"How do you feel?" Madara turned his head slightly, no longer paying attention to Hashirama, who was laughing so hard beside him that he was practically falling over. Instead, he looked at Qile and asked calmly.
"Like my body's been completely drained," Qile replied without hesitation.
Madara showed no surprise at Qile's answer, as though he'd expected this. "You've only run out of chakra. It's nothing serious. Get a little rest, and you'll recover soon."
Qile felt somewhat reassured, but immediately pressed on, "Then did I succeed last night?"
His eyes were full of hope and impatience. He desperately wanted Madara to give him a definite answer.
Madara fell silent for a moment, gazing at the anxious Qile before him. His mind involuntarily drifted back to what had happened the night before.
Qile's hands had fumbled through the Hand Seals. Once he'd finished the last one, he took a deep breath, and the next moment, a massive fireball burst from his mouth, seemingly lighting up the entire night sky.
It had only lasted an incredibly short time, but Madara knew perfectly well that this was simply because Qile was still young and had little chakra.
Of course, although Madara was very pleased with Qile's talent, he remained outwardly calm, betraying not the slightest emotion.
He slowly reached out with his right hand and picked up the teacup on the table, taking a small sip. Only then did he give a leisurely nod, showing his approval of Qile's performance the night before.
Qile couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He'd never expected to be able to spit out a fireball on his first try like Itachi. All he'd wanted was to manage a few sparks, like Sasuke.
Now that Madara had nodded, Qile's worries were laid to rest. If Madara said he'd succeeded, then he'd succeeded.
Someone like Madara Uchiha wouldn't spare your feelings just because you were a child.
"Wow, Madara, you're being a little harsh. The kid's so young, and you made him use up all his chakra." Hashirama had finally stopped laughing and began sticking up for Qile.
"Hmph! When we were kids, we had to take Kunai onto the battlefield at three years old. What's running out of chakra in comparison?" Madara said disdainfully, as though it were no big deal at all.
Hashirama furrowed his brow slightly at this. He thought back to his own childhood and paused before continuing, "But it was precisely because of that that we created Konoha together."
Qile stood quietly to one side, listening to their conversation. He thought about everything Hashirama had done, and how he had always treated others with the same kindness.
If Qile had been born and raised in the Ninja World, and had been faced with the choice of whether Madara or Hashirama should become the First, he would have voted for Hashirama without the slightest hesitation.
However, just as the atmosphere between Madara and Hashirama was growing tense, Hashirama, who had seemed rather solemn, suddenly showed his unreliable side.
A somewhat goofy smile appeared on his face. He turned eagerly to Qile and said, "Hey, kiddo, want me to teach you a fun game? Come on over!"
Before Qile could agree, Hashirama reached out and pulled him over to his side. At the same time, he tossed the dice in his hand, his eyes brimming with anticipation.
Madara watched from the other side, looking utterly helpless. He raised a hand to his forehead, then gently waved to Yeling, who was standing beside him. "Go prepare dinner. He's been asleep all day, so he'll be hungry before long."
"Understood, Clan Leader." Yeling bowed respectfully to the three of them, then slowly stepped backward and left.
"Let's just see who rolls higher," Hashirama called out. As he spoke, he eagerly started to hand the dice to Qile.
But just as the dice were about to fall into Qile's palm, Hashirama abruptly pulled his hand back, as though he'd suddenly changed his mind. "Since you're not familiar with the rules yet, I'll roll first!"
"Madara! Want to join us?" Hashirama shouted excitedly.
Unfortunately, despite Hashirama's enthusiastic invitation, Madara didn't react at all. He didn't even glance in their direction.
Still, Hashirama wasn't put off. He immediately tossed the dice in his hand.
"Five!!!!!!!!"
The dice lay still on the square tabletop, its number clearly visible.
Hashirama had been watching tensely. The moment he saw the number, he suddenly sprang to life and let out a shout.
His voice was like a thunderclap, making Qile beside him shudder.
Once his excitement had passed, Hashirama snatched up the dice from the table with lightning speed and shoved it into Qile's hand.
At the same time, he quickly wiped away his smile and put on a serious, authoritative expression. "Kiddo, you have to hold the dice tightly like I did, then throw it hard!"
As he spoke, he gestured back and forth in front of Qile, afraid he wouldn't understand how it was done.
Faced with Hashirama's enthusiastic insistence, Qile could only nod helplessly and casually toss the dice onto the table.
In that instant, Hashirama sprang to his feet as if he had a spring under him. He stared fixedly at the dice rolling across the table, not daring to blink.
The next moment, the dice stopped, showing a four. Hashirama could no longer contain his delight. He threw his head back and laughed, his voice filling the room. "Hahahahaha! A four! Just a little lower than mine! All right, kiddo, let's go again!"
Time passed, and over the next while, Hashirama's smile grew more and more exaggerated and twisted, almost enough to call it grotesque.
By contrast, Qile's expression grew gloomier and gloomier as the game went on.
Even Madara, who was usually calm and collected, couldn't help feeling puzzled when he saw how strangely the two of them were acting. Was Hashirama really having such good luck today?
Curious, he couldn't help joining in and trying a couple of rounds himself.
As expected, once he joined the game, it was easy for him to roll higher than Hashirama.
After a couple of rounds of testing, Madara was certain that Hashirama hadn't cheated.
Which meant Qile really was...
Qile was practically going insane. In just half an hour, he'd lost seven or eight times out of ten.
How could his luck at gambling be this bad!?
Hashirama's luck was famously terrible!
He might not have been as bad as his granddaughter Tsunade, but he was surely not far behind.
"Hahahahaha..."
Hashirama's hearty laughter had continued without pause ever since the game began. It wasn't until he noticed that Qile's once-fair, rosy little face had grown increasingly sullen with each defeat that he finally slowed down his dice-throwing a little.
"Oh, come on, kiddo, you need more practice! Back in my day, it took countless battles to hone my gambling skills to this level. Don't be too jealous!" Hashirama said with a grin, patting Qile on the shoulder. His smug, slightly teasing expression was so irritating it made Qile's teeth ache.
Qile glared at the obnoxiously smug Hashirama before him, feeling a nameless anger slowly rise within him.
At that moment, he really wanted to raise his hand and slap him right across the face!
"How about this? Bow to me three times, and I'll take you on as my disciple."
It was hard to tell whether Hashirama had said it on purpose or by accident, but he suddenly came out with this astonishing remark.
"Hashirama! You've crossed the line!" Madara was the first to recover. His voice was as cold and stern as the water of a frozen pool.
"Uh..." Hashirama awkwardly scratched his head. "Sorry, sorry. My mistake, my mistake."
Before you continue