First Confrontation

Ino's almost presumptuous "default arrangement" ultimately became reality.

At noon the next day, just as Uchiha Ling carried his lunch beneath the shade of a tree, Ino Yamanaka naturally sat down beside him. With a glance, she also stopped several girls who had originally wanted to come over. Her actions were so matter-of-fact that even Ling could not be bothered to ask why she insisted on doing this.

"You really do come here," Ino said with a smile as she opened her lunchbox. "It's quiet, no one bothers you. It suits your style."

Ling gave a faint acknowledgment.

Before long, Hinata approached from afar with her lunchbox in her arms, seemingly intending to sit nearby. But when she saw Ino already beside Ling, her steps visibly faltered, and a trace of undisguised disappointment appeared on her face.

Ling noticed and was just about to speak when Ino waved to Hinata first. "Hyuga, there's still room over here."

Hinata froze, clearly not expecting to be called over. After hesitating for several seconds, she carefully walked over and sat down a little farther away.

The atmosphere was somewhat delicate at first.

Ino was naturally good with words, and with just a few sentences, she steered the conversation toward classes and training. Though nervous, Hinata answered earnestly as well. Sitting between them, Ling was still the one who spoke the least, yet for the first time, he felt a strange sense of peace in this quiet companionship.

But that peace did not last long. The afternoon sparring class pulled every student back into competition.

Iruka did not teach anything new that day. Instead, he divided the class into several groups for the most basic kind of combat adaptation. The rules were simple: no truly lethal ninjutsu, only taijutsu, wooden kunai, and the most basic chakra reinforcement. Whoever made their opponent lose balance or leave the designated area first would win.

"Ninjas do not just stand around forming hand seals." Iruka stood at the edge of the field, his voice clear and firm. "Starting today, you will learn how to judge your enemies while moving."

The moment Ling received his number, he had a premonition.

Sure enough, when the final name in the first round of matchups was called, the entire field's atmosphere abruptly changed.

"Uchiha Ling versus Uchiha Sasuke."

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Even Ino unconsciously sat up straighter, while Shikamaru slowly raised his eyes, as though he had finally been waiting for the day's most interesting match.

Sasuke walked into the center of the field, his expression as calm as ever, though a clear sharpness lay suppressed in his eyes. Ling stepped forward as well. The two stared at each other from several paces apart, and the air seemed to tense all at once.

They were both Uchiha.

And both belonged to the kind of people who drew the most attention in class.

"Stop at the right point," Iruka reminded them in a deep voice. "Begin!"

The instant his words fell, Sasuke moved first.

He was fast, and his footwork was steadier than that of his peers. It was obvious that he had received plenty of training from his clan. The wooden kunai thrust straight toward Ling, clean and decisive in its angle, far beyond the level of an ordinary child wildly swinging a weapon.

Ling twisted aside to evade, raising his hand to block at the same time.

Smack!

The sound of wooden weapons colliding burst across the field. Sasuke rolled his shoulder forward and swept out with his right leg, his movements flowing without the slightest hesitation.

Ling stepped half a pace back. Chakra instantly compressed in his legs, and with that sudden burst, he forcibly steadied his center of gravity before throwing a backhanded punch toward Sasuke's ribs.

Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly. He had not expected Ling to suddenly accelerate at such close range. He hastily raised an arm to block, but the force of the punch still sent him back two steps.

A wave of exclamations immediately rose from the sidelines.

"Wasn't that just now way too fast?!"

"Ling's burst is even fiercer than Sasuke's?"

Sasuke's expression darkened slightly as he charged forward again.

This time, he did not clash head-on. Instead, he repeatedly used feints to test Ling's reactions. Ling remained exceptionally calm, not rushing to seize the initiative. He used only the smallest movements and blocks to dissolve Sasuke's rhythm.

The two fought faster and faster, the sounds of their exchanges blending into one continuous stream.

Amid it all, Ling gradually sensed something familiar.

It was not Sasuke's movements, but the way chakra flowed within him.

Suppressed, taut, like a string that had never truly relaxed.

That feeling was much like the aura of many people in the Uchiha Clan compound, except Sasuke's was sharper and lonelier. Almost instinctively, Ling recalled the oppressive feeling he had sensed during his first spar on the opening day. It was not a difference in strength, but the shadow of being driven forward while wrapped in the weight of clan and identity.

That distraction lasted less than half a breath.

But Sasuke caught it precisely. He surged in close, his wooden kunai flicking straight toward Ling's wrist. Ling had no choice but to refocus and step back, only to realize that he had already reached the edge of the field.

"You've lost," Sasuke said coldly.

Ling did not answer. He simply exerted force in the next instant.

Compressed chakra flooded the soles of his feet in a flash.

Boom!

Dust rose from the ground as he shot back into the field from the edge like an arrow loosed from a bow. Not only did he escape his disadvantageous position, he also used the momentum to close in on Sasuke and rammed his shoulder into him, sending him stumbling back three steps.

Sasuke staggered before steadying himself, genuine shock appearing in his eyes for the first time.

The sidelines had already erupted.

Iruka could not help narrowing his eyes. He saw it clearly: Ling's move just now was not an ordinary burst. He had crammed high-density chakra into the meridians of his legs in an instant, forcibly gaining a burst of speed beyond normal limits.

Powerful, but dangerous.

The two widened the distance between them again.

Sasuke pressed his lips together, the air around him clearly turning colder. He no longer regarded Ling as merely a clansman who had been performing well lately, but as an opponent who could genuinely threaten him.

Ling felt the same.

Among those their age, Sasuke was the first person who could force him to erupt to this degree.

"Continue!" Iruka shouted.

The second exchange was faster and fiercer than the first. But just as Sasuke prepared to press forward again, Iruka suddenly raised his hand and stopped the match.

"That's enough."

Both of them withdrew their stances at once, while many onlookers still had not recovered their senses.

"Sensei, who won?" someone could not help asking.

Iruka swept his gaze over the two boys, both breathing slightly heavily, and said in a deep voice, "You are not yet at the point where you must determine a winner. Remember how today felt. That is more important than the result."

It was not an official verdict, but it was enough to make everyone understand one thing.

Uchiha Ling and Uchiha Sasuke had already stepped to the forefront of this year's students.

As the class dispersed, Sasuke passed Ling and paused for a moment.

"Next time, it won't end like this," he said.

Ling looked up at him and replied calmly, "I'll be waiting."

There was no anger, nor was there provocation.

Only the sharp edge between two equally sharp people.

The wind swept over the training field, stirring the fallen leaves on the ground.

Ling watched Sasuke's retreating back, and the fleeting gleam of the divine pattern in his eyes slowly faded.

He knew this competition had only just begun.

And what truly concerned him was not victory or defeat.

It was that, in Sasuke once again, he had seen that indescribable yet ever-present thing behind the name Uchiha—something that always weighed people down.