Chapter 21: Cheering for You
"Wait, Kenji, stop crying," Ling didn't know where to start for a moment. "At least don't cry here or let go of my belt before crying, okay?! Even though I'm stronger than you and can maintain my balance, the material of the belt isn't that good!"
"I don't want to!" Uchiha Kenji cried even louder, but his hands quietly let go of Ling's belt and instead grabbed the hem of Ling's outer robe. "You know I can't remember people at all! I can only recognize my relatives because I've remembered their voices through long - term interaction. And I can't remember the way either. If someone had to go blind, it should have been me! What's going on now? If you're like this, there'll be another useless blind person among our peers!"
"No, Kenji, look at me. I'm easy to recognize now," Ling breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at himself. "Look, I'm wearing a silk ribbon over my eyes. I'm the only one in the clan who dresses like this, so it's easy to recognize me... Anyway, at least stand up first. We're blocking the mission hall door."
Uchiha Kenji sniffed and glanced at the clan members watching the commotion. Finally, he stood up from the ground, still clutching Ling's clothes with one hand. He looked like a small animal afraid of being abandoned. "What do you want me to do? I'll never be able to repay this favor now—sob..."
"Kenji, stop taking on non - existent favors upon yourself..." Ling sighed and turned towards Madara. "Madara, have you found a mission you like?"
"No... I haven't had the time yet." Madara looked at Uchiha Kenji with a subtle look of disgust. "Um, big brother... over here?"
"It's okay, I can handle this. Madara, just go pick a mission." Ling waved his hand at Madara, but his smile was a bit weak. "Just wait for Kenji to calm down... well, just wait for him to calm down..."
Madara stared at the two of them with a somewhat complex expression for a while, then turned around and entered the mission hall again.
"Is Ling going on a mission?" Uchiha Kenji sniffed. "Then I'm going too."
Ling couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't it overkill for the two of us to go on one mission?"
"Overkill?!" Uchiha Kenji widened his eyes, and his scarlet three - tomoe Sharingan unconsciously emerged. "It'd be a disaster if it were just you and your little brother! A blind guy and a newbie on a mission. You think that hero - sacrificing nonsense is fun?!"
Still draw the picture later and put it in front—Uchiha Kenji [copied Shisui's clothes]
"No... we—"
"Shut up! You stupid idiot! A Gitai nut! Being a ninja is a life - at - risk job. Do you want to find an excuse to get yourself killed and make me carry your favor for the rest of my life? I'll cry! I really will! I won't even have peace as a ghost then!"
Ling sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright—I got it, I got it—I agree to go on the mission together, so let's just drop the favor talk for now, okay? By the way, why are you better at crying than Chiho and the others..."
"Humph..." Uchiha Kenji's eyes returned to black. After a brief moment of silence to calm himself, he spoke again. "...Hey, Ling, you're using chakra to sense your surroundings, right? Don't you notice anything different about me?"
"Huh? Different...?" Ling tilted his head. "Does having more strength count?"
"...I'm serious! Be more serious!"
Hearing what Uchiha Kenji said, Ling reached out and grabbed his wrist, and concentrated on sensing again. "Hmm... The chakra in your brain has become more active. Could it be that you've awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
"Well... I'm not quite sure. But after the last mission with you, the Sharingan always activates involuntarily. I even had someone take me to the medical department, but they couldn't find anything wrong..."
"Well... It should be on the verge of awakening," Ling stroked his chin. "Moreover, now that you mention it, the chakra in Hiro and Akihiko's brains was also very active before. I'm really looking forward to seeing which one of you three will gain that power first!"
"Then you can rule Hiro out," Uchiha Kenji finally calmed down. He grabbed the corner of Ling's clothes, and after confirming that only Ling was blindfolded, he finally let go of his hand. "Although that guy is very capable, he seems to be cursed in these aspects."
"No, it's a bit too much to say it's a curse..."
"Then what would you call him? An Uchiha who mainly uses water - and earth - attribute jutsu is already half useless," Uchiha Kenji folded his arms. "However, it's quite amazing that Hiro can still stay among the top students. His Sensory Ninjutsu is getting better and better. I almost couldn't deceive him last time."
"Ah, yeah. I barely won the sparring match against him last time," Ling reached up to touch the back of his neck and let out a hearty laugh. "I feel like I'm being left behind by you guys. It's really stressful."
"So you should have let me be the decoy last time..." Uchiha Kenji mumbled. "Even if you had to destroy your eyes, you could have just dug them out and crushed them. Didn't you even consider the possibility of coming back alive?"
"The situation on the battlefield is always changing rapidly. It would be even worse if I were captured alive by the Senju clan..." Ling's smile turned helpless. He reached out and patted Uchiha Kenji on the shoulder. "So stop saying such discouraging things about using yourself as a decoy.
Besides, I was the one who chose the mission and led you guys out. As the captain you elected, it's my responsibility to prioritize your safety and bring you all back. Otherwise, if I let you guys die for me, wouldn't I be betraying your trust?"
"But..."
"There's no 'but'. I trust you, Kenji, just as you trust me," Ling smiled. "If you really feel guilty towards me, then surpass me tenfold or a hundredfold. I'll be cheering for you from the rear when that happens."