Chapter 19: The End of Training
As days went by, Yata and Sanshu grew stronger. Ling also became more proficient in controlling his body. After the staff - sword was made, he voluntarily went down the mountain to have a sparring match with Uchiha Hiro to test his current strength.
Since it was a private sparring match between them, little news got out. All that people knew was that after that day, Uchiha Hiro quit his position in the medical department with a foul look on his face and started taking on missions again. Judging from his irritable and venomous behavior, he probably didn't get the upper hand.
But Madara was obviously not an outsider. He knew what others didn't. In fact, he was right there when the two fought.
Perhaps due to his limited experience. In Madara's eyes, the moves of the two during the fight were quite spectacular. Moreover, there was one thing different from his own sparring in the clan school. The moment he announced the start of the fight, the two regarded the person in front of them as an enemy.
Every move was aimed straight at the other's vital points without reservation. It was a real fight with real weapons. It felt as if they were sworn enemies with a blood feud. Madara couldn't help trembling as he watched. Even after the fight ended and the killing intent disappeared immediately, he still couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.
Finally, Ling led him back home all the way, and then he gradually calmed down. Taking this opportunity, Ling began to analyze his fight with Hiro with Madara and taught Madara how to precisely avoid the opponent's attacks and then counter - attack the opponent's vital points.
Madara learned very seriously, but he still couldn't help being curious. "… Does big brother usually spar with his peers like this?"
"Only when I want to test my own strength do I bring out the killing intent. Usually, it's just an ordinary sparring match," Ling shook his head. "Moreover, this kind of sparring is not with all of my peers. For now, this kind of real - fight with killing intent is only carried out among me, Hiro, Akihiko, Yakuki, and Kenji."
"… Kenji?" Madara tilted his head. "It seems I've never met him among the people you usually interact with."
"Well, Kenji only does missions all the time. It's normal that you haven't met him. And…" Ling seemed to recall something helpless. "Kenji's personality is a bit polarized, but he's not a bad person. In fact, he's quite simple. He's just a bit hard to deal with."
Madara nodded, but soon became curious again. "Is there really someone that big brother can't handle?"
"It's not that I can't handle him. It's just that I don't know where to start…" Ling forced a smile and averted his gaze. "Cough, let's not talk about me. How are you getting along with your clansmen recently?"
Madara thought of those annoying clansmen and rolled his eyes several times when Ling couldn't see. But his tone remained as calm as usual. "It's okay. There are just always disagreements when we're on missions."
"
"Well, it's normal to have disagreements during a mission. After all, we can't expect everyone to have the same thoughts," Ling turned his head back again. "If there's enough time, we can let everyone share their thoughts and discuss. But if it's urgent, we have to be tough and decisive... However, it's not easy to win people's obedience.
One's accumulated reputation, personal strength, and the level of recognition from team members will all have an impact on winning people's obedience... Madara, you can't just focus on improving your own strength."
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind... How does big brother usually solve such Mondai?"
"Me? When I lead a team, everyone listens to my commands. There hasn't been any intense argument so far. Even if there are disagreements, they usually occur after the mission when we're discussing where to relax. After all, I'm always the only one who wants to go to the sake house, so I have no say then."
Madara: …(゜-゜)
[Leaving aside how to win over the clan members... So, breaking the rules after the mission is a normal thing for you, Ling?]
When it came to missions, Ling became energetic again. "By the way, Madara, have you ever killed someone?"
Madara snapped out of his brainstorming. "No... Not yet."
"Well, Madara, you need to be careful," Ling raised his head. "Previously, when it came to missions involving killing, many people couldn't bring themselves to do it. Even if they managed to do it, they ended up vomiting violently."
"What about you, big brother?"
"Me?" Ling raised his hand and touched his chin. "I didn't feel much about it. After all, if I didn't kill them, I'd die. And the essence of a ninja is a tool. It's quite normal for a tool to take lives.
But Madara, you have to remember that before being a ninja, you're, first and foremost, a human being. As a human being, you're bound to have emotions. Even if you're called a killing tool, you can't really treat yourself and others as tools. Do you understand?"
"Not really... But I'll remember." After Madara finished speaking, he lowered his head. After a brief silence, he spoke up. "Is big brother going to end his training?"
Ling nodded slightly, with a hint of a smile on his lips. "Yes, Yata and Sanshu can already help me identify directions. It's time for me to take on missions again."
"Then team up with me, big brother! Let's go on missions together. You can teach me more!"
Madara suddenly raised his voice, which startled Ling. But Ling quickly nodded in agreement and asked Madara to prepare a set of gear for him too. They would go to pick up a mission together tomorrow.
Madara, who got Ling's approval, was even more excited. He finally didn't have to put up with those stupid team members!
Hooray!
Hearing Madara humming a cheerful tune, Ling shook his head helplessly. "You're still just a kid after all... Well, I'm not that old myself, though."
At this point, Ling couldn't help but laugh. However, after the laughter, his expression grew even more bitter. "I went to the battlefield at the age of nine, but Madara is even one year younger than I was when I first stepped onto the battlefield... Is it because the war is still spreading?
Alas... Why is peace always so fragile? I don't want my brothers to go to the battlefield."
"Then just don't let them go, caw!" Along with the flapping of wings, a completely black crow dropped from the roof beam. "If they don't listen, tie them up, caw!"
"Yata... It's easy to say, but they are my brothers. Like you, they are my family. When I say I don't want them to go to the battlefield, it means I want to protect them." Ling reached out and picked up the crow, looking extremely helpless. "If I did what you said, wouldn't I become the number one culprit harming my brothers?"
"Caw! Yata is a fool!" Another well - feathered crow also dropped from the roof beam and unceremoniously perched on Ling's head. "If you want to protect someone, you should just break their limbs! Lock them up! Lock them up!"
"Sanshu is the fool, caw!" Yata, held in Ling's arms, also raised his voice. "Breaking limbs is an act of harm, caw! It's putting the cart before the horse, caw!"
"Caw! They'll run away if you don't break their hands and feet! I heard the master talking with the Senju clan before! That's how they treated their friends from the Senju clan!"
"Those treated like that aren't friends, caw!"
"Caw! Nonsense! The master said it himself - [We must treat these friends from the Senju clan well] - Relatives and friends should be treated the same way!"
"Well, what you said does make some sense, caw..."
Ling: ... It's all wrong! Don't just listen half - heartedly when learning!
[It seems I need to be more careful about my words and actions in the future... Or I should explain to them the role of tone?] Ling reached up and grabbed Sanshu from his head. He stroked the feathers of the two crows that were arguing non - stop, one in each hand, looking a bit distressed. [Sure enough, raising summoned beasts by myself is a big hassle.]