Chapter 10

"Speak!"

Tajima stared at the ninja who kept his head bowed, an ominous premonition rising in his heart.

"The Third Young Master's eyes are not a complete Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He did not even go through the process of awakening them. Therefore, when a surge of powerful energy flooded his eyes all at once, they simply could not withstand the torrent. He might be able to use them for an instant or a few breaths, but the price to pay afterward could be..."

"Say no more. Keep this buried in your heart. Remember, you are never to mention this to anyone. Go and place a seal on Lianhuo's mind; she must never speak of this again!"

Before the ninja could finish, Tajima cut him off, then sat upon his main seat and issued a cold command.

"My Lord! Perhaps the Third Young Master...!"

"Everything is over!"

"Yes! I understand!"

The ninja clearly wanted to argue his case, but the killing intent radiating from Tajima's eyes made him shut his mouth obediently. After acknowledging the order, he turned and exited the study.

Sitting cross-legged in the medicinal furnace room, Mingye was accompanied by two children, no more than seven or eight years old, who helped him sort through various herbs. Lianhuo walked into the room and sighed as she watched Mingye continuing his chakra cultivation.

"What is it? Lianhuo, has something happened outside again?!"

Due to his blindness, Mingye's hearing had become extremely sensitive. Sensing the sigh as Lianhuo entered, he asked with curiosity.

"It has already been three months! Young Master Mingye, you should know the state of your body!" Lianhuo did not know how to put it. Perhaps it was a side effect of his blindness, but while Mingye could still refine chakra, that was all he could do. Releasing Five Elements Ninjutsu required converting chakra into specific elemental attributes, but Mingye's chakra could only be converted into Yin Release; all other forms were unusable.

Mingye knew what she wanted to say, and he knew she couldn't bear to see his frantic, meaningless toil. He simply imagined a smile and joked, "I know what you want to say. I can still refine chakra, and I'm even more proficient with Yin Release than you are now!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Third Brother! Third Brother! Haha, we've come to see you again!"

Madara and Izuna, both in full armor, seemed to have shaken off their grief as they rushed into the medicinal room. Lianhuo tactfully took the two children and left the room first.

"Can you two not shout so loudly? Those children are easily frightened!" Mingye said helplessly. Madara always thought he was living in despair, unaware that this was a form of self-training. At the very least, through this sorrow, Mingye had been able to release the heavy burdens and psychological pressures of his past life. Perhaps this was what they meant when they said that when a person is in extreme despair, every tiny joy allows them to see true hope. Mingye was in that state now—calmly using his heart to perceive everything in the world, becoming a part of nature itself. Of course, perhaps that was the only thing he could do now.

"Let me tell you, just today, Shimizu led about eight clansmen to hunt down ninjas from the Hagoromo Clan. Who would have thought they'd run into ninjas from the Senju Clan? Uncle Shimizu wiped them all out! How about that? I helped you get your revenge! I rushed straight here the moment I heard the news. Aren't you going to thank your big brother?" Madara rubbed his nose, sitting cross-legged beside Mingye, looking as happy as if he had been the one to kill the Hagoromo ninjas himself.

"The Senju ninjas died too!?" Mingye suddenly recalled that at this point in time, Madara had not yet visited the forest where he would meet Hashirama. Mingye also remembered that one of Hashirama's brothers was killed by Uchiha ninjas during this exact period.

"Yeah! I heard from Uncle Shimizu that one of the children seemed to be the son of Senju Butsuma. I don't know if it's true!" Hearing Mingye's question, Madara scratched his head. He only cared about what he wanted to care about and hadn't listened to the rest of the report regarding the Senju deaths. Izuna, watching Madara stumble over his words, smiled and answered for him.

"You're excited over something like this? The hatred is already set in stone. Even if the entire Hagoromo Clan were dead, could our Fourth Brother come back to life and stand before us again?" Since it couldn't be changed, he could only watch with indifference. Although Mingye felt a pang of regret for the death of Hashirama's brother, it was none of his business, and he couldn't stop the tragedy from happening anyway. He turned his face toward where he sensed the others and said emotionlessly.

"Mingye!"

Madara was displeased. Mingye's emotionless words made him feel that his own cheerful demeanor was embarrassing. Mingye smiled slightly and explained, "I know what you want to say. I'm not being pessimistic; I just want to tell you to cherish everything we have now, my brothers. Stop talking about hatred, because it has no meaning for us anymore! Living in the present is perhaps what we should be doing."

Izuna held back Madara, who wanted to continue, and looked at Mingye with relief. "It's good that you think that way, Mingye. In that case, we won't disturb you anymore. I have high hopes for your achievements in medicine!"

"There will be a chance."

Mingye nodded and began to cultivate his chakra again, ceasing the conversation. Seeing Mingye like this, Madara felt a wave of sadness. Izuna sighed and shook his head at Madara, signaling him not to speak further. The two of them walked out of the medicinal room.

"Mingye is in a very bad state!" Once they were a distance away, Madara slapped his thigh in frustration. It was clear that Mingye's condition pained him deeply.

Izuna nodded silently.

"I know!"

Glancing back at the medicinal room, Madara gritted his teeth and cursed, "Izuna, we have to think of something. Mingye has been in that room for over three months without stepping out once. Although Father hasn't said he's given up on our brother, he's already acting like it!"

Izuna shook his head, knowing Madara was just venting in his distress. He tried to console him, "You can't blame Father. Besides, I don't think Father has given up on Mingye. Perhaps it's just that Mingye doesn't want to appear before everyone. Don't forget, the current Mingye is no different from a cripple!"

"Sigh! Forget it. I'm going out for a walk to clear my head. The atmosphere inside the clan lately is so stifling it hurts!" After looking at Izuna, Madara sighed again, waved his hand, and turned to walk out of the clan compound.

"Take care, Brother!" Izuna had his own things to do. To find peace, one had to truly realize it for themselves. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Mingye had lost all his emotions and desires, while Madara was trapped in endless self-reproach. He didn't know how to console his brothers, as Izuna was only fifteen or sixteen himself. He didn't have the broad shoulders of an older brother meant to shield his siblings, nor did he have Mingye's experience of two lifetimes spanning over forty years. As a child, even a genius would have things about human nature he didn't understand.

"I know! I know!"

Madara took off his armor, put on a black training outfit, and headed toward the outskirts of the village. As he walked, he suddenly remembered the boy he had met in passing a few months ago—the one named Hashirama. Madara gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

"I never thought I'd care so much about a boy I only met once! It seems I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"Yo! Long time no see! That... what was your name?"

Walking to the riverbank, Madara saw that familiar bowl cut and felt a hint of a smile. He walked up behind Hashirama with his hands on his hips.

"Hashirama!"

Madara felt awkward. The other party had only mentioned his name once; while he recognized the face, the name had been forgotten amidst the troubles of the past few months. Fortunately, Hashirama, who was sitting by the river, was quite tactful and supplied his own name.