Black-Gold Cover

Moonlight stretched Uchiha Ling's shadow across the ground.

The outline of that dark shadow grew larger and larger.

Uchiha Ling's hair kept growing. Flooded with Yang Release Chakra, it lengthened until a thick mass over a meter long hung down his back.

As it grew longer, it grew harder too.

To test it, he created a shadow clone.

The clone looked him over. "Your hair's past your waist now. Won't you have to lift it when you take a dump?"

"Can't I just retract it? Enough talk. Get to work."

The clone grudgingly took the shuriken, stood by the door, and threw it at Ling's back.

The shuriken struck his hair with a metallic clang.

His hair was hard enough to stop the weapon. Its thick layers absorbed the impact too, leaving the shuriken lodged four or five centimeters deep.

Not bad protection.

Jiraiya knew Ninja Art: Needle Jizo, which used chakra to harden his long silver hair and wrap it around his entire body.

Ling could model a defensive ninja art on Needle Jizo. It would be especially useful for protecting his back, a ninja's most vulnerable spot.

Even at the cost of their life, a ninja could not show their back to the enemy.

This technique could defend against ordinary physical attacks and assassins striking from behind.

He changed the direction of his hair. It slowly curled forward, forming a pitch-black cocoon.

The clone threw kunai and shuriken again, to no effect.

The problem was that Ling did not have enough chakra. His hair grew slowly, and it was not as hard as Jiraiya's technique.

He named this defensive ninjutsu Ninja Art: Black-Gold Shroud Technique.

"Clone, go find me a wooden board!"

Grumbling, the clone went to the storeroom and found a stool with a broken leg.

Uchiha Ling tried another application of the Multi-Size Technique on his hair.

He had the clone hold the board half a meter in front of him.

"What are you doing? This is a board, not a mirror."

Uchiha Ling ignored the clone and tested his idea.

When trading taijutsu blows with an enemy, he could use his hair for a concealed attack, enlarging it and thrusting it out at close range.

Thud!

A tuft of hair atop Uchiha Ling's head gathered together, shot forward, and pierced the stool's wooden seat.

If it could pierce a board several centimeters thick, an ordinary ninja's vulnerable throat would pose no problem.

Aside from a few monstrous exceptions, ninjas were glass cannons. A strike like that could threaten an enemy's life.

It was well concealed and suited to surprise attacks.

He named the technique Ninja Art: Black-Gold Pierce Technique.

The initial test had gone well.

Next, he needed to train until offense and defense became instinctive, and he could execute both quickly enough for real combat.

As for enlarging other parts of his body... ahem. That could wait.

At noon on the first day of the break, Uchiha Ling arrived at the training ground and found two girls sparring.

Kurenai Yuhi had Rin Nohara on the defensive.

After a while, Kurenai grew increasingly anxious. "Rin, there's no power behind your movements! Uchiha Ling said a ninja fight isn't a game. Put some force into it!"

Rin Nohara envied how much sharper Kurenai's taijutsu had become, but for some reason, her own punches and kicks remained weak.

"Kurenai!" Uchiha Ling called. "Let me take over. I'll give Rin Nohara some special training."

Kurenai looked as though she had seen a savior. "Train with him, Rin. He spent a month changing my taijutsu style. It's much better suited to fighting."

Uchiha Ling stepped onto the training ground and fixed his gaze on Rin Nohara.

"Rin Nohara, I know you're a gentle girl. But an enemy won't go easy on you because you're gentle. Spar with me as if you mean to kill me."

Rin Nohara nodded and threw a punch straight at Uchiha Ling's chest.

Thump.

Her fist landed squarely on his chest. Confused, Rin Nohara raised her eyes to his.

"What was that? A massage for my pecs? If a mosquito landed on my chest, you couldn't even kill it with that punch."

Uchiha Ling flipped Rin Nohara over his shoulder and sent her flying.

She hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop.

When she got up, her face was covered in dust.

Kurenai's heart ached at the sight, but she had gone through the same thing herself.

"Rin Nohara! Put that useless gentleness away!

"A ninja has no use for gentleness when they're weak. Even worse is showing mercy when they're strong.

"I hear you like Kakashi. His father killed himself, and Kakashi must want to atone for his father's disgrace by dying for the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Right now, Kakashi either wants to kill himself or die for a cause.

"The way you are, if someone killed Kakashi, you wouldn't even be able to avenge him!"

Rin Nohara's heart lurched. She had never considered it before. Did Kakashi really want to die?

"Show me some ferocity! You're a ninja, not an apprentice arranging flowers!"

Rin Nohara charged at Uchiha Ling with all her strength and swept a kick toward his side.

Uchiha Ling caught her ankle with ease.

"A little better. But what comes next? Does getting caught mean you give up? Rin Nohara! Fight me like you've lost your mind!"

Rin Nohara sprang off her planted foot, twisted sideways in midair, and kicked at Uchiha Ling's cheek.

Uchiha Ling caught that foot too.

"Where are you aiming? My face, to ruin my looks? Why not my temple? Why aren't you kicking to kill me?"

With both legs off the ground, Rin Nohara had no way to steady herself. As she fell, Uchiha Ling kicked her lower back, sending her flying before she crashed to the ground.

"Come on, Rin Nohara! Fight me as if you mean to kill me! This isn't sparring. We're acting out what happens when you avenge Kakashi!

"Look at him, with those dead-fish eyes. He won't last long. You might hear he's dead next month!

"Come at me, Rin Nohara!"

They fought for half an hour. Or rather, Uchiha Ling spent half an hour beating Rin Nohara.

The effect was unmistakable. Her gaze had gained the same sharpness as Kurenai's.

"Rin Nohara! If you want to stand beside Kakashi, you can't be dead weight. You can't be someone everyone else has to look after!"

Kurenai thought Uchiha Ling would let Rin Nohara rest, but Rin charged him again.

Uchiha Ling was pleased. He could already see ferocity in her eyes.

Rin Nohara had broken through her mental barrier. She put everything into each strike and attacked with the intent to kill.

"That's it. You're a ninja. You're a weapon made to kill, and a weapon can't be weak."

That afternoon, Obito Uchiha came hurrying over to find Rin Nohara after doing good deeds somewhere.

When he saw the bruises on her arms and legs and the dust covering her, he cried out, "Rin! What happened? Who did this to you?"

Rin Nohara rubbed a sore spot on her left arm. "Obito, I'm fine. I was just sparring with Uchiha Ling."

Obito glared at Uchiha Ling.

Uchiha Ling, however, was thinking that if even this did not break Obito Uchiha, plotting against him might be a waste of time.

Madara Uchiha's method was far more effective: have Kakashi kill Rin Nohara, and Obito would break instantly.

The days passed. Uchiha Ling trained in taijutsu by day and practiced using Yang Release Chakra by night.

One night, Uchiha Jing came to see him.

"Ling, come with me to see the clan leader. He wants to meet you."