A New Task Has Been Delivered—Please Check It!

Sasuke?

Ling Yue froze for a moment. Why was he here so late? After hesitating briefly, she opened the door.

Outside, Sasuke stood expressionlessly in a dark blue set of loungewear, holding a small food box.

"Something wrong?" Ling Yue leaned against the doorframe, with no intention of letting him inside.

Late at night, a lone man and woman together—it wouldn't look good.

Sasuke seemed to have no intention of entering either. He simply handed her the food box. "For you."

Ling Yue accepted it in confusion. When she opened it, she found several neatly made rice balls and some side dishes inside, all still steaming.

"What's this?"

"Leftovers." Sasuke turned his head away, his tone stiff. "You didn't go eat ramen with us tonight. I figured no one brought you food."

Ling Yue blinked. Leftovers? The young master of the Uchiha clan ate ordinary rice balls like these? And no matter how she looked at it, this plating didn't resemble leftovers at all.

She found it a little amusing but didn't expose him. "Thanks. I was just getting hungry."

Sasuke gave a quiet "Mm," but he didn't leave. His gaze swept over her still somewhat pale face before falling on her bandaged arm, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"How's your injury...?"

"It's fine. I won't die." Ling Yue took out a rice ball and bit into it. It actually tasted pretty good. "You came all this way just to bring me food?"

Sasuke fell silent, seemingly organizing his thoughts. Only after a long while did he speak. "That... footwork you used to suddenly accelerate and evade, and that Lightning-style breathing method... what were they?"

So he really came for this. Ling Yue thought.

Chewing on the rice ball, she answered vaguely, "Just a little family technique for running away."

"A family technique?" Sasuke's Sharingan flickered faintly beneath the moonlight, carrying a scrutinizing look. "A war orphan has inherited secret techniques too?"

Ling Yue's heart skipped a beat, and she nearly choked. I forgot about that! The original owner was supposed to be an orphan!

She hurriedly coughed twice and forced herself to patch up the lie. "Uh... they were incomplete notes my parents left behind. I just figured things out and practiced on my own. It's not any proper secret technique."

Sasuke clearly didn't believe her. His Sharingan fixed on her as if he wanted to see through her face. "You achieved that kind of result just by figuring things out? The force application in that footwork and the way your chakra circulates are very unusual. And that breathing technique clearly amplifies Lightning-nature chakra."

Ling Yue's scalp went numb. This guy's powers of observation were way too sharp! The Sharingan was practically cheating!

"Maybe... I'm just talented?" she tried to bluff her way through.

Sasuke stared at her for several seconds, long enough to make Ling Yue's skin crawl, before slowly looking away. His voice betrayed no emotion. "On the next mission, don't do something that stupid again."

"What kind of thing?"

"Blocking a blade." Sasuke's voice was a little muffled. "My Sharingan can see incoming attacks. I don't need you interfering. Just protect yourself."

After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for Ling Yue's reply, quickly disappearing into the night.

Ling Yue watched his retreating figure, then looked at the food box in her hands, her feelings a little complicated.

Was this guy here to gather information, or to thank her? Or both?

Were all Uchiha people this awkward?

She shook her head, closed the door, and continued enjoying her unexpected late-night meal. It really did taste good. The Uchiha clan's cooks seemed quite capable.

The next day, Ling Yue felt much better. The effects of [Resilient Body] really were impressive.

She decided to go to the training ground to loosen up a little and test out the basic trap knowledge she had just acquired.

Not long after leaving, she ran into Naruto, who was as energetic as ever.

"Yo! Yue! Are you feeling better?" Naruto called out loudly. "Perfect! Come practice with me! I'm developing a new jutsu! It's definitely going to be awesome!"

"A new jutsu?" Ling Yue was a little curious. "What new jutsu?"

"Hehe, it's a secret!" Naruto said smugly. "You'll find out when you get there! I guarantee it'll shock you!"

His words piqued Ling Yue's interest. Since she had nothing else to do, she followed Naruto to Training Ground Three.

When they arrived, they found Sasuke there too, practicing shuriken throws at wooden posts. His form was standard, and his accuracy was extremely high.

Seeing Ling Yue arrive with Naruto, he paused for a moment. Without saying anything, he continued practicing.

"Sasuke! Watch closely! My new jutsu!" Naruto impatiently began forming hand seals as chakra surged through him.

Ling Yue and Sasuke both looked at him.

"Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto shouted.

Bang! After a puff of white smoke, a naked, curvaceous blonde beauty with twin tails appeared in the clearing and even blew Sasuke a seductive kiss.

Ling Yue: "..."

Sasuke: "...Idiot."

A shuriken embedded itself precisely in the ground right in front of Naruto's crotch, frightening him into immediately dispelling the jutsu.

"Ahhh! Sasuke, what are you doing?!" Naruto jumped in outrage.

"Wasting chakra," Sasuke said coldly, continuing to throw shuriken.

Ling Yue rubbed her forehead. Sure enough, she shouldn't have expected too much from Naruto's "new jutsu."

"Hmph! You have no appreciation for art!" Naruto puffed up his cheeks and formed another hand seal. "Then look at this! Harem Jutsu!"

Bang, bang, bang! An even thicker cloud of white smoke erupted, and several naked "Naruto beauties" appeared, striking coquettish poses around Sasuke.

Veins bulged on Sasuke's forehead as his shuriken began flying toward Naruto's real body.

Ling Yue's mouth twitched. What even was this nonsense?!

Still... Naruto's understanding of transformation jutsu really was unlike anyone else's. Using that chakra control for transformations was such a waste.

After a round of chaos, Naruto finally settled down, sitting off to the side with a bruised and swollen face as he caught his breath.

Ling Yue began her own practice as well.

First, she tried combining [Thunder Breathing] with [Flash Step] for short-range rapid dashes and changes in direction. The results were fairly good, though it consumed quite a bit of chakra.

Then she took out some ordinary shuriken and thin wire, attempting to set up several basic tripwire traps and shuriken-launching traps.

Both Sasuke and Naruto were drawn to what she was doing.

"Yue, what are you doing?" Naruto asked curiously. "Setting traps." Ling Yue kept working without looking up.

"Traps? What are they good for?" Naruto looked confused. "Why not just charge in and beat the other guy up?"

Although Sasuke said nothing, he also gave her a puzzled look.

In standard ninja education, traps were usually set up in advance during missions or used for defense. They were rarely used in direct combat.

"When you're facing an enemy stronger than you, or when you're surrounded, a few traps might create an opportunity to escape." Ling Yue explained. "Besides, sometimes screwing someone over feels way better than facing them head-on."

After setting the final tripwire, she stood up and dusted off her hands. "All right. Who wants to try?"

"Me, me!" Naruto volunteered, striding forward without a care.

After only two steps, his foot caught on something, and he fell flat on his face.

At the same time, a shuriken drawn by a thin wire shot from a nearby tree toward the spot where he had just been standing.

"Whoa!" Naruto broke out in a cold sweat. "That actually does have some use!"

Sasuke watched the simple trap, his Sharingan slowly turning as if analyzing its mechanics and how to counter it.

"It's only the most basic kind." Ling Yue walked over and dismantled the trap. "It wouldn't work against any ninja with a little experience."

"Teach me, teach me!" Naruto immediately grew interested.

Sasuke also spoke in a calm voice. "How do you adjust the sensitivity of this kind of trigger mechanism?"

Ling Yue was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected either of them to be interested in traps.

So she briefly explained the basic principles of center of gravity, leverage, and chakra wire applications.

The three of them rarely discussed anything together this peacefully. Naruto did most of the asking, Ling Yue did the answering, and Sasuke occasionally raised a key question. The atmosphere was much more harmonious than before.

After practicing for a while, they were all a little tired and sat beneath a tree to rest.

Naruto began fantasizing about the future again. "Next mission, I'm definitely going to use my new jutsu to make every enemy drop their jaws! Hahaha!"

Sasuke snorted but didn't bother mocking him.

Ling Yue looked at her own hands, feeling the chakra within her slowly recover as she considered the direction of her next stage of training.

Just then—

[Ding! New mission issued: Participate in the first round of the Chunin Exams—written test.]

[Mission requirements: Answer at least five test questions correctly and avoid being caught cheating by the proctor (excluding the use of your own abilities).]

[Mission reward: Dimensional Points x500, Skill Card Voucher (R) x1.]

[Failure penalty: Randomly deduct one existing skill.]

Ling Yue abruptly sat upright.

The Chunin Exams? So soon??