The destruction of the Crow's Nest and the death of the Guide struck like a heavy blow, briefly dispersing the gloom hanging over Konoha. Though the Sacred Lord remained a threat, the removal of his forward observation posts and part of his covert network within the Land of Fire gave Konoha a precious chance to catch its breath. Tsunade seized the opportunity to intensify the second round of internal screenings and strengthen the border defenses.
Ling handed the captured Dark Red Necklace to Inoichi for study, hoping to uncover more about the Sacred Lord's power system and the origins of his techniques. He had not neglected his own training, either. The string of fierce battles, especially his clashes with the Shadow Constructs and the Sacred Lord's will from afar, had deepened his understanding of the purifying properties of the power of pure water and the applications of Senjutsu. His strength was steadily recovering and climbing toward a new level.
That day, Ling was at Training Ground Three, practicing precision control of Water Release Shape Transformation. He compressed a waterfall-like torrent into countless Water Needles, each as fine as a hair yet harder than steel, and drove them straight through the centers of moving targets a hundred meters away. Suddenly, he sensed something, stopped, and turned his gaze toward the entrance.
Almost at the same instant, an energetic voice, brimming with irrepressible excitement, hit him like a cannonball:
"Ling! I'm back!!!"
With that shout, a figure streaked into the training ground like golden lightning, moving at an astonishing speed and kicking up a gust of wind. He wore a red short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, with a smile as brilliant as sunshine. The six symmetrical whisker marks on his cheeks stretched with his grin. Most striking of all was the enormous