muttered, "You used to call me 'big brother,' but now you just call me by my name!" His voice sounded rather aggrieved.

At that, Qile rolled his eyes, looking thoroughly indignant. "What? Did you expect me to follow you around like everyone else, calling you 'big brother' every other second? Hmph! Keep dreaming!"

He imagined himself scampering along behind Kagami, sweetly calling him "big brother," then Kagami turning around with a gentle smile and poking him on the forehead.

At the thought, Qile shuddered. Ugh, no way...

It had to be said that ever since he'd arrived in the mysterious Ninja World, everything had been pretty good for Qile.

The only thing he found rather frustrating was how young he was. Sometimes, it put him at a real disadvantage.

Perhaps his thoughts had wandered too far and he'd gotten too absorbed in them, because Qile didn't notice that his horse stance had gradually fallen out of shape.

Just then, Madara came back out after washing up and spotted him. Without even a moment's hesitation, he swung his arm, and the long, thin whip in his hand lashed toward Qile like a striking snake.

With a sharp crack, the whip landed squarely on Qile. The unexpected blow caught him off guard, and he grimaced in pain.

Kagami, standing beside Qile, was startled when he saw him get whipped. He quickly adjusted his own stance, even though it had already been up to standard.

"You're called Kagami, right?" Madara strolled into the courtyard and sat down on a somewhat ancient stone stool. Then he lifted his eyes and fixed Kagami with a keen gaze as he asked.

"Yes, Clan Head!" Kagami answered without a moment's hesitation, almost before Madara had finished speaking.

Madara gave a slight nod, acknowledging Kagami's quick response, then continued, "Which elder does someone in your family serve under?"

"Reporting to you, Clan Head, my father is part of Elder Yan's guard." Kagami straightened slightly and met Madara's gaze with a steady look.

At this, Madara nodded thoughtfully. He knew the Uchiha Clan had different factions.

Uchiha Yan was considered the representative of the moderates, while Uchiha Setsuna led the hardliners.

As for Madara, he was undoubtedly one of the hardliners, so he was closer to Setsuna.

That was why, within the entire Uchiha Clan, the only areas where the moderates truly held sway were finance and public welfare.

At this thought, Madara's brows drew together. A trace of worry flashed in his deep, sharp eyes.

He knew all too well that if they let things continue this way, tensions within the Uchiha Clan would only grow more intense, with unimaginable consequences.

That was also why, ever since Konoha had been established, Madara had deliberately spent less time with Setsuna and more time with Yan.

Besides, although he himself was resolute and unyielding, he still seemed mild compared to Setsuna.

Setsuna was almost incomprehensible. Even Madara found him excessive at times; occasionally, his stubbornness seemed utterly unreasonable.

For example, when Madara proposed that the Uchiha leave Konoha, Setsuna strongly opposed the idea.

In Setsuna's view, if they were going to take action, they might as well choose a more direct and radical approach: launch a coup!

That way, they could remove Hashirama Senju from the position of Hokage and have Madara take his place as the next Hokage.

That was why Madara hadn't even told Setsuna about the clan meeting that day. Who knew what kind of trouble he might have caused...