Time to Take Action

[Healing Arts]? A healing kidō?

Ling Yue stared at the newly drawn skill and froze for a moment.

An SR card had given her a healing technique? Wasn't that a bit of a loss?

She had wanted a powerful offensive or defensive skill!

But once she finished receiving the skill's information, her mind immediately changed.

[Healing Arts] was not merely about closing wounds. By injecting positive energy, it stimulated cellular activity, accelerated the natural healing process, and could even purify negative energy and toxins to a certain extent!

For ninjas who were frequently injured, it was practically a divine skill!

Moreover, training [Healing Arts] required extremely high chakra control and mental strength, which was perfect for improving her weaknesses.

"Seems... not too bad?" Ling Yue rubbed her chin and tried circulating her chakra according to the workings of [Healing Arts]. A soft white glow spread over her palm.

She pressed her hand against the arm that had previously been cut by a kunai and had already scabbed over.

A warm energy slowly flowed in. Her arm tingled faintly as the skin beneath the scab visibly regrew and healed. Moments later, only a faint pink new scar remained.

"The effect is this good?!" Ling Yue was both shocked and delighted.

This recovery speed was even faster than medical ninjutsu! And the consumption did not seem high, either.

What a profit! That SR card had been worth it! She could heal herself whenever she got hurt now! Her survivability had increased dramatically!

In high spirits, she looked at her remaining 4,350 points and the other SR card voucher.

Should she keep drawing, or improve her existing skills first?

After thinking it over, she decided to play it safe for now.

She would save the points for emergencies and leave the other SR card voucher untouched until she needed it.

What mattered most right now was consolidating her current abilities. In particular, both the newly acquired [Void Threads] and [Healing Arts] required extensive practice before she could master them.

Over the following days, the Hidden Leaf Village gradually recovered from its grief, though the atmosphere remained tense.

The acting Hokage had yet to be chosen, while undercurrents stirred among the higher-ups.

Ling Yue kept a low profile and spent most of her time at the training grounds on the edge of the village.

She focused on three areas of training:

First was the fine control of [Void Threads].

She used mental threads to pierce through leaves, entangle high-speed shuriken, and even attempted to control multiple threads at once to simulate complex hand seals, all in an effort to improve her concentration and fine control.

Second was the practical application of [Healing Arts].

Besides treating the minor injuries she received during training, she secretly caught small animals in the woods to practice setting bones and detoxifying poison. The results were remarkable.

Third was further integrating [Lightning Flash Body Technique], [Paper Arts], [Flash Step], and basic taijutsu.

Kakashi had been right. She lacked effective counterattack methods, and the explosive power and enhancements of [Lightning Flash Body Technique] happened to make up for that.

She repeatedly honed her force-generation techniques and combos, striving to land lethal blows while moving at high speed.

Training was dull and exhausting, but the steady feeling of growing stronger was addictive.

During that time, Naruto left the village with Jiraiya. Supposedly, he was going away for some kind of special training.

After leaving the hospital, Sasuke became even quieter. He trained even harder than Ling Yue did, often leaving himself covered in wounds.

Sakura, meanwhile, devoted much of her time to the medical corps and genjutsu.

Although Team 7 had disbanded, every one of them was working to become stronger in their own way.

That day, Ling Yue was at the training ground, attempting to use [Void Threads] to control three shuriken along different flight paths at once. Her mental focus was at its peak.

Suddenly! Three real shuriken shot out from deep within the forest without warning, flying toward her in a triangular formation!

An ambush?!

[Paper Arts] activated instantly! Her body twisted and slid sideways through the gaps between the three shuriken!

Two shuriken grazed past her body and embedded themselves in a tree.

But the third came from too tricky an angle, and it was about to hit her!

At that critical moment, one of the [Void Threads] she controlled snapped out and precisely wrapped around the shuriken's handle. She yanked hard!

The shuriken's trajectory shifted, skimming past her pant leg!

"Who's there?!" Ling Yue spun around at once. [Thunder Breathing] circulated through her body as she warily looked toward the direction the shuriken had come from. At the same time, several [Void Threads] spread outward to search the area.

The forest was utterly silent, as if the attack just now had been nothing more than an illusion.

But Ling Yue could feel it. The ambusher had not left! They were nearby!

Their presence was concealed exceptionally well. If not for [Void Threads] being sensitive to energy fluctuations, she would have been almost unable to detect them.

Was it Root? Or another faction? Had they finally lost their patience and made a move?

She sneered inwardly, but outwardly pretended to be shaken as she looked around. In secret, however, she pushed the perception of [Void Threads] to its limit.

Found them! Roughly twenty meters to her front left, hidden within the thick canopy of a large tree, was an extremely faint chakra fluctuation that nearly blended into the environment.

She did not alert the enemy. Instead, she deliberately exposed an opening, bending down as if to pick up a kunai that had fallen to the ground, leaving her back completely exposed.

Sure enough! The presence within the canopy stirred!

Now!

[Lightning Flash Body Technique] erupted! Her body shot toward the tree!

At the same time, both hands flicked repeatedly, sending kunai attached to [Void Threads] accurately toward every likely evasive position in the canopy!

The ambusher clearly had not expected her counterattack to be so swift and precise!

In a rush, they leaped out from the canopy, trying to evade the kunai!

But Ling Yue's [Void Threads] had long since formed an invisible net! The instant the ambusher jumped out, several mental threads wrapped around them. Though they could not fully restrain the opponent, they greatly slowed their movements!

Ling Yue had already rushed beneath the tree. Her fist, crackling with electricity, mercilessly slammed toward the opponent's face!

The ambusher wore ordinary dark ninja clothing and a mask that concealed their face.

A flicker of surprise flashed through their eyes as they faced Ling Yue's savage assault, and they raised both hands to block rapidly!

Fists and feet collided with dull thuds.

The opponent possessed great strength and speed, and their fighting skills were refined. They were clearly an experienced elite chunin, perhaps even a special jōnin!

But the explosive power of Ling Yue's [Lightning Flash Body Technique] was greater, and her speed was faster!

[Paper Arts] let her evade every one of the opponent's counterattacks.

More importantly, [Void Threads] constantly interfered in subtle ways—tripping them, tugging at their weapons, or attempting to pierce their defenses—making the ambusher fight with every move restricted and utterly frustrated!

"You coward hiding in the shadows! Who sent you?!"

The ambusher did not say a word and merely defended with all their strength.

The intelligence on this target had been gravely wrong!

This was not the strength of an ordinary genin at all! Especially that strange, invisible, intangible ability that could interfere with movement!

Unable to gain the upper hand after a prolonged battle, the ambusher seemed to decide to retreat. They feinted, then threw out a smoke bomb!

"Trying to run?" Ling Yue activated [Paper Arts] perception to its fullest, completely unaffected by the smoke. [Void Threads] locked onto the fleeing figure, and she caught up in an instant!

However, just as [Void Threads] were about to wrap around the opponent, a peculiar chakra fluctuation suddenly erupted from the ambusher's body. It forcibly broke free of the [Void Threads]' restraints, their speed surged, and they vanished into the depths of the forest in an instant!

Ling Yue stopped and did not recklessly give chase.

That chakra the opponent had erupted with just now felt strange. It did not seem like something gained through normal training.

She withdrew [Void Threads], looked at the few drops of blood left on the ground and the half-severed mental thread, then fell into thought.

So I really am being watched. Was it Danzo's Root? Was this probing attack meant to uncover my true capabilities?

It seemed her days ahead would not be peaceful.

She cleaned up the scene and resumed training as though nothing had happened.

But she did not know that, atop another taller tree in the distance, another Root member wearing an animal mask was silently observing everything through the Telescope Technique.

He reported quietly into the communicator in his hand, "The target has been confirmed to possess an unknown invisible manipulation ability, suspected to be thread-based. It possesses extremely strong perception and disruptive capabilities.

Her taijutsu's explosive power is astonishing, and she is suspected to have a Lightning Release-enhanced physique. Her combat awareness is excellent. Wildcat's probe failed, and he withdrew with minor injuries. Recommendation... raise the observation level and postpone contact."

After a moment of silence, a deep voice came through the communicator. "Continue observing. Record data on her abilities. Do not act without authorization until new orders are received."

"Yes."

The figure melted into the shadows and disappeared.

Ling Yue finished training and returned to the village.

The moment she entered the street, she sensed an unusual atmosphere.

The villagers seemed somewhat restless, and many ninjas were running toward the Hokage Building.

"What happened?" She stopped a chunin she knew and asked.

"You haven't heard?" The chunin's face was filled with excitement and anticipation. "The acting Hokage candidate has been decided! Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade have returned! They're at the Hokage Building right now!"

Tsunade? Jiraiya? They were back?

That meant Tsunade, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, was returning to become the Fifth Hokage? The plot was moving so quickly.

At the same time, it meant Sasuke's defection was not far away.

She looked toward the hospital, her heart conflicted.

Just then, she saw Sasuke walking over from the direction of the training grounds. He had clearly heard the news as well.

There was no expression on his face, but deep in his eyes surged a faint, almost imperceptible urgency and... restlessness.

Their gazes met.

Sasuke spoke blandly. "You heard the news?"

Ling Yue nodded. "Yeah. The Fifth is about to take office."

Sasuke fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Do you think the new Hokage can bring greater strength to the Hidden Leaf Village?"

There seemed to be another meaning behind his question.

Ling Yue looked at him and said slowly, "Strength... has never been something others can give you."

Sasuke looked deeply at her, said nothing more, and turned to walk toward home.

Ling Yue watched his retreating back and sighed inwardly.

What was meant to come would come.

She touched the shuriken in her ninja tool pouch, the one she had just used to practice [Void Threads], its edge still stained with a trace of blood.

But this time, she would not just stand by and watch helplessly like before.

She had to do something.