Burst Prototype

That comeback on the obstacle course brought Uchiha Ling more than just fame.

More importantly, he had clearly realized for the first time that chakra compression did not necessarily have to take the form of "sustained high intensity." As long as it was divided into sufficiently short, sufficiently precise intervals, the cost could be kept within what his body could endure.

The discovery was like a door being pushed open.

And behind that door lay something more dangerous—and more powerful.

That night, Ling stood before an abandoned training ground at the edge of the clan compound, an ordinary pebble resting in his palm. Moonlight fell over it, revealing its rough, unremarkable surface. But when he slowly fed a thread of chakra into it, that faint prickling sensation rose in the depths of his eyes once more.

His vision changed.

It was as though a hazy structure had appeared within the pebble. The chakra clinging to it was not still, but wound around it in circles like fine threads. If he simply compressed it, the chakra would become denser and stronger. But if, after compressing it, he made that power suddenly lose balance at a certain point...

What would happen?

Ling kept the Divine Pattern Eye at its lowest level and began adjusting it bit by bit.

On his first attempt, the pebble cracked with a snap before he had even compressed the chakra halfway, spraying fragments across his hand.

On the second, the chakra dispersed before it could be gathered, producing no change at all.

On the third, he left an extremely unstable gap at the very center, then wrapped it in a denser layer of chakra.

The pebble suddenly began to tremble.

Ling's gaze sharpened, and he immediately flung it at the wooden target ahead.

Hiss!

The instant the pebble embedded itself in the target, the unbalanced compressed chakra inside violently erupted. It was not a wide-ranging blast, but a brief, vicious Burst concentrated almost into a single point.

A coin-sized crater immediately appeared in the center of the target, with a ring of fine cracks spreading through the wood around it.

Ling stood where he was, his breathing going light for a moment.

It had worked.

This was not an ordinary throw.

He had hidden compressed power inside a carrier, then released it upon impact. Its force was far more brutal and unexpected than directly coating the projectile with chakra.

"Burst..."

He murmured the word.

Once the name was decided, the light in his eyes seemed to deepen.

Compared to an "explosion," this was more like something forced to its limit before being violently torn apart. Its range was small, but its penetration and destructive power were extreme. If it were applied to kunai, shuriken, or even Fire Release in the future, its threat would be anything but minor.

But the cost immediately made itself known.

After that successful attempt, Ling felt as though the meridians in his right arm had been battered by recoil. A dull numbness mixed with faint stabbing pain, and even his fingers stiffened for a moment. Clearly, this Burst-style transformation demanded even greater control precision. If mishandled, the first person it would injure would still be himself.

"Again."

Suppressing his excitement, Ling picked up another pebble.

The fourth attempt failed.

The fifth exploded too early.

On the sixth, the carrier shattered the instant it left his hand.

By the time the seventh attempt finally succeeded again, his forehead was covered in sweat and his breathing was far more ragged than usual. Yet the more exhausted he became, the clearer that glint in his eyes grew.

This path was viable.

And once he truly mastered it, its power would far exceed anything students at his stage could comprehend.

When class began the next day, Ling looked no different from usual, though his right hand occasionally felt tight. Ino noticed, and casually asked during lunch break, "Did you sneak off to train again last night?"

Ling glanced at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Because when you used your chopsticks, your right hand was half a beat slower than usual." Ino spoke as if it were obvious. "And someone like you doesn't look like the type to obediently listen to the teacher."

Ling did not deny it.

Ino immediately wore an I knew it expression. Leaning closer, she lowered her voice. "What were you training? Something that'll hurt you again?"

"I was trying a new method."

"Is it dangerous?"

"A little."

Ino wrinkled her nose, clearly dissatisfied with such an understated answer. "Do you know that whenever you say 'a little,' it usually means it's far more serious than it would be for anyone else?"

As she spoke, she directly reached out and grabbed his right wrist, apparently wanting to see for herself just how badly he had pushed himself. Ling paused slightly, but did not pull away at once.

When Ino lowered her head and saw the faint red marks left on his knuckles by the recoil, her expression visibly tightened. Yet she still forced a tough tone. "You're going to train yourself until you can't get out of bed someday."

Ling paused.

It seemed he truly had grown used to downplaying his own risks without realizing it.

But before he could say anything, Shikamaru's lazy voice suddenly came from nearby. "I'd advise you not to ask. It'll only become more troublesome if you do."

Ino turned around. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

Shikamaru yawned and sat down nearby. "I wasn't eavesdropping. You were just being too obvious. Besides, I just think that if certain people have been improving at such an absurd rate lately, it's best not to let too many people know exactly what they're practicing."

He said it as if it were merely an offhand comment, but his gaze lingered on Ling for a moment.

Ling's heart stirred.

Shikamaru's attention had gone beyond simply finding him unusual. It now carried judgment and a warning.

"You're overthinking it," Ling said calmly.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I hope so."

After afternoon classes ended, Iruka had Ling stay behind for extra training as usual. Today's exercises were still focused on stable output and dynamic control, without any explosive techniques. Ling trained seriously, but the more serious he was, the more Iruka could tell that something else was turning in his mind.

"You added something on your own again," Iruka said directly when the training ended.

Ling fell silent for a moment, then did not deny it. "Just an idea."

"Many of your ideas are dangerous."

"But useful."

Iruka looked at him for a long while before saying, "There are plenty of useful things. They only have value if you live long enough to use them."

Ling nodded and did not argue further.

He understood that his teacher was trying to stop him from taking the high-risk path too early. But he also understood that the seed within him and these Divine Pattern Eyes would not allow him to grow at the pace of an ordinary student.

By the time he headed home, night had already settled in.

Ling looked up at the faint outline of the Ninja Academy's rooftop in the distance, his fingers unconsciously curling tighter.

Burst was only a prototype.

But precisely because it was a prototype, it was all the more worth refining.

His first true offensive technique had begun to bare its fangs.