Since he could remember, Uchiha Ling rarely felt confused about anything.

Because he clearly knew what he was burdened with and understood what he should do as his status demanded.

As the heir of the Uchiha clan, he had to be the most outstanding among his peers. Only then could he be qualified to inherit his father's position. Only in this way could he make the clan members follow him willingly and lead the clan towards a future in this turbulent era.

Or rather, he was not allowed to be confused, so he always demanded highly of himself.

But sometimes God liked to play cruel jokes on people like him, watching them lose their goals.

Feeling the pain from his eyes, Uchiha Ling raised his hand and gently touched the bandage covering his eyes. He clearly knew what a terrifying wound was under this bandage.

The wound ran across both eyes, completely destroying the eyeballs. It was even just a little short of destroying the brain as well.

And Korega wound was caused by none other than himself, who had been forced into a desperate situation by the enemy a few days ago.

Because the Fang Daimyō of various countries are constantly at odds with each other, the ninjas, as the top military force, are always hired to serve the nobles.

Assassination, poisoning, framing...

As long as there is enough profit, ninjas can do anything. And the Uchiha clan, as the leader among ninja families, is even more used to these things.

However, no matter who or what force it is, it is destined to meet a tough opponent during its growth.

The Uchiha clan also has such a persistent archenemy - the Senju clan.

To what extent are the two clans entangled?

When one side hires the Uchiha clan, the other side will definitely hire the Senju clan to counterbalance them.

After decades and hundreds of years of such feuds, while the Uchiha clan has established a foothold here, they have also developed an irreconcilable feud with the Senju clan.

Just like his current mission where his side was only hired to go around the back to prevent the enemy from obtaining information, but unexpectedly, they ran into the Senju clan's material escort team on its way back.

At that time, the tasks of the two sides did not intersect. But because the two families were at war, the leader of the other side immediately issued an order to kill him as soon as he noticed his trace - well, it was also his own fault. After confirming that they were the Senju clan, he got too close in order to sabotage their mission.

Once he was discovered, things got out of control. He managed to mess up the other side's mission completely. And he was forced into a desperate situation, so he had no choice but to choose a suicidal fight at the end.

"Ah... an Uchiha who has completely lost his eyes..."

Listening to the argument outside the house, Ling stopped his train of thought, endured the pain in his body and sat up. But just this simple movement made his forehead covered in cold sweat. However, he still let out a soft laugh. "If the Senju guys knew that the final explosion didn't kill me, they'd be furious, right?

Hey, if I ever get a chance to bounce back, I must use Korega to tease them... But now I have to go out and see what's going on. It'd be a bummer if Dad gets into a pointless argument with the elders because of me..."

Because he was deprived of his vision, Ling could clearly sense that his body was amplifying his other senses in order to obtain more information. The most obvious one was the sense of touch.

[Hmmm... Is the tatami supposed to have such a rough texture?]

[Is this... the wall? If I walk along the wall, there should be no problem - Ouch! Was there something here originally?]

Ling's hands groped downwards and finally touched a cold - textured wooden table at about half the height of his Sukune.

[Is it a low - cabinet for storing ninja tools?]

[Surprisingly, it's right here... Be careful and go around it...]

But this time, before Uchiha Ling could encounter the next trouble, the unique wooden friction sound of the paper sliding door rubbing against the hinge rang out, along with some messy footsteps and a worried male voice.

"Ling, you're seriously injured. Just call us if there's anything. Why did you get up by yourself?"

"Father..."

Uchiha Ling stopped groping forward and faced the direction from which the sound came. However, he couldn't help but fall into silence because he didn't know what to say.

After all, this accident was caused by his unauthorized actions outside the mission, which led to his whereabouts being discovered. He managed to accomplish both the original mission and the extra goal successfully. Despite being seriously injured, he survived. However, he lost the most important thing for the Uchiha - his own eyes, which he destroyed with his own hands.

In this confusion and uneasiness, Ling clearly heard the footsteps approaching. Then, a pair of broad and warm hands rested on his shoulders, and his father's voice rang out again. "Don't think too much. Now you need to rest. Whether it's for me or the Uchiha clan, the most important thing is that you're back alive."

"That's right, Ling. The most important thing for you to do now is to recuperate," another majestic voice said. "Although you acted without permission this time, you didn't disgrace the Uchiha clan. You successfully destroyed the enemy's supplies in transit, which gave us an advantage on the front line. Moreover, you didn't fail your own mission and returned to the Uchiha clan alive. Even those experienced veterans couldn't have done better."

Ling tried to identify the voice. "Is it the Grand Elder?"

"Yes, it's me. Anyway, you just need to rest well. First, get your injuries healed. We'll think of a way about your eyes. After all, as the heir - "

"No..." Ling raised his head, his fist in his sleeve clenching slightly. Facing the direction from which the sound came, he said, "Please find someone else for the position of heir, Father and Elders."

"Ling, don't say that. You - "

"Father, I know my injuries better than anyone else. I was in a desperate situation and intended to commit suicide when I did it. I wanted to destroy my brain along with my eyes. It's just a fluke that I'm still alive. Or rather, it was because of my cowardice at the moment of death. With the medical skills of the Uchiha clan, there's no way these injuries can be healed. Father and Elders, don't waste any more effort on my eyes..."

Ling shook his head slightly and involuntarily frowned because of the pain from his wounds. "The most urgent thing now is to stabilize the clan members' emotions and prevent them from rashly seeking revenge from the Senju clan.

Although emotions can give us more powerful strength, there's no doubt that they can also make us be dominated by momentary impulses and make wrong decisions. I hope everyone can calm down.

Even if we want to retaliate against the Senju clan, it shouldn't be now. We should choose a more appropriate time. Right now, we need to be vigilant against the Senju clan's revenge instead.

If necessary, I even hope that you two won't have any concerns about my feelings. Guide the clansmen to direct their contradictions at me. With a target to vent their anger, the clansmen will naturally calm down soon and face the Senju clan more cautiously... Please don't worry too much about my feelings."

"Ling, you're really a qualified heir. If it weren't for this time..." The Grand Elder let out a soft sigh. "Anyway, I'll discuss and handle the follow - up matters with Tajima Uchiha. You don't need to worry about this anymore. Besides, the situation of your injury can't be determined yet. You should stay at home to recover from your injury. As for your eyes... let's discuss it after you've recovered."

Hearing the elder's words, Ling couldn't help but show a bitter smile. "If I were really a qualified heir, I shouldn't have been so self - confident as to think that I could avoid the Senju clan's sensing ninjas and escape smoothly after the operation with just the three - tomoe Sharingan... It's a pity that it's a bit too late to realize it now."

"It's never too late to realize your own mistakes. Ling, you've done very well. You're only thirteen years old. Compared with us, you still have an infinite future. Don't define your own future now."

Tajima Uchiha reached out his hand to ruffle his eldest son's hair with a solemn face. His voice grew even softer and more gentle, but his expression was filled with indescribable sadness. "If I have to say, it's just that I, as a father, am too incompetent to protect my own child from the opponent... I should be the one to apologize, not you."

I just realized that I haven't drawn an illustration of Papa Tajima all this time. Papa Tajima's hairstyle is really so emo that it's at the forefront of the Warring States era.

Feeling the warmth from his father's palm, Ling's nose started to feel a bit sour. However, the wound on his face had destroyed his lacrimal glands along with his eyeball. Even if his injury recovered, the scar across his face would still prevent him from shedding tears again. So he just lowered his head and softly laughed. "How could that be? Father has always protected us..."

"It's me who failed to recognize my own abilities and made a wrong decision, which led to my current Gatai... But please rest assured. Just as you said, I still have an infinite future. Even if I can't regain my eyesight, I'll continue to sharpen myself and will never disgrace the name of the Uchiha clan."

Hearing this, Tajima Uchiha finally showed his first smile today. He reached out his hand to support Ling's arm and helped him walk slowly towards the bed. "Well said! You're really my proudest son."

"Ling, you must remember that no matter when, one can't give up on themselves. If one gives up on themselves, then no matter how hard others try, they won't be able to pull you out of the abyss."

Ling was slightly stunned, but soon he laughed. "Yes, I'll keep it in mind."

"Alright, you rest well to recover from your injury. I'll go outside and talk with the elder. Just call us if you need anything before you get used to it."

Ling respectfully replied again. After seeing off the elder and his father and being left alone in the room, he couldn't help but feel confused.

[Although I've promised Father, what future can an Uchiha who has lost his eyes have?]