He had no sense of belonging or any ties to the Village, and it was estimated that by then, Ling's strength would be enough for her to protect herself.
However, for now, Ling still needed to lie low, at least until her strength reached the Kage level.
Currently, facing the Uchiha Clan's sugar-coated bullets, Ling planned to eat the sugar coating and send the bullets back. If the Village also used such methods, she would respond in the same way.
She would waver between the Village and the Clan, acting as a double agent, taking the benefits for herself until she could flip the table, hehe.
"Alright, I'll go tonight," Ling agreed readily. She wanted to see how much the Uchiha Clan was willing to invest in her.
If it was too little, she wouldn't be blamed for feigning compliance. If it was a lot, she could slightly help the Clan.
The stars and moon shone brightly, and night fell.
Ling and Shisui arrived at the Uchiha Clan Land. At this time, the Uchiha Clan had not yet been relocated to the outskirts of the Village. It was currently adjacent to the Senju Clan Land and quite extensive.
The mansions were connected, one after another, brightly lit, and there were patrolling Clan members standing in the shadows, watching Ling and Shisui approach.
"Shisui, who is this?" A young man wearing the Uchiha Clan crest suddenly appeared from the shadows, clearly intending to question Ling's identity.
"Brother Tekka, this is Uchiha Ling. Elder Kazuya wants to see Ling."
Shisui recognized the stern-faced young man with a long katana on his back and explained Ling's identity to him.
"Oh, a Clan member. But please don't wander around the Uchiha Clan Land."
After speaking, Uchiha Tekka disappeared with a Body Flicker Technique, seemingly at Chunin level strength.
Following Shisui through many twists and turns, they soon arrived at a relatively secluded courtyard. Shisui knelt outside the eaves.
"Elder Kazuya, Uchiha Ling, whom you wished to see, has arrived."
"Come in, cough cough~" An old voice sounded from inside the door, accompanied by a few coughs, indicating poor health.
Ling walked in barefoot. The wooden floor was a bit cold. The room was unusually empty, with few furnishings.
In the deepest part of the room, behind a desk, sat an old man with white hair and beard, a gaunt face, yellowish complexion, and Old Man Madara.
"You must be Uchiha Ling. Your Doujutsu is good, and your Chakra is immense, cough cough~ Your talent is excellent."
Elder Kazuya looked as if he was on the verge of death, making Ling secretly scoff, wondering how he could even be an Elder.
"Elder Kazuya, you flatter me."
Ling gave only a perfunctory reply, not wanting to say more.
"The Clan is willing to offer you some assistance. We hope you will not forget the Uchiha Clan in the future."
Kazuya looked at Ling meaningfully, as if seeing through her soul.
Kazuya knew that Ling was not wholeheartedly with the Uchiha Clan; she didn't care about the Uchiha Clan.
But Kazuya had to consider the Uchiha Clan. Any helpful matter, no matter how small, had to be seized.
Kazuya clapped his hands, and soon an Uchiha Clan Ninja suddenly appeared from the shadows.
Ling hadn't even discovered the Ninja's hiding place, which made her discard her underestimation.
"These are the resources the Clan is gifting you: various Ninjutsu collected by the Uchiha, a copy of the Uchiha Genjutsu principles and analysis, and Uchiha Ninja Sword Art."
Kazuya took out three scrolls and had the Ninja hand them to Ling, clearly not intending to state any conditions.
Kazuya was indeed very generous. These were all things Ling lacked, especially the Genjutsu principle analysis, which was enough to make up for Ling's lagging Genjutsu.
"You may leave. I just hope that one day, should the Uchiha Clan face calamity, if you have the power to spare, please remember today."
Kazuya seemed to foresee the Uchiha Clan's precarious situation, seeing a future where they were almost wiped out.
At this moment, Ling couldn't help but admire him. For him to be an Elder, he truly had some skills.
Ling, holding the three scrolls, walked out of the dark room with her back to the door. Elder Kazuya's figure, in the dimness, became increasingly blurred, finally disappearing from sight.
"Ling, you..." Shisui stammered for a long time, but ultimately didn't finish his sentence.
He seemed to have also understood Ling's attitude towards the Uchiha Clan, but he knew that it wasn't Ling's fault, and it was the Uchiha Clan that needed to change.
"Shisui, I'm going back now. Goodbye." Ling was still thinking about how to handle her relationship with the Village and the Uchiha Clan in the future.
She wasn't strong enough to flip the table yet, so she naturally had to use methods within the rules to gain more benefits.
"Let me escort you. The Village isn't safe lately, and the Ninja World is very turbulent. It seems war is approaching."
Shisui was afraid that Ling would encounter spies or other dangers again, so he planned to escort her home.
"No need. The Anbu has set up many surveillance points in the Village to catch spies, so there's no need to worry."
Ling didn't let Shisui escort her home, as Shisui was not her opponent yet.
Nothing happened along the way. Occasionally, there were patrolling Uchiha Police Force members, and Anbu were also watching from the shadows.
Upon returning home, Ling first opened the Ninjutsu scroll and found that it was indeed very comprehensive.
Various attributes from C-rank to A-rank were included, greatly enriching Ling's Ninjutsu reserves. She immediately recorded them with her Sharingan, to practice slowly later.
What was more interesting was that it also contained some Bloodline Limit Ninjutsu hand seals and Chakra flow methods.
For example, Ice Release and Sand Release, and also some research on Bloodline Limit Chakra ratios, which were clearly failures.
However, they were still very valuable for reference. Researching Bloodline Limit was indeed a good way to break through to Kage level strength, especially before awakening the Mangekyo.
It's just that researching Bloodline Limit and awakening Mangekyo both seemed to be quite difficult.
For Ling, who had already lost her closest relatives and had no ties, awakening the Mangekyo would probably only be possible by focusing on her golden finger.
The second scroll was the Uchiha Ninja Sword Art, such as the Sword Flame Leap that Uchiha Shisui once used. This was a Fire Release Ninja Sword Art.
It was somewhat similar to the Gale Sword Technique Ling was currently practicing, but it didn't have a fixed routine, only methods on how to imbue the blade with elemental damage.
It also included methods for developing Fire Release and Lightning Release nature transformations.
This was of great help to Ling, although it wasn't the Wind Release nature transformation method she most desired.
However, Ling also recorded it and would study it when she had time. It was enough for Ling to research and use for a period of time.
Finally, there were various Genjutsu collected by the Uchiha, with detailed explanations of their principles. It was like C language from beginner to advanced.
She could learn these Genjutsu from shallow to deep, understand the principles, and eventually master the power of Yin Release.
She could even create her own Genjutsu. It could be said that the Uchiha Clan was very sincere.
Ling planned to preserve more Clan members for the Uchiha Clan in the future, so they wouldn't all be killed by Itachi.
Ling, holding the three scrolls, contentedly fell into a dream, dreaming of herself stepping on Uchiha Madara and punching the Six Paths Sage.