The enormous fireball Lin Fan spat out quickly swallowed Sasuke's fireball, which was half its size.
The fireball slowly moved toward Sasuke.
The entire training ground was soon filled with the intense heat from Lin Fan's Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.
Seeing the giant fireball flying toward him, Sasuke clearly didn't dare take it lightly.
He quickly focused chakra in his feet and darted sideways, escaping the fireball's scorching range.
As he fled to the side, he stared at the enormous fireball, which was about to fade a few meters away. He froze in a daze.
His legs gave out, and he slumped back down onto the ground.
Though the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu wasn't a particularly difficult technique in the Uchiha Clan, even ordinary ninjas needed time to master it.
He'd learned it in a single afternoon when he was six, but it had taken years of hard training to give it the power it had now.
And yet Lin Fan, who was clearly around the same age as him, could easily unleash a Fireball Jutsu twice as large?
He was definitely a genius who'd been hiding his strength all along.
Looking at Lin Fan and his incredible talent, Sasuke was reminded of the man he'd once adored so much—and later hated with every fiber of his being.
Meanwhile, Lin Fan was also feeling shaken.
When he'd performed the Fireball Jutsu, he'd deliberately controlled his chakra output.
He'd been afraid of showing off too much and accidentally hurting that foolish little brother of Itachi's.
Even with all that caution, his fireball had still been twice as large as Sasuke's.
Lin Fan finally understood the difficulty Itachi had faced back then.
Compared to his genius older brother, Sasuke's talent really wasn't on the same level.
If Itachi hadn't unleashed a veritable Pacific Ocean of water, how could his foolish little brother ever have won?
[System: Congratulations, host. You have completed the guidance mission. Reward: Tomoe Sharingan Lv. 1.]
The mission was complete, and the reward arrived right on time.
Lin Fan immediately began spending points to upgrade his reward.
[System: Congratulations, host. You have upgraded Tomoe Sharingan to Lv. MAX and received the additional status Tomoe Sharingan Boost 100%.]
[Tomoe Sharingan Boost 100% halves the time it takes the host to observe an enemy's ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu. It also doubles the power of ninjutsu performed using the Sharingan!]
System, I'm not from the Uchiha Clan. Once I awaken the Sharingan, will I be unable to turn it off?
Lin Fan asked the system teasingly.
After all, Lord Kakashi's chronic chakra shortage was related to his inability to turn off his Sharingan.
[Please rest assured, host. Everything produced by the system is of the highest quality. The Sharingan will perfectly match your constitution.]
After hearing the system's explanation, Lin Fan finally smiled with satisfaction.
Now that the Sharingan was his greatest trump card, it would be best to keep it hidden until he faced a powerful enemy.
Lin Fan!
Lin Fan!
Lin Fan!
The girls who'd been clustered around Sasuke moments ago began switching sides, calling out the victor's name.
"That was terrifying! If I ever end up against Lin Fan in an exam, I'll just surrender. The gap between us is way too big!"
Shikamaru slapped his forehead and said helplessly.
"Haha, now you've all seen how strong my big bro Lin Fan is, right? One punch and down goes Sasuke, believe it!"
Naruto finally saw Sasuke take a beating and said excitedly.
"Hmph. Being strong now doesn't mean you'll be strong forever. I believe Sasuke-kun will keep training hard. I'll be waiting for the day you beat Lin Fan to a pulp."
Sakura glared angrily at Lin Fan as she spoke.
"L-Lin Fan, you're amazing. I-I'll work hard at training too, so I can catch up with you."
Hinata gazed at Lin Fan with her big, innocent eyes and spoke softly.
As everyone's attention focused on him, Lin Fan slowly walked over to Sasuke.
He held out his right hand in a friendly gesture.
Though Lin Fan had liked teasing Sasuke with the nickname "Uchiha Sasuke" in his previous life,
at the end of the day, Sasuke was just a twelve-year-old kid.
At such a young age, he had to shoulder the burden of avenging the entire Uchiha Clan and train himself to the bone.
He must have felt lonely and helpless, too!
When Sasuke came to his senses, he looked at Lin Fan, whose expression was full of goodwill.
Lin Fan had the same incredible talent as Itachi, but the two of them were completely different people.
And Sasuke had no grudge against him.
In the end, it was just the gap in their strength that had thrown Sasuke off balance.
Once Sasuke understood that, most of his hostility toward Lin Fan faded away.
But instead of accepting Lin Fan's help, he braced himself against the ground with both hands and slowly got to his feet.
Iruka looked around at the students. Almost none of them were hurt; only Sasuke had minor scrapes on his arms and legs.
He let out a long breath and said, "The third training match goes to Lin Fan."
"Congratulations on winning, Lin Fan. But sooner or later, I'll beat you."
Sasuke stood with his hands in his pockets and stared intently at Lin Fan.
Still as cool and handsome as ever.
At that moment, in the Hokage's office in Konoha,
Phew.
The old man, wearing a large hat with the character for "fire" on it and a white robe, watched the scene inside the Crystal Ball. He took a puff from his pipe, then let out a long breath.
He was none other than Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the Shinobi World's All-Rounder God.
"Guy, what do you think of this young Lin Fan's Konoha Style Taijutsu?"
The Third Hokage glanced at Might Guy, who stood beside him in a dark green training suit, and asked leisurely.
"He's top-tier, even by the standards of our Konoha Village! I'm sure he also loves running beneath the morning sun and burning with the fire of youth."
Might Guy flashed his trademark toothy grin and spoke excitedly.
The Third Hokage shook his head and turned to the other side. "Kakashi, what do you think?"
"I understand your concerns, Lord Third. Lin Fan was always at the bottom of his class at the Ninja Academy, but now that graduation is approaching, he's suddenly revealed his strength. Are you worried he has an ulterior motive?"
Kakashi, his hair white as snow, got straight to the point.
The Third Hokage nodded. "Have you brought me Lin Fan's parents' records?"
Kakashi quickly handed over a folder. "Lin Fan's parents were both Chunin in our Konoha. They died in the Nine-Tails Rebellion twelve years ago.
"One thing worth noting is that Lin Fan is also an orphan of the Uchiha Clan. His mother was Fugaku's cousin. But Lin Fan probably doesn't know who his parents were. He only knows they died because of the Nine-Tails."
"So Lin Fan has a reason to hate the Nine-Tailed Fox? And he's neighbors with Naruto now?"
The Third Hokage took another puff from his pipe and spoke with some concern.
"Lord Third, do you mean that Lin Fan's ultimate target might be the Nine-Tailed Fox? And that Naruto could be in danger?"
Kakashi and Guy were both shocked.
The scene of the Nine-Tails attacking the village and plunging it into crisis twelve years ago was still vivid in their memories.
In the end, it had taken the Fourth Hokage, Minato, sacrificing his own life to perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Only then had he sealed the rampaging Nine-Tailed Fox inside his own son, Naruto, finally restoring peace to Konoha.
"I hope I'm just being overly suspicious. But for Konoha's safety, we can't afford to let our guard down!
"Kakashi, Lin Fan will be graduating from the Ninja Academy soon. With his abilities, he should have no problem becoming a Genin. When the time comes, I'll assign both him and Naruto to your team. That way, you can keep an eye on them openly!"
The Third Hokage had great faith in Kakashi's abilities and intelligence. With him managing these two troublesome little brats, he'd feel much more at ease.