Fire Release Trial

The children of the Uchiha clan could not avoid Fire Release.

Even though they were still young, even though many had yet to properly learn even a real ninjutsu, flames remained a pride engraved into the Uchiha bloodline. At the mere mention of its name, someone would instinctively lift their chin.

Iruka clearly understood that as well.

For the final practical lesson of the week, he brought the entire class to a more distant training ground and formally began their most basic introduction to Fire Release. Strictly speaking, students their age could not yet be considered to have truly mastered ninjutsu. They were mostly learning how to make chakra and nature transformation form their first rudimentary connection.

But even that beginning was enough to excite many children born into ninja clans.

Especially Sasuke Uchiha.

Ling stood at the back of the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the eager children his age before finally settling on Iruka's hand seals.

"Fire Release isn't about spewing out all your chakra at once," Iruka said gravely. "First sense it, then guide it, and finally release it. Control matters more than power."

Those words were meant for everyone, but they applied especially to Ling.

He knew very well that once his compression ability was applied to Fire Release, its power would inevitably be astonishing—but the risk of losing control would multiply just as much.

After the demonstration, the students began taking turns trying.

Someone expelled a thin puff of white smoke, drawing laughter from their classmates. Someone else barely produced a spark and immediately looked pleased with themselves. Others had not even sorted out their chakra before choking and coughing.

When Sasuke stepped forward, the area around him noticeably fell quiet.

His hand seals were crisp, and his breathing was steady. The next moment, a modest ball of flame burst from his mouth and landed firmly on the wooden target ahead. Though it was only basic in scale, it was enough to make many students look on in amazement.

"As expected of an Uchiha."

"So amazing..."

Sasuke remained indifferent after lowering his hands. Only when he turned did his gaze briefly sweep in Ling's direction.

That silent provocation had become increasingly obvious.

Finally, it was Ling's turn.

When he walked into the field, many people unconsciously held their breath. More than anticipation, they seemed to be waiting for another accident.

Ling ignored them and slowly formed hand seals.

The seals themselves were not complicated. The difficult part was directing the chakra within his body. When he drew that power to his throat, that familiar heaviness surfaced again. The Divine Tree seed was like an engine hidden in his deepest depths, steadily compressing every bit of chakra that passed through it.

Ling's eyes sharpened. He forcibly suppressed the urge to keep compressing it and simply exhaled the first burst of fire according to the rhythm Iruka had just taught.

Puff.

Flames appeared.

They were larger than those of his peers, darker in color, and carried a heat clearly beyond the norm. The surface of the wooden target ahead was nearly blackened in an instant. Cries of surprise immediately rose from the sidelines.

But in the next moment, Ling's expression changed abruptly.

The flames suddenly collapsed inward.

The Fire Release that had been spreading outward seemed to be violently dragged toward its center by some force. Its searing heat doubled at once, sending a stabbing pain through his throat. If he had not reacted quickly and immediately cut off his chakra output, the flames might have exploded right in front of his mouth.

"Disperse!"

Iruka shouted and moved swiftly, helping him scatter the lingering flames.

The smell of scorching filled the air.

The entire field fell silent.

Ling stood where he was, his throat and chest feeling as though fire had scraped through them. A needle-like pain ran through the meridians in his arms as well. He lowered his head and coughed softly. There was no blood on his lips, but he could still feel the burning heat in his mouth.

"Are you out of your mind?" Iruka frowned deeply. "If you had been any slower, you would have burned yourself."

Ling remained silent for several breaths before saying, "I know."

He really did know.

Precisely because he could see the chakra structure, he understood more clearly than anyone else that his Fire Release should have been an ordinary release. Yet midway through, that instinctive compression within him had forcibly changed its density. As its power surged, its stability had nearly collapsed completely.

It was an opportunity, and also a warning.

Sasuke stood nearby, staring at the wooden target that had been burned until it cracked. For the first time, his eyes truly darkened.

He could tell that had not been a standard failure. On the contrary, those flames had been too powerful—so powerful that even Ling himself had nearly been unable to control them.

"That's enough for today." Iruka swept his gaze over the students and said in a low voice, "Especially you, Ling. Stay behind."

The students dispersed with all kinds of expressions. Some believed he truly was dangerous, while others had already begun to believe that his so-called "loss of control" might only be because his talent was too abnormal. Their discussions drifted in from afar before the wind scattered them.

Only Iruka and Ling remained in the training ground.

"Tell me, did you do something else to your chakra?" Iruka asked bluntly.

Ling thought for a moment, then answered just as directly. "I compressed it."

"Compressed?"

"Made it denser." Ling looked up. "So it's stronger, but harder to control."

Iruka looked at this child, who was still so young yet spoke with excessive calm, and for a moment did not know whether he should first call him bold or dangerous. Fine chakra control was something one was only meant to gradually encounter in the middle and later stages of training. Yet this boy had only just entered the academy and was already instinctively pushing down that path.

"Don't add that kind of transformation to your Fire Release on your own again," Iruka said slowly. "At least not until you learn how to control it."

Ling did not argue. He merely nodded.

He knew his teacher was right.

Yet at the same time, he became even more certain of one thing.

The power of Fire Release after compression had increased far beyond ordinary enhancement. If he could master it, it would become one of his strongest finishing moves in the early stages.

When he returned to the clan grounds that evening, Ling applied the medicine Hinata had given him to his arms and chest. The stinging pain did indeed ease considerably. Sitting in the courtyard, he recalled the structure of those flames from that instant during the day, a thoughtful look flashing through his eyes.

Failure was not a bad thing.

As long as he knew why he had failed, it meant he could go one step further next time.

When night had fully fallen, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard gate. Ling looked up and saw Iruka standing there.

"Starting tomorrow, come to the training ground after school." His teacher's expression was serious. "I'll give you extra control training. Since your problem is that your power is too strong, you can only learn to restrain it earlier than everyone else."

Ling froze for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

Iruka looked at him. His tone remained stern, but it no longer sounded like a mere warning. It was more like an acknowledgment.

"Don't waste your talent, Uchiha Ling."

The evening breeze passed outside the door, stirring the wind chimes hanging beneath the eaves.

Ling lowered his head and looked at his palm, slowly curling it into a fist.

He knew that his true training only began at this moment.