Return

Time flew by, and more than ten days had passed since the meeting with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.

During this period, Qile waited in eager anticipation for Madara to return, hoping to discuss the matter of leaving the clan grounds for training.

However, over ten full days had passed, and there was still no sign of Madara.

He knew that without Madara's explicit approval, it was impossible for Qile and Kagami to train on their own. Thus, he had no choice but to suppress his impatience and wait.

Just as dusk fell today, while Qile and Kagami were standing in the courtyard practicing their stance with focused concentration, the figure who had been missing for over ten days finally appeared—it was none other than Madara!

He held a Scythe in his hand, its sharp blade glinting with a cold light, while the Gunbai was strapped to his back.

Seeing Madara in such a state, Qile couldn't help but let a flurry of guesses flood his mind: what could have happened to make Madara arm himself so heavily?

Countless thoughts raced through Qile's brain, but in the end, he wisely chose to bury these doubts deep within his heart.

After all, he had suffered enough for being too inquisitive last time.

Meanwhile, Madara, having just stepped through the door, caught sight of Qile and Kagami diligently training in the yard. Clearly, he hadn't expected an extra person in his home, and he paused for a brief moment.

At that instant, Kagami, noticing Madara, immediately straightened his posture from his stance and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Thank you, Clan Leader, for granting me such a precious opportunity to train at your home!"

This sudden outburst immediately made the situation clear to Madara.

If his guess was correct, some bold, reckless person had dared to use his name to lure this child here.

Yet, facing the child before him, he couldn't bring himself to tell Kagami to leave immediately.

Especially when he saw the light shining in Kagami's eyes—was that... admiration for him?

And so, Madara merely nodded slightly, signaling his tacit approval. However, he would certainly not let the culprit, Qile, off the hook so easily.

He then sank his face into a mask of indifference and said coldly, "From now on, Qile, your daily stance time is extended from an hour and a half to two hours, and your sword swings will increase to three hundred!" With that, he ignored everything else, turned, and walked straight into the house to wash up.

This turned Qile's previously smug expression into a grimace. He turned his head and said in a resentful tone, "Kagami! You'd better repay me for this later!"

"Huh?" Kagami looked at Qile with a suspicious expression. Despite his confusion, Kagami didn't argue or refuse; he simply squatted back down, resumed his stance, and muttered, "You used to call me 'brother,' but now you just use my name!" His voice sounded genuinely aggrieved.

Hearing this, Qile rolled his eyes, filled with indignation, and retorted sharply, "What! Don't tell me you expect me to follow you around all day like everyone else, calling you 'brother' every other breath? Pfft! In your dreams!"

He imagined himself trotting behind Kagami, calling him "brother" with a sweet smile, only for Kagami to turn around with a gentle grin and poke him on the forehead.

At that thought, Qile shivered. Ew, no way...

It must be said that since arriving in this mysterious Ninja World, everything had been quite decent for Qile.

However, the only thing that frustrated him was that his current body was simply too young, which often put him at a disadvantage.

Perhaps because his thoughts had drifted too far, Qile didn't notice that his stance had begun to falter and lose its form.

Just then, Madara, having finished washing up, stepped out of the house and caught the sight immediately. Without a second of hesitation, he flicked his wrist, and a thin whip lashed out like a striking viper, cracking against Qile's body.

With a crisp "snap," the whip landed squarely on Qile. The sudden strike caught him off guard, and he winced in pain.

Kagami, standing beside him, was startled by the sight of Qile getting whipped and quickly corrected his own already perfect posture.

"Your name is Kagami, right?" Madara walked slowly into the yard, sat down on a rustic stone stool, and raised his eyes, staring at Kagami with a piercing gaze as he asked.

"Yes, Clan Leader!" Kagami didn't hesitate for a second, responding the moment Madara finished speaking.

Madara nodded slightly, acknowledging Kagami's quick reaction, and continued, "And which Elder does your family serve under?"

Kagami replied without a second thought, "In response to the Clan Leader, my father is a member of Elder Yan's guard." With that, Kagami straightened his back slightly, looking at Madara with a firm gaze.

Hearing this, Madara nodded thoughtfully. He was well aware of the different factions within the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Yan was seen as the representative of the moderate faction, while the opposing side was the hardline faction led by Uchiha Setsuna.

As for Madara himself, he undoubtedly belonged to the hardline faction, which was why he felt closer to Setsuna.

Because of this, within the entire Uchiha Clan, the only areas where the moderate faction held any real influence were finance and civil affairs.

Thinking of this, Madara couldn't help but furrow his brows, his sharp, sword-like eyebrows knitting together. A flicker of worry crossed his deep, piercing eyes.

He knew all too well that if this situation continued to fester, the internal conflicts within the Uchiha Clan would only intensify, leading to unimaginable consequences.

It was for this reason that since the founding of Konoha, Madara had consciously reduced his contact with Setsuna, focusing more on Yan.

Furthermore, it must be said that although he was a firm and unyielding hardliner himself, he still paled in comparison to Setsuna.

Setsuna was an incomprehensible existence; his level of stubbornness was so extreme that even Madara found it excessive, sometimes reaching a point where it defied all logic.

For instance, regarding Madara's proposal for the Uchiha to leave Konoha, Setsuna was vehemently opposed to such a move.

In Setsuna's view, if they were to take action, they should choose a more radical and direct approach—launching a coup!

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

That was why Madara hadn't even notified Setsuna about the clan meeting that day; otherwise, there was no telling what kind of trouble he might have caused.