Weeks passed in an outwardly tranquil lull. Konoha's relief efforts continued day and night, while Ling and Naruto were "looked after" in the orphanage, virtually cut off from the outside world.
Aside from the staff who brought their meals at set times each day and the watchful eyes that occasionally appeared in the distance, they saw no one. Naruto was even more bewildered. Once he was full, he slept; when he woke, he grabbed Ling's fingertip and babbled. Ling, however, keenly felt the cold isolation and distrust beneath this "protection."
That afternoon, the sun shone brightly. While the middle-aged woman in charge of looking after them, Mrs. Haruno (not Sakura's mother, but a background-character role-player), was briefly away, Ling carried Naruto to the small, weed-choked courtyard behind the orphanage, enclosed by high walls. It was a rare chance to get out and move around.
Naruto seemed to love the sunshine. He wriggled in Ling's arms, giggling.
Just then, a discordant voice came from outside a hole in the courtyard wall.
"Hey, look! They're in there!"
"Which one's the monster?"
"I think it's the blond one!"
"I heard he killed the Fourth Hokage!"
Three boys a few years older than Ling, dressed in ordinary clothes and wearing expressions far too vicious and curious for their age, squeezed through the hole in the wall. They had clearly heard the rumors whispered around the village and were taking out the pain of the Nine-Tails' attack on an innocent child.
The leader, a chubby boy named Fuma Taro, planted his hands on his hips and pointed at Naruto in Ling's arms as if he owned the place. "Hey! Uchiha kid, hand over that fox demon you're holding! Let's see what he really looks like!"
Ling's expression turned cold in an instant.
He knew this day would come sooner or later. He just hadn't expected it to come so soon, or so bluntly. The villagers' ignorance and fear were like a plague. Even children weren't spared.
He didn't move. He simply watched the three intruders calmly, holding Naruto a little tighter. Naruto seemed to sense their malice. His little face scrunched up, and he burrowed into Ling's arms.
"Hey, you think you can hide him?" When Ling ignored him, Fuma Taro angrily picked up a small stone. "Let's see how you like holding him now!"
The stone flew toward Naruto with a whistling sound!
Just as it was about to hit Naruto, Ling darted out one small hand and caught it precisely. His movement was so fast that it left an afterimage.
Ling slowly lowered his hand, and the stone slipped from his palm. He looked up. In the instant no one noticed, his normally pitch-black eyes flashed an eerie red. A single Tomoe appeared silently in each pupil, then vanished just as quickly.
The Sharingan! Under the intense emotional upheaval of anger and the desire to protect, along with his initial control over chakra, the Uchiha bloodline had finally begun to awaken within him!
[ Ding! Detected intense emotional turbulence and a strong desire to protect in the host. The Uchiha bloodline has begun to awaken. One-Tomoe Sharingan awakened.]
The system's notification rang in his mind, confirming his transformation.
"W-what are you going to do?" Ling's suddenly icy gaze startled Fuma Taro. He instinctively took half a step back, but immediately drew on the advantage of numbers and age to force himself to act composed. "You dare protect that fox demon? You're a monster too!"
"A monster?" Ling finally spoke. His voice was calm, without a trace of agitation, yet it carried an invisible weight. "The monster you're talking about is just a baby who doesn't understand anything. But you—"
His gaze swept across the three boys. It seemed to carry a strange force, making them involuntarily feel a chill.
"Do you even know the truth? Or are you just looking for someone weaker than you to bully because you're scared, so you can prove how 'strong' you are?"
As Ling spoke, he quietly set the Sharingan that had just awakened to work, though its power was still minuscule. He didn't use any grand tricks; that would immediately draw the Anbu's attention. He simply infused a trace of chakra into his voice and gaze, applying an exceedingly subtle spiritual influence and suggestion.
This influence magnified the fear buried deep in Fuma Taro and the others—the fear caused by the Nine-Tails' attack, which they had hidden beneath their "anger."
"I-I'm not scared!" Fuma Taro shouted, trying to sound fierce, but his voice had already begun to tremble. He seemed to see some red, ominous shape flickering behind Ling.
"Look at his eyes! They look like a fox's!" another boy cried, pointing at Ling. Under the imperceptible influence of Ling's eye power, he was experiencing a brief hallucination.
"Mom! I wanna go home!" The youngest boy abruptly burst into tears.
Fear was contagious. Especially under Ling's terrifying stare, the fear swelling inside them grew wildly, like weeds.
"Get lost." Ling said just one word.
It seemed to carry some kind of magic, shattering Fuma Taro's last psychological defense. He let out a strange cry and ran for the hole in the wall, stumbling as he went. The other two boys screamed and followed, as if evil spirits were chasing them.
The courtyard instantly fell quiet again. Only the rustle of the grass in the wind remained, along with an unhappy little grunt from Naruto, who was being held too tightly.
The bone-chilling cold in Ling's eyes faded at once, leaving him a little weary. Using the Sharingan so soon, even for the most basic mental interference, had taken a heavy toll on his mind and chakra. He gently patted Naruto's back and murmured, "It's okay now, Naruto. Your big brother's here."
Naruto seemed to understand. He gradually settled down, his big blue eyes gazing at Ling with trust.
[ Ding! Successfully intimidated and driven off the provocateurs, maintaining your bond with Naruto Uzumaki. Reward: slight increase in mental strength; increased proficiency with the One-Tomoe Sharingan.]
Ling took a deep breath, feeling the slight increase in his mental strength. This altercation might have been insignificant, but it was an important beginning. He had tested the power his body currently possessed and confirmed the hostility ordinary villagers in Konoha felt toward Naruto—and toward him.
He raised his head and casually glanced at the canopy of a distant tree. There, the indistinct figure of an Anbu silently disappeared.
"So, you saw that?" Ling thought with scorn. "This is the result of your so-called 'protection.' If riffraff like this can come right to our door and bully us, then how is this so-called 'protection' any different from imprisonment?"
He knew the Anbu would report everything that had happened to the Third Hokage. He had shown composure far beyond his age, Taijutsu by catching the stone, and a little of the Sharingan's suspected "menacing presence" and subtle mental influence—all while keeping it from the watchers in the distance.
This display of strength had been just right. It showed that he had both the ability and the determination to protect Naruto, without revealing everything too soon. He could also use it to send the Third Hokage a subtle message: they didn't need this kind of isolating "protection."
"I need more power." Ling carried Naruto back into the dim room. "Not just the power to fight. I also need a sphere of influence of my own."
A minor character like Fuma Taro was only a ripple on the surface of the lake. But beneath those ripples, dark currents were already swirling. Danzo, hiding behind the scenes, his suspicions of the Uchiha Clan, his covetousness toward the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—all of it would continue despite this little clash.
But this might only be the beginning.
Before you continue