Explanation

As Qile's words slowly faded, an intense light suddenly blazed in Madara's eyes! It burned like a raging fire, as if it would devour everything around him.

To Madara, every word the child had spoken was like a perfectly aimed blade, piercing straight into the deepest, most vulnerable part of his heart.

The meaning and emotion behind those words aligned perfectly with his own thoughts, without the slightest discrepancy!

Yet at the same time, an uncontrollable question rose in Madara's mind: the child was still so young, so how could he understand so deeply and speak such words?

It was truly baffling.

Could there be some mysterious person hiding behind the child, secretly teaching him?

After only a moment's thought, Madara asked Qile bluntly, without hesitation, "Who have you been in contact with lately?"

As soon as Madara said this, everyone present immediately understood what he meant.

He suspected that the words Qile had just spoken hadn't come from his own independent thoughts.

After all, for a child so young to say something so profound and packed with meaning based only on his own experience and wisdom was practically impossible.

What's more, Qile himself knew full well that if he couldn't give Madara a satisfactory answer right now, a whole string of unpredictable troubles would await him!

Fortunately, he had prepared for this question.

On the one hand, children in the Ninja World often matured astonishingly early. On the other, there was an incident that had taken place not long ago—this child, whose body Qile had taken over, had been kidnapped!

The reason behind the kidnapping was simple enough. Some ill-intentioned people had realized that this child was Madara's only remaining blood relative in the world, and hoped to force Madara to comply by holding him hostage...

Fortunately, he had eventually returned safely.

Of course, Madara hadn't yielded to the kidnappers or agreed to any of their unreasonable demands.

Instead, when Madara personally arrived at the scene, he went straight into "Susanoo mode" and crushed the kidnappers with ease, rescuing the child who had been held captive for days.

The rest had followed naturally, and Qile had returned to Konoha.

After that, though, the original child had grown increasingly silent! This gave Qile some room to improvise!

He could easily claim that after being abducted, he had endured the harsh realities of the Ninja World and seen both the warmth and coldness of human nature!

Faces that once seemed kind and friendly had turned terrifying in an instant when faced with danger and self-interest, while bonds that he had thought unbreakable had proved so fragile at the crucial moment.

Looking back on the experience through the original child's memories, it seemed he had suffered little more than hunger and cold, without seeing anything particularly unusual.

But even so, that didn't stop Qile from making up a whole series of stories to his advantage later.

After all, would anyone really go out of their way to bring in someone from the Yamanaka Clan to examine Qile's memories over something so minor?

If they really did that, Madara might go into "Susanoo mode" again and turn the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans into just the Nara and Yamanaka Clans...

Or he might simply erase the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans from history altogether...

"Clan leader, I haven't been in contact with anyone lately. No one taught me the words I just spoke, either."

"You should know very well that not long ago, I was unfortunate enough to be kidnapped by those villains, and you were the one who rescued me. During the time I was held captive, they showed me all kinds of horrifying darkness in the Ninja World. That experience left me deeply shaken and traumatized."

"Ever since I was lucky enough to escape and return, I've been struggling to understand why everything in this world has become so terrible, and what I should do to truly change this Ninja World, so full of suffering and injustice."

Qile met Madara's gaze with unwavering eyes, not showing the slightest fear. His tone was earnest as he explained himself.

Madara quietly studied Qile. Though the child was still young, his mind was already far more mature than those of others his age. The extraordinary calm on his tender face stirred something within Madara.

After a moment of silence, Madara finally nodded slowly, indicating that he understood the reason.

Though Qile's explanation still sounded somewhat far-fetched, Madara had no inclination to press him for every detail or investigate further right now.

All he wanted was a reason that was just plausible enough. That would be the end of it.

After all, he couldn't possibly place his complete trust in Qile just because the boy had said a few words to him.

He would have to investigate the child personally and thoroughly. Only then could he put his lingering doubts to rest.

"That's enough for today's clan meeting... You're all dismissed." After a brief pause, Madara finally decided to end the meeting.

Qile's interruption had made even Madara realize that he needed to seriously reconsider the complicated relationship between himself and Konoha.

Madara stood quietly on the raised platform at the front of the hall, his gaze slowly sweeping over each clan member as he watched them leave one by one.

Only after every clan member had left the hall did Madara turn his attention back to Qile and Kagami.

"Your name is Kagami, right?" Madara's deep, resonant voice rang out slowly.

At his words, Kagami, who was already extremely nervous, jolted. A flash of alarm crossed his bright eyes, and he immediately replied respectfully, "Yes, clan leader. My name is Kagami."

Kagami's heart was pounding so fast that it seemed ready to leap out of his throat. His fists were clenched, his palms already slick with sweat.

Madara merely gave him a slight nod, then said in a calm voice, "Go home."

To Kagami, those few simple words sounded like music from heaven. He had been wound tight with nerves, but as soon as he heard them, he felt his whole body relax, as if the boulder weighing on his heart had finally been lifted.

Kagami let out a long breath, but before leaving, he couldn't help sneaking a glance at Qile, who stood to one side. The moment their eyes met, he quickly lowered his head again, not daring to linger.

Then Kagami bowed deeply to Madara once more, showing his respect for the clan leader. Only after that did he turn and hurry away from this place that had filled him with such pressure.