Entrusting

At the Elder's words, Qiu Shan Uchiha hurriedly nodded, afraid he might change his mind.

"I have somewhere to store them. Please give them all to me."

But rather than agree, the Elder scoffed at Qiu Shan Uchiha's words.

"What do you think these are, cabbages? These are the accumulated knowledge of our Uchiha Clan over more than a thousand years, our heritage, the very foundation on which we stand. Do you understand, boy?"

"One of the responsibilities of the Elder's line is to safeguard them, while also recording events to pass down..."

The Elder paused and took a sip of tea before continuing.

"I've told you all this not to show off, but to make you understand how important these texts are. If you hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, you wouldn't even be qualified to go near them, let alone read them. In the entire Uchiha Clan, only the clan head is allowed to consult them."

"It's not that I'm unwilling to part with them. These texts contain not only strange tales and anecdotes from the shinobi world, but also every detail of our Uchiha Clan's development over the past thousand years and more. If they fell into malicious hands, it would be a tremendous disaster for our clan."

As he spoke, the Elder pointed at his heart. "To protect these texts, I've placed not only a barrier around the archive, but Explosive Tags inside it that are linked to my heartbeat. Our Uchiha Clan are experts in genjutsu, so even an ordinary Mangekyo couldn't bring me under its control instantly. And if someone killed me, the Explosive Tags would destroy the texts in the archive at once. Even in death, I won't leave a threat behind for the Uchiha Clan."

Qiu Shan Uchiha was deeply moved by the Elder's words. Qiushan had never imagined the Elder would go to such lengths for the Uchiha.

After a moment of silence, Qiu Shan Uchiha looked at the Elder. "Elder, do you trust me?"

The Elder nodded. "You may be a little slippery, boy, but you're decent at heart. If I didn't trust you, why would I tell you so much?"

Hearing that, Qiu Shan Uchiha reached out and laid a hand on the Elder's shoulder. His expression turned serious. "Don't resist."

Though somewhat puzzled, the Elder still nodded.

Qiu Shan Uchiha activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, taking the opportunity to leave a spatial mark in the Elder's home. Then he nodded to the Elder and activated his dōjutsu-Takamagahara.

Waves of spatial fluctuations invisible to the naked eye spread outward. Then Qiu Shan Uchiha and the Elder, Uchiha Ling, vanished from the room without warning.

Qiu Shan Uchiha and the Elder abruptly appeared on the island within Takamagahara's space. Their vision blurred for an instant, and the scenery before them changed. As the Elder surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings and felt the breeze gently brushing his face, his pupils involuntarily contracted. His expression was that of a man whose entire understanding of the world had just suffered a tremendous shock.

Back in the Elder's reception room, Qiu Shan Uchiha and the Elder suddenly appeared beside the table. Qiu Shan Uchiha still smiled at the Elder, a gleam of delight at his successful prank hidden deep in his eyes. The Elder, meanwhile, remained full of wonder, still marveling at what had just happened.

Qiu Shan Uchiha asked with a smile, "Elder, there's no problem now, is there? You believe I have somewhere to store those texts now, right?"

The Elder nodded. "I never imagined your other dōjutsu would be the rarest kind-a spatial dōjutsu. If they aren't safe in there, then nowhere in the world is safe. My mind is at ease. I'll give you the texts right away."

With that, the Elder left the reception room again, while Qiu Shan Uchiha patiently drank his tea and waited.

This time, Qiu Shan Uchiha waited rather longer. Just as he was about to finish the entire pot of tea, the Elder finally returned carrying two enormous scrolls.

The scrolls were a good two sizes larger than the Scroll of Seals Naruto Uzumaki had carried. Rather than putting them on the table, the Elder set them on the floor, since they were simply too large.

After setting the scrolls down, the Elder pointed to the red one. "This red one contains the texts passed down through our Uchiha Clan. You can read them whenever you have time. As for the blue one, it contains every ninjutsu our clan has recorded and developed. With these two things alone, you'd have enough to establish another Uchiha Clan."

Qiu Shan Uchiha understood from the Elder's words that he was making preparations in case the Uchiha Clan was wiped out. He did not refuse. He simply activated his Mangekyo, focused on the two scrolls, and transported them directly into Takamagahara's space.

Still, Qiu Shan Uchiha asked curiously, "Elder, if you've given me all these records, what will you do when you need them?"

The Elder pursed his lips at Qiu Shan Uchiha's question. "Don't worry. Everything I gave you was a backup. When each successive Elder takes office, the first thing he does is copy all the inherited records by hand. That also ensures the new Elder commits all the material to memory.

"We have that Second Hokage Tobirama Senju to thank, too. Though he was quite hostile toward our Uchiha Clan, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique he invented is truly useful. But even with multiple shadow clones, it still took me nearly a year to copy all the books. The previous Elder had it even worse. When he took office, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique didn't exist yet, so it took him several years to finish. The copies I have are the ones he passed down to me."

Qiu Shan Uchiha felt reassured by the Elder's words. Now that they had finished discussing his dōjutsu, he told the Elder about the Uchiha Clan's departure from Konoha.

After patiently listening to Qiu Shan Uchiha's plans, the Elder fell silent for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

"Ah, I never thought it would come to this after all. The village isn't solely to blame. Our Uchiha Clan bears some responsibility too, though our clansmen have certainly suffered."

"Now that things have come this far, the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha has become irreconcilable. But Qiushan, are you confident about faking Shisui's death? Shisui is a rare talent among our Uchiha. You mustn't let him sacrifice himself for nothing."

Qiu Shan Uchiha nodded firmly at the Elder's words. "Rest assured, Elder. Shisui is a brother I can trust with my life. If I weren't confident, I would never arrange for him to go to his death."