“It’s a win! The summoand: Horus—capable of creating ice for attacks!”

  Feeling the physical drain caused by excessive chakra refi, Link didn’t even have time to celebrate. Without hesitation, he anded Horus to attack.

  “Crack~”

  Six enormous ice spikes materialized out of thin air, three on each side of him.

  “Whoosh!” X6

  The ice spikes were hurled oer another.

  [What is this?!]

  Kakashi’s previously casual demeanor turned serious. Sensing an abnormal chakra surge, he instantly focused his attention. The moment the ice spikes appeared, he gathered chakra to his feet.

  “Boom!”

  The first spike smmed into the ground, creating a massive crater.

  Although Kakashi used Body Flicker to leave his position, he couldn’t pletely evade the remaining spikes—because they tracked their target!

  With massive spikes ing at him from all dires, Kakashi quickly formed hand seals:

  “Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!”

  Four earthen walls rose, enclosing Kakashi and blog the ice spikes.

  “Boom!”

  The spikes struck the walls simultaneously, shattering on impact. Blue-white frost spread rapidly across the cracked and pitted surface of the walls.

  [This kid?!] X2

  The two teammates hiding in the forest were stunned.

  How could such a jutsu belong to a genin? And Ice Release no less—could Kakashi actually lose?

  “Crack~”

  The ground split open again. Kakashi repeated his tactic, usih Release: Headhunter Jutsu to grab Link, who was visibly weakened from his dwindling stamina.

  Checkmate.

  Half-buried in the earth, Link finally reacted but showed no panic. Using the st remnants of his energy, he anded Horus to unleash a freezing breath.

  The icy mist encased both Kakashi and Link, freezing them in pce.

  “Jingle~”

  In the final moment before losing sciousness, Link grasped the two bells hanging from Kakashi’s waist.

  The soft chime echoed as Horus dissipated, its form vanishing due to Link’s plete exhaustion. The surrounding nd remained frozen, the rapid ice preserving the vibrant green grass beh. Uhe sunlight, the crystalline ice sparkled brilliantly, creating a serene, picturesque se.

  Link’s unscious body leaned forward, half-buried in the ground. His arms were outstretched, thin yers of frost c him. The bells he had grabbed y on the frozen soil beside him.

  [This child...]

  “Crack, crack...”

  The sound of ice breaking echoed as Kakashi lowered his headband, c his crimson Sharingan. Walking forward, he carefully pulled Link out of the frozen soil.

  This boy had mao defeat his Shadow e in direbat and even forced him to take the fight seriously. Based on his profi ninjutsu alone, he might already be qualified for the rank of special jonin.

  At the ninja academy, students were judged on their ability to master basijutsu. A genin advang to in needed intelligend strategic thinking.

  But to bee a special jonin or jonin, the requirement was simple: overwhelming strength.

  Even the smartest ninja could only advao in if they cked raw power. versely, those with immerength could rise to special jonin or jonin regardless of their intellect.

  Now, a-year-old genin had dispyed such a powerful jutsu—and, more importantly...

  “Ice Release.”

  Carrying the unscious, frost-covered Link, Kakashi sprioward the hospital. His mind raced.

  In his memory, only a from Kirigakure possessed Ice Release as a Kekkei Genkai.

  How could a child with a clear Konoha lineage wield Ice Release?

  Unless...

  The more Kakashi thought about it, the more plicated it seemed. But one clusion was unavoidable:

  This child wouldn’t be allowed to graduate this year.

  …

  A Strange Ceiling

  Link opened his eyes, his mind hazy. His st memory surfaced—

  He failed, yet succeeded.

  He had never expected to defeat ae jonin, especially without f Kakashi to use the Sharingan (unbeknownst to him, Kakashi had used it in the end).

  Though he successfully grabbed the bells, he had lost the fight.

  Refleg otle, Link identified several mistakes:

  1. Overestimating his taijutsu abilities. He had wasted chakra and stamina trying to pete with Kakashi in close bat, losing the initiative in the process.

  If Kakashi hadn’t been curious about his abilities, Link would have been swiftly overwhelmed after failing to nd a decisive strike in the first exge.

  2. Relying oable teiques. The bination of Transformation Jutsu and e Jutsu was too easy to see through. While effective against weaker oppos, stronger ones quickly adapted, exposing his ck of stamina and physical limitations.

  3. Mismanaging his Substitution Jutsu. He used excessive chakra when summoning Horus, leaving himself too draio sustain additional attacks.

  His Substitution Jutsu ed minimal energy for basic close-bat stands, but activating their special abilities required signifit stamina. Poor chakra allocatioo his colpse.

  4. Allowing pride to cloud his judgment. Knowing Kakashi’s identity, Link had been overly eager to prove himself—not just to Konoha’s higher-ups, but to himself.

  His desperate desire to show he wasn’t a “useless transmigrator” or a “minor character” had driven him to act irrationally, particurly during the taijutsu exge.

  “Weakness isn’t an obstacle to survival; arrogance is.”

  This quote from his previous life resonated deeply. Somewhere along the way, he had developed a dangerous sense of pride.

  If he didn’t correct this fw, it could lead to catastrophic mistakes iure. Reizing his shortings was the most important step.

  Admit when you’re wrong. Stand tall when you take a hit.