Choice

Evening.

Qile, supported by Yeling, walked slowly toward home with heavy, dragging steps.

As he walked, he kept muttering to himself, "I am absolutely not training with them again tomorrow! Whoever wants to go can go!"

Kagami Uchiha, walking alongside him, was also clutching his own waist, though he was clearly in much better shape than Qile.

Kagami said, "Qile, in my opinion, we only need to complete a third of the training load tomorrow. Any more than that is truly unbearable!"

However, Qile had no intention of listening to these words; his mind was entirely occupied by the even more arduous tasks awaiting him tonight—practicing his stance and sword swings.

Thinking of this, Qile felt a wave of sorrow wash over him, nearly bringing him to tears: "Heavens! I still have to practice my stance and sword swings tonight? Who could possibly endure this! Why is my fate so miserable..."

Just then, Kagami spoke up, sounding suddenly awkward: "Um... Qile, there is something I need to tell you."

Hearing this, Qile's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly surged within him. But before he could stop Kagami from continuing, Kagami added, "I cannot go to the Clan Leader's place tonight, because I have to go to Elder Yan to handle matters regarding school."

Seeing the increasingly unfriendly look in Qile's eyes, Kagami's eyes darted around as he immediately declared, "I'm leaving now, I'll find you tomorrow morning to practice hand seals."

"Kagami Uchiha, you!@#￥%...&" Qile spat out some rather unpleasant words.

But Kagami acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, turning and walking straight away without even looking back.

When Qile finally dragged his exhausted body back home, he saw from a distance that Madara was sitting as still as a statue on that all-too-familiar stone bench.

Looking at this scene, Qile could not suppress his curiosity and blurted out, "Clan Leader, have you really not stood up to move around even once all day?"

However, the response he received was not words, but the sharp, piercing sound of air being cut—a thin whip whistled toward him like lightning.

Although the whip did not actually strike Qile, his instincts kicked in like a frightened bird. He violently shook off Yeling's supporting hand and, with wind at his heels, sprinted in three quick steps to his usual spot for stance training.

Already crouched in position, Qile's face was full of helplessness and bitterness as he couldn't help but hum, "The donkey turns the millstone~ he can't walk out of this circle~"

In truth, Qile had simply overexerted himself today, and since he had spent the entire afternoon resting, he was actually mostly recovered despite his appearance of weakness.

As for the strange lyrics Qile was humming, Madara acted as if he hadn't heard them at all, ignoring him completely.

He stared intently at Qile, his tone serious and solemn: "Starting tomorrow, I will be away for a period of time. During this time, you must act with caution and exercise restraint in all your dealings. If you inadvertently stir up any trouble, remember to return to the clan immediately; do not try to be a hero. All problems can wait until I return to be handled."

Hearing this, Qile, who had been listless just a moment ago, was struck as if by lightning and instantly perked up.

His eyes brightened, and his body stood up involuntarily as he asked with full anticipation, "It seems you'll be gone for quite a while this time, do you need... don't whip, don't whip, I'm crouching... ah!"

Before he could finish his sentence, another sharp lash of the whip struck Qile, making him wince in pain. Yet, daring not to resist in the slightest, he could only keep drawing circles in his heart, fiercely cursing the Madara before him.

At this moment, Madara's expression remained as cold as frost as he said in an unquestionable tone, "There is one more thing I must clarify. Now, do you still firmly wish to leave Konoha with me?"

Qile nodded without hesitation and replied loudly, "Of course! My resolve has never changed!"

Seeing Qile's firm attitude, Madara's tone softened slightly as he continued, "Then, between the Land of Water and the Land of Rain, which do you prefer?"

Qile was stunned for a moment, then shrugged helplessly and said with a wry smile, "Clan Leader, I don't have any concrete concept of either place. However, if we are judging purely by their names, I feel like neither of these places should be lacking in water."

Although Qile appeared indifferent on the surface, his heart was actually churning with turbulent waves.

With Madara putting the matter of leaving on the table and asking him to make a choice, it meant that Madara had clearly already set a departure date. All of this was far too sudden for Qile, and some of his plans hadn't even been implemented yet!

"You need not know what these two places are like; just tell me your first instinct," Madara said nonchalantly.

"Rain... the Land of Water, I suppose," Qile said hesitantly.

"The Land of Water..." Madara nodded, lost in thought.

"Right! Clan Leader! Do you know about Tailed Beast? When I was out training with them today, I heard them discussing Tailed Beast!" As he spoke, Qile glanced from time to time at Yeling standing to the side; he was truly worried that Yeling might expose him.

Fortunately, Yeling stood by his side, behaving obediently as if she hadn't heard a word he said.

Hearing the words "Tailed Beast," Madara frowned slightly. As the head of a clan, he was naturally well aware of such powerful and mysterious entities.

Not only that, he even knew the specific locations of several of them.

For instance, there was one in the Land of Water, but it had too few tails, so he couldn't muster any interest in it...

Before Madara could answer, Qile couldn't wait to continue, "They also told me that Tailed Beast can be sealed inside a human body! And once the sealing is successful, that person can use the terrifying, world-destroying power of the Tailed Beast as they please!"

Qile rattled off these words like a machine gun, without pausing for a single breath.

However, Madara clearly had no intention of dwelling on this topic. He waved his hand expressionlessly and said faintly, "We will discuss the matter of Tailed Beast another time. Focus on your training for now."

In fact, Qile understood very well that he couldn't expect Madara to tell him everything without reservation the first time he asked about something like Tailed Beast.

The only reason he had brought it up was to capture Madara's attention and let him know that he was full of curiosity about them.

As long as he could achieve that, it wouldn't seem so abrupt when he brought up Tailed Beast again in the future.