After resting up, Madara planned to take on another mission. He ran into Uchiha Kenji and Uchiha Chiho at the mission hall again. Before he could avoid them, Uchiha Chiho waved her hand. "Oh, isn't this Ling's little brother? Come over here quickly!"
After a brief moment of silence, Madara obediently walked over. After all, she was very likely to be his future sister - in - law. It was necessary to get along well with her, even though she was a bit of a hassle.
"Wow~ Just as Ling said, you have such a delicate face~" Uchiha Chiho gave a charming smile. "I didn't have the chance to take a good look at you yesterday."
Madara uncomfortably turned his head away. "Hello, Sister Chiho."
"Good boy~ I'll buy you candy later," Uchiha Chiho reached out and ruffled Madara's hair. "Madara, you've only been back for two days. Aren't you going to be too tired taking on a mission so soon? You don't have to push yourself too hard when you're just starting out."
"No, carrying out missions is also a form of training. I learned a lot from the mission with Brother Kenji and Big Brother last time," Madara looked up. "But Sister Chiho, didn't you say you were going to train with my big brother? Why are you here now..."
"Well, Ling doesn't actually need me," Uchiha Chiho withdrew her hand. "I was thinking of taking a chance, but Ling didn't give me any chance at all. It's really frustrating."
"Hey, you crazy woman, leave Ling alone," Uchiha Kenji curled his lips. "That guy wasn't interested in you when he could see. Now that he's blind, he's even less likely to be interested."
"
"I've known this for a long time," Uchiha Chiho sniffed disdainfully. "But how can you expect me to just accept it? Seriously, Ling is such a mean - spirited guy. He flirts with people and then just leaves them hanging."
"Instead of that, are you going to form a team with me or not? If not, I'll find someone else," Uchiha Kenji clicked his tongue. "I promised Ling that I'd go for training with him after the next next mission."
Madara was taken aback and couldn't help but interject, "Wasn't it the next - next - next mission?"
"Huh?" Uchiha Kenji raised his eyebrows. "How long do you think a mission takes, Madara? The next - next - next mission was three days ago."
"Madara has only been on missions for a short time. He doesn't know how often you take on missions," Uchiha Chiho rolled her eyes irritably. "And the training with Ling... Don't tell me it's that crazy training you guys do again?"
"Well, this kind of training really helps improve one's skills. You've seen Ling's situation. This time, he's probably developing some Perception-related Jutsu. Since I'm good at Concealment, we'll definitely have a go at it."
Uchiha Kenji stroked his chin. "I'm just wondering what kind of terrifying combat style that guy will come up with this time. Last time I saw him fighting the Kaguya clan with Gitai, it was already hard to understand. He's really becoming less and less like an Uchiha. Well, it's actually a good thing that his combat style isn't typical of the Uchiha, since I don't fight with the clan members on a regular basis."
"He's so tenacious and never stops striving, even in the depths of despair. No wonder I fell for him," Uchiha Chiho clasped her hands to her face. "Hey, Madara, do you wanna join our team for the mission? If you do, big sister will take you to see some [i]interesting[/i] things."
Madara remembered how Uchiha Kenji had bombarded him with everyone's embarrassing stories and immediately shook his head vigorously like a rattle - drum (a traditional Chinese toy).
"Come on, stop teasing the kid. Ling's little brother can't take a joke," Uchiha Kenji reached out to pull Uchiha Chiho. "Let's take on the mission quickly. I've left Ling enough time to figure things out after three consecutive missions. But if he figures it out too well, I'll be in big trouble."
Uchiha Chiho let Uchiha Kenji pull her along. "Then you could have just gone to train with Ling before."
"Wow! Accompany you on the day you went to see Ling? Do you think I'm tired of living? You have to know when to have fun."
"What nonsense are you talking about? You're the one who talks the most. And do you think I'm a violent person? I'm giving you a chance to rephrase that, [i]Kenji - kun[/i]."
"Don't you have any idea why it won't work when you're around? Your violence is just like those Senju gorillas... Ow! I'm wrong, I'm wrong! Hands, hands, hands!"
Madara, who had witnessed it all: ...Suddenly, he didn't find his peers so repulsive anymore.
However, after reforming the team for the mission, Madara threw that little bit of sympathy for his peers into thin air. They were just a bunch of useless people!
Especially after experiencing a mission where Ling and Uchiha Kenji basically carried the entire team, Madara became even more convinced that "everyone of the same generation is useless." However, considering the age and experience gap between them, Madara decided to observe for a while longer.
Compared to Madara, whose life was quite fulfilling, Izuna, who always trained alone at home, was extremely lonely.
However, he also knew that his two brothers had their own reasons for not staying at home, rather than deliberately trying to distance themselves from him. So, apart from occasionally puffing out his cheeks and complaining in his heart about why he hadn't grown up yet, he was always very well - behaved.
Tajima Uchiha also noticed this, so he always tried his best to finish clan affairs early and come back to accompany his youngest son in training and explain ninjutsu. However, besides this, Tajima Uchiha also worried about Ling and Madara. But these two kids each had their own ways of handling things. If he tried to comfort them, it would only have an unwanted counter - effect.
Thinking of this, Tajima Uchiha couldn't help but sigh. This action immediately caught Izuna's attention. He raised his head, looking at his father with a pair of cat - like round eyes, and said uneasily, "Father, did I do something wrong?"
"No, Izuna did very well." Tajima Uchiha reached out and picked up his youngest son into his arms, with a somewhat melancholy smile on his face. "I'm just thinking about how Ling's training and Madara's mission are going. Even though I know their abilities far exceed those of their peers, as the clan leader, I ought to fully trust them. But at the same time, as a father, I still can't help but worry about them."
Izuna nodded half - understandingly, and reached out to hug Tajima Uchiha's neck, with anticipation in his eyes. "Then can we go and see them?"
Tajima Uchiha couldn't help but laugh. He reached out and scraped Izuna's nose with his finger. "No, we can't. Didn't Ling specifically say before he left that he needed to train in seclusion because the jutsu he was going to develop was very dangerous and required a quiet environment? Sanshu and Yata will tell us when he finishes this training."
Izuna puffed out his cheeks again, and his voice was a bit dull. "… I really want to know how far big brother's training has progressed."
"Ah, yes," Tajima Uchiha also lowered his eyes. "I wonder how far Ling's training has gone now."
However, Tajima Uchiha didn't know that at this moment, Ling, who was training in seclusion at the back mountain, was distressed because of an unexpected guest who had inadvertently entered his sensing range...