Helplessness

The news of Uchiha Ling waking up spread like a breeze through the designated floor of Konoha Hospital. Naruto's smiles became more frequent; although he still kept watch without leaving Ling's side, he no longer wore a mournful expression. He began training even harder, saying that when his brother recovered, he wanted to show him his progress.

Tsunade and Jiraiya visited him more often. Every time Tsunade came, she would check his body with a cold face, then drop a comment like, "Recovery is slower than expected," or "Don't move around; if you don't want to be a cripple, stay still." But Ling could feel that the chakra she channeled into him was gentler each time, as if she were carefully repairing a fragile piece of porcelain.

Jiraiya would occasionally bring news from the outside. The progress of the village's reconstruction, the situation with border patrols, and... bits and pieces of intelligence regarding the "Akatsuki" organization. Every time this was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room would dampen.

Ling kept his eyes closed most of the time, as if resting. But he wasn't idle. He sank his consciousness into his body, where his chakra meridians—nearly barren from overexertion—were relying on the stubborn instinct of his Sage Body to absorb natural energy, albeit extremely slowly, in an attempt to regain vitality. It was too slow, agonizingly so.

He could feel that the Eight Trigrams Seal on his abdomen was still stable, and the Nine-Tails seemed to have fallen into silence after the last depletion. Yet, the sensation of being drained of power, the uncontrollable weakness of his body, tortured him every single moment.

That afternoon, the sun was bright. Naruto had been forcibly dragged away by Kakashi for wilderness survival training, leaving Ling alone in the room. He stared at the ceiling for a while, then attempted to support his body with his arms.

It was a simple movement to sit up, but it caused his vision to go black instantly. His chest felt as if it were being crushed by a boulder, leaving him unable to breathe. Cold sweat soaked his hospital gown in an instant, and a tearing pain shot through the muscles in his arms and back, causing the meager strength he had just gathered to dissipate immediately. He fell heavily back onto the bed with a dull thud, the impact causing the nearby instruments to emit a brief alarm.

He lay there, gasping for air, looking at his hands that were trembling so much he couldn't even clench them into fists. A sense of unprecedented helplessness, mixed with agitation, coiled around his heart like vines.

He had once traversed battlefields with the Flying Thunder God and stood firm against powerful enemies using the power of the Nine-Tails, yet now, he couldn't even sit up on his own.

Footsteps hurried in; it was the medical ninja who had heard the alarm. After checking him, the ninja let out a sigh of relief but couldn't help but admonish, "Mr. Ling, you really cannot act recklessly in your current condition. The recovery of your meridians takes time; forcing activity will only cause secondary damage."

Ling didn't speak, merely closing his eyes.

The medical ninja sighed, packed up the equipment, and left. The room fell silent again, save for his heavy breathing.

A while later, Tsunade arrived. She had clearly heard about what happened, and her expression was grim. Without a word, she pulled back the covers to check his body, pressing her fingers firmly onto several key meridian nodes.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

Ling pursed his lips and nodded.

"Good, as long as you know it hurts." Tsunade withdrew her hand and looked at him. "Do you think you're still that Uchiha Ling who can go head-to-head with the Rinnegan? Let me tell you, your body right now is barely stronger than a newborn infant's! Your chakra core is damaged, your mental energy is exhausted, and your meridians are as fragile as a spiderweb! If you don't want to spend the rest of your life in bed, put away that useless pride of yours and just lie still!"

Her words were like a whip, lashing at Ling's heart. He knew she spoke the truth, but it was a truth he found difficult to accept.

"Until when?" He opened his eyes and looked at Tsunade, his voice hoarse. "Until Danzo dismantles 'Dawn Wind'? Until the Akatsuki organization comes knocking again?"

Tsunade was silent for a moment, her tone softening. "Does being impatient help? What can you do in your current state? Rush out and throw your life away against Danzo? Or go back to the Land of Rain to die at the hands of those monsters?"

She pulled up a chair and sat down, her golden eyes fixed on him. "Listen, kid. I don't care how powerful you were before; right now, you are a patient. And as a patient, you must follow the doctor's orders. Recovering your strength isn't a matter of a day or two, especially when you've damaged your foundation. Konoha hasn't fallen yet; if the sky collapses, Jiraiya and I are still here to hold it up."

Ling turned his head to look out the window. He knew Tsunade was right, but this helpless waiting was torture every second of the way. He could imagine what Izumi, Zabuza, Haku, and Kimimaro were going through—being held in centralized custody, their movements restricted, and having to constantly guard against Danzo's harassment.

And he could only lie here.

Tsunade watched his tense profile and his hand gripping the sheets, and finally, she sighed. She reached out and channeled gentle chakra into his body once more, this time not just to repair his body, but with a hint of soothing his spirit.

"Staying alive is more important than anything else." She left him with those words and rose to leave.

He was alone in the room again. Sunlight filtered through the window, casting long shadows on the floor. Ling watched the shadows move slowly, feeling like an insect trapped in amber—time was passing, yet he was unable to move.

He had to do something. He couldn't just wait like this.

He closed his eyes again, no longer trying to mobilize that pathetic amount of chakra, but instead sinking his entire consciousness into the depths of his mind. There, everything was chaotic, a ruin left in the wake of a storm due to the Nine-Tails' backlash and his own exhaustion of will.

He needed to organize this first. Bit by bit, he would smooth out those violent, negative fragments and re-gather his scattered will.

This was a slow, grinding process, even more taxing and time-consuming than repairing his body. But he had no choice.

When Naruto returned that evening, he brought a box of still-warm dumplings. He presented them to Ling's bedside like a treasure, his eyes sparkling. "Brother, try these! They're the new red bean flavor!"

Ling looked at his expectant expression, managed a faint smile, and took a bite. The cloying sweetness melted in his mouth, but he couldn't taste a thing.

"Is it good?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." Ling nodded.

Naruto immediately brightened, chattering on about his training, saying that Kakashi-sensei had scared him with the Chidori again, and that he could finally create a hundred Shadow Clones...

Ling listened quietly, occasionally responding. Looking at Naruto's vibrant face, the agitation and helplessness in his heart seemed to dilute slightly.

At least, what he was protecting was still there.

He lifted his still-weak hand and placed it gently on Naruto's head.

"Keep working hard," he said.

Naruto nodded vigorously, his smile radiant.

Deep into the night, Naruto fell asleep by the bedside. Ling watched his sleeping face, feeling the faint, almost negligible, but undeniably present trace of newly born chakra within him, and his gaze slowly turned resolute.

He could not fall here. Absolutely not.