Third Generation Visits

Just as the ward was filled with clamor, the crowd at the door suddenly fell silent and spontaneously parted to both sides.

With a head of dazzling blonde hair, a blue-purple mark on her forehead, and wearing a loose kimono that did little to hide her generous figure, Lady Tsunade walked in. Her mere presence commanded such a powerful aura that the noise in the ward instantly vanished.

Her gaze swept over the children in the room before finally settling on Uchiha Ling, who lay on the hospital bed, her eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny and a trace of imperceptible appreciation.

"Big Sister Tsunade, you came too!" Kushina was pleasantly surprised to see her arrival.

"Lady Tsunade." Namikaze Minato and the other students immediately greeted her respectfully.

"Mm." Tsunade nodded and walked straight to the side of Uchiha Ling's bed.

"Big Sister Tsunade, please, check if Uchiha Ling is hurt anywhere!" Kushina clung to Tsunade's arm, acting spoiled.

Tsunade didn't waste any time. She extended her fingers, a soft green glow of chakra manifesting at her fingertips, and pressed them against Uchiha Ling's forehead before slowly moving downward to sense his injuries.

"Hmm... your vitality is quite vigorous, recovering even faster than I anticipated." Tsunade withdrew her hand, her tone flat yet authoritative.

"Kid, you're lucky. The internal bruising has mostly subsided, and the wounds are healing well. Keep taking your medicine, stay in bed for a week, and then you can begin light rehabilitative training."

[Received professional recognition from Tsunade +20!]

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade." Uchiha Ling responded respectfully.

He could feel that Tsunade's chakra was warm and powerful, brimming with vitality; it was clear that the touch hadn't just been an examination, but that she had also used medical ninjutsu to accelerate his recovery.

"Don't thank me." Tsunade waved her hand, her gaze glancing unintentionally at Kushina beside him as she said pointedly.

"Protecting those who are important to you comes with a price. You did well this time."

Hearing this, Kushina's face flushed a faint red once more.

Without waiting for Uchiha Ling to respond, she turned and left the ward; she had arrived suddenly, and she departed just as decisively.

Yet her arrival and that single comment, "You did well," undoubtedly reaffirmed Uchiha Ling's actions, causing the others in the room to look at him with a different light.

Not long after Tsunade left, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived wearing his Hokage mantle and conical hat, a pipe dangling from his mouth.

"Lord Third!" Everyone, including Uchiha Ling who was lying in bed, attempted to salute.

"No need for formalities, children." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled kindly, pressed his hand down, and walked to Uchiha Ling's bedside. "Just stay lying down, Ling. How are you feeling?"

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage. I am much better." Uchiha Ling replied, his tone respectful.

"Mm, that's good."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the young faces in the room before settling on Ling, his eyes filled with gratification and emotion. "Ling, your actions this time fully embody the light of the Will of Fire. To protect your comrades, you stepped forward despite knowing the danger, not even sparing your own life. The village is proud of you, and I am proud of you as well."

His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying a heavy weight.

"This is what I should have done." Uchiha Ling appropriately displayed the excitement of being recognized, his tone firm.

"Kushina is my classmate, and even more, she is my friend. Protecting friends and protecting the comrades of the village—that is my ninja way."

He spoke these words with genuine feeling, perfectly aligning with the persona he had crafted in his previous essay, Reflections on the Will of Fire.

The appreciation in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes deepened. An Uchiha who possessed the Will of Fire—this was the very model he had been dreaming of.

As the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village grew increasingly tense, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been hoping for a bridge to communicate with them.

He offered Ling a few words of gentle encouragement and checked on Kushina and Minato before leaving under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Afterward, several more groups of people arrived, including his teacher, Aoki Ken. Teacher Aoki seemed quite emotional, patting Ling's uninjured shoulder and repeating, "Well done," and "You didn't embarrass me," contributing another wave of emotion points.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the windows, dyeing the room a warm orange.

Visiting hours were nearly over, and the nurses began to politely urge everyone to leave, allowing the ward to gradually quiet down.

As the commotion faded, only the room full of flowers, fruit, and gifts remained, along with the lingering traces of various chakras and emotions that had yet to dissipate from the air.

Uchiha Ling let out a long sigh. The exhaustion and shyness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a profound sense of calm. He tilted his head slightly, watching the clouds outside the window being dyed a rose-red by the sunset.

He had gained quite a few emotion points from this incident, and when added to the points he had saved up at school recently without spending...

System, open the panel! Uchiha Ling thought to himself.

[Host: Uchiha Ling]
[Age: 11]
[Bloodline: Two-Tomoe Sharingan]
[Chakra: 0.7 Kage]
[Affinity: Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang]
[Comprehensive Combat Assessment: Elite Chunin (Honestly, I don't even know how you managed to beat a Jonin)]
[Skills: Three Body Technique (Proficient), Uchiha Style Taijutsu (Proficient), Shuriken Jutsu (Proficient), Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu (Proficient), Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu (Proficient), Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu (Proficient), Hand Seals (Mastered)]
[Personal Items: Skill Mastery Scroll]
[Emotion Points: 8640]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: Little Hero of Konoha, fame beginning to emerge in the ninja world]

Uchiha Ling continued to browse the system shop.

[Chakra Refinement Method (Advanced): Increases the speed and total volume of chakra refinement, 500 Emotion Points]

[Shadow Clone Technique: 750 Emotion Points]

[Rasengan (Basic Version): 1500 Emotion Points]

[Six Powers (Kami-e): 1200 Emotion Points]

[Uzumaki Constitution (Primary): Significantly increases total chakra and vitality, 5000 Emotion Points]

[Uzumaki Constitution (Advanced): Possess vast, near-Tailed Beast level chakra, extreme vitality and recovery, and accelerated learning speed for Sealing Jutsu, 15000 Emotion Points]

[C-Rank Genjutsu Package (Proficient): 1000 Emotion Points]

[Two-Tomoe Sharingan → Three-Tomoe Sharingan: 5000 Emotion Points]

[Mangekyo Sharingan (Abilities based on the reflection of the heart): 15000 Emotion Points]

[Kekkei Genkai Selection: Ice Release, Lava Release, Boil Release, Magnet Release, or Storm Release: 6000 Emotion Points]

Note: (This is not level-capping; read two chapters ahead, as there are methods to obtain large amounts of Emotion Points later.)