As Uchiha Ryo had said, since that day, the Hyuga clan's actions in the Land of Lightning had become significantly more frequent.
Madara clearly felt that he had become the enemy's breakthrough point. Whether they could kill him or not, they would first launch a Sneak Attack on him. Or when he, Uchiha Ryo, and Uchiha Masaki were in the middle of a fight, they would suddenly rush towards him regardless of anything, and he could do nothing but run for his life.
This was the first time Madara felt like a burden after going on a mission.
He couldn't detect the enemy in time, had difficulty dodging their attacks, and even when he launched a full - force offensive, the enemy would dodge with a sneer.
Under this intense pressure, Madara's growth was astonishing. In just a few days, he went from having his weapon knocked out of his hand in the first moment of a fight to not yielding an inch even when the area between the thumb and index finger split open, and he could even parry a few blows.
Uchiha Masaki said that although the two brothers had completely different personalities, their combat talents were incredibly similar.
"I've realized that your elder brother brought me here with ill intentions," Uchiha Masaki was carefully bandaging Madara's repeatedly split area between the thumb and index finger these days, his tone rather grumpy though his movements were gentle. "Isn't this obviously asking me to be your babysitter?"
Madara looked up at Uchiha Masaki and rarely didn't retort. He even wanted to scold himself.
Uchiha Ryo was sitting on one side, maintaining his swords. Hearing this, he just chuckled. "Thanks for your hard work. I can handle my own wounds now, but it's still a bit difficult for me to take care of others' wounds."
Uchiha Masaki curled his lips. "I think it's about time, right? We've been chased by those lunatics for half a month."
"Well, when we showed up in the town yesterday, I heard that the Fang Daimyō wants to rectify the ninja clans in the Land of Lightning," Uchiha Ryo said with a smile as he wiped the blade with a soft cloth. "Although the actions of the Kagetsu family were a bit slower than I expected, it's still commendable that they could make those always - procrastinating nobles take such steps in just half a month."
"Does that mean we have to be chased for a few more days before the order is implemented?" Uchiha Masaki groaned and squatted on the spot covering his face. "I'm just an ordinary and traditional Uchiha. Why do I have to suffer this with you..."
Hearing this, Madara raised his head again. "Weren't you also ranked first?"
"Ah, that," Uchiha Masaki perked up. "I only have an advantage in the number of ninjutsu I've mastered and the amount of chakra I possess. Compared to those guys who are always in the rat - race, it's not worth mentioning at all. I'm a very typical Uchiha ninja, and I'm completely not good at putting in the effort."
"But then you can't be called first, right?" Madara tilted his head. "Just as you said that your elder brother is not only the first among the same generation in the clan, there must be a reason for you to be called the first in ninjutsu, right?"
"Well..." Uchiha Masaki scratched the back of his neck, his eyes wandering as if in memory. "If I have to say, it's that I can learn a ninjutsu just by looking at it, while others need a few days to learn it."
"I'm the kind of guy who owes my success to talent."
Madara: ...???
Is that even human language you're speaking?
"Masaki, that's a bit too much. We were so jealous of your excellent memory back then," Uchiha Ryo sheathed his sword, looking helpless. "It probably saved you a lot of time in cultivation."
"That's why I said I'm not good at working hard..." Uchiha Masaki mumbled. "Who would put in effort for something they can pick up just by a glance? If you guys hadn't kept pushing me, I wouldn't have wanted to do any extra training besides the basic ones.
And that Hiro guy, he always picks on me every time I learn something new. You should talk to him too. I'm not good at working hard in the first place, and with him causing trouble, I'm even less motivated."
Madara's expression became even weirder. Instead of envying the other's talent, he felt an urge to slap the guy in front of him.
Uchiha Ryo also shook his head. "That's why Hiro always gets into conflicts with you when you keep talking like that."
"What about chakra?" Madara stared straight at Uchiha Masaki. "How much amount of chakra do you actually have?"
"Well... currently, I'm just about on par with the Senju of the same generation, but I'm not in the top tier. The top Senju have twice the amount of chakra as the ordinary ones. It's really tough."
Madara's expression went completely blank. "Can you ever speak the truth?"
This time, it was Uchiha Masaki who was confused. His voice sounded matter - of - fact. "I'm telling the truth. I don't lie to my own people."
Madara: ... This must be the most irritating guy among my brother's peers. He never makes any sense. Are there no normal people among my brother's peers in the clan?!"
"Then why did you say before that my brother isn't just the best among the clan's peers of the same generation?"
"Of course it's because Ryo has never lost to anyone of the same age," Uchiha Masaki crossed his arms, looking even more confused. "Didn't your brother tell you about his missions?"
"Brother would tell me some points to note when performing missions and how to choose a suitable mission for myself..."
"Didn't he mention anything about the opponents he encountered?"
Madara lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. "He only talked about how to analyze the opponent's fighting habits from the attacks and how to respond."
Uchiha Masaki looked quite conflicted. After a moment, he turned to Uchiha Ryo. "Ryo, can I talk about your things?"
"Sure. You know I don't mind being gossiped about," Uchiha Ryo looked up, his voice full of helplessness. "You don't have to be so scared of me now that you won't show mercy to the enemy anymore."
"How could I not be scared?" Uchiha Masaki unconsciously raised his voice. "Do you know how much damage that merciless punch of yours did to me back then? I still have nightmares about your look in your eyes!"
Uchiha Ryo smiled and shook his head. Just when he was about to say something, his smile suddenly faded. He looked to one side and frowned.
Seeing his expression, Uchiha Masaki quickly put away his playful look, picked up his weapon, and casually grabbed Madara from the ground. "Are those crazy dogs from the Kaguya clan coming at us again?"
"Kind of... " Ryo shook his head with a strange look on his face. "I didn't expect them to run into each other. This is going to be quite a show."