Ebisu, You Pitiful Wretch

Within the Sarutobi Clan compound, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat on a cushion, a pipe in his left hand and a scroll in his right.

An ANBU appeared in a Body Flicker.

"Father!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up in confusion. It had been a long time since he had heard that form of address from his eldest son. As an ANBU squad captain, his eldest son usually called him Hokage.

"Father, Asuma has been training hard every night lately. I thought Kakashi becoming a genin at the age of five had motivated him, but after looking into it, I found that Asuma had a conflict at school with someone named Uchiha Ling and suffered a slight loss."

"Oh? Heh heh. Every ninja must face their cruel fate. What do childish squabbles at the Ninja Academy amount to? Black Chimp, leave him be."

"Yes!"

They were clearly at home, yet his father still called him by his ANBU codename.

"Fights and scuffles between classmates at school truly don't need interference. But should we arrange a private tutor for Asuma? He seems quite motivated."

"Whatever. Arrange one if you want."

After Black Chimp left, he thought to himself that, despite being the Hokage, his father's approach to raising children was practically complete neglect. He himself was only doing well because he was ambitious. If he had relied on his father's guidance, he would have been ruined long ago.

If he had a son in the future, he would definitely teach him himself. He absolutely could not let his father interfere.

He summoned Huìdài, a Ninja Academy teacher with exceptionally solid fundamentals and the head of the basic education research group, to give Asuma extra lessons.

Arriving in the rear courtyard of the clan compound, Black Chimp said:

"Asuma, I'm glad to see you so motivated.

But don't train blindly or make assumptions.

At the age of five, the most important thing is building a foundation—tempering your taijutsu, learning the proper way to exert force, and forming correct muscle memory.

Teacher Huìdài will help you formulate a training plan."

Huìdài said, "Young Master Asuma, as long as you train with me, I guarantee your taijutsu prowess will rise by a major step in three months."

Asuma was extremely excited. Once he displayed some ambition, the clan began mobilizing resources for him.

Teacher Huìdài was the head of the basic education research group. There was no need to doubt his ability.

He might not be able to beat Kakashi, but could he not beat one Uchiha Ling?

After arranging matters for his younger brother, Black Chimp suddenly saw an ANBU appear within the clan compound in a Body Flicker.

The ANBU whispered, "Captain Black Chimp, according to reports from our spies in the Sand Village, the Third Kazekage has disappeared!"

Black Chimp's heart tightened. The ninja world was already like a pressure cooker, with every major ninja village preparing for war. Such a major incident would inevitably upset the balance of power among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

He hurried to find the Hokage. The Third Shinobi World War was imminent!

Huìdài spent a long time with Asuma Sarutobi, learning about Asuma's current situation and also about the wager between Asuma Sarutobi and Uchiha Ling.

After returning home, Huìdài called over his son, Ebisu.

"Son, Young Master Asuma has a problem with a classmate named Uchiha Ling?"

"Yeah. Asuma Sarutobi can't beat Uchiha Ling, and Uchiha Ling has an especially foul mouth. He throws insults at anyone he catches. Forget Asuma—I don't get along with him either."

After thinking for a moment, Huìdài said, "Ebisu, your task this term is to keep Uchiha Ling occupied. Don't let Uchiha Ling disrupt Young Master Asuma's training rhythm."

"Keep him occupied? You mean I should drain Uchiha Ling's energy so he stops causing trouble for Asuma Sarutobi?"

"No matter the occasion, address him as Young Master Asuma."

"Fine, fine, I get it. I'll find a way to help your Young Master Asuma."

News of the Third Shinobi World War reached the school.

Unexpectedly, the ninja world war began on an ordinary sunny noon.

The border conflicts grew increasingly brutal. The Ninja Academy soon gained several more orphans, but for students who were already orphans, it made little difference.

It was afternoon sparring class.

"Teacher! I challenge Uchiha Ling!"

Yamano saw that it was Ebisu again.

For the past two weeks, Ebisu had been the first to step forward and challenge Uchiha Ling in every sparring class.

These two students had never had any particular grudge before. Uchiha Ling tormented everyone he sparred with equally, so why had Ebisu become locked in a feud with Uchiha Ling?

There were more than thirty students in the class. Aside from special challenges, each person could only take the field once.

Ebisu challenged Uchiha Ling every time, leaving Uchiha Ling unable to spar with anyone else.

Obito Uchiha shouted from the side, "That's it, Ebisu! Don't lose points!"

Uchiha Ling had a headache.

The students in the class were like Obito, retaining childlike hearts. Aside from the more calculating Kakashi and Asuma, it was difficult to break anyone else's defenses.

Or rather, they were a bunch of innocent, carefree brats who simply did not feel pressure.

This Ebisu had challenged him continuously for two weeks, making him unbearably annoyed.

The key was that Ebisu was an extremely reserved person, yet unexpectedly strong inside and highly resistant to insults.

Uchiha Ling could not draw rewards from the Defense Break System, so this time, he intended to let Ebisu get a good look at how cruel the ninja world was.

So what if he was a schoolteacher's son? Did that mean a schoolteacher's son was immune to pressure?

I'm a noble Uchiha, and after suffering so much bullying, have I ever uttered a single complaint?

The two entered the training ground.

A smile tugged at Asuma Sarutobi's lips.

Teacher Huìdài had arranged things so thoroughly. He had actually made his son Ebisu challenge Uchiha Ling first, so Asuma would not have to encounter that hateful Uchiha Ling during normal classes.

With the clan's vast resources, he would defeat Uchiha Ling sooner or later.

Asuma Sarutobi turned to Kurenai Yuhi and said, "Kurenai, don't worry about Uchiha Ling bothering you. I'll crush Uchiha Ling's arrogance at the end of term."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded, but her eyes remained on Uchiha Ling. She wondered how Uchiha Ling would defeat Ebisu this time.

Uchiha Ling might be nasty, but his strength was quite impressive.

Uchiha Ling glanced at Ebisu's little dark sunglasses. Unable to see his eyes, he began to mock him.

"Oh, if it isn't Ebisu, the so-called 'King of Fundamentals.'

Every teacher praises your excellent fundamentals, but did your father ever tell you what the hell good fundamentals alone are?

No way, no way. Don't tell me you can't do anything except the basics?

Could it be your father can't do anything except the basics either?

Don't tell me you don't have any talent for ninjutsu, so you keep emphasizing how good your fundamentals are?

You, Ebisu—you pitiful wretch. You're deceiving yourself. You're using the effort you put into your fundamentals to cover up the fact that you're worthless.

Ebisu, you can't even beat my Shadow Clone!"

Uchiha Ling formed a hand seal and created a shadow clone.

Teacher Yamano's relaxed posture instantly tensed.

The Shadow Clone Technique?

A five-year-old child had actually mastered the Shadow Clone Technique?

The Ninja Academy's graduation ninjutsu examination tested the Three-Body Technique, one of which was the intangible Clone Technique.

Kurenai Yuhi stared at Uchiha Ling in shock. Was he the next Kakashi?