Training Day

Just as Danzo was about to blurt out those words, a familiar voice suddenly rang out—it was Qile's.

In an instant, Danzo looked as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. The words that had nearly left his mouth were swallowed back down.

Qile walked over with a puzzled look. His gaze first landed on Danzo, then quickly shifted to the two people standing beside him.

Though he had already guessed who they were, Qile still politely asked, "Huh? And who are these two...?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Danzo, suppressing a laugh as he stepped forward to introduce them to Qile. "This is Utatane Koharu, and this is Mitokado Homura."

At Hiruzen's introduction, the teasing smiles vanished from Koharu and Homura's faces, replaced by expressions of utmost seriousness.

She and Homura bowed slightly and addressed Qile with great solemnity. "It's a pleasure to meet you. We hope you'll look after us from now on."

Faced with their formal greeting, Qile seemed rather unconcerned. He simply waved a hand and mumbled, "Look after you, sure, sure."

Then Qile turned and pointed at Kagami, who stood a short distance behind him. He introduced him to Koharu and Homura. "This is Kagami, my clan cousin! And this is Yeling, the older sister who looks after me."

The two who had been introduced bowed slightly, displaying the courtesy expected of them.

Qile's gaze settled on Koharu, whose face still looked young and tender. He couldn't help thinking, Utatane Koharu was quite pretty when she was young, especially with those large, lively eyes full of youthful energy.

As for Homura beside her, he really didn't look old at all when he was young...

If Qile's memory served him right, these two were the true winners in life!

Not only had they successfully raised their relatively weak clans into major powers in Konoha, but they had also remained firmly entrenched in Konoha's upper ranks through thick and thin.

So that was it!

Living a long life really was the key...

Just then, Danzo, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, "All right, let's start today's training."

Before he had even finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen chimed in. "That's right! Let's get started with today's training. Qile, Kagami, you'd better work hard to keep up with us."

With that, Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged a knowing glance. Then they flashed forward like arrows loosed from a bow, speeding toward the dense woods behind Kage Rock.

Koharu and Homura immediately followed them.

Qile was stunned by what had just happened. He really had come prepared to train with them, but he never expected things to start so abruptly...

Watching the figures already running far ahead, Qile shook his head helplessly and sighed. Then he turned to Yeling beside him and asked, "Yeling, are you going to train with us, or wait here?"

Yeling's beautiful eyes curved like crescent moons as she smiled. Without the slightest hesitation, she answered, "I'm going with you!"

Qile didn't say anything to stop her. He let out a loud cheer to pump himself up, then immediately took off on his short little legs, chasing after the figures disappearing into the distance. Kagami swiftly followed, close on his heels.

Once they had all left, a gentle breeze suddenly swept past.

The next moment, Senju Tobirama appeared out of thin air atop Kage Rock.

His eyes remained fixed on the direction the group had gone, gleaming with thought.

Senju Tobirama had actually come here to deliver an important message to Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other three: if they performed well after graduating from the Ninja Academy, he would personally take them on as his students.

What he hadn't expected was that Qile would show up here at that very moment.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Senju Tobirama immediately changed his original plan. He decided not to reveal himself for now, but to continue observing from the shadows for a while before making any further decisions.

The main reason for delaying the announcement was that Qile had now fallen in with the children he was planning to take as students. Tobirama increasingly felt that Qile was trying to learn from him by stealth...

He was a man who never believed in coincidences...

Of course, he didn't mind if Qile really did secretly learn ninjutsu from him. Still, he wanted to assess Qile for himself...

Although he had heard about Qile from his older brother, who claimed that Qile possessed extraordinary perseverance and exceptional talent, Tobirama had never witnessed any of it firsthand.

So, as someone who always believed that seeing was believing, he still needed to observe and scrutinize Qile closely.

Meanwhile, just last night, his older brother had given him a detailed account of Qile's ideas for forming a private force.

When Tobirama heard those plans, they struck him like a bolt of lightning. They aligned perfectly with thoughts he had harbored deep within for a long time!

If Qile hadn't come from the unusual Uchiha Clan, Tobirama might have taken him on as a student without any kind of test or assessment. Qile's ideas and insights alone would have been enough.

Unfortunately, reality was always full of helpless dilemmas.

And Qile just happened to come from that frustrating Uchiha Clan, leaving Tobirama at a loss over what to do.

On top of that, his naive older brother still firmly believed that Madara Uchiha could become the Second Hokage. It was utterly ridiculous!

As far as Tobirama was concerned, the chances of Madara becoming Hokage were vanishingly small—even lower than Tobirama's own chances of taking the position.

Qile raced after Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other three like a wild horse that had broken free.

He had no idea how long it took, but he finally caught up with them after they stopped.

Unlike the four of them, who were merely panting with a little sweat beading on their foreheads, Qile was nearly gasping for breath.

He panted heavily, each breath seeming like an ordeal. Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, leaving him soaked as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

"Whoa..." Qile threw up again from overexertion. Yeling quickly stepped forward and patted his back to help him feel better.

Kagami, standing beside him, was also leaning against a tree to keep himself from collapsing.

Even so, Qile forced himself to endure the churning discomfort in his stomach. He stared at Hiruzen and the others with dazed, vacant eyes and asked in a trembling voice, "Are you really sure that when you were only three, you endured training this intense and did this much exercise?"

"That's right! I started training this hard with Hiruzen when I was three. So, in my opinion, you really should increase the intensity of your training." Danzo said with a completely straight face, speaking in a serious, earnest tone.

The moment he finished speaking, Qile froze. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, his closest friend and the person who knew him best, stared at Danzo in astonishment.

Hiruzen lowered his voice, speaking so softly that only the two of them could hear. "Danzo, when we were three, we were still spending all day playing ninja games..."

Danzo merely shot him a cold glance and muttered irritably under his breath, "Shut your mouth! Do you really want to tell this kid that we completely forgot to plan his training schedule?"