Recovery and Calculations

The wound on his arm had long since been wrapped in bandages.

When Lin Feng pushed open the door to the Household, he deliberately drew his left arm closer to his side.

The living room lights were on. Mikoto was coming out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of hot soup. The moment she saw him, the bowl nearly slipped from her hands.

"Xiaofeng!"

Mikoto rushed over, her gaze fixed on the blood seeping through the bandages on his left arm. Her voice trembled. "Your arm... what happened?!"

Lin Feng instinctively tried to hide his arm behind his back. "It's nothing. I scraped it during training by accident. It's already been treated."

"Treated?" Mikoto grabbed his right hand, her grip astonishingly strong. "How could you lose this much blood... where exactly did you go?"

Her eyes had already reddened.

Lin Feng's heart tightened.

He knew his mother's personality all too well. Without a definite answer, she would never let it go.

But he could not tell her the truth.

"It really was just an accident, Mom. Don't worry." Lin Feng forced a smile. "By the way, how has my brother been lately? I haven't seen him in a long time."

Changing the subject.

This trick had always worked on Mikoto.

Sure enough, the moment Itachi was mentioned, Mikoto's expression changed at once.

She sighed, released Lin Feng's hand, and turned to get the first-aid kit. "Itachi... he's been coming home very late lately."

Lin Feng followed her into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Sometimes he even goes to the Hokage Building. I don't know what he's busy with." As Mikoto opened the first-aid kit, she slowly unwound the bandages around Lin Feng's arm. "When he comes back, he locks himself in his room alone. He's been in very low spirits."

The Hokage Building?

Lin Feng's gaze sharpened slightly.

Itachi's frequent visits to the Hokage Building matched the information in his memories.

"Maybe the pressure from missions is too much." He spoke lightly. "I'll go to the Ninja Academy tomorrow to see him, and pick up my little brother after school while I'm at it."

Mikoto's hands paused.

She looked up at Lin Feng seriously. "You two both need to be careful. The village hasn't seemed very peaceful lately."

Those words pierced Lin Feng like a thorn.

He took Mikoto's hand and squeezed it firmly. "I know, Mom. Don't worry. I'll take care of myself and Brother Itachi."

Mikoto's eyes reddened again.

She lowered her head and continued bandaging Lin Feng's arm, her movements gentle and meticulous.

The wound was cleaned again, medicated, and bandaged.

Throughout the entire process, Mikoto did not say a word, but Lin Feng could feel her fingers trembling slightly.

"All done." Mikoto put away the first-aid kit and stood. "Get some rest early. Don't stay up too late."

"Mm."

Lin Feng watched her leave the living room. Only after her footsteps had completely faded at the end of the hallway did he let out a long breath.

He lowered his head and looked at the fresh bandages on his left arm, a bitter curve tugging at his lips.

His mother did not know that both her sons were struggling in the mire.

Back in his bedroom, Lin Feng closed the door and sat by the window.

The night was quiet. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a patch of silvery light across the floor.

He did not turn on the lights. He simply sat there quietly.

He reassessed the wound. While Mikoto had been bandaging it just now, he had confirmed there were no lingering chakra traces on his arm. Those Root ninjas had not left any tracking marks.

That meant tonight's ambush had simply been an arrest attempt.

But the problem was—the signal flare.

Shisui's signal flare had frightened off the Root ninjas. It had saved him, but it had also exposed the connection between them.

Danzo was no fool.

The link between Shisui and him would definitely draw attention.

Lin Feng closed his eyes, swiftly sorting through the information he had just obtained from Mikoto.

Itachi had been frequently visiting the Hokage Building.

He was in low spirits.

What did that mean?

Was Danzo trying to recruit Itachi, or was Itachi already preparing for some plan?

If it was the former, it meant Danzo had already begun looking for pieces on the board. If it was the latter...

Lin Feng's eyelashes trembled.

He could not wait until everything happened before figuring out a solution.

The timeline was moving forward. Before then, he had to obtain enough intelligence and information.

He opened his eyes.

The moonlight outside remained cold and clear.

Lin Feng jumped down from the windowsill, walked to the desk, and lit a pen.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he would go to the Ninja Academy.

In the name of picking up his little brother after school, he would see Itachi's condition with his own eyes.

If Itachi had truly already caught Danzo's attention, then he had to find a way to stop all of this.

If not yet...

Then there was still time.

Lin Feng wrote the four words "Ninja Academy" on a sheet of paper, then crossed them out.

He crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.

Moonlight shone on his face. Something quietly burned in those black eyes.

He needed to take the initiative.