A Gaze in the Darkness

The heat in the training grounds lingered long after the tournament ended.

The list of champions was posted on the bulletin board immediately. Waves of students crowded around it, repeatedly murmuring a name that was already enough for the entire freshman class to remember.

Uchiha Ling.

First place in the preliminary assessment.

Then champion of the public tournament.

And he had defeated Sasuke Uchiha head-on in the finals.

Such a result was enough to completely silence many who had still wanted to wait and see. It was also enough to make far more people who had never cared about Ninja Academy matches truly turn their attention toward him for the first time.

At the edge of the field, Izumo handed Ling the certificate and ceremonial medal, his tone carrying rare, undisguised approval. "You earned that the hard way."

Iruka was more concerned about something else. "Take care of your eyes and shoulder when you get back. Don't wreck yourself right after winning."

Kiba stood nearby with his arms crossed, watching for a long while before finally giving an unwilling snort. "Hey, champion. You did pretty well today."

Ling glanced at him and calmly said, "Thanks."

Kiba had wanted to add, "I'll beat you up next time anyway," but when the words reached his lips, he realized that any bravado would carry little weight after a scene like this. In the end, he merely turned his face away and muttered, "I'll catch up sooner or later."

"I know," Ling replied.

The answer came so naturally that the awkward knot in Kiba's heart eased somewhat instead.

On the other side, Ino watched Hinata, who was still standing beside Ling and clearly had not fully recovered from her earlier impulsiveness. Her eyes flickered slightly. She did not show anything on the spot, merely walking up naturally as Ling stepped down from the podium.

"Mr. Champion." She deliberately drew out the last word, her smile bright. "That barbecue you promised me—it's time to make good on it, right?"

Ling looked at her. "Didn't you say you'd let me owe you?"

"I'm not letting you owe me anymore." Ino lifted her chin, her tone still casual. "Besides, I'm treating you today because I'm happy. It has nothing to do with whether someone hugged you or not."

The moment she said that, the expressions of the people nearby turned subtly strange.

Hinata's face reddened even more, and she hurriedly lowered her head.

Ling, meanwhile, looked at Ino and caught a different meaning beneath what sounded like a joke.

She cared.

And she had no intention of hiding it at all.

Ino met his gaze, a smile still on her lips, though her eyes were far more serious than usual. As though deliberately trying to make her meaning clearer, she suddenly stepped half a pace closer.

"But next time you win," she lowered her voice so only Ling could hear, "don't let her be the only one who gets to hug you first."

"Okay." In the end, Ling simply answered.

Even Ino herself had not realized that the possessiveness in those words outweighed the teasing.

The tentative gleam in Ino's eyes immediately softened into a more obvious smile.

As she stepped back, her fingertips lightly brushed the back of his hand as if by accident. It lasted barely an instant, yet seemed to fill in all the emotions left unspoken just now.

Hinata stood to the side, her heart still in turmoil.

Even now, she did not dare fully think back to the moment she had rushed up and hugged him in front of everyone. That was not something she would normally do, but when she saw Ling win the finals and truly stand at the center of everyone's attention, the joy and excitement in her heart had suddenly become impossible to suppress.

"I-I'm sorry..." she finally said softly, her voice nearly swallowed by the wind. "I was... too impulsive just now."

Ling turned to look at her.

The instant he looked at her, the tips of Hinata's ears reddened again. Even her fingers curled slightly. She had thought she would hear him say, "It's fine," but Ling merely looked at her calmly for two breaths before saying lightly, "You don't need to apologize."

Hinata froze.

"You were happy for me," Ling said.

Those few words alone softened the panic in her chest at once. She gave a quiet "Mm," but a gentle light she could not control brightened in her eyes.

Not far away, Sasuke had already been stopped by members of his clan.

He stood at the edge of the shadows and looked back once toward the podium. His gaze fell heavily on Ling, but it no longer carried the immediate surge of unwillingness from before. He had lost thoroughly today, and because of that, he could see more clearly.

He had not lost to luck.

He had lost to someone who had truly taken that step before him.

Yet precisely because he saw it clearly, his unwillingness became heavier and harder to suppress.

Next time, it won't end like this, he silently told himself.

The crowd around the stands gradually dispersed, but the discussion surrounding the finals did not stop.

Some praised Ling's strange eyes, so clear they were terrifying.

Some said Sasuke's Fire Release no longer resembled that of a Ninja Academy student.

Others quietly discussed how this generation of the Uchiha Clan might prove far more troublesome than many had expected.

Ling did not linger.

He put the medal and certificate into his ninja tool pouch and prepared to return to the clan district. Before he left, Ino waved to him from afar. "Don't forget what you promised me."

Hinata stood on the other side holding a medicinal patch and softly said, "Remember to change your medicine when you get back."

Ling nodded once to each of them, then turned and walked around the old tree outside the training grounds.

The evening wind was already much cooler than it had been during the day.

But at the instant his steps halted, an inexplicable chill suddenly swept through his heart.

It was faint.

Yet it was cold, like something falling from a much higher place.

He raised his head and looked toward the tallest tree beyond the training grounds.

Its branches and leaves swayed gently in the wind. There was nothing there.

Yet Ling did not look away immediately.

Because that feeling was extremely similar to the cold gaze he had sensed on the day of the entrance assessment. It was not hostility between children, nor was it a teacher's scrutiny. It was some kind of gaze from a higher place—quieter, and more dangerous.

At the same time, in the deepest part of the tree's shadow, a slender figure stood silently upon a branch.

Black hair. A pale, cold profile. Beneath the forehead protector was a pair of extraordinarily calm eyes.

A crow landed soundlessly on his shoulder.

He did not reveal himself or make a sound. He merely watched the boy standing by the field through layers of leaves. He had watched the final moments of the match from beginning to end.

Especially those eyes.

They were not ordinary Sharingan.

Nor were they anything like any existing branch within the Uchiha Clan.

"Interesting..."

The faint murmur was scattered by the wind high above.

His gaze lingered on Ling for a moment before shifting toward Sasuke, who was being taken away by clan members in the distance. His eyes were calm—so calm they seemed almost devoid of ripples—but anyone who could truly understand them would know how much complexity lay hidden within that stillness.

The man on the high branch was Itachi Uchiha.

His younger brother.

Another Uchiha prodigy who had suddenly appeared.

And the waters of Konoha, seemingly bright yet concealing undercurrents.

All of them were gradually becoming harder to predict.

Beneath the tree, Ling continued to stare at the swaying branches, his gaze slowly darkening.

He did not know who stood there.

But he knew his instincts were not wrong.

From this day onward, another gaze fixed upon him—a gaze truly from the depths of darkness.

The wind swept over the treetops, and several black feathers drifted down without a sound.

Ling reached out and caught one, his fingers tightening slightly.

The story of the Ninja Academy monster had only now truly lifted its first veil.

And the deeper fate belonging to the Uchiha Clan, Konoha, and darkness had already begun to draw near him.