"Ah? Is that true? Rin, you're the one I care about most too."
Obito seemed to have a sudden realization, taking Rin's hand and gazing at the somewhat shy Rin, a foolish, standard goofy grin spreading across his face.
Ling sneered from the side. If she hadn't given a push for this coward Obito, he would never have held Rin's little hand in his entire life.
"Enough talk, let's get ready to eat. Kushina-sensei is almost done."
Rin subtly glanced at the indifferent Kakashi, a hint of bitterness in her heart, but it quickly vanished.
"Alright, everyone, dig in!" Tsunade watched as Kushina brought out various Japanese dishes, then picked up her own sake, poured a cup, and began drinking with Jiraiya.
Ling had naturally prepared early, poured herself a glass of juice, then directly took a plate of beef, and began to stretch her muscles, eating elegantly, gracefully, and incredibly quickly.
"Ling, congratulations on becoming a Genin. Did Hokage-sama call you today specifically for your graduation?"
Rin raised a glass of juice and stood up, ready to congratulate Ling on becoming a Genin. Tsunade and Jiraiya were also somewhat surprised, not expecting this kid to become a Genin so quickly.
"Something like that. I still wanted to study for three more years!"
Ling felt that she shouldn't have sparred with Uncle Duy back then, as it exposed her, but then she thought that with her talent, it was like a cone in a bag—it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.
"Is Ling planning to join a mission squad? Or the Konoha Military Police Force?"
Kushina was a bit worried that Ling lacked experience and wouldn't be able to handle difficult situations during missions.
"Sarutobi-sensei wants me to join Anbu. It's truly low pay, lots of work, far from home, and 24/7 on-call, year-round."
Although Ling had haggled and received two Ninjutsu in advance, it couldn't mend her wounded heart.
"Anbu! That's amazing! Ling's strength must be catching up to Kakashi's now, right? Kakashi also joined Anbu back then."
Rin looked at Ling with some admiration. She felt that Ling was too similar to Kakashi back then; both became Genin at five years old.
Hearing Rin's words, Kakashi's mouth twitched, and Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kushina also had strange expressions. They could all sense the enormous Chakra on Ling.
"Huh? Did I say something wrong?" Rin noticed the varied expressions on everyone's faces and asked, puzzled.
"Rin, Ling has probably surpassed me now."
Kakashi wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat, so he generously admitted his inferiority, but his heart told him that he must catch up.
"Pfft~ Hahahahaha!! Kakashi, see if you still dare to be arrogant in front of me! My Uchiha Clan is just full of geniuses."
Obito didn't care about the fact that he was even more trash. As long as he could strike at Kakashi, even if it meant harming himself a thousand, he wouldn't care if he injured the enemy ten thousand.
"Hmph! I wonder what right a certain dead last has to say that to me!"
Kakashi merely responded calmly to Obito's taunt, showing no sign of anger.
"Pfft~!" Hearing 'dead last,' Tsunade laughed first, then subconsciously glanced at the embarrassed Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, strategically drank his sake to hide his embarrassment. Although he was also a dead last back then, and shared a similar personality with Obito, Orochimaru was like Kakashi today.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, nearly eighty percent of the twenty pounds of beef Ling brought had gone into her stomach.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone helped Kushina clean up and then lay on the sofas to digest.
"Kid, how's your Medical Ninjutsu coming along?"
Tsunade thought of Ling joining Anbu and worried about her safety, so she asked about Ling's proficiency in Medical Ninjutsu. Being able to heal oneself usually meant living longer.
"I've already learned Mystical Palm Technique, Chakra Scalpel, and Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten started with the nature transformation of Yang Release."
Ling flicked her right hand, and a verdant Chakra Scalpel appeared. Then, after forming new hand seals, it transformed into the green Yang Release power of the Mystical Palm Technique.
"Not bad. Your talent is much greater than mine."
Tsunade chugged the sake in her cup, her worries about Ling easing somewhat. This was the only gambling buddy who could go toe-to-toe with her; she couldn't die so easily.
"Tsunade-jie jie, you're too humble. As the pioneer, you naturally faced greater difficulties than us learners."
Ling didn't think she was very talented in Yang Release; otherwise, why hadn't she found any hint of Yang Release nature transformation after so long?
On the contrary, her Yin Release had progressed rapidly. Ever since the illusionary world was constructed, she had gotten a grasp on the nature transformation aspects of Yin Release Genjutsu.
Now, Genjutsu below B-rank were effortlessly cast, and their power and stability were stronger, making them harder to break through. Of course, this was for Chunin and below.
"I heard Orochimaru say you asked him for sealing scrolls to study. Remember, don't bite off more than you can chew. While being versatile is good, you must have an outstanding point."
Tsunade was afraid that Ling would be too distracted, slowing down her own training. Although she knew Ling's progress was already very fast, she was definitely Konoha's strongest genius in history.
Her great-granduncle wasn't as impressive as Ling when he was young, and Orochimaru couldn't compare to her at the same age.
"I understand. I'll find my focus."
Ling didn't plan to change her training schedule. In the short term, only those three areas still had potential for improvement.
Other aspects had reached a bottleneck. She was still too young, having reached the limit for her current age.
"Ling, would you like to spar with me? I want to see the gap between us."
Kakashi uncharacteristically spoke up, and his goal was to challenge Ling, who was three years younger than him, which truly surprised everyone present.
"Sure, I also want to spar with Kakashi-senpai. Is it Taijutsu or Kenjutsu?"
Ling didn't intend to bully Kakashi in Ninjutsu. Her current five elemental nature transformations, combined with Spiraling Compression Sphere, could be said to be at the Elite Jonin level.
"No restrictions. I just want to understand myself."
Kakashi's tone was firm. He needed Ling to put pressure on him, thereby stimulating his own growth, with Ling as his goal.
"Alright then, shall we go now?"
Ling had no objections. She roughly understood Kakashi's purpose. Ling herself had also strived with Kakashi as her goal for a while.
"Right now. Let's go to the training ground." Kakashi stood up, bid farewell to Kushina, opened the door, and walked out.
"Then I'll take my leave. Thank you for the hospitality, Kushina-jie jie, Tsunade-jie jie, Uncle Jiraiya, Shizune-senpai, bye-bye."
Ling walked out the door, following Kakashi towards the training ground.
"I want to go too. Kushina-sensei, I'm leaving first."
How could Obito not go watch Kakashi's failure? He would definitely comfort him well then, so that Kakashi would be impressed by his charm and never call him a dead last again.
"I'll go too. I'm a bit worried." Rin Nohara bowed in farewell and also walked out.
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