Days at the Ninja Academy passed in an orderly routine. Ling continued his performance as a "model student," easily scoring full marks in academic classes while precisely keeping his strength in practical lessons at a level "far above ordinary students, but slightly below Sasuke Uchiha." This delicate balance preserved his reputation as a genius without making him a target too early. Most importantly, he had successfully avoided triggering Sasuke Uchiha's fierce competitive streak-for now, Sasuke had eyes only for the loudmouthed Naruto.
Still, there were times when he simply couldn't hide it.
During a basic combat class, Umino Iruka arranged a chaotic game of dodgeball to test the students' reaction speed and basic taijutsu. Soft balls coated in faint chakra flew into the field from several directions at once, forcing the students to dodge or block them.
To Ling, attacks of this level were as slow as crawling snails. He didn't even need to use Wind's Trajectory. His physical instincts and the reflexes Tobirama had honed were enough for him to evade every ball with ease, his movements as fluid as a leisurely stroll.
By comparison, the other students were scrambling. Naruto rolled all over the ground, yelling at the top of his lungs, while Sakura screamed nervously. Although Sasuke could dodge most of the balls, his movements were visibly tense, lacking Ling's effortless ease.
Just then, a ball shot in at a tricky angle, hurtling toward Ino, who had become distracted and hadn't noticed the danger behind her!
"Ino, watch out!" Sakura cried.
Ino turned at the warning, but it was already too late to dodge. She squeezed her eyes shut in fright.
The impact she expected never came.
There was only an extremely soft, crisp snap.
Ino opened her eyes to find that Ling had somehow appeared silently beside her. His right index and middle fingers were held together, their tips wreathed in a nearly invisible layer of pale blue mist that dispersed in an instant. The soft ball flying toward her had been tapped precisely to the ground. There wasn't even an obvious dent in its surface, as though he had merely brushed it.
Such effortless finesse! His control over his strength and chakra was exquisite!
The entire field fell silent for a moment.
Everyone had seen Ling's ghostlike speed and terrifyingly precise control.
"Wow!!!" A second later, Ino burst into delighted cheers and grabbed Ling's arm. "Ling! You're amazing! Thank you so much!"
Her eyes shone brilliantly, her face filled with lingering fear and gratitude. Her hands showed no sign of letting go of his arm.
Ling stiffened slightly, unused to such physical contact. But at the sight of Ino's unclouded smile, he ultimately didn't pull away, merely giving a quiet "Mm."
Surprise and approval flashed through Iruka-sensei's eyes. "Excellent reflexes and control, Hatake! Everyone should learn from him!"
Sasuke gave a cold snort at the sight, his gaze growing sharper. Clearly, he had added Ling to his list of people to surpass. Naruto, meanwhile, muttered sourly from the sidelines, "Damn it... that guy stole the spotlight again..."
Sakura watched Ino clutching Ling's arm with a complicated look in her eyes, carrying both concern for her friend and a barely perceptible trace of envy.
From that day on, Ino clung to Ling even more. Lunchtime practice became an almost fixed routine. Brimming with energy, she would always drag him along and ask for pointers on shuriken techniques-though Ling strongly suspected she only wanted an excuse to spend time with him-or simply sit beside him, chattering about amusing incidents at the flower shop and gossip she had heard.
Ling still said little, but he spent more time listening. Ino's warmth was like warm seawater, slowly wearing away the icy defenses around his heart. Occasionally, when she said something funny, even the corners of his mouth would lift in an almost imperceptible smile.
Indulging in pointless emotions is the behavior of the weak, Tobirama often warned coldly, though he no longer objected so strongly. Still, this truly is the best disguise. Keep it up.
Aside from Ino, Ling also maintained friendly relationships with the other girls.
Tenten often sought him out to discuss ninja tool maintenance and throwing techniques. Drawing on Tobirama's knowledge, Ling occasionally offered one or two suggestions that cut straight to the heart of the matter, leaving Tenten awestruck and declaring him "one of us."
Hinata remained shy, but she would greet him softly whenever they met, and Ling would nod in return. Once, after a fitness test, Hinata nearly fainted from low blood sugar. Ling casually handed her a Soldier Pill-improved by Tobirama so it didn't taste quite so awful-and left her blushing for a long time.
Through Ino, Sakura also became a little more familiar with Ling. Occasionally, they discussed difficult academic questions together-though in reality, Ling simply answered everything with overwhelming ease.
Shino Aburame silently observed all of this from the back of the classroom. Pushing up his sunglasses, he murmured, "Ling Hatake's interpersonal attraction index is abnormally high." Kiba Inuzuka, meanwhile, declared bluntly, "That guy's just popular with girls! Akamaru, we don't care about that stuff! Right?"
Beneath the seemingly harmonious school life, undercurrents still stirred.
Ling could sense that the surveillance from the shadows-Root-had never stopped, though it had become more discreet. Kakashi occasionally "passed by" the academy, his seemingly lazy gaze always sweeping precisely over Ling with scrutiny and consideration. The Third Hokage's crystal ball probably focused on this place quite often as well.
One day after school, Ino skipped along beside Ling and suddenly said, "Ling, our flower shop is getting a new shipment of aromatic herbs this weekend! They're supposed to have a slight effect on calming the mind and helping mold chakra. Want to come take a look?"
Ling's interest stirred. Aromatic herbs? Perhaps I could use this opportunity to openly obtain some medicinal herbs to support my training.
He was just about to nod when Ice-Breath Concealment Technique suddenly gave him an extremely faint warning-a chilling, expertly concealed gaze had settled on them from the mouth of an alley behind him to one side.
Someone from Root! They were actually following this closely!
Ling's expression remained unchanged. He didn't even glance in that direction, simply telling Ino calmly, "Sure. I'll come take a look this weekend."
"Great!" Ino smiled happily, completely oblivious. "It's a promise! I'll be waiting!"
They parted at a fork in the road.
Ling headed toward the Hatake Residence alone. The gaze behind him continued to follow, clinging like a maggot burrowed into bone.
His eyes slowly grew cold.
These rats hiding in the shadows... what a nuisance.
Perhaps it was time to find an opportunity to give them a little "reminder" to keep their distance.
The sunlight stretched his shadow long, and its outline seemed to grow a little sharper.
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