Saved

Just as Qile had predicted, the ambush had indeed not been a test deliberately arranged by Tobirama. However, Tobirama had noticed the group several days earlier.

Over the past few days, those people had been skulking around, watching their every move. So Tobirama had quietly turned their scheme against them, using F5 and Qile as bait to successfully lure the enemies hiding in the shadows out into the open.

From the very start of the battle, Tobirama had been watching its progress closely from within the forest.

Meanwhile, Hashirama had been strolling leisurely through the village when the somewhat noisy sounds of battle atop Kage Rock caught his attention. He had assumed someone was training and had only meant to go take a look, never expecting to find himself witnessing an actual fight.

By an even greater coincidence, Madara had just returned to the village from an outing. Like Tobirama, he had witnessed the entire battle from the shadows.

In an instant, Qile suddenly felt himself being tightly enveloped in a layer of blue energy.

Before he could react, a silver flash streaked past. As it flickered, the enemy's right hand was severed in an instant.

Almost at the same time, the trees around Qile seemed to have been nourished, beginning to grow wildly at an astonishing speed. Thick branches crisscrossed, rapidly weaving into an airtight net that firmly trapped the attacker.

Seeing this, Qile finally felt the taut string inside him loosen a little.

He turned to look at Hashirama, Tobirama, and Madara standing beside him, and let out a long sigh of relief, his face showing the relief of someone who had narrowly escaped death.

"I'm saved..." he murmured, a trace of weariness in his voice.

At that moment, seeing the three of them suddenly appear, an indescribable sense of security welled up in him.

But in the very next instant, he suddenly felt the whole world spinning violently, as if the heavens and earth had been turned upside down.

The several Great Fireball Techniques he had just used, combined with his constant Body Flicker Technique, had drained all the chakra from his body.

Now, he could barely even stay on his feet without Madara's help...

Meanwhile, with Senju Tobirama stepping in personally, Uchiha Hikari had killed all the enemies surrounding her in almost no time.

Then she dashed over to Madara, dropped to one knee without hesitation, and bowed her head respectfully. "Clan Leader!"

Madara slowly dispelled the Susanoo surrounding him. He expressionlessly glanced at Uchiha Hikari, who was kneeling on the ground. Having watched the whole thing, he was quite satisfied with her performance, but his temperament made it difficult for him to offer any words of encouragement.

After a brief pause, he merely said, in a tone that was not entirely cold, "Go to the village's medical department and get your hand treated. The clan will cover the cost."

Meanwhile, once Madara withdrew his Susanoo, Qile, who had been holding himself together with sheer tension, could no longer keep going. Like a deflated balloon, he dropped heavily onto the ground.

Seeing this, Hashirama had already returned to his usual, seemingly unreliable smile. He strode over and checked on Qile with concern.

As for Senju Tobirama, he merely glanced at Qile. Then he turned around and barked at F5 behind him, "Come with me!" Before the words had even faded, he set off down the mountain without looking back...

F5 stood where they were, feeling torn. They really wanted to go over and check on Qile.

But when they saw Madara's stern face and cold expression, the thought vanished without a trace.

With no other choice, F5 exchanged a glance with Qile from a distance, then bowed to Madara and Hashirama. "Lord Hokage, Lord Madara, we'll take our leave."

Madara merely nodded, aloof as ever, while Hashirama waved at them with a smile. "You little guys all did great! But remember to get yourselves checked out at the medical department!"

After everyone else had left, Madara slowly approached the attacker, who was bound tightly by the incredibly tough vines Hashirama had created.

He said nothing, his icy gaze falling on the man like a cold star. Then his eyes suddenly widened, and his scarlet Sharingan appeared...

"Your name! Who sent you?" Madara's voice was so cold it seemed to come from the depths of hell, its bone-chilling tone spilling out slowly.

"...Inoue Yuma..."

Strangely, though the attacker named Inoue Yuma had been placed under a genjutsu, he said nothing beyond his own name. Even his expression kept changing, now twisted and vicious, now showing extreme pain.

No matter how he struggled, he never revealed a single word about the mastermind behind it all.

Just then, Hashirama, who had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke up. "Oh? It seems to be a Sealing Jutsu. That really surprises me..."

As a man who had married the Uzumaki princess, Hashirama was not exactly an expert on every kind of Sealing Jutsu, but he had at least studied a little of them all.

As far as he knew, there seemed to be only one kind of Sealing Jutsu capable of doing this...

He paused to consider, then spoke in a somewhat tentative tone. "I'll take him back to the clan compound and have Mito take a look. Qile should come along too. The injury to his leg still needs treatment."

Madara offered no objection to Hashirama's suggestion.

But just then, Madara furrowed his brow and quickly scanned the surroundings, as if searching for someone...

Seeing this, Qile's heart gave a sudden lurch. He immediately called out, "Clan Leader, I asked Yeling to attend the clan lessons for me this morning. This has nothing to do with Yeling! She had no idea something like this would happen."

At his words, Madara's already stern face grew even darker, sending a chill through the air.

He stared straight at Qile and said coldly, "So Yeling wasn't with you today?"

Under Madara's nearly freezing gaze, Qile felt immense pressure bearing down on him, but he still forced himself to stay calm and hurriedly replied, "Um... this is a little complicated. I'll explain everything to you once I get back to the clan. But it really has nothing to do with Yeling! She was only following my orders."

Having Yeling attend the clan lessons in his place was already against the rules.

But who could have imagined that he would be attacked at that very moment? Even worse, Yeling, who was supposed to stay by his side at all times, was not there.

And worst of all, Madara had found out about it.

If Qile didn't step forward quickly and say something on Yeling's behalf, he could hardly imagine how severely she might be punished.

Hashirama shrugged, as though he didn't want to hear any more. He simply picked Qile up and said, "I'll take them away for now. I'll come find you a little later."

Hashirama had lifted Qile off the ground, but Qile still called out urgently, "Clan Leader! Please! When you get back to the clan compound, make sure Yeling comes to the Senju Clan Compound to find me first! Don't punish her! I'll give you a satisfactory explanation."