"Perhaps I do need some time to step away from basic training and traditional ninja bat to try building my own fighting style," Link thought as he sat up.

  He felt no disfort; the ice created by Horus caused him no harm. In fact, he could eve it directly from his mouth, making it excellent for freezing wounds. Freezing himself at the end of the battle had been more of a defensive measure.

  If he had enough stamina, he could have chosen to freeze himself along with any nearby enemies and then used Horus to attack.

  Looking back, if he’d known he could summon Horus, he would have approached the fight differently. Even if he couldn’t defeat Kakashi, he wouldn’t have bee in such a humiliating state.

  With his unique abilities, Link realized he wouldn’t follow the same path as ordinary ninjas. Yet, during his time at the academy, he had been too influenced by ventional ninja bat methods.

  Trying to fight an experienced jonin using standard tactics was nothing short of self-destructive.

  Battle rhythm is everything.

  If he wao be a typical genin, he should adhere to the tried-aed bat methods refined by tless ninjas eions. But with his unusual jutsu and only average chakra reserves and physical capabilities, his fighting style had to be different.

  bat, after all, is about using one’s strengths to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses.

  This realizatio Link feeling surprisingly rexed. Losing had been expected, but identifying his fws, uanding the essence of bat, and breaking free from ventional ninja paradigms were his greatest gains.

  It was far better to learn these lessons during a training exercise than in real bat.

  “Oh, you’re awake?”

  Kakashi’s voice came from the doorway. He stood zily, one hand holding a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

  “Did I pass the test?” Link asked, holding onto a sliver of hope. After all, he had mao grab the bells.

  Kakashi closed his book, marking the page with a finger. With a hint of amusement in his tone, he said, “None of you passed.”

  “But I got the bells,” Link protested.

  Kakashi’s exposed eye glinted with humor as he looked at the eight-year-old boy. “This test wasn’t about grabbing the bells. It was about teamwork and your ability to plete a missioing the bells wasn’t the main criterion.”

  Konoha stood apart from other vilges. While other ninja vilges upheld the utilitarian view of ninjas as tools for missions, Konoha’s philosophy had gradually shifted away from that, even to the point of colpse.

  Examples abouhe nation of Konoha’s White Fang for abandoning a mission, the ostracization of Mizuki over rumors of killing a rade, Tsunade’s ht defiance of the advisors’ directives when she allowed the jinchūriki to roam freely, and ter Kakashi’s and Naruto’s as, which barely followed the vilge’s rules.

  It was this le envirohat allowed Link to showcase his abilities. Had he been in a stricter vilge like Kirigakure or Sunagakure, he might have hidden his taleirely, waiting for the right moment to defect.

  Say what you will about Danzo’s methods, but Konoha still treated its ower than any other vilge.

  Besides, Danzo had been stripped of much of his power after the Uchiha massacre. Until the Third Hokage’s death, he likely wouldn’t have any room to maneuver.

  And in truth, Link hadn’t revealed enough to make himself a target. Among the substitutes he had summoned before, Horus wasn’t even one of the stronger or more broken ones.

  “So, I have to go back to the academy and tinue my studies?”

  Link’s tone carried a faint note of disappoi, but his expressiorayed little emotio out of bed, feeling only mild muscle soreness from overexertion.

  “ I go home now?” he asked.

  The ice created by Horus didn’t harm his body and could even heal wounds by freezing them. But it didend the same courtesy to his clothes and equipment.

  [This will e a fortune...]

  His heart ached at the thought. Clothes weren’t expensive, but ninja tools were. Thankfully, he hadn’t brought his wallet into the fight. Otherwise...

  Still, not graduating might be a blessing in disguise. Being a genin would mean losing his student and orphan allowances. And genin saries were barely enough to scrape by.

  “You’re in good health and be discharged at any time,” Kakashi said, tug his book into his pouch. With a smile, he added, “How about I treat you to a meal to celebrate your return to school?”

  …

  Hokage’s Office, Konoha.

  “...and that cludes the full report on the academy student, Link.”

  Kakashi delivered his findings with a calm tone, detailing both objective observations and subjective impressions. Theood silently, waiting for the Third Hokage’s response.

  The report revealed no suspicious details—Link’s background was , his growth normal, and his apparent kekkei genkai held signifit potential. However, it wasraordinary enough to warrant attention from the vilge elders or advisors.

  Konoha was a vilge that tolerated geniuses, even adopting orphans of unknown in. It wasn’t the kind anization to attack its own people.

  While some individuals might engage in underhanded schemes, such as wouldn’t hold sway in the open.

  “Hmm...”

  The Third Hokage exhaled deeply, puffing smoke from his pipe. His expressiorayed ion as he said, “Thank you for your work, Kakashi.”

  “If that’s all, I’ll take my leave, Lord Third.” Kakashi bowed slightly before vanishing with a swift body flicker.

  The Third Hokage stared at Link’s file for a while, tapping his pipe against the desk. Finally, he said, “Raise his surveilnce priority.”

  From the shadows, an Anbu operative aowledged the order.

  This wasn’t a punishment. Raising surveilnce priority wasn’t about monit—it was about providing prote.

  Konoha was a rge vilge with its share of dark ers and spies. A talented eight-year-old child was an easy target for abdu, coer, or worse.

  When Link first enrolled, he already received a baseline level of Anbu prote, which had deterred Mizuki’s attempts to approach him further. Raising the priority simply meant more focused safeguarding.

  There was no malicious i.

  The Third Hokage had no reason tet a mere child. After all, Konoha had many ninja with unique abilities or kekkei genkai, and a-year-old wasn’t particurly unusual—especially during wartime.

  After making his decision, the Third Hokage closed Link’s file and turned his attention baore pressing matters.