At the Third Training Ground behind the Ninja Academy, the setting sun bathed the grounds in orange-red light. Students who had heard the news gathered around the field, their curiosity tinged with a tense excitement. A showdown between the last two surviving members of the Uchiha Clan was more than enough to draw everyone's attention.
In the middle of the field, Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Ling stood side by side.
Sasuke gripped his kunai tightly, his knuckles whitening with the strain. He stared fixedly at Ling, the black eyes burning with the flames of revenge and a yearning to prove he could stand on his own. "I'll show you the true strength worthy of bearing the Uchiha name!" he growled, pushing off the ground and launching the first attack!
His speed was top-tier among his peers, and his movements were clean and decisive. His kunai shot straight for Ling's throat, carried by a fierce gust of wind.
Yet in Ling's eyes, Sasuke's movements were riddled with openings. He didn't even use his Sharingan. Relying solely on the extraordinary vision and reflexes granted by his Sage Body, he turned his head slightly, letting the sharp strike skim past his ear.
Sasuke's attack missed, but he didn't falter. He flipped his wrist and slashed sideways with the kunai, while his other hand rapidly formed Hand Seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing fireball roared forth. Though its scale was far behind that of an adult Uchiha's, its power and chakra control were astonishing for a ninja! The scorching gust made the students gathered around the field instinctively take several steps back.
Facing this familiar Uchiha signature jutsu, Ling remained calm. He didn't even form Hand Seals to counter it. The instant the fireball reached him, chakra erupted from his feet!
"Whoosh!"
His silhouette vanished like a ghost, leaving behind a shallow crater. In the next instant, he had appeared behind Sasuke's left side, moving so fast it seemed like teleportation!
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply. He had no time to react before an irresistible force struck his wrist!
"Smack!"
The kunai flew from his hand. Ling's palm clamped onto his shoulder like an iron vise, then pressed down!
"Bang!"
Sasuke was slammed hard into the ground, dust flying. The Great Fireball Technique went out of control, collided with the barrier in the distance, and slowly dissipated.
The entire field fell silent.
In just one exchange, Uchiha Sasuke, hailed as this year's genius, had been taken down with such ease?!
Sasuke lay facedown, overwhelmed in an instant by intense pain and profound humiliation. He struggled to get up, but Ling's hand on his shoulder felt as heavy as a mountain.
"Is this all you've got, Sasuke?" Ling's voice came from above, frighteningly calm. "Letting hatred blind you only fills your movements with openings. Your anger means nothing to me."
"Shut up! What do you know?!" Sasuke roared, suddenly releasing chakra as he tried to break free. Sharingan! He needed the power of the Sharingan!
Yet no matter how fiercely he stoked the hatred inside him, his eyes remained pitch-black. The trauma of the night his clan was slaughtered had seemingly exhausted his potential to awaken the Sharingan—or perhaps Ling's presence had, to some extent, "interfered" with the buildup of his extreme emotions.
Looking down at Sasuke as he struggled, Ling felt no satisfaction, only a trace of pity. He knew this crushing defeat was cruel for Sasuke, but necessary. He needed to shatter the revenge fantasy Sasuke had built on fragile arrogance and make him face reality.
"Your enemy is far stronger than you imagine. With your current mindset and strength, you're not even qualified to touch the hem of his clothes." Ling released him and stepped back. "Hatred can drive you forward, but it isn't everything. If you let hatred be your only guide, you'll never catch up to that man, not even for the rest of your life."
Sasuke sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. Ling's words were like icy water, dousing his raging flames and leaving only bone-deep cold and helplessness. He had lost, and lost completely—not even worthy of making his opponent take him seriously.
He lifted his head and looked at Ling's indifferent profile in the setting sun. An unprecedentedly complicated feeling stirred within him. There was hatred and unwillingness to accept defeat, but beneath it, perhaps, there was also a yearning for a companion that even he himself refused to admit? If this powerful clansman could help him...
No! He shook his head violently, driving the weak thought away. He had to walk the path of revenge alone!
Sasuke struggled to his feet and looked Ling in the eye. His gaze was still icy, but it seemed to hold less unalloyed hostility and something harder to put into words. He said nothing more, turned, and staggered away from the training ground. His back still looked lonely, but he seemed to carry something heavier now.
The students watching silently made way for him. They looked toward Ling with adoration.
Ling paid their stares no mind. His senses picked up the cold, probing gaze of someone watching from a distant tree. After Sasuke walked away, that gaze quietly vanished as well.
Orochimaru, Ling sneered inwardly. It seemed the snake could no longer hold back his curiosity.
Just then, the system's notification rang out in his mind:
[Beep! A change in the cosmic timeline has been detected. Key figure Uchiha Sasuke's opinion has shifted subtly. The host has successfully planted the seeds of 'questioning' and 'subtle guidance' in his heart. Reward: slight increase in mental strength; special item 'Guidance Rune Stone (Weak)' x1 (under specific conditions, it can provide a target with one subtle piece of guidance and suggestion).] [Warning: One of the Sannin, Orochimaru, has arrived near Konoha. His targets may include the host and members of the Dawn Wind. Risk level: high.]
Ling clenched his fist, feeling his mental strength increase slightly, and sensed the dim gray rune stone emitting a faint glow in his system inventory.
He had achieved his initial goal with Sasuke. The process had been intense, but at least he had planted a seed. Meanwhile, the new threat—Orochimaru—was quietly drawing near.
Beneath Konoha's seemingly peaceful surface, even greater undercurrents were about to surge.
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