Simple Assistance, Hinata's Attention

Ling Xuan stood not far away, his gaze sweeping over the scene with calm indifference.

[Target: Hinata Hyuga. Status: Extremely nervous, chakra unstable, Byakugan not yet activated...]
[Physical coordination: C-, Gentle Fist basics: D, mental fortitude: E... Overall evaluation: Great potential, but severely shackled by her own personality.]
[Target: Takagi (extra). Status: Slightly excited, muscle strength: C, taijutsu technique: D-... Overall evaluation: Standard cannon fodder.]

"Begin!" Iruka shouted.

The boy named Takagi gave a sinister grin and lunged directly at Hinata like a hungry tiger, his fist swinging toward her face with no technique whatsoever.

Hinata let out a startled cry, instinctively closing her eyes and throwing her hands up in a chaotic attempt to block.

At this critical juncture, Ling Xuan, who was watching from a position between Takagi and Hinata, seemed momentarily distracted by Naruto running past him.

He shifted his feet slightly as if to step aside, and the tip of his shoe inadvertently kicked a pebble the size of a fingernail.

The pebble shot out at a precise angle, silent and swift, striking the inside of Takagi's ankle just as he lunged forward.

"Ouch!" Takagi felt a sudden numbness in his ankle, his forward momentum stalling instantly as his body tilted out of control.

His powerful, heavy punch missed its mark, whistling through the air just past the strands of Hinata's hair.

Though Hinata's eyes were closed, she felt the rush of wind and, in her panic, pushed her hands forward, landing them squarely on Takagi's chest as he lost his balance.

Thud!

Takagi, off-center, was sent stumbling back several steps by Hinata's soft push, landing on his backside with a look of utter bewilderment.

The entire area fell silent.

Iruka was also stunned; he had clearly seen that Hinata was about to be hit.

"Hinata... you, you seized the opportunity!" Iruka said, pleasantly surprised. "Very good! Takagi, you were too careless!"

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, looking at Takagi on the ground and then at her own hands, her small face filled with disbelief.

She... had won?

Takagi scrambled up in embarrassment, scratching his head, unable to fathom why he had suddenly tripped over his own feet.

The surrounding students whispered among themselves, all concluding that Takagi had underestimated his opponent and that Hinata had simply gotten lucky.

Only Ling Xuan, having kicked the stone, looked away as if nothing had happened, acting as though it had nothing to do with him.

The tiny pebble had already been pressed back into the dirt by his foot, leaving no trace behind.

He did not want to be a hero; he simply felt that some beautiful things should not be treated so crudely.

Moreover, this feeling of manipulating the situation through micro-adjustments gave him a new insight into the control of his own power.

Hinata was panting, but her heart was not as calm as she appeared on the surface.

Although she had closed her eyes, at the moment Takagi stumbled, the corner of her eye seemed to catch a glimpse of a tiny, fast-moving black shadow, and...

Ling Xuan's foot, moving as if by accident.

Was it an illusion? Or...

Quietly lifting her head, Hinata looked at Ling Xuan not far away.

The boy still wore an expression as still as an ancient well, quietly watching the sparring of others as if everything that had just happened was unrelated to him.

But Hinata's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

In her usually downcast white pupils, for the first time, an indescribable curiosity and... gratitude toward a boy of her own age began to bloom.

Ling Xuan naturally sensed the gaze cast toward him, but he paid it no mind.

To him, this was merely a small interlude on a long road of analysis.

He was more interested in the advanced theory of chakra shape transformation that Toma had mentioned yesterday—the possibility of performing a preliminary fusion of different natures of chakra.

"Fire borrows the wind's momentum, wind aids the fire's power... If I could combine the properties of Phoenix Sage Fire with Wind Cutter, I could create a tracking fireball with cutting attributes."

"Or perhaps a flame cyclone that accelerates on its own and has a wider explosive range..."

Ling Xuan's thoughts had already drifted toward the deeper mysteries of ninjutsu.

After school, as Iruka was organizing his lesson plans as usual, a Konoha messenger ninja walked in.

"Iruka-sensei, the Hokage requests your presence. It concerns one of the students in your class."

Iruka's heart stirred, and he immediately thought of Toma's report and Ling Xuan's extraordinary talent.

"Finally... is he about to be discovered?" he muttered to himself, his expression becoming complex.

Konoha, Hokage Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, known as the "God of Shinobi" and "The Professor," sat quietly behind a mountain of files.

In his hand was a report that had arrived not long ago, the very one co-signed by Toma and Iruka.

Standing respectfully before him was Iruka.

"Iruka." Hiruzen set the report down, removed the pipe from his mouth, and tapped it gently, his tone gentle.

"Regarding this child in your class named Ling Xuan, Toma's report is very... eye-catching. Do you also agree with his assessment?"

Iruka took a deep breath and spoke solemnly.

"Yes, Lord Third. Since Ling Xuan enrolled, he has displayed talent far exceeding his peers in both the mastery of theoretical knowledge and the study of basic ninjutsu."

"His learning speed and comprehension ability, in particular, sometimes leave even me astonished. The guidance provided by Chunin Toma regarding practical combat techniques seems to have further stimulated his potential in this area."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, his gaze profound.

He recalled the brilliant and talented ninjas in the history of Konoha: Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi...

They, too, had displayed extraordinary talent at a young age.

However, the Ling Xuan described in this report seemed to possess a talent leaning more toward an ultimate ability for "learning" and "analysis," rather than mere combat intuition or bloodline power.

"An orphan, no family background, unremarkable performance before enrollment..." Hiruzen Sarutobi mused. "Yet he only began to show his edge after enrolling, especially once exposed to systematic ninja knowledge. Interesting."

He took a puff of his pipe, his eyes sharpening amidst the swirling smoke.

"For such an unpolished gem, the village must give him sufficient attention, but we must not apply pressure too early, lest we stifle his possibilities."

"Iruka, you and Chunin Toma continue to instruct him according to the original plan; there is no need to change anything intentionally. I will send someone to conduct further observation without disturbing his normal life."

Hiruzen Sarutobi made his preliminary decision. "We need more data to judge the nature of this talent and its future trajectory. Until then, this matter is to be known only to us; do not spread it."

"Yes! Lord Third!" Iruka replied respectfully, a weight lifting from his heart.

The Hokage's approach was undoubtedly the most prudent.

As Iruka left the Hokage's office, a nearly imperceptible shadow flashed from the rafters, quietly following him before finally vanishing in the direction of the Ninja Academy.