After the Nine-Tails' rampage, Konoha began the difficult task of rebuilding amid grief and desolation.
Ling Xuan was one of the orphans who survived the disaster. He was sent to the Konoha Orphanage.
Over the next few years, he grew up like any ordinary child, learning to walk and talk.
But only he knew that every day, he used his Eye of Truth to observe and analyze the world.
The density of a stone, the patterns in a tree's growth, even the faint chakra fluctuations occasionally given off by the orphanage matron—all became subjects of his analysis.
He discovered that his Eye of Truth could do more than analyze ninjutsu and energy. It could also clearly reveal the composition of matter and the laws governing living things.
"Chakra... refinement..."
The first time he heard the term from one of the older children, he secretly got a look at a damaged chakra refinement manual. His world suddenly opened up.
[Target: Chakra Refinement Method (Basic)]
[Principle: Combine spiritual energy with physical energy and convert them into a new form of energy...]
[Optimal method: Increase the efficiency of spiritual energy guidance by 15%; improve the purity of physical energy extraction by 22%...]
In a single night, six-year-old Ling Xuan taught himself to refine his first wisp of chakra.
And thanks to the optimization of his Eye of Truth, the chakra he refined was incredibly pure—far beyond that of children his age, and even higher in quality than the chakra of many Genin.
He carefully concealed his unusual abilities. By day, he acted like an ordinary child; at night, he quietly analyzed, refined, and controlled chakra under the covers.
He could "see" every trace of chakra moving through his body and control it precisely, sending it to any part of himself.
As a result, the chakra control exercises that seemed almost impossible to other children—sticking leaves to their bodies, Water Walking, and climbing trees—
he mastered almost on his first try, and with a perfection that seemed absurd.
Of course, he kept all of this hidden.
At last, the time came for him to enter the Ninja Academy.
At the academy gate, Iruka-sensei warmly welcomed the new students.
Most of the children were excited or nervous, or cool like Sasuke. Naruto was as energetic as ever, trying to get everyone's attention but usually earning eye rolls instead.
Ling Xuan, by contrast, seemed unusually calm. He stood quietly at the edge of the group. In truth, his Eye of Truth had already taken in everything around him.
"Sasuke Uchiha... a decent amount of chakra, but his emotions fluctuate wildly. Hmm, those eyes really are something."
"Naruto Uzumaki... there are two massive, chaotic chakra sources inside him. One is his own, and the other... just as I thought, it's the Nine-Tails' Yang Release Chakra."
"The Four Symbols Seal and the Eight Trigrams Seal are clearly visible, but the seals seem to have loosened slightly as he's grown, leaving him with extremely poor chakra control."
"Hinata Hyuga... the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai. Her chakra network is perfectly clear. Hmm, she has a lot of potential."
Like an outsider, Ling Xuan coolly assessed these future leading figures.
For the first lesson, Iruka explained the spirit of the ninja and the basics of chakra theory.
"Chakra is the source of energy that allows ninjas to perform all their ninjutsu. It's formed by combining the physical and spiritual energy within us in equal measure..."
Iruka drew a diagram on the blackboard.
Most of the other kids were either dozing off or struggling to understand.
Ling Xuan appeared to be listening attentively, but his Eye of Truth had already broken down and reconstructed every word Iruka said and every diagram he drew.
He compared them against what he had already analyzed and checked his conclusions.
"Iruka-sensei's understanding of chakra is still quite superficial. The ratio of physical to spiritual energy isn't necessarily a strict one-to-one. It can be adjusted depending on the technique's properties, producing unexpected results..."
Ling Xuan analyzed silently.
Soon, it was time to learn the Three Body Technique.
Iruka demonstrated the Transformation Technique first.
"Watch carefully, everyone. The key to the Transformation Technique is to form a precise mental image of the target's appearance and maintain a steady flow of chakra. Hand Seals! Ram—Boar—Dog—Tiger!"
"Poof!" Iruka transformed into a lifelike Third Hokage.
[Target: Transformation Technique]
[Principle: Use chakra to alter the arrangement of your cells and imitate the target's appearance...]
[Hand Seal analysis: Ram (focus the mind), Boar (construct the form), Dog (shape the chakra), Tiger (release steadily)...]
[Optimization plan: Reduce the Hand Seals to two, lower chakra consumption by 30%, and improve the accuracy of details by 60%...]
The moment Iruka demonstrated the technique, Ling Xuan's left eye had finished analyzing its principles, chakra pathways, the meaning behind the Hand Seals,
and even Iruka's subtle habits when performing the technique. At the same time, his right eye had begun simulating the optimized version.
When it was the students' turn to practice, most of them fumbled through the process, producing all sorts of bizarre transformations.
Naruto went so far as to turn into a "sexy" version of the Third Hokage in a state of disarray, earning a scolding from Iruka.
Then it was Ling Xuan's turn.
He imitated the others, slowly forming the four seals. Then, with a "poof,"
a Third Hokage appeared, identical to Iruka's transformation. The height, expression, and even the creases in his clothes were all exactly right.
"Huh?" Iruka let out a surprised gasp. He looked closely at the Third Hokage Ling Xuan had transformed into, then at Ling Xuan's own expressionless little face.
"Ling Xuan, excellent work! To get it this right on your first try—you're very talented!"
The other students looked at him with surprise and envy.
Ling Xuan felt nothing. He had used less than a tenth of his ability, and he had followed the "standard" procedure, too.
If he wanted, he could even turn into a fly, right down to the exact frequency of its wingbeats.
"Thank you for the praise, sensei." Ling Xuan calmly dispelled the Transformation Technique and returned to the group.
Sasuke glanced at him, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He seemed surprised that an unremarkable orphan could do something like that.
During the lessons on the Clone Technique and Substitution Technique, Ling Xuan likewise showed "some talent."
But he didn't stand out too much, keeping himself perfectly within the range of "above average, but not exceptional."
He wouldn't be overlooked, but he wouldn't attract too much attention either.
After school, Ling Xuan didn't play around like the other children. He headed back to the orphanage alone.
"The Ninja Academy really is a treasure trove."
"What the teachers teach is basic, but it's the foundation of the entire ninjutsu system. The Three Body Technique may seem simple, but it contains the beginnings of shape transformation, energy division, and spatial transfer."
"Next, I'll systematically analyze every ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and even genjutsu I can get my hands on. Then I'll quietly optimize them and make them truly my own."
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