"Next, Uchiha Ling."
The order soon came around to Uchiha Ling. He walked to the center of the examination area without a hint of nervousness. Teacher Aoki Ken watched him with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
"Begin," Aoki Ken said. Uchiha Ling took a deep breath and swiftly formed Hand Seals, his movements smooth and practiced.
In an instant, his body seemed to blend into the surroundings. He completed the Transformation Technique and turned into the examiner, imitating even his mannerisms to perfection.
Next, he performed the Clone Technique. Several identical copies of Uchiha Ling appeared in the examination area, each striking a battle-ready pose.
Finally, he performed the Substitution Technique, disappearing from the spot in an instant and reappearing on the other side of the examination area.
Aoki Ken's eyes flashed with surprise. He remembered that Uchiha Ling's skills had been nowhere near this good during the last test.
"Uchiha Ling, you've improved a lot. Looks like you've worked hard this term. Now let's see how good your shuriken throwing is," Aoki Ken encouraged him.
Uchiha Ling nodded, took a shuriken from his ninja pouch, and assumed a proper stance.
His gaze focused on the distant target. With a flick of his wrist, the shuriken shot out like a meteor and struck the bull's-eye.
He took out another shuriken. This time, he threw them faster, one after another, a dense shower flying toward the target.
Every shuriken stuck firmly around the bull's-eye, forming a perfect circle.
Several of the other students watching were astonished. Whispers rose all around them.
"When did he get so good?"
"Yeah, he's like a completely different person from before."
Uchiha Ling's Emotion System instantly picked up on the surprise and admiration. A system notification sounded in his mind:
[Collected 60 Surprise Emotion Points, 50 Admiration Emotion Points]
Soon, the first two tests were over, and everyone had drawn lots. The final round of individual sparring matches began.
"Group 3: Namikaze Minato versus Uchiha Ling!" Teacher Aoki Ken announced the match. The two immediately stepped onto the platform.
"Uchiha Ling used to be at the bottom of the class in the last test. Against Namikaze Minato, won't he lose in no time?"
"I just watched the first two parts of Uchiha Ling's test, and he's improved a lot. Maybe he can give Minato a decent fight!"
"Namikaze Minato's held onto the top spot for ages. Uchiha Ling definitely won't be able to beat him."
When the students below heard the two had been paired, they began whispering among themselves.
Once they were on the platform, the two formed the Seal of Confrontation. "Please go easy on me, Uchiha Ling," Minato said with a warm smile and a nod.
Chakra had already gathered in his feet. His figure blurred abruptly as he charged forward with the Body Flicker Technique.
Ling's pupils contracted. The System-enhanced Uchiha Style Body Technique reached proficiency in an instant.
He twisted aside almost on instinct, barely dodging Minato's sweeping kick.
Before he could regain his footing, Minato's fist was already in front of him. Ling crossed his arms to block it. The tremendous force drove him back two steps, leaving his palms numb.
[Absorbed 15 Surprise Emotion Points from Namikaze Minato] [Onlookers' collective gasp: 60 Emotion Points]
"You dodged my surprise Body Flicker attack. Your reaction's quick."
Minato pulled back his fist, his tone turning more serious. He used the Body Flicker Technique again, this time taking a more unpredictable path that brought him straight toward Ling's back.
Ling didn't try to meet him head-on. Instead, he swiftly formed Hand Seals. "Snake, Boar, Horse, Rabbit, Sheep! Substitution Technique!"
A broken wooden post was left behind, while Ling reappeared to Minato's left, swinging a chakra-enhanced fist toward his side.
Minato reacted in a flash. He turned aside and caught Ling's wrist with his free hand. The two instantly became locked in close combat—fists collided, legs tangled, and bursts of chakra flared between them.
"What incredible Taijutsu!" Hyuga Hiashi clenched his fists. "Even a dead-last from the Uchiha Clan can fight at this level?"
In the middle of the struggle, Ling suddenly wrenched himself free of Minato's grip and jumped backward to create some distance. He swiftly formed Hand Seals. "Sheep, Snake, Tiger! Clone Technique!"
Three clones appeared at once, lunging at Minato from the left, right, and behind.
Minato's eyes narrowed. He lightly pushed off the ground and activated the Body Flicker Technique again, weaving nimbly between the clones and precisely dodging each of their attacks.
[Absorbed 20 Admiration Emotion Points from Namikaze Minato]
"You're controlling the Clone Technique well, but—"
Minato suddenly stopped behind one of the clones and gently rested a hand on its shoulder. "Your clone's chakra signature is weaker than your real one."
The clone vanished at once. Ling's heart tightened. The remaining two clones suddenly changed direction and threw kunai at Minato simultaneously.
Minato dodged to the side, only to see Ling's real body circling behind him, driving a knee toward his back!
Minato's eyes widened. He threw himself forward, then turned and hooked his leg around Ling's ankle.
Ling lost his balance, but rolled with the momentum and grabbed Minato's arm. They both fell to the ground. In the end, Ling's elbow was braced against Minato's chest, while Minato's hand stopped beside Ling's neck.
The whole arena fell silent. No one had expected Uchiha Ling, who had been at the bottom of the class in the last test, to fight Namikaze Minato, the class's top student, to a draw.
Teacher Aoki Ken stepped onto the platform. Watching the two of them locked in place, he loudly announced, "This match between Uchiha Ling and Namikaze Minato is a draw!"
The crowd below erupted at once.
[Collected 30 Surprise Emotion Points from Hyuga Hiashi] [Collected 30 Surprise Emotion Points from Akimichi Choza] [Collected 90 Surprise Emotion Points from the onlookers]
Minato was the first to let go. He stood and held out a hand to Ling with a smile. "Uchiha Ling, you've improved so much. That was a great match."
Uchiha Ling took Minato's hand and let him pull him up. "You're strong too. If my Taijutsu hadn't improved lately, I would've lost in no time."
[Collected 30 Recognition Emotion Points from Namikaze Minato]
Uchiha Ling checked the system and saw that he had already collected 503 Emotion Points—enough to exchange for a C-rank Ninjutsu Gift Pack (Proficient).
Without a second thought, he redeemed it.
After all, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, Fire Release Ninjutsu was part of their image.
Besides, he wouldn't need to explain where his Fire Release Ninjutsu came from. Everyone knew that nearly every Uchiha household had a collection of Fire Release Ninjutsu.
[Successfully redeemed C-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu Gift Pack]
"Status," Uchiha Ling silently said in his mind.
[Host: Uchiha Ling] [Age: 10] [Bloodline: One-Tomoe Sharingan] [Overall Combat Assessment: Genin level (You've now evolved into a competent cannon fodder)] [Skills: Three Body Technique (Proficient), Uchiha Style Body Technique (Proficient), Shurikenjutsu (Proficient), Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique (Proficient), Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique (Proficient), Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique (Proficient)] [Emotion Points: 3]
Uchiha Ling opened the System Store again and began looking over what else he wanted to buy.
[Body Flicker Technique (Mastered): 500 Emotion Points] [One-Tomoe Sharingan → Two-Tomoe Sharingan: 2,000 Emotion Points] [Chakra Control (Mastered): 1,000 Emotion Points]
After weighing his options for a while, Uchiha Ling added all three to his cart.
After the test, Namikaze Minato said to Uchiha Ling,
"Uchiha Ling, you've improved so much! You must have put in a lot of hard work on your own!"
"Yeah!"
Uchiha Ling pretended to reminisce. "All that sweat and hard work finally paid off!"
[Collected 15 Admiration Emotion Points from Namikaze Minato]
"How about we train together at Konoha Training Ground 3 during the break?" Namikaze Minato asked eagerly.
Uchiha Ling thought it over.
"Sure, though I might not be free every day. I've been feeling like my practical combat training is lacking too."
Even with the System letting him exchange for every ninjutsu and Kekkei Genkai he could want, he still had to train himself in actual combat.
It was like having the finest sword in the world: someone who didn't know how to wield it couldn't bring out its full potential.
"Great! I'll be at Konoha Training Ground 3 every morning at eight. Just come find me there, Uchiha Ling." Namikaze Minato happily agreed. After all, he rarely found anyone at school who could match him.
The noticeboard displaying Konoha Ninja Academy's overall rankings was several times noisier than usual.
Yellowed sheets of paper were neatly pinned to the wooden board. At the very top, the names "Namikaze Minato" and "Uchiha Ling" were written side by side, with the words "Tied for First Place" boldly circled in red ink, impossible to miss.
Uchiha Ling stood at the edge of the crowd, rising on tiptoe to read the words. Suddenly, a hurried shove came from behind him.
Several younger students were also on tiptoe, squeezing their way toward the noticeboard. "Make way! I want to see if Minato-senpai came in first again!"
"Of course it's Minato. Even the Lord Third praised him as a genius from a civilian family!"
"No, no, look at the top! There's another name—Uchiha Ling!"
"Uchiha Ling? Which Uchiha Ling? The one who used to drag everyone down in tests... the dead-last?"
"That's him! Didn't you see the practical test this morning? He fought Minato to a draw! He's even better at the Transformation and Clone Techniques than the older students!"
[Collected 75 Admiration Emotion Points from younger girls] [Collected 360 Surprise Emotion Points from the onlookers] [Collected 155 Disbelief Emotion Points from Uchiha Clan members]
Just then, Teacher Aoki Ken came over with the score sheet.
"Uchiha Ling, you've made a lot of progress this time, especially in your ability to adapt during practical combat. You're better than many older students. You deserve to be tied for first."
The teacher's words were like a stone tossed into water, and the crowd erupted again.
"So it's true! The dead-last made a comeback and took first place?"
"When he threw the shuriken, more than a dozen of them landed around the bull's-eye. I thought he'd just gotten lucky!"
"No, no, his Taijutsu was the impressive part! When he was fighting Minato at close range, his punches had plenty of power!"
Hyuga Hiashi pushed through the crowd. The contempt was gone from his face, and his tone was serious. "Uchiha Ling, you've improved beyond what I expected. If you have time, we should spar sometime."
The Uchiha Clan considered itself the strongest clan in Konoha. But the Hyuga Clan also traced its roots back to the Warring States Period and claimed to be Konoha's strongest.
Since they were classmates, Uchiha Ling's test results surpassing his own would surely stir up plenty of gossip about him and the Hyuga Clan.
So Hyuga Hiashi decided to face Uchiha Ling in a direct match.
[Collected 30 Recognition Emotion Points from Hyuga Hiashi]
Uchiha Ling smiled and nodded, about to reply, when two awkward coughs sounded from outside the crowd.
Uchiha Ling looked up. Uchiha Xiu-Huo and Uchiha Chuan stood at the mouth of the alley, arms crossed. Their faces were stiff, though they couldn't help sneaking glances his way.
The tips of Uchiha Xiu-Huo's ears were red, while Uchiha Chuan clutched the hem of his clothes and looked away. Clearly, they had also heard the commotion by the noticeboard and learned about Uchiha Ling's results.
Uchiha Ling raised his eyebrows at them. Uchiha Xiu-Huo reacted as if he'd been burned and immediately turned his face away. He tugged at Chuan's arm and lowered his voice, deliberately speaking loud enough for Ling to hear.
"I can't believe he fought Namikaze Minato to a draw and even tied for first." He sneaked a glance at Ling, then quickly lowered his head. "Guess we were wrong about him. We shouldn't have called him the 'dead-last.'"
Chuan nodded quickly, but couldn't resist turning back for one last glance at Uchiha Ling before Uchiha Xiu-Huo pulled him away.
[Collected 20 Recognition and Embarrassment Emotion Points from Uchiha Xiu-Huo] [Collected 15 Awkward Emotion Points from Uchiha Chuan]
Uchiha Ling watched them leave, then looked down at his name on the noticeboard. He couldn't help smiling. The Emotion Points on the system panel kept ticking upward, and had already reached nearly a thousand.
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