Battle Against Minato

In the blink of an eye, the day of the Konoha Ninja Academy graduation exam arrived, right on schedule amidst the warm sun and gentle breeze.

The campus had long since been swept spotless, the newly marked boundaries on the training ground were strikingly white, and the air was filled with a unique atmosphere mixed with tension, excitement, and a faint, lingering sense of parting.

Uchiha Ling stood amidst the crowd, wearing the Uchiha clan's signature dark blue short-sleeved shirt, the iconic fan crest displayed prominently on his back.

His black hair was smooth and his gaze calm, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding students who were either whispering, constantly warming up, or pale with nervousness.

Namikaze Minato stood not far away, his brilliant golden hair dazzling under the sunlight, his azure eyes filled with focus and a gentle fighting spirit; he appeared equally composed, though a trace of extremely serious scrutiny would occasionally flash through his gaze when he looked at Uchiha Ling.

Over the past few years, the rivalry between Uchiha Ling and Namikaze Minato had long since become a well-known topic within the Ninja Academy.

Namikaze Minato was a recognized genius, excelling in theory, taijutsu, and ninjutsu alike, with a pleasant personality that made him the model student praised by all the teachers.

As for Uchiha Ling, he had staged a miracle, rising from an obscure and somewhat mediocre "tail-ender" to eventually stand toe-to-toe with Namikaze Minato at the top of the rankings.

Every contest between the two, whether it was sparring, Shurikenjutsu, or theoretical exams, was so spectacular that it was dizzying to watch.

Uchiha Ling could feel the gazes cast upon him—curious, expectant, and comparative.

He merely curled the corners of his lips slightly, his heart devoid of ripples, even finding it somewhat amusing.

Only Uchiha Ling himself knew that this so-called "competition" had never been fair from the very beginning.

Namikaze Minato was indeed a once-in-a-generation genius, but what Uchiha Ling possessed was experience and "self-discipline and effort" that transcended the understanding of this era.

Especially after thwarting Danzo's conspiracy and making that leader of "Root" suffer greatly, Uchiha Ling had harvested a massive amount of negative emotions and exchanged them for numerous abilities; his true strength had long since surpassed the student level, even exceeding that of an average Jonin.

The examiners entered one after another, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi and several teachers from the Ninja Academy.

The assessment items proceeded in order: written test, basic taijutsu, ninjutsu performance, Shurikenjutsu, and finally, live combat.

The written portion posed no difficulty for either Uchiha Ling or Namikaze Minato; both handed in their papers almost simultaneously, the dense answers on their sheets serving as standard templates.

During the basic taijutsu assessment, Namikaze Minato's movements were as fluid as flowing water, every action precise and perfectly executed, filled with a coordinated beauty that drew low gasps from the crowd.

When it was Uchiha Ling's turn, he displayed a different style.

His movements were concise and efficient to the extreme, without a single wasted ounce of strength; he moved like a phantom, silent yet incredibly swift, and despite his extreme speed, he gave off an air of effortless composure.

The examiners exchanged glances, seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

This level of body control was not something a student who had just graduated from the academy should possess.

The ninjutsu segment tested the most basic Three Body Technique and one elective ninjutsu of C-rank or below. Namikaze Minato performed the Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, and Transformation Technique perfectly, his clones solid enough to be mistaken for the real thing.

For the elective ninjutsu, Namikaze Minato chose the C-rank "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough," his hand seals moving at lightning speed, the whirlwind he exhaled powerful and concentrated, demonstrating his outstanding control over wind-attribute chakra.

Uchiha Ling also performed the Three Body Technique, his performance even superior, especially in his application of the Substitution Technique; the moment he left a wooden log in his place, the trajectory of his real body appearing in another location was almost impossible for even some Chunin examiners to clearly track.

For the elective ninjutsu, Uchiha Ling finally said softly: "Lightning Release: Earth Flash."

The next moment, fine blue electric arcs spread out from his feet like living things, precisely jumping and weaving between several pre-set targets on the ground, covering every single one without wasting a shred of excess chakra.

Namikaze Minato watched the precisely controlled lightning arcs, his brows furrowing slightly as he felt even greater pressure.

Next was the Shurikenjutsu.

Shurikenjutsu was the signature field of the Uchiha.

The shuriken thrown by Namikaze Minato were equally precise, hitting the bullseye, and he could even use collisions to alter the trajectories of subsequent shuriken, demonstrating superb skill.

But Uchiha Ling's performance was near art; he didn't even look at the targets, throwing them casually based on instinct, yet the shuriken and Kunai drew all sorts of incredible arcs in the air, colliding with each other and changing direction, finally, without exception, embedding themselves deep into the very center of all moving and fixed targets, the resulting clashing sounds forming a crisp metallic symphony.

The watching students could no longer gasp, left only in a numb silence. This was no longer a student-level technique.

[Shock from Namikaze Minato +38]

[Envy from bystander student A +30]

[Admiration from bystander student B +30]

[From...]

With all preliminary items concluded, Uchiha Ling's name sat at the top of the comprehensive scorecard, with Namikaze Minato following closely behind by an extremely narrow margin.

The final segment was the live combat assessment.

The combat assessment used random draws for duels, and without a doubt, Uchiha Ling and Namikaze Minato easily defeated all opponents along the way to meet in the finals.

On the training ground, Uchiha Ling and Namikaze Minato stood facing each other.

"Ling, I have always looked forward to a true, all-out battle with you," Namikaze Minato said seriously, gripping his custom Kunai tightly.

"Ah, I won't let you down, Minato," Uchiha Ling smiled, his posture relaxed yet flawless.

"Begin!"

Following the examiner's command, Namikaze Minato launched his offensive instantly.

His speed was immense; almost as soon as the sound faded, he had already reached Uchiha Ling with his Kunai.

Standard Konoha-style taijutsu: fast, accurate, and ruthless!

However, Uchiha Ling's reaction was faster.

With a slight turn of his body, he avoided the sharp edge of the Kunai by a hair's breadth, his right hand tapping casually—yet perfectly—against Namikaze Minato's wrist, causing his attack to veer off course.

Namikaze Minato used the momentum to spin, his leg sweeping fiercely toward Uchiha Ling's lower stance.

Uchiha Ling leaped backward with agility, his hands flicking simultaneously to launch several shuriken that precisely sealed off any potential pursuit routes for Namikaze Minato.

Namikaze Minato swiftly parried the shuriken and began weaving hand seals.

But before he could even finish half the seals, Uchiha Ling had already closed the distance like a phantom, striking toward his ribs with a seemingly gentle elbow.

Forced to interrupt his hand seals, Namikaze Minato scrambled backward, his heart filled with shock.

Uchiha Ling's speed and grasp of timing were terrifying, as if he could pre-read every one of his movements.

In the ensuing battle, to any outside observer, it appeared as though Namikaze Minato was launching an all-out assault while Uchiha Ling was merely strolling through a courtyard, dodging and parrying with ease.

Namikaze Minato's speed grew ever faster, his figure blurring into a flash of light as he launched attacks from every conceivable angle—kunai, taijutsu, and the occasional low-level ninjutsu—his offensive flowing like mercury, continuous and relentless.