During the journey home, Izuna stayed unusually quiet in Tajima’s arms.
His mood was visibly gloomy, and he remained curled up without speaking much.
Only after the familiar courtyard of their home came into view did he finally lift his head.
“Father…
Brother’s eyes…” “You figured it out, huh?” A complicated expression crossed Uchiha Tajima’s face.
There was sadness there, along with helplessness, but he chose not to hide the truth from his youngest son.
“That’s right.
It’s not that Ryo doesn’t want to see again.
He simply can’t.
For the rest of his life, darkness will be his only companion.” “…Did I do something wrong?” Izuna’s small hands tightened around the front of Tajima’s haori.
“Brother was obviously hurting so much, but I kept saying things like, ‘Blind swordsmen are really cool.'” “No.” Tajima’s footsteps slowed.
“In fact, it’s probably the opposite.
Ryo may actually be thankful to you.” Izuna blinked blankly.
Seeing his confusion, Tajima continued.
“Ryo is both gifted and hardworking.
But he’s always demanded too much from himself.
He places great importance on what others expect of him and often ignores his own emotions.
Normally, those expectations would become invisible pressure, gradually pushing him toward a dead end.
But under the circumstances he faces now, those expectations have become the very thing helping him move forward.” Tajima gently rubbed his son’s hair.
“What Ryo needs most right now is a reason to untie the knot in his heart.
The more people who believe in him, the faster he’ll recover.
So don’t blame yourself.” Although Izuna listened carefully, he only understood part of what his father was saying.
His mood didn’t improve much.
“But…” “There is no ‘but.'” Tajima smiled.
“If you truly want to help Ryo, then become stronger.
After all, what he wants most right now is to protect you and Madara.” “…Mm!” Izuna clenched his fists tightly.
“I’ll become really, really strong!
Strong enough to stand beside Brother in battle!
And when that day comes, I’ll protect his back!” Tajima laughed softly.
“That’s more like it.
You’re my son, after all.” Meanwhile, after Tajima and Izuna left, all traces of human presence vanished from Ryo’s surroundings.
Only the sound of flowing water and the whisper of mountain winds remained.
The landscape was peaceful enough to soothe almost any worry.
Yet the smile on Ryo’s face slowly disappeared.
No one knew how long he remained standing there.
Eventually, he lowered himself into a crouch and buried both hands in his hair.
For the first time since arriving, a hint of despair escaped his voice.
“Even something this simple has become difficult now…” The feeling lasted only a moment.
Suddenly, Ryo slapped both cheeks.
Then he forced himself back onto his feet.
“Come on, Uchiha Ryo.
Don’t get discouraged over something like this.
You’re an Uchiha.
It’s just blindness.
Yeah…
just blindness.” A bitter laugh escaped him.
“Honestly, it’s a good thing my tear ducts were damaged too.
Otherwise, sitting here crying alone would be pathetic.
Looking at it positively, I guess I’ll never have to shed tears again.
That’s not so bad, right?” He took another deep breath and continued encouraging himself.
“Besides, there are still plenty of things I need to prepare before training starts.
If I want time to feel sorry for myself, I can do it after I return to missions.
Right now, I don’t have the luxury of wasting time.” Several deep breaths later, his emotions finally settled.
Focusing his senses, he carefully listened to every sound around him.
Once he confirmed his position, he began using his walking cane to investigate the terrain.
After gradually forming a rough map of the area in his mind, he let out a sigh.
“As expected…
Father was still worried about me.” The realization immediately gave birth to another wave of self-doubt.
Then he rejected that self-doubt.
Then he doubted his rejection.
Then he forced himself to think positively again.
After repeating that cycle several times, he finally opened the ninja tool pack.
Inside was the Sealing Scroll Tajima had prepared.
Carefully unrolling it, he traced the seal formulas with his fingertips.
“Let’s see…
A longsword, soldier pills, spare clothing, and emergency medicine.” He nodded slightly.
“With these supplies, I won’t need to hunt immediately if necessary.
But if I want to return to the battlefield, I have to learn how to accurately identify living creatures around me.
That means hunting is unavoidable.” After taking out the longsword, he awkwardly fastened it to his back.
Then he rolled the scroll back up and began moving toward the sound of flowing water.
“Father probably selected a location near one of the Naka River tributaries close to clan territory.
There aren’t many large animals in this area.
The place with the highest concentration of living creatures should be the river itself.” A sigh escaped him.
“Looks like my training and dinner are going to be the same thing.
Soldier Pills taste terrible.
Though my cooking isn’t exactly any better…
Hopefully I don’t accidentally poison myself before training ends.
Ah…
I’m already starting to miss Madara’s cooking.” Thus, Ryo’s training officially began.
Unfortunately, things went anything but smoothly.
His first attempt at spearing fish ended in disaster.
Before he could react, he stepped onto a moss-covered rock, lost his footing, and fell directly into the river.
His entire body was soaked.
Things only became worse afterward.
While trying to find his way back to shore, he misjudged his direction and nearly wandered off entirely.
In the end, he was forced to release a large amount of chakra to scan his surroundings before he finally found the correct path.
The enormous chakra expenditure left him exhausted.
Then, after finally catching a fish, he attempted to start a fire so he could cook dinner, dry his clothes, and warm himself.
Instead, he nearly burned both his firewood and his ninja tool pack.
By the time he managed to sort everything out through frantic fumbling and repeated mistakes, the sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon.
Sitting atop a flat stone, Ryo felt the warmth of the campfire against his skin and released a long sigh.
“Being blind really is inconvenient…
Once this training is over, I need to remind Madara and Izuna to take good care of their eyes.” Crossing his arms, he began reviewing the failures of the day.
“Based on today’s results, what I need most right now is a reliable method of navigation.
Using chakra to perceive my surroundings works, but the chakra cost is far too high.
If an emergency happens afterward, I won’t have enough chakra left to respond.
But if I reduce the amount of chakra I’m using, then it’s barely any better than relying on my cane to feel around.
And releasing chakra in short bursts before pulling it back offers absolutely no concealment.
There’s no way something like that would be practical in real combat…” One theory after another appeared in his mind.
One after another was rejected.
As he refined his ideas and started planning tomorrow’s training schedule, a faint burnt smell suddenly reached his nose.
Ryo froze.
A heartbeat later, panic spread across his face.
“…My fish!”