Let Fifty-Fifty Cut You in Half

Yamano strode outside.

Xiuxiang called after him, "Uncle! I've cooked the rice. Will you teach me how to stir-fry?"

Yamano waved without a word or a backward glance.

Uchiha Ling hurriedly said, "Stay home, little sister. Don't wander off."

By the time he ran outside, Yamano had already reached the street corner. He was fast.

Ling chased after him, breathless, all the way to a nearby park. From a distance, he heard Yamano roaring inside.

"What good does being sensible do? What good does growing up overnight do? Why don't you have any talent for chakra? Why..."

The plants in the park took the brunt of it. Ling saw an entire bush go flying.

He didn't dare go in. He stood outside and listened to Yamano vent.

[Detected: Yamano's Defense Break. Extracting abilities associated with Yamano. The host may choose one of three options.

Option one: Three-Body Technique proficiency;

Option two: Shadow Clone Technique;

Option three: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.]

Better pick his reward and be done with it.

The outstanding ninjas were out on the front lines, completing missions and making names for themselves. The teachers at the Ninja Academy weren't especially strong; many were ninjas who simply had a knack for teaching.

You couldn't put a genius in charge of a class. All they'd say was, "What kind of ninja still can't learn forbidden techniques at fourteen?"

Yamano's abilities leaned toward practical use and teaching.

Option one was proficiency in the Three-Body Technique, the main ninjutsu taught at school.

Of its three components, the Substitution Technique was the most useful. Used well, it could practically serve as a second life.

Option two was the Shadow Clone Technique, an advanced version of the Clone Technique. Its clones had physical bodies, and their memories returned to the original.

As for option three... the system wasn't exactly offering him a good deal. Ling only had fire-nature chakra right now. Was he supposed to learn a Wind Release ninjutsu later?

Ling wavered between the Three-Body Technique and the Shadow Clone Technique before choosing the latter.

The Three-Body Technique was nearly useless in high-level fights. Strong ninjas could see through it in no time.

Shadow clones were different. They stayed useful from a beginner's first day to the very end.

In an instant, he felt as though he had used the Shadow Clone Technique countless times before.

He was debating whether to try it out when he saw Yamano emerge from the park.

Green plant sap clung to Yamano's legs. Ling had no idea how many flowers and shrubs he had kicked apart.

Ling ventured, "Mr. Yamano, I have connections in the Military Police Force. Trust me. I can get Xiuxiang registered as a ninja."

Yamano's eyes brightened for an instant, then dimmed. His expression settled into calm.

"Forget it. If she barely qualifies as a ninja, she'll only be cannon fodder, dying in some pointless fight.

"If my niece can grow up safe, that's good enough.

"But you, Ling..."

Ling looked at his teacher in confusion. What about him?

No way. Did he notice I'd learned a new technique? Is that why he's suspicious?

"Ling, it sounds strange hearing 'connections' from a five-year-old. Are you really five?"

That's what he's suspicious of? Ling wasn't worried at all. "Mr. Yamano, you know orphans grow up fast. Just like your three-year-old niece."

"I suppose they do." Yamano gave a pained smile.

"After my parents died, my sister seemed to become an adult overnight. She was eleven, taking care of eight-year-old me. Only later did I understand how hard that was for her.

"Enough of that. Thank you for finding someone to register my niece. I need to go home and make her dinner."

Ling watched Yamano from a distance. Outside his door, Yamano rubbed his face and put on a smile. Nothing remained of his earlier breakdown.

He pushed the door open and called, "My adorable niece, what do you want for dinner? How about some shrimp?"

The door closed. Uncle and niece were still the two people closest to each other in the world.

When Ling had read the manga, he'd thought the rumors about White Fang were a terrible injustice. The original story had only said that White Fang's decision to abandon the mission caused the Hidden Leaf Village tremendous losses.

Now that he had come here and seen what those losses looked like—seen Yamano's family torn apart and little Xiuxiang forced to be so sensible—he suddenly understood why people said not to urge forgiveness when you hadn't suffered someone else's pain.

No one could ask Yamano to let it go. He had lost the sister who raised him, and Xiuxiang had lost her mother at such a young age.

He had sympathized with White Fang and Kakashi while reading the manga because they were the only ones he knew. He'd seen the matter from their perspective.

But a speck of dust stirred up by a Kage-level ninja could land on an ordinary ninja like a mountain.

Perhaps someone had fanned the flames behind White Fang's suicide. Perhaps others had seized the chance to blow things out of proportion. But White Fang's decision to abandon the mission really had devastated some families in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Ling returned home, ready to practice the Shadow Clone Technique and White Fang Flow Body Technique in earnest.

For a ninja, taijutsu was the foundation of every fight.

In his backyard, Ling formed a hand seal and created a shadow clone.

Half his chakra vanished at once.

"Form the Opposing Hands Seal!"

The shadow clone obediently raised its hands. Seeing the original still studying it, it spoke up.

"Quit standing there like an idiot. I'm you from a few seconds ago. I know exactly what you want to do."

"Speak more gently. You're a shadow clone, not me."

"You just want to see how long it takes to beat me into smoke, don't you? I'm about to die. Why the hell would I be gentle?"

Ling decided the Defense-Breaking System must have done something to him. His reputation was so bad that even he found the version of himself from three seconds ago annoying.

The two began sparring in taijutsu.

Ling found that the difference between them was that he could keep refining chakra, while the shadow clone couldn't replenish its supply.

Before long, he destroyed the clone.

Its memories returned to his mind. It was remarkable: from the clone's perspective, he could see every move he himself had made.

After thinking it over, he identified several movements he could fine-tune.

He formed another hand seal and created a new shadow clone.

"Form the Opposing Hands Seal!"

"You really love wasting time, don't you? Did school turn your brain to mush? There's something wrong with you, dragging this out with an Opposing Hands Seal. Why not go through all forty-four hand seals for Water Dragon Bullet while you're at it?"

"Shut up! Get to work!"

"What was it you wanted me to do again? Oh, right. Three seconds ago, you wanted me to practice White Fang Flow Body Technique and get used to triggering bursts of chakra at the pressure points. Aren't you afraid Kakashi will find out you copied him and let Fifty-Fifty cut you in half?"

Ling was speechless. Could he draw a reward by making himself Defense Break? Why were his shadow clones so irritable?

He and the clone began testing White Fang Flow Body Technique.

Over three hours, a dozen or so shadow clones, and just as many rounds of insults, he roughly worked out the technique's limits.

By storing chakra at key pressure points in his limbs, he could unleash several bursts of speed during a taijutsu fight.

The chakra points in his legs let him dart sideways or kick with explosive speed.

The chakra points in his waist and back let him turn quickly.

The chakra points in his arms let him strike or block in an instant.

One round of preparation gave him five explosive taijutsu moves.

Once the chakra stored at those points ran out, he had to wait until the fight ended or find a chance to rest and refill them during combat. Refilling took about thirty seconds.

Each burst could serve as a trump card in a taijutsu fight. Not bad at all.

Now he just needed steady practice until White Fang Flow Body Technique became second nature.