Chapter 22: The Choice of Missions
While Uchiha Kenji was talking to Ling, Madara also selected a few missions he liked and walked out of the mission hall.
"Big brother, I've chosen the missions," Madara said.
Ling turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Hmm, what missions did you choose?"
"There are four missions, which are bandit suppression, assassination, intelligence theft, and situation reconnaissance," Madara's gaze fell on Uchiha Kenji, with a hint of curiosity and a bit of disgust. "I thought that since I'm going on a mission with big brother this time, I might as well get in touch with killing and such..."
"Hmm... The types of missions are quite comprehensive."
Ling gently tapped the staff sword in her hand. "I'll pass on the exploration mission. I'm not up for it right now... What do you think, Kenji?"
"Let's also skip the assassination for now," Kenji said, glancing at Madara, who was quite wary of him, and scratching the back of his head. "It seems your younger brother doesn't really want to team up with me... The other two missions, bandit suppression and intelligence theft, should be okay – probably."
Madara looked even more disdainful at Uchiha Kenji. "You're going to join us? Aren't you face-blind? How can you complete a mission if you can't even tell the target apart?"
"It's simple. Once we leave the clan territory, just treat everyone without the clan emblem as an enemy," Uchiha Kenji crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm just face-blind and bad with directions, not stupid..."
Ling's lips twitched slightly. "But last time you led Senju people to our camp..."
"I didn't expect someone to strip clothes from the dead and even slash themselves with a sword to match the wounds! Such injuries would make anyone in our clan think they were on the verge of death!"
Uchiha Kenji got excited again, but kept his voice low. "You guys didn't recognize him either because his face was cut up..."
"That's true... Fortunately, we didn't suffer much loss that time. After that, Hiro and I didn't dare to rest for a moment..."
"Tell me about it. I felt physically sick seeing people in clan uniforms for a while..."
Seeing that the two were about to start chatting again, Madara quickly spoke up. "Which mission should we choose this time? Bandit suppression or intelligence theft?"
"Hmm... Let's take both. Bandit suppression isn't difficult. It can be a warm-up," Ling said with a faint smile. "It's been a long time since I last killed someone for real. I should start with an easy mission. Hey, Kenji, don't steal the kills from me later, okay?"
"Hey, I won't. Let's compete to see who can kill more. Maybe I'll win!"
"Just make sure you don't get lost... By the way, should we go to my place and sign a temporary contract with the summoned beasts? Sanshu and Yata can lead the way."
"I! DON'T! NEED! Stop looking down on me. No matter how lost I get, I won't fail to realize it after breaking out of the bandit stronghold!"
"Okay then..." Ling shrugged. "Madara, please register for both missions. Don't forget to add Kenji's name."
Madara glanced at Uchiha Kenji. He seemed dissatisfied with Kenji forcing himself into the mission halfway, but he still nodded and headed back to the mission hall to register for the missions.
Madara really couldn't understand what allowed this Uchiha Kenji to participate in that terrifying sparring match.
Is it because he looks delicate, acts stupidly, and is face - blind and bad at finding the way?
But when the three of them left the clan territory and were on their way to the mission location, Uchiha Kenji's way of traveling without making a sound caught Madara's attention.
Although it's said that ninjas are assassins hidden in the shadows, killing without a sound, Madara had never seen someone who could truly be as breathless as a shadow until now.
He could even sense the faint presence of his big brother, but he couldn't determine Uchiha Kenji's position. Instead, he felt extremely uncomfortable because of Kenji's following without a trace of breath.
"Kenji, stop hiding so well and following me. I'll cut you down."
"Ah, sorry, it's a habit." Uchiha Kenji quickened his steps and caught up with Ling. "But you're really amazing. You can still move freely without vision... won't you slip?"
"No, I won't. After all, in order to move normally now, I almost have to release chakra all day long so that I can react in time."
"Then will there be enough chakra for battle?"
Ling was silent for a moment. "It depends on the situation on the spot. After all, this is my first actual combat after going blind... Should we be a little more cautious?"
"Yeah, you can decide."
The two's quiet conversation didn't deliberately avoid Madara. So Madara also slowed down a bit. "Just now... what was that?"
"Ah, right! Madara also has very sharp intuition. It must have been really uncomfortable to be followed like that just now, right?" Ling laughed. "Kenji is very good at Concealment. When he was on a mission before, he even sneaked into an enemy team without being discovered."
"What? Didn't I get exposed that time?" Uchiha Kenji clicked his tongue. "It was quite embarrassing because I ran out of chakra..."
"That's still very impressive. That was a sensory ninja team... although they were all resting." Ling's laughter was a bit teasing. "Hey, Madara, let me tell you. When Kenji and I were on a mission before, whenever it was his turn to keep watch, I would feel like there was something missing around me, but at the same time, I felt like I was being stared at. I couldn't sleep at all."
"Eh..." Madara tilted his head slightly. "An ability of Concealment that even my big brother can't detect?"
"Don't listen to Ling talking nonsense. It's not that exaggerated at all. I'm an Uchiha. I don't have that kind of strange Kekkei Genkai..." Uchiha Kenji awkwardly raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck. "If a sensory ninja with a little experience seriously senses me, I simply can't hide..."
"Then how powerful does a sensory ninja have to be?"
"How powerful...?" Uchiha Kenji frowned. "Well - at least they have to have been on the battlefield for a year and survived an attack. Ah, I'm talking about the sensory ninjas of the Senju clan."
Madara: …?(°-°)?
[Isn't this super impressive?! What on earth is this guy trying to do? Is he showing off?]
"Wow, Ling, your younger brother is giving me such a scary look! Didn't you say your younger brother is very gentle? This look could kill someone!"
"My Madara is so gentle," Ling drawled lazily. "It's all your fault. If you'd admitted you were strong earlier, things wouldn't have turned out this way. You're just not upfront enough."
After a brief silence, Uchiha Kenji raised his voice. "—Are you seriously blaming me?!"