Meat Shield 2

Time flowed like water.

The excitement of returning to the Ninja Academy did not last long. Lin Ke still kept everyone at arm's length. Forget friends—he did not even have a classmate he could chat with for more than a few sentences.

Through his day-after-day training, his physical condition and chakra reserves steadily improved. Though it could not compare to the previous ten months, the progress was still considerable. His hand seal speed had improved greatly as well.

Aside from that, he was still treading water.

What the Ninja Academy taught had grown increasingly distant from his own combat style. He was an adult with firmly established values and logic, making him difficult to change. A few history lessons certainly would not make him love the village or anything like that.

Occasionally showing some emotion for appearances' sake was already good enough.

As his body grew stronger, he got older, and he trained like mad, he needed more and more food. To explore his own combat style, he had also bought quite a few Soldier Pills (and those things were expensive), so even two subsidies were not enough to cover his expenses.

For the latter half of the year, he went fishing and hunting at the training grounds on Konoha's outskirts almost every day to fill his stomach.

Because he wasted too much time in the wilderness and training alone, he became the bad student in his class who often skipped school. Fortunately, the homeroom teacher, who had never appeared and never would, knew his file and did not make things difficult for him over it.

The truth was, he simply was not suited to remain at the Ninja Academy. One year of laying low had been enough.

What he needed was more ninjutsu, more money, and higher status.

All in all, it was another peaceful and boring year.

Another year had passed before the Child of Destiny, Uzumaki Naruto, would graduate. Lin Ke felt a little anxious. He went on the first day of the graduation exams, but the result was not ideal. Unlike the first time, this exam tested the Clone Technique.

As for his Clone Technique...

Taking the exam properly was out of the question, so he simply went to find the homeroom teacher and successfully got a new Forehead Protector from him—

That was right. His previous Forehead Protector had been taken back.

Fortunately, he did not need to have another photo taken. The genin photo from last time was still usable. After a brief squad assignment, he had new teammates.

"Hey, Lin Ke, what kind of person do you think Fifth Squad's instructor will be?"

The newest member of Fifth Squad, Yuan Wei, spoke excitedly. He wore a Forehead Protector and had his hair in a ponytail, looking rather careless and impulsive. Note: This was the careless student from Part One who bumped into Naruto and caused Naruto and Sasuke's first kiss.

Lin Ke glanced at the classroom, which still had quite a few people inside, and felt somewhat uneasy. "I just hope our instructor isn't someone who likes being late."

Please don't let it be Hatake Kakashi. Wasting one year was enough. Another year would be deadly.

The girl beside him had her legs propped on her desk. In a disdainful tone, she said, "Powerful ninja never show up late. If I end up with some useless instructor who is always late, then I'll really be unlucky. Not only do I have to be grouped with the two of you, but—"

Her name was Xia, and she had also been assigned to Fifth Squad. Note: She was likewise a Ninja Academy background student established in the Rin no Sho. She bullied Sakura and, according to the Rin no Sho setting, never managed to graduate.

"Hey! What did you say?!" Yuan Wei immediately shouted, pointing at her.

Xia curled her lip and stared at the ceiling without saying anything.

A reckless fool and a spoiled princess. Sigh.

Lin Ke sighed. As long as it was not Hatake Kakashi, these two should be his teammates for a while. If he wanted to become a chunin, he needed to demonstrate a certain level of leadership. Therefore—

After meeting the instructor, I'll have a little "talk" with them.

"Fifth Squad. Lin Ke, Yuan Wei, Xia." A jonin with dark green eyeshadow and a high ponytail entered through the door and called their names.

Ten minutes later, at a corner of the Ninja Academy's training field.

"Then, let's start with introductions," the instructor said. After a pause, he added, "My name is Nara Yan Shui. Jonin." Note: A Nara Clan jonin who appeared in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"Lin Ke."

"Yuan Wei."

"Xia."

"Just names?" Nara Yan Shui asked casually. He did not truly expect an answer, merely saying, "Fine. As per custom, there will be a little test waiting for you tomorrow morning at the Seventh Training Ground. Those who fail will be sent back to the Ninja Academy. Understood?"

"Understood." X3 He swept his eyes over the three of them and wore an expression that said this was troublesome. "Then—"

"Dismissed." The moment he spoke, he vanished from the spot.

Xia turned to leave, but Lin Ke spoke up. "Wait. There's something I want to discuss with you two privately, 'teammates.'"

"What is it?" Yuan Wei asked curiously. In his eyes, his nine-year-old teammate was a little brother who needed looking after.

Xia, however, continued walking as though she had not heard him.

Whoosh—thud! The sound of clothing slicing through the air rang out, and then she was pinned directly to the ground.

Lin Ke bent her fingers back as he looked at Yuan Wei beside him, speaking word by word. "I said, there's something I want to discuss with you two privately."

"Teammates."

He released her. Xia immediately scrambled to her feet, her face full of fury, then gritted her teeth and pulled out a kunai to stab at him.

Naive.

The next second, a kunai silently rested against Xia's neck from behind.

"Dear teammate—"

Lin Ke's voice carried a hint of childishness, but his tone was cold enough to make one tremble. "Did you hear what I said?"

He truly could not beat Hatake Kakashi, and his taijutsu was embarrassingly poor, but that was only in comparison to elite jonin—not civilian-background genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy.

Perhaps his physical condition and chakra reserves were about the same as those of his two teammates. Even if he was stronger, the difference would be limited.

But when it came to chakra control, he absolutely crushed every graduate in his class, even all the graduates from the next class. He had completed basic training methods like tree climbing and water walking in the year he entered the Ninja Academy.

Greater chakra control meant faster Body Flicker, faster ninjutsu...

At this moment, should he not say something like, All techniques under heaven can be broken by speed alone? Lin Ke cast the strange thought out of his mind, maintained his cold expression, and said, "Now, can we have a proper talk?"

The kunai's sharp blade merely grazed Xia's fair skin, drawing a few beads of blood. She did not move. Cold sweat quickly formed on her forehead as she softly asked, trying her best not to move her throat at all, "What do you want to talk about?"

Lin Ke released his frightened teammate, wiped the kunai on her shoulder, and slipped it back into his kunai pouch.

"The Seventh Training Ground. One hour from now."