The destruction caused by the fireball extended far beyond that; the surrounding vegetation within tens of meters was also affected, burned to ashes or flattened.
Ling felt that the disgraceful title of Great Fireball Technique as a benevolent technique might end with him.
Shisui was also a bit surprised; it was Ling's first time using the Great Fireball Technique, yet its power was already on par with that unleashed by an elite Chunin.
Ling was also somewhat astonished; it was, after all, his first time truly using Ninjutsu, and not only did he succeed in casting it directly, but he also hadn't expected its power to be so considerable.
Ling carefully recalled the changes in his Chakra when he used the Great Fireball Technique.
He found that his meridians seemed unusually resilient; even when Ling used Ninjutsu and didn't perfectly adjust the amount and speed of his Chakra, it still didn't damage his meridians.
One must know that such a lack of control over Chakra amount and speed could lead to minor issues like failed Ninjutsu and burnt lips, or severe problems like meridian damage requiring long-term recovery.
Ling's Great Fireball Technique was purely a result of brute force, a miracle born from recklessness.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" This time, Ling used his incredibly strong Chakra control to release the Ninjutsu according to the standard Chakra operation mode.
"Boom~"
A fireball with a diameter of two to three meters exploded, but neither its size nor its destructive power could compare to the previous Great Fireball Technique.
Ling somewhat understood why some extremely powerful Ninja in later stages could use the same Ninjutsu with dozens of times the power of ordinary Ninja.
This was not only related to the Ninja's Chakra volume and mastery of nature transformation but also because these Ninja, through continuous use of Ninjutsu, had developed meridians capable of withstanding incredibly high Chakra output.
If an ordinary Genin's meridians were a mountain path, a Jonin's would be a single-lane road, a Kage-level Ninja's would be a four-lane dual carriageway, and Madara, Hashirama, or Naruto's meridians would be like great rivers.
Currently, Ling's Heavenly Restriction had further strengthened his meridians to the limit of his current body.
He was roughly at the level of a Chunin approaching Jonin, but this didn't mean Ling could defeat an elite Chunin; his experience and combat instincts were still far off.
Ling tried several Ninjutsu of Fire Release and Wind Release and felt that the B-rank Gale Sword Technique was most suitable for him.
Ling was able to release two wind-cutting belts at once; although he hadn't mastered the various nature transformations of Wind Release, he could still effortlessly cut through several large trees and boulders.
Perhaps the only disadvantage was that the wind-cutting belts could not move and could only cut in the initially set direction.
Unlike Danzo, that old geezer's signature Ninjutsu, Vacuum Great Spheres, which could be aimed wherever his mouth was pointed.
As for the B-rank Great Fire Annihilation, it certainly didn't possess the power of Madara-sama, who could cast it alone and suppress the combined Water Release of the Shinobi Alliance.
Although the fan-shaped attack of Great Fire Annihilation had a wide range, the speed of the Ninjutsu was somewhat lacking.
Moreover, compared to Madara-sama's one-hand seal release, Ling had to perform over twenty hand seals, taking about seven to eight seconds to release.
This was already the result of Ling's diligent practice of hand seal speed these past few days; Ling still decided that sword techniques were more practical.
Currently, Ling had cultivated the Gale Sword Technique to its first stage, allowing him to unleash sword light imbued with Wind Release.
If he wasn't using an ordinary Ninjato, but a Ninjato crafted from chakra metal, this sword light wouldn't just be attached to the blade; it would be a sword qi that could be unleashed.
However, the thought of the expensive chakra metal brought tears of poverty to Ling's eyes.
A Chakra Ninjato would cost at least ten million Ryo; the peak Asuma's bounty could only buy two.
"Ling, what's wrong? You seem so dejected and sad." Shisui couldn't quite understand Ling's emotional state, oscillating between happiness and dejection.
"Oh, it's because I realized I'm a pauper and can't even afford a Chakra Ninjato." Ling, like a resigned salted fish, stopped practicing the Gale Sword Technique.
The surrounding trees were covered with various sword marks, some ten-odd centimeters long, messy and looking terribly ravaged—all Ling's doing.
It was like when he was a child, always wanting to cut rapeseed flowers with a stick.
At noon, Ling ate the bento specially prepared by Shisui, because Shisui had said yesterday that he wanted Ling to taste his cooking.
It must be said that Shisui's bento tasted quite good; compared to Itachi in the original work, who needed to activate his Sharingan just to make a cake, Shisui was naturally superior.
In the afternoon, they continued to train separately; Shisui's arm hadn't healed yet, so they couldn't spar.
In these three days, Ling's progress was undeniably significant; he had advanced from a Ninja Academy Student level to a Chunin level.
He could release a dozen or so C-rank Ninjutsu, and in terms of Taijutsu, both Gale Sword Technique and basic Taijutsu were already close to the Genin limit.
Although Ling didn't plan to gain a reputation as a genius, with Danzo and the Third Hokage, those two old geezers around.
He'd rather avoid the Tongue Sealing Curse and the fire will brainwashing.
Before he had the strength to overturn the table, Ling decided to remain low-key.
As the sun set in the west, Ling and Shisui prepared to go home; after a day of training, both were a bit tired, especially Ling, whose training volume was almost unbearable for a child.
However, the gains were also considerable, especially since Ling could feel his body strengthening at a perceptible rate.
This feeling was simply addictive, and even Shisui was influenced, his training volume noticeably increasing.
Back home, Ling had his Shadow Clone prepare dinner while he, uncharacteristically, washed his face with facial cleanser.
Because he was preparing to draw a Cursed Technique, although it could also be other abilities, such as Black Flash and Reversal Technique.
These two were not Cursed Techniques but rather applications of Cursed Energy, yet they were extremely difficult to master.
Although these abilities were also very good, Ling still felt that drawing a Cursed Technique would be better; he could then compare it with Ninjutsu.
After praying to various gods, Ling clicked the 'Start Draw' button.
As a strange light bloomed, a black light cluster appeared in the prize slot.
[Innate Technique: Ten Types of Shadow Techniques, the Zenin clan's inherited Cursed Technique. Those who acquire this Cursed Technique are known as Ten Shadows Divine Child, capable of confronting the Gojo clan's Six Eyes and Limitless. It allows the summoning of ten Shikigami through shadows.]
[The ten Shikigami are Jade Hounds, Toad, Escaping Rabbit, Great Serpent, Nue, Full Elephant, Enka, Piercing Ox, Tiger Burial, and Mahoraga. The stronger the user's Curse Power, the stronger the Shikigami will become.]
"Holy crap, Ten Types of Shadow Techniques! Let's see who dares to speak loudly to me in the future; I'll let them taste the power of Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga."
Ling felt that the Ten Types of Shadow Techniques was definitely the most suitable for him; although Limitless had terrifying expressive power, Limitless without the Six Eyes was only mediocre.
Moreover, the Ten Types of Shadow Techniques was not inferior to the Six Eyes plus Limitless; Gojo Satoru was strong only because he was Gojo Satoru.
Although these Shikigami, with the exception of the two initial Jade Hounds—one black and one white—all required the master to subjugate them.
Given Ling's current strength, he could probably only subjugate Escaping Rabbit and Toad; subjugating Mahoraga was simply a distant dream.