The Secret Room

In the end, Hashirama left in a hurry without eating a single bite. As for what Qile had just asked him, he neither agreed nor clearly refused.

He had even forgotten to take the dice he usually treasured and couldn't bear to put down, leaving them on the dining table.

Clearly, Madara's declaration that he didn't want to become the Second Hokage had dealt Hashirama a tremendous shock.

After all, Hashirama had always believed that only he and Madara working side by side could lead Konoha to prosperity.

Madara wasn't in a good mood, either. Ever since he had spoken those resolute words, his already stern, unsmiling face had seemed to grow even colder, as if covered in frost. He was expressionless, as cold as ice.

Meanwhile, Qile had already eaten his fill, but he was still thinking about going to train with Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others.

However, faced with the oppressive, gloomy atmosphere, he had no choice but to steel himself and sidle up to Madara with an ingratiating smile.

Qile carefully picked up the teapot, filled a cup with hot tea, and respectfully offered it to Madara. Then he spoke in a slightly flattering tone. "Clan Head, here's the thing. I don't have anything to do during the day, so I was thinking of going outside our clan compound to train with the others. Of course, I'd bring Yeling and Kagami along. What do you think?"

As he spoke, Qile kept sneaking glances at Madara's expression, afraid that one wrong move would anger him and earn him another whipping.

Madara turned his head slightly and glanced casually at Qile, but didn't say a word. He didn't even make a simple gesture like nodding or shaking his head.

Instead, he calmly picked up the teacup before him and took a small sip.

Seeing this, Qile hurriedly reached out to top up Madara's tea. Then, gazing at him expectantly, he said eagerly, "Of course, respected Clan Head, you can rest assured! I promise that nothing will interfere with my daily training."

"Every morning, I'll get up early to practice Hand Seals, and in the evening, I'll practice standing stances and swinging a sword. But I'm so bored during the day, so, you see..."

After hearing Qile out, Madara still seemed unconcerned. He replied casually, "Do as you like."

In his eyes, Qile was still young. Focusing on physical training and Hand Seals was enough for now; there was no need to rush into more advanced, complicated ninjutsu.

Besides, he had already made careful arrangements and assigned someone reliable to protect Qile.

So Madara had few concerns about Qile wanting to leave the clan compound and look around. He was still a child, after all. It was normal for him to be a little playful.

It had never crossed his mind that Qile really wanted to go train with other people...

The moment Madara gave his permission, Qile leaped with excitement, joy unmistakable on his face.

In sharp contrast to Qile's excitement, Madara slowly raised his right hand and tapped his fingers against the table.

Qile immediately understood. He quickly grabbed the teapot and respectfully poured Madara another cup of steaming tea.

Madara picked up the teacup and downed it in one go. Then he left after tossing out a single instruction. "Yeling, take him to find a sword style he likes. Starting tomorrow, make sure his form is as correct as possible."

With Yeling leading the way, the two arrived at a room. She turned to him and said softly, "Young Master Qile, you'll need to go in by yourself." As she spoke, she handed him the candle she had been carrying.

Qile glanced at the closed door, then at Yeling. "Uncle Madara actually has a room like this in his house?"

As soon as he pushed the door open, a faint musty smell wafted out. The room was pitch-black. Even with the candle in his hand, Qile could barely see anything.

"I'll wait for you outside," Yeling said, gently pulling the door closed behind him.

Once the door shut, Qile was alone in the room. The candle in his hand was its only source of light, and since he still couldn't see clearly, he had no choice but to activate his Sharingan.

With his Sharingan's aid, the dark surroundings instantly came into focus. At last, he could see the true appearance of this so-called "room."

Yet it would be more accurate to call it a secret room than an ordinary one. The entire space was completely enclosed, without even a single window.

Looking around, he saw six or seven tall shelves arranged neatly inside. Each shelf was divided into an upper, middle, and lower tier.

Despite having so many tiers, the shelves held an astonishing number of scrolls, packed nearly to the brim.

Looking at the mountain of scrolls before him, he quietly wondered: if his guess was right, these scrolls must contain all kinds of ninjutsu.

He slowly started toward one of the shelves. As he approached, he noticed the character for "fire" carved into its side.

It seemed this shelf held nothing but scrolls related to Fire Release.

He shrugged slightly, holding the candle that provided his meager light in both hands. He had no intention of reaching for the scrolls.

After all, Uncle Madara had made it clear: he was here to look for something related to swordsmanship, not to browse other kinds of scrolls.

Of course, that wasn't because he was especially obedient or completely uninterested in the scrolls.

In fact, he knew that every scroll was protected by a small Sealing Jutsu. Without undoing it, the scrolls couldn't even be opened, so he wouldn't be able to look at them even if he wanted to.

At that thought, Qile backed away a few steps. Looking at the tall shelves before him, he raised his right hand and scratched his head.

He couldn't believe that the Uchiha Clan had created every single one of the countless ninjutsu filling the shelves.

If his guess was right, a large portion of them had probably been copied by clan members using the Sharingan...

However, he wasn't particularly interested in investigating the matter right now. So he turned and walked toward a shelf he hadn't inspected yet. Sure enough, the character for "sword" was written on its side.