A Perfect Turnaround

The forest path back from the comprehensive test was quieter than expected.

So quiet that even the sound of wind passing through the leaves was exceptionally clear.

Ling walked at the front with the scroll, his pace unhurried. Hinata and Shikamaru deliberately kept half a step apart, leaving room for each other's sightlines and attacks. On the surface, they seemed to be advancing cautiously, but all three had their attention stretched to the limit.

"There are two breaths ahead," Hinata suddenly said in a low voice. "One obvious, one hidden."

They were here.

Ling's gaze darkened slightly, but he did not stop. Instead, he took another three steps forward.

Sure enough, the next instant, a figure darted out from behind a tree directly ahead, moving cleanly and decisively toward the scroll.

Sasuke.

Almost the moment he appeared, Kiba lunged out from the woods on the other side. But his target was not Ling—it was Shikamaru.

That was their plan.

Sasuke would hold down the strongest point from the front, Kiba would tear apart their formation from the flank, and Ino was surely hidden somewhere better suited to filling the gaps.

"Split up," Ling shouted.

He did not let the scroll be exposed to the first wave of impact. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it toward the safer space behind him, forcing Sasuke to alter his path and intercept it. Their figures collided fiercely in the middle of the forest road, a crisp clang sounding as a wooden kunai struck an arm.

In that instant, neither of them held anything back as they tested each other.

Sasuke was still sharp, his attacks like blades. Every move pressed relentlessly forward.

Ling, on the other hand, was steadier than before. He did not compete over who was faster. Instead, he shortened every burst beneath his feet, keeping himself balanced on the edge of not being completely suppressed while not revealing too much of his hand too early.

Meanwhile, Kiba was trying to disrupt Shikamaru and Hinata's positions with a barrage of lunges. But Shikamaru had clearly prepared for this. As he retreated, he guided Kiba toward a narrow spot he had already identified, while Hinata continuously called out Ino's possible angles of attack.

"Back right!"

The moment Shikamaru turned his head, Ino's wooden kunai skimmed past his shoulder.

"You really did see right through it." Ino leaped out from behind a tree with a smile on her lips, but her hands did not slow in the slightest.

For a time, the battle reached a stalemate.

For Sasuke's group, as long as they held Ling down, their combined assault had a chance to crush through. But for Ling's side, as long as they did not panic, Shikamaru and Hinata's coordination was enough to drag things into a situation neither side would enjoy.

Sasuke had clearly realized that as well.

His eyes turned cold, and his attack rhythm abruptly accelerated. He changed direction and seized the initiative three times in quick succession, forcing Ling to retreat half a step. In that half-step, Sasuke cut to the side and reached for the scroll lying not far away.

Now.

A glint flashed in Ling's eyes as the compressed chakra beneath his feet suddenly ignited.

Bang!

His whole body slid low across the ground, cutting into Sasuke's path before he could touch the scroll. Ling dropped his shoulder and slammed him half a body-width aside. At the same time, he flung out a shuriken that had long been poised between his fingers.

It was not an Explosive Shuriken.

It was merely a heavy shuriken enhanced with extreme compression.

But at this distance and angle, it was enough.

The shuriken was not aimed at anyone. Instead, it precisely severed the rope holding up a nearby false obstacle. The next moment, several light wooden boards that had been part of the environment came crashing down, neatly splitting the forest path in two.

Sasuke's expression changed.

This was not simply a matter of snatching it through brute force.

Ling had factored the environment into his plans on the spot.

"Go!"

Ling grabbed the scroll back and immediately turned to retreat.

The moment they heard the boards fall, Shikamaru and Hinata had already retreated in sync. With almost no unnecessary communication, the three of them quickly withdrew along the reserved side route.

Ino had wanted to give chase, but Kiba grabbed her. "Don't chase them. It's too late!"

Sasuke stood before the fallen boards, his eyes dark and icy, but he ultimately did not force his way through.

Because he knew perfectly well that in that instant, Ling had not simply been faster than him. He had been waiting for this reversal from the very first step.

At the end of the forest path, Ling's group crossed the line first and slapped the scroll onto the finish platform.

A sizable uproar erupted from the sidelines.

Many people had not seen the details clearly. They only knew that the two strongest teams had clashed on the return route, yet Ling's group had ultimately brought the scroll back first.

Iruka stood by the record station, with a rare trace of undisguised approval in his eyes.

For this comprehensive test, he gave Ling's group the highest score so far.

Not because of any individual charge.

But because their route, judgment, team coordination, and final use of the environment had all surpassed the standard.

"So they're really going to overtake us in the total score now, huh?" Kiba panted as he walked back to the starting point, his tone both irritated and impressed.

Ino brushed the dust off herself and glanced at Ling in the distance. Then she suddenly smiled softly. "I knew he'd find a way."

Sasuke did not say a word. He merely lowered his head and looked at his empty hand.

What he lacked was not strength.

It was that split-second judgment.

Before evening, the teachers temporarily sealed away the overall evaluations without immediately announcing the final rankings. But many people already had a feeling.

Written test, control, Fire Release, taijutsu, comprehensive combat.

Ling had earned a sufficiently high score in the final event.

Barring any surprises, the rankings really were about to change.