Uchiha Kenji didn't notice Madara's thoughtful expression. Taking advantage of the time when Ling was tidying himself up, he began to pour all of Ling's embarrassing stories into Madara's ears.
For example, Ling insisted on going to a sake house but was finally overruled by everyone and directly carried to a casino. He was confessed to by a girl of the same generation during a mission and then fell off a tree in fright. He would also drag people to sing with him after getting drunk.
He particularly emphasized how decisive and cold - blooded Ling was when he first killed someone. In short, it could be summed up in one sentence - your brother is not a good person, at least not a good person in the strict sense.
But Madara couldn't help but have doubts. After all, Uchiha Kenji had admitted that he couldn't remember people's faces at all. So Madara had reasons to suspect that Uchiha Kenji had attributed other people's "glorious deeds" to Ling.
Uchiha Kenji couldn't stand Madara's skeptical look. He immediately raised his voice and shouted in the direction of the stream, "Ling! Was it you who dragged people to sing after getting drunk last time?!"
Ling's voice soon came back, "Isn't it just being tone - deaf after getting drunk? Can you stop harping on this matter?!"
Uchiha Kenji then turned back, looking at the dazed Madara proudly. "Well, my words are still trustworthy, right?"
Madara kept a straight face and turned his head away, like he didn't wanna believe it.
At this time, Ling walked over in new clothes, looking extremely helpless. "What kind of nonsense did you tell my brother again?"
"I'm telling him this precisely because he's your brother," Uchiha Kenji said with a sly smile. "Madara is going to compete for the Uchiha clan leader now. It's not a good thing for him to idolize you too much."
"Then there are still many other things you can talk about," Ling sighed. "Don't tell him about those inappropriate things."
But Uchiha Kenji nudged Ling's arm with his elbow. "What?
You can say one thing and do the opposite, but you won't allow your brother to be free - spirited?"
Ling shook his head, feeling extremely tired, "...Go and clean yourself up."
"Come on, Madara. Let me tell you some glorious deeds of your brother!" Uchiha Kenji hooked Madara's neck and pulled him away before Madara could resist. "Although Ling is cold - blooded and doesn't care about sentiment during missions, during the rest time after missions, he is the kind - hearted guy who tolerates others without a bottom line as you know. I remember the last time after our mission..."
Madara: ...Shut up! I don't wanna hear this crap!
After being force - fed a bunch of random things by Uchiha Kenji, Madara had absolutely no energy left to think about whether killing was right or wrong. All he wanted to do now was to piece together the fragmented image of Ling in his heart that had been bombarded by all kinds of explosive information.
While Madara was trying to reorganize his impression of Ling, Uchiha Kenji sneaked up to Ling and whispered, "So, did my trick work?"
Ling felt Madara's increasingly chaotic chakra. The helplessness in his tone was almost palpable. "It worked a bit too well... Let's not talk about this. I'll leave it to you to take Madara on the intelligence theft mission."
"Sure, but how much he can learn from me depends on himself." Uchiha Kenji nodded. "The mission target is a samurai family, right? How much do you know about them?"
"Hmm... If I remember correctly..."
When it came to the mission, both of them became much more serious. The previous mildness disappeared, replaced by a coldness.
However, since they had been busy all night, they didn't talk for long. After a simple exchange, they went to rest to regain their strength.
In the afternoon, after they had recovered, they headed to the town. Ling entered the town directly wearing the clothes with the [clan emblem], while Uchiha Kenji changed out of the clothes with the [clan emblem] after making a secret signal with Madara and used the Transformation Technique to blend into the crowd and entered the town separately.
Shortly after entering the town, Ling sensed someone following him. Instead of exposing them, he openly inquired about the mission target right in front of them. As expected, he was blocked in an alley.
But this was exactly what Ling had expected, so he wasn't panicked at all. Instead, he calmly stopped, leaning on his [staff sword]. "What do you gentlemen mean by this?"
"Are you a ninja from the Uchiha clan?" a man's deep voice sounded. "You're inquiring about information of our clan... What's your intention?"
Ling smiled faintly and nodded in the man's direction. "I have no [Malice]. I've just heard that the noble family has great insights into swordsmanship, so I'd like to have a match. I hope you can make it convenient for me."
But obviously, the other side didn't think Ling would be so honest. The man just raised his hand and made a gesture to his [clan members], and they slowly surrounded Ling.
"Oh come on, are we really gonna 'communicate' and 'compete' like this?"
Ling tapped the staff sword in his hand lightly, still smiling at the corners of his mouth. "Seems like I'll get a good workout."
"If you don't wanna suffer, you'd better give up quietly. We'll let you go after confirming your purpose. But if you resist... don't blame us for being ruthless."
The man looked solemn and extremely vigilant. "After all, ninjas aren't the only ones who can use chakra, and even you're just a blind Uchiha. Without those troublesome illusions, you Uchihas are nothing more than ordinary people who can do some eye techniques.
Moreover, even the Uchiha clan would never go against our clan just for a blind person like you. So I advise you to be sensible and come with us obediently..."
"I'm really being looked down upon..." Ling handed the staff sword to his left hand and raised his right hand to rub his nose. "What should I say at this time? Well, let me first thank you for such hurtful words."
Seeing Ling's attitude, the man let out a sigh of relief. After all, eye technique families including the Uchiha clan had a strong sense of revenge. It was better not to have a conflict if possible. But before he could fully relax, Ling's gentle voice came again.
"Secondly, a mere samurai family dares to provoke us Uchihas..."
The man's pupils shrank. Just as he was about to order his clan members to take action, a bright blade light flashed before his eyes, and the words he wanted to say were swallowed back due to the blood foam surging up in his throat.
But he still heard Ling's unfinished words.
"I have to admire your ignorance."