Battle Against Minato

The day of the Konoha Ninja Academy graduation exam arrived before they knew it, right on schedule amid warm sunshine and a gentle breeze.

The campus had already been cleaned until it was spotless. Freshly marked lines stood out white against the training ground, and the air carried a distinctive mix of nerves, excitement, and a faint sadness at the coming farewells.

Uchiha Ling stood among the crowd in a short-sleeved, dark blue shirt custom-made for the Uchiha clan, its back bearing their signature fan crest.

His black hair fell smoothly, and his gaze was calm. He stood in stark contrast to the other students, some whispering among themselves, some constantly warming up, and others so nervous that their faces had gone pale.

Namikaze Minato stood not far away, his brilliant blond hair especially striking in the sunlight. His blue eyes held a focused yet gentle fighting spirit. He was just as composed, though now and then, when he looked at Uchiha Ling, an intensely serious scrutiny flickered in his gaze.

Over the past few years, the rivalry between Uchiha Ling and Namikaze Minato had become a familiar topic throughout the Ninja Academy.

Namikaze Minato was a universally acknowledged genius. He excelled at everything from theory to taijutsu and ninjutsu, and his good nature had made him a model student praised by every teacher.

Uchiha Ling, meanwhile, had staged a miraculous comeback, going from an obscure and somewhat mediocre "dead-last" student to standing shoulder to shoulder with Namikaze Minato at the top of the rankings.

Every contest between them—whether sparring, shuriken throwing, or a written exam—had been so thrilling that it left people dazzled.

Uchiha Ling could feel the gazes directed at him: curious, expectant, comparing.

He only curled his lips slightly. His heart remained perfectly calm, and he even found it a little amusing.

Only Uchiha Ling knew that this so-called "rivalry" had never been fair from the start.

Namikaze Minato truly was a once-in-a-generation genius, but Uchiha Ling possessed experience beyond anything this era could comprehend, along with "discipline and hard work."

Especially after he foiled Danzo's conspiracy and made the leader of "Root" pay dearly, Uchiha Ling had harvested a vast amount of negative emotions and exchanged them for numerous abilities. His true strength had long since surpassed the student level and even exceeded that of an ordinary Jonin.

The examiners filed in one after another. Leading them were Hiruzen Sarutobi and several teachers from the Ninja Academy.

The exams proceeded in order: a written test, a basic taijutsu assessment, ninjutsu, shuriken throwing, and finally, a combat trial.

The written test posed no difficulty at all for Uchiha Ling or Namikaze Minato. They handed in their papers almost simultaneously, and their densely written answers could have served as model solutions.

During the basic taijutsu assessment, Namikaze Minato moved with effortless grace, every motion precise and beautifully coordinated. His performance drew a series of gasps.

When Uchiha Ling's turn came, however, he displayed an entirely different style.

His movements were supremely efficient, with not an ounce of wasted effort. He moved like a phantom—swift and soundless—and despite his incredible speed, he seemed utterly relaxed, as if even the heaviest task were effortless.

Several examiners exchanged glances, surprise clear in each of their eyes.

Such control over one's body was beyond what they would expect from a student just graduating from the academy.

The ninjutsu assessment tested the basic Three Body Technique, along with one self-selected C-rank or lower technique. Namikaze Minato flawlessly demonstrated the Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, and Transformation Technique. His clones were so solid that they were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

For his self-selected technique, Namikaze Minato chose the C-rank Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. He formed the hand seals at incredible speed and exhaled a powerful, concentrated whirlwind, demonstrating his exceptional control over wind-natured chakra.

Uchiha Ling performed the Three Body Technique as well, and his display was even more impressive. His use of the Substitution Technique was particularly striking: the instant a log appeared where he had been standing, his body moved to another position along a path so hard to follow that even some Chunin examiners could barely track it.

For his self-selected technique, Uchiha Ling finally called out in a quiet voice, "Lightning Release: Earth Flash."

The next moment, faint blue arcs of electricity spread from beneath his feet like living things. They leaped from one pre-positioned target to the next, covering every target without letting a single spark spill out or wasting even a trace of chakra.

Watching the lightning arcs move with such precision, Namikaze Minato furrowed his brow slightly. He felt the pressure mount.

Next came shuriken throwing.

Shurikenjutsu was the Uchiha clan's signature specialty.

Namikaze Minato's shuriken were just as accurate, striking the bull's-eyes. He could even use one impact to alter the path of his next shuriken, demonstrating impressive skill.

But Uchiha Ling's display was almost an art form. He didn't even look at the targets, casually tossing the shuriken and kunai as if guided by instinct. They traced all sorts of unbelievable arcs through the air, striking one another and changing direction until, without exception, they buried themselves dead center in every moving and stationary target. Their clanging impacts ran together into a crisp metallic symphony.

The students watching had run out of gasps. All that remained was stunned silence. This was no longer student-level technique.

[Shock from Namikaze Minato +38]

[Envy from student spectator A +30]

[Admiration from student spectator B +30]

[From...]

With all the preliminary events over, Uchiha Ling stood at the top of the overall score board, with Namikaze Minato right behind him by the narrowest of margins.

The final event was the combat assessment.

The combat assessment used random draws to determine the matchups. Unsurprisingly, Uchiha Ling and Namikaze Minato had both easily defeated every opponent on their way to the final.

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

"Ling, I've always looked forward to a real fight with you, with neither of us holding back," Namikaze Minato said earnestly, gripping his specially made kunai.

"Sure. I won't disappoint you, Minato." Uchiha Ling smiled. His posture was relaxed, yet left no openings.

"Begin!"

At the examiner's signal, Namikaze Minato launched his attack at once.

He was incredibly fast. Almost as soon as the command sounded, he was already in front of Uchiha Ling, thrusting his kunai.

It was textbook Konoha-style taijutsu: fast, accurate, and ruthless!

Yet Uchiha Ling was even faster.

He merely shifted sideways, dodging the kunai's edge by a hair. Then, with an almost casual flick of his right hand, he struck Namikaze Minato's wrist and knocked his attack off course.

Namikaze Minato used the momentum to spin, sweeping a fierce kick toward Uchiha Ling's legs.

Uchiha Ling leaped lightly backward and flicked both hands at once, sending several shuriken to block every route Namikaze Minato could take to pursue him.

Namikaze Minato quickly knocked the shuriken aside and began forming hand seals.

But before he had finished, Uchiha Ling had somehow slipped up beside him like a phantom and drove what looked like a gentle elbow strike toward his ribs.

Forced to interrupt his hand seals, Namikaze Minato hurriedly retreated, shock rising in his heart.

Uchiha Ling's speed and timing were terrifying. It was as if he could read every move Namikaze Minato made.

To the onlookers, the rest of the fight looked almost like Namikaze Minato attacking at full force while Uchiha Ling strolled through the battle, dodging and blocking at his leisure.

Namikaze Minato's speed climbed higher and higher until his figure seemed to become a streak of light. He attacked from every angle, using kunai and taijutsu, occasionally mixing in a low-level ninjutsu. His assault poured forth like quicksilver, unbroken and relentless.