After Uchiha Ling's shadow clone appeared, he looked around at his classmates, saw their envious gazes, twitched the corner of his mouth, and smiled.
Damn main body! You really know how to put on an act! You get to enjoy all the glory, yet you leave me to do the dirty and hard work.
"Stop talking nonsense. You're just a shadow clone. See that guy with the sunglasses? Defeat him and prove that even my shadow clone can beat him."
Ebisu looked nervously at Uchiha Ling. If he were defeated by a shadow clone, he would become a laughingstock.
"That punk wearing sunglasses over there?" The shadow clone said:
"Just looking at those sunglasses, they're perfect for peeping. His eyes could dart around anywhere and he wouldn't get caught.
Main body, why don't you get a pair of sunglasses too? You're still young and don't have high demands yet, but once you're fully grown and put on sunglasses, wouldn't you be able to enjoy staring at great white legs to your heart's content?"
"Shadow clone! You talk too much! Can you get to work already?!"
"Work? I'm not afraid of you now!
I took half of your chakra. If you dispel me, this shadow clone, and split another one, the new shadow clone will only have a quarter of your chakra.
A quarter of your chakra definitely won't be enough to beat Ebisu, and then your attempt to act cool will fail.
So, beg me!"
All the students were shocked. Uchiha Ling was actually being pressured by his own shadow clone.
This was a ruthless person; he bullied even himself.
Uchiha Ling's eyelids twitched, angered by his own shadow clone.
The moment a shadow clone was separated, it was almost identical to the main body, possessing the same memories and abilities—it was equivalent to another himself.
"Shadow clone, shut up! Where is your brain? Where is your judgment? A quarter of my chakra is enough to defeat Ebisu, so don't force me to slap you!"
The shadow clone said, "Stop bragging. Then dispel me and split another shadow clone."
"Shadow clone, you're going too far..."
How could Ebisu endure such humiliation? He charged straight toward Uchiha Ling.
The shadow clone blocked Uchiha Ling's path: "Your opponent is me, Mr. Sunglasses Peeper!"
"I have never peeped!"
"But you look just like a peeper! No normal person wears sunglasses. You're not even as good as my main body—when my main body looks at great white legs in the future, he'll definitely do it out in the open!"
Asuma Sarutobi watched Ebisu nervously, hoping Ebisu would win because Ebisu was acting as his shield.
Ebisu threw a standard straight punch, putting full force into his back kick while maintaining the distance of his punch at just the right spot.
Smack!
The shadow clone's hand steadily caught Ebisu's fist.
Whatever Uchiha Ling knew, the shadow clone knew as well, especially the White Fang Flow Body Technique that Uchiha Ling had been diligently studying lately.
The malleability of the White Fang Flow Body Technique was extremely high. If handled well, it was equivalent to having five opportunities for taijutsu bursts, and it could completely serve as a ninja's taijutsu foundation.
"Your punch is as soft as cotton. Was your fist made of bread?"
Ebisu had hoped in his heart that Uchiha Ling was just using the formless Clone Technique to disguise a shadow clone, but the solid-feeling impact of this punch told him that Uchiha Ling was a genius who had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique at age five.
He felt a bit of resentment toward his father. It was one thing for his father to suck up to the Sarutobi Clan, but to drag him down into misfortune as well—did he really have to keep challenging Uchiha Ling over and over?
Ebisu retracted his fist and unleashed a side kick with all his might.
Chakra at the acupoints in the shadow clone's leg instantly erupted.
With a knee strike, it collided with the sole of Ebisu's foot.
Ebisu felt a surge of great force wash over him; he was sent flying backward by the shock and landed heavily on his backside.
The shadow clone shook his head: "Too weak. Main body, are you sure his basic training is any good?"
Ebisu's face flushed red.
It was too humiliating. His taijutsu was no match for Uchiha Ling's, and the basic training he had secretly practiced hard for years following his father yielded no effect.
Ebisu climbed up from the ground and charged at Uchiha Ling's shadow clone in a rage.
The shadow clone took a shuriken out of his ninja tool pouch.
Yamano, the teacher standing by, saw the sharp shuriken and, fearing things would go wrong, was about to step in when he spotted the steel wire attached behind the shuriken.
A shuriken with steel wire—the Uchiha Style Shuriken Manipulation Technique. That meant everything was fine.
Two shuriken connected by steel wire flew out.
By the time Ebisu rushed in front of the shadow clone, his legs and arms had been bound by the steel wire, causing him to take a face-first tumble right beside the shadow clone's feet.
He looked up in despair, catching sight of the shadow clone and noticing the sun positioned right over the shadow clone's shoulder.
The sunlight was glaringly bright, yet the shadow clone standing in the dark appeared so towering.
"Haha, main body, this fool got tricked by basic training!
Basic training like punches, palms, and kicks is way too important—so important that it's only good for killing civilians!
Look, I used a little advanced ninja tool technique, and this fool is completely helpless.
He's so pitiful; he's just self-medicating with delusions."
The shadow clone lifted his foot and stepped on Ebisu's shoulder, mocking him to his heart's content.
"From now on, I, Uchiha Ling's shadow clone, shall call you 'Fool Basic Training'!
Fool Basic Training, keep practicing! Practice hard so you can go kill civilians; you're not suited for fighting ninjas..."
[A ninja near the host has suffered a defense break; the Defense-Breaking System is activating...]
Uchiha Ling had just wanted to step in and stop the shadow clone because he felt the shadow clone was going too far, but upon hearing the system voice, he happily waited for the system reward instead.
[Detected that Ebisu has suffered a defense break. Extracting abilities related to Ebisu; the host may choose one of the following three options.
Option One: Basic straight-punch force-generation technique;
Option Two: 0.1 units of chakra;
Option Three: Basic waist-twisting technique.]
Options One and Two—the force-generation techniques for the two taijutsu moves—were somewhat useful and might tweak Uchiha Ling's taijutsu, but their practical value wasn't huge.
He chose Option Two: 0.1 units of chakra.
His chakra amount reached 0.4 units.
The shadow clone felt a pang in his heart, sensing danger. He turned his head to look at the main body:
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?! Are you going to dispel me? I fought the fight, you wouldn't want to reap the fruits of my labor, would you?! Let me rant for two more lines, just two, you..."
Poof.
The shadow clone, along with the shuriken and steel wire, all turned into puffs of white smoke.
Uchiha Ling stepped forward a few paces, stopped beside Ebisu, and said:
"Ebisu, I admit my shadow clone went a bit too far, but his intentions were good.
Although basic training is useful, you can't fool yourself. A ninja must still find a way to master exquisite ninjutsu.
I heard that Lord Orochimaru has studied all of the Hidden Leaf Village's Ninjutsu. That's what a true powerhouse should do.
As for you, Ebisu, your path is a dead end. Your path can only take you to the second floor, while the building of ninjutsu has a hundred floors.
Fool Basic Training, did you take what I said to heart?"
Ebisu stood up, unable to tell whether the dirt on his face was stuck on by tears or saliva.
The heart that Asuma Sarutobi had been holding in suspense died; Ebisu had already done his best.
He walked over, threw an arm around Ebisu's shoulders, and said:
"Ebisu, you did very well. You forced out Uchiha Ling's Uchiha Style Shuriken Manipulation Technique. If this were a life-or-death battle, you would have extracted crucial intelligence."
Up on the second floor of the Ninja Academy, Huìdài watched Young Master Asuma and her son standing side by side, a smile blooming in her eyes.
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