Chapter 20: Uchiha Kenji
It took Ling a full two hours to barely explain to Yata and Sanshu that some words need to be understood in combination with tone, rather than simply from the literal meaning.
"Humans are so complicated, caw."
"Caw! That's right! They're so complicated!"
Ling's mouth twitched slightly. "Alright, I have to go out on a mission tomorrow. I'm going to sleep. You guys go rest too. You don't have to stay by my side all the time."
Sanshu nodded and gently touched Ling's palm with his beak. "Caw! Remember to summon us if you need us! After all, you can't see!"
"Although I also want to help the master, I really don't like being summoned, caw..." Yata also spread his wings. "I feel like I'm going to throw up my dinner from last night."
"Caw! I couldn't agree more! It's terrible! Just terrible!"
"
"Then I'm really sorry..." Ling stood up and walked towards the bed. "I'll figure out if I can improve it after your chakra is sufficient for reverse summoning. It's too difficult for me to improve something I have no knowledge of at all."
"Caw! Yata, the master is a fool! He actually thinks that the chakra of birds can be more than that of humans! Cawhahaha!"
"Fool, you can't just say such things directly. The master will be sad, caw."
"Cawhahaha! The master is so naive! Cawhahaha!"
Ling, who was changing clothes to go to sleep: ...
[It seems that it's a good thing not to be able to hear the thoughts of animals usually.]
With this thought in mind, Ling drifted into a deep slumber.
Early the next morning, after checking the ninja tools he was carrying with Madara, Ling went with Madara to the place in the clan where missions were distributed.
Since Ling couldn't see, only Madara entered the mission office. He planned to jot down the desired mission and then go out to discuss it with Ling. Coincidentally, he met some of his peers and said a few simple words. But before he finished speaking, Madara suddenly had a jolt. He felt as if he was being targeted by a fierce beast. He subconsciously drew his sword and turned around, only to face a pair of scarlet three - tomoe Sharingan.
The person seemed to realize the impropriety of his behavior upon seeing Madara's reaction. His gaze shifted slightly downward to avoid Madara's eyes, but he still stared at him closely and looked a bit excited. "Your name is Madara? What's your relationship with Ling?"
Madara frowned immediately. "What's it to you?"
"You're Ling's younger brother!" The person who stopped Madara became even more excited and even took a few steps towards Madara. "Finally, I've waited for this moment!"
Now not only was Madara nervous, but his peers were also on tenterhooks. The surrounding clan members also stopped and looked over. However, some of Ling's peers smiled when they saw the person confronting Madara. One of them even shouted, "Hey, seriously, Kenji - kun? Ling has recovered from his injury, and you still haven't found his home?"
Madara was also startled and looked at the person in front of him suspiciously.
The person named Kenji blushed but didn't dare to avert his/her eyes from Madara. "Shut up! You're so noisy! I just haven't looked for it seriously!"
"You're so stubborn~" The person who spoke just now laughed. "Disperse, disperse. This guy is looking for Ling. It's okay. Hey, Madara - chan, just take this guy to find your elder brother."
Madara: ... Who's Madara - chan! I'm not familiar with you. Don't be so affectionate!
With a click of his tongue, Madara signaled his peers behind him that he could handle it, but still couldn't help but look up and size up the young... girl? called Uchiha Kenji in front of him.
The person in front had fair skin and was extremely beautiful. Slightly curly black medium - length hair fell on both sides of the face. Even the Sharingan in the eye sockets emitted a menacing aura as it rotated, yet it was still hard to look away - this kind of beauty was one in a hundred even among the Uchiha clan, which boasted many beautiful people.
[Even if you're good - looking, you can't openly stare at others with the Sharingan... How impolite.
]Madara looked displeased and asked, "What do you want with my elder brother?"
But before the person in front could answer, a voice came from the doorway, "Hey—Uchiha Kenji! Uchiha Ling is outside!"
"What?! Which Uchiha Ling?" Uchiha Kenji looked extremely surprised and quickly stepped outside. But soon his steps froze again. He turned around stiffly, looking at the group of people in similar clothes with a disappointed expression, "...Damn it."
Madara twitched the corner of his mouth as he saw Uchiha Kenji's confused look. He raised his hand and said, "You're not looking for me, are you?"
But in response, Uchiha Kenji gave Madara a somewhat skeptical look, "...You're Madara? Really?"
[What the heck? Is this guy really that face-blind?]Madara stared blankly at Uchiha Kenji in front of him. [Although everyone is dressed similarly because of the upcoming mission, it's not like he can't recognize me from this close distance just by turning his head!]
Under Madara's gaze as if he were looking at a strange creature, Uchiha Kenji blushed again, turned around, and continued walking outside, "Fine, if you won't say. Uchiha Ling is outside. I'll definitely find him!"
Madara wasn't in a hurry to choose a mission either. He followed Uchiha Kenji's steps, planning to see what this guy was up to.
...
"Really... Uchiha Kenji is still looking for me?" Ling smiled helplessly, "You guys are so mean. You should have taken him with you when I was training at the back mountain of Minato River. You know he's bad at recognizing faces and getting lost..."
"Don't say that. It's quite fun to watch Uchiha Kenji looking for someone. And considering his bipolar personality, you wouldn't have been able to handle it when you were recuperating, would you?" A peer from the Uchiha clan who was talking to Ling laughed, "Oh, here he comes. Hey—Uchiha Kenji, over here. The one with his eyes covered here is Uchiha Ling~
I'm counting on you, Ling. I'm waiting for you to be the leader so I can slack off. You have no idea how much less I've eaten because of dealing with the team conflicts during your rest period~"
"Yeah, thanks, Uchiha Eiji." Ling smiled, "But please let me off. I'm already expending all my energy on developing ninjutsu suitable for myself."
"Come on, don't be so definite~" Uchiha Eiji patted Ling's shoulder, "Then I'll go on the mission. See you later."
Ling nodded, "Okay, stay safe. May your martial fortune be prosperous."
"Sure~ You too. May your martial fortune be prosperous~"
Listening to the fading footsteps of Uchiha Eiji, Ling sighed with a smile, "He's still the same as ever..."
But before he could have more thoughts, Uchiha Kenji rushed over and grabbed his collar, "Uchiha Ling! You damn bastard!"
Ling raised his hand, "Come on, Kenji, calm down first..."
"How can I calm down! Don't you think what you've done is just a jerk move!"
Uchiha Kenji yanked Ling forcefully over, his voice filled with anger. "I've already said that I was supposed to lead the enemies away with false information. So what were you doing? Why did the real information end up in my hands?"
Moreover, look at the mess you've gotten yourself into! Is this acceptable? I'm the kind of guy who can't complete a mission without the team. Compared with the top person of this generation, anyone can tell which one should be sacrificed, right? Can't you make the right choice?!"
"Actually, I escaped at that time... I got this injury because I ran into the Senju team later and couldn't hold back..."
"Shut up! You bastard!" Uchiha Kenji almost lifted Ling completely off the ground. "Isn't that kind of behavior even more stupid? Do you know how many Senju you could slaughter on the battlefield if you grew up smoothly?
If you'd let me attract the enemies then, you wouldn't have gotten into any trouble. Maybe you'd already have killed a dozen Senju to avenge me! Why are you so dumb as to sacrifice your future for those worthless Senju and a good - for - nothing like me!
And I heard that you can't even have the clan's preserved eyes transplanted. I... How can I repay you—Waaaah—"
Madara, who had chased after them, was completely stunned. He couldn't figure out at all why this man, who looked even more beautiful than a woman, would immediately hug his big brother's waist and wail loudly after getting angry. He looked far more heart - broken than his big brother.
Madara stood at the door of the mission hall, watching Uchiha Kenji hugging Ling and crying loudly without caring about the gazes of the clan members. His gaze towards Ling was a mixture of sympathy and shock. [There are so many oddballs in the same generation... It's really not easy, big brother.]