After a late - night commotion, the Uchiha's medical department finally managed to initially treat the injuries of the two. However, due to the severity of their injuries, both of them had to stay in the medical department for a short - term observation.
Uchiha Akihiko already had injuries on his body before, and the intense battle between the two had caused excessive exhaustion, which worsened his injuries. It wasn't very serious, though. After his condition stabilized, he could go home and recuperate on his own.
But Ling's situation was not looking good. Multiple muscle tears all over his body were the least troublesome of his injuries. The most serious problem was that the lightning - attribute chakra Ling used to strengthen his body did not calm down after the owner's coma. Instead, it became more and more active and extremely repelled the healing chakra of the medical ninjas.
After successfully exhausting six medical ninjas, Ling's injuries were finally initially stabilized. However, since he was still unconscious, a medical ninja had to stay close by to watch over him and be ready for treatment at any time.
Ling's coma also made Uchiha Akihiko, who was staying in the same ward as Ling, receive a lot of dirty looks from Izuna. Especially the next day, after Madara returned to the clan territory after completing a mission and came to visit upon learning of the matter, Uchiha Akihiko felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped by two degrees for no reason.
This situation didn't end until the third day after the duel when Ling regained consciousness. However, Uchiha Akihiko, who was hospitalized with him, was still often given dirty looks by Madara and Izuna.
However, seeing Ling regain consciousness and start to cooperate with the treatment, Uchiha Akihiko no longer lingered. He applied for discharge to go home and recuperate. But before leaving the hospital, he couldn't help but complain to Ling about how his two younger brothers had given him the cold shoulder and dirty looks these days.
"Well... You can't blame Madara and Izuna for this. After all, it was a family dinner that day, and Izuna was really looking forward to it." Ling leaned back on the hospital bed, covered in bandages. "As for Madara, he was just normally angry."
"It's all your fault for going too far..." Uchiha Akihiko pouted. "If you couldn't hold on, couldn't you just say so?"
"Haha... It's been a long time since I had a full - fledged battle, so I got a little excited." Ling laughed softly. "After you recover from your injuries, let's have another spar. This time I have experience. If it's the same hardness again, I'm confident I can cut through it with one strike."
"No, thanks. I don't want to get more dirty looks. If the Uchiha didn't lack the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, Madara would have frozen me into an ice block long ago."
Hearing this, Ling couldn't help laughing again. But after the laughter, his expression became serious. "Alright, enough small talk. Now, let's talk about your Mondai.
Akihiko, I'll say it one more time. You can use the power of the Kekkei Genkai, but you can't let it control you."
Looking at Ling's serious expression, Uchiha Akihiko clicked his tongue. "Don't worry. You've knocked some sense into me. I won't abuse this power... And you should worry about yourself more than me, right?"
"Don't worry. Although I can't move freely yet, I'm in great condition right now." Ling raised his hand, and a weak electric arc jumped from his fingertips. "Maybe I've even turned this misfortune into a blessing."
"
"What a bunch of crazy guys... I'm going home then. Although Akihiko's remains have been buried by his family, I haven't had the time to add a handful of soil to his grave yet..." Uchiha Akihiko lowered his eyebrows, his voice a bit downcast. "Tomorrow is that kid's birthday. I originally promised to take him to the Country of Flowers to watch the festival... But now I can only send him a white flower."
"…Which clan's ninja did it?"
"It was those crazy ninjas of the Kaguya clan who attack anyone they see... You don't need to worry about this. I'll settle the score myself."
Ling nodded and noted this down. "Yeah, just ask if you need any help. It won't take me long to recover from my injuries."
This time, Uchiha Akihiko didn't say a word. He just gave a soft grunt and walked outside. But he met Madara and Izuna, who came to visit Ling, at the door and got two more disdainful looks.
Uchiha Akihiko: …Forget it. Don't be angry with kids.
Izuna pouted and stared fiercely at Uchiha Akihiko's departing figure. He let out a very forceful snort only after the latter turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Then he followed Madara into the ward.
"I heard the voices," Ling said with a smile, turning towards the ward door. "Is it Madara and Izuna? Sorry to have made you worried again."
Hearing this, Izuna instantly puffed up like a pufferfish. "It's all his fault! He said *[won't take long]*, but in the end, he even got you, big brother, hospitalized. We didn't even have the reunion dinner — I'll never trust him again! Big liar!"
"Well, Akihiko has his own difficulties. And big brother is completely fine. Don't blame him too much, Izuna." Ling opened his arms, smiling gently. "Come on, come on. Big brother will give you a hug and you'll stop being angry, okay?"
Hearing Ling's smiling voice, Izuna immediately deflated. He silently walked to the bedside, grabbed the edge of the bed, and then put his head under Ling's hand, looking dejected. "I won't forgive that guy..."
"Yare yare..." Ling lowered his hand and gently ruffled Izuna's hair, looking a bit helpless on his face. "It seems that Izuna is really worried about big brother? Well, big brother will pay more attention to the measure when having a spar with others next time. Let's just let it slide this time, okay? Our Izuna is the kindest, right?"
"A spar? Do you really think that kind of fight that almost got both of you killed is a spar?" Madara put the food box he brought on the table beside and snorted. "If so, when I meet Kazuhiko again, I'll also have a *[have a good spar]* with him."
[There is important plot - relevant information supplemented in this chapter. Please read the author's note.]