Supercompensation

Sure enough, he could make the same person break down multiple times.

The last time Ebisu broke down was when he failed to defeat Uchiha Ling's shadow clone.

This time, Ebisu broke down because he realized he was not worthy of making Uchiha Ling go all out.

[Ebisu has been detected breaking down. Extracting an ability related to Ebisu. The host may choose one of three options.

Option One: Basic waist-twisting technique;

Option Two: Basic straight-punch power generation technique;

Option Three: Supercompensation, break through a plateau once.]

The first two options were useless. He had mastered them long ago.

The third option made Uchiha Ling's eyes light up.

When Ebisu had sparred with him just now, he had clearly grown stronger midway through. So Ebisu had achieved supercompensation.

Training muscles meant working them until they suffered minor tears, then nourishing them with protein until they grew bigger and bigger.

The same principle applied to a ninja's taijutsu.

After choosing the third option, Uchiha Ling's body froze in place.

He felt every muscle in his body grow sore and numb, followed by an itch.

His muscles were growing.

After briefly sensing the changes, by the ninja eight-stat evaluation system, his physical strength, power, and speed had risen from an average of 3 to around 4.

"Hey! Ebisu, why are you lowering your head?" Uchiha Ling began putting pressure on Ebisu again. "Raise your head. Even those sunglasses can't hide the tears in your eyes. Don't lower your head—I can see you crying like a woman again."

Ebisu turned away. He was utterly disappointed in Uchiha Ling, with nothing left but resentment.

Uchiha Ling had no heart. His mouth was vicious, and his heart was even more vicious.

"Since you're sniveling again, and since you've sincerely begged me, I'll reluctantly agree to spar with you at full strength just once..."

Ebisu suddenly raised his head, his entire body brimming with fighting spirit.

He stared hard at Uchiha Ling.

"Then this time, you make the first move. Don't make me charge at you every time."

"Poor little Ebisu, promise me you won't cry after getting hit."

Ebisu clenched his fists, determined to prove himself...

Bang!

Ebisu suddenly realized that Uchiha Ling was incredibly fast—far faster than before!

Chakra erupted from the acupoints in Uchiha Ling's right leg, granting him astonishing speed.

Combined with the supercompensation he had just undergone and his already powerful physique, he unleashed his absolute limit of speed.

One punch.

It struck Ebisu in the abdomen. Ebisu doubled over in pain, feeling as though his organs had shifted out of place.

Staring at Ebisu's hunched body, Uchiha Ling sneered, "This punch was originally prepared for my bet with Asuma Sarutobi. I'll let you have a look at it first."

Ebisu slowly dropped to his knees. His head hit the ground with a thud, and he clutched his stomach for a long time without recovering.

Asuma Sarutobi panicked inwardly, though he forced himself to remain calm on the outside.

Uchiha Ling seemed to have gotten stronger again.

Damn it, why could Uchiha Ling still improve when he was already this strong?

Everyone else patiently waited for Ebisu.

It really had not been easy for Ebisu. This semester had been truly painful for him. Watching him was torture in itself—mental torture and physical torture.

Ebisu slowly stood up. He had not expected Uchiha Ling to be so fast when going all out, nor had he expected himself to recover so slowly.

His face was pale as he said to Uchiha Ling, "Thank you."

"Holy shit! Why are you thanking me? Did you discover some weird fetish or something?

Do you get pleasure from being abused? Does it let intense signals from your peripheral nerves travel to the spinal reflex center, then up to the cerebral cortex, triggering a full-body neural discharge?"

Ebisu did not understand, but he knew it was nothing nice. He held out his fingers and formed the Seal of Reconciliation with Uchiha Ling.

After Ebisu returned to the other students, Teacher Yamano called him away again.

Seeing Ebisu so dejected, Yamano decided to give the team leader's son some special attention. "Ebisu, have you realized something?"

"Huh? Teacher, what is it?"

"Other than the ninja clan children, you are the strongest student in our class. And at the end of the term, I'll give you an award for the fastest improvement."

"Fastest Improvement Award?"

Ebisu was confused. Someone like him was improving the fastest?

"Yes. Your physique has improved greatly, and just now, you unintentionally crossed a minor physical limit."

Ebisu raised his hand and looked at his fist, then at his forearm.

Without realizing it, distinct bulging muscles had appeared on his forearm.

The sense of strength gave him a feeling of complete control over his body.

This felt really good.

Could I really be the fastest-improving person in the class?

"There is something even more crucial—more important than the improvement in your physique."

"What is it?"

Ebisu looked at Teacher Yamano expectantly. Outsiders saw things more clearly. Honestly, he did not know how much he had improved. Every time he challenged Uchiha Ling, he was simply beaten up.

Beaten up mentally, and beaten up physically too.

Yamano said, "There is a little more ferocity in your fists.

Think back to when school first started. Your taijutsu movements were rigid and methodical. You had trained hard, but you had no spirit.

Just as Uchiha Ling has always mocked you for, your fundamentals were too plain. That is the flaw in basic training.

Plain does not mean incapable of killing. Only after adding ferocity do the basics become useful.

When Uchiha Ling mocked you and you got angry, your fists became increasingly ruthless. That is a very good thing.

Look at all these students in the class. Who knows how long it will take them to understand that ninja training is not some game of kittens pouncing and biting. You train these things because, in the end, you are going to kill people.

Your father should have told you all this. I imagine he has been very busy these past few days, and you have not been able to see him, so I sorted it out for you. That way, you would not remain ignorant and forget the precious insight you have gained now."

Ebisu nodded repeatedly. His father had been far too busy lately, going to the Sarutobi clan grounds every day.

He looked toward Asuma Sarutobi, wondering whether Asuma Sarutobi was a match for Uchiha Ling.

Among the students, Nara Saku, with his pineapple-shaped ponytail, let out a long sigh.

Akimichi Takashi beside him asked, "Why are you sighing again, Saku?"

With drooping eyes, Nara Saku said, "Ebisu is clearly protecting Young Master Asuma. Now Ebisu has already held out to his limit.

Our Ino-Shika-Cho clans have always been vassal ninja clans of the Sarutobi clan. We can't just do nothing, can we?

This is so troublesome. If we pretend we haven't noticed anything now, wouldn't that be too fake?"

"What? Ebisu is protecting Young Master Asuma? How come I can't tell?"

"Eat your chestnuts. Stop talking."

After Akimichi Takashi ate more than a dozen chestnuts, he heard Nara Saku speak again.

"Takashi, this semester is fine as it is. But next semester, you, me, and Yamanaka Mei will have to take on some responsibility, or the adults in our clans will scold us."

"What responsibility?"

"Protecting Young Master Asuma. Don't let that annoying Uchiha Ling harass Young Master Asuma."

"Oh."