Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 75: Chapter 74: On your marks!

Saya nearly fell face first onto the ground, and a group of nearby kids, led by the boy with spiky black hair who had earlier boasted, burst out laughing. Ryu recognised him from when he visited the academy a week ago. He remembered hearing his name called; it was Kenji Uchiha.

”Nice going, Saya,” he sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. ”You’re as clumsy as a civilian. You are unfit to be a ninja, much less carry the Uchiha name.”

The words hung in the air. There was a noticeable tension in the air as the other kids around them fell silent and looked back and forth between Saya and Kenji.

Saya’s face fell, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. The light in her eyes dimmed, replaced by a look of hurt and shame that tugged at Ryu’s heart. She bit her lower lip, fighting back tears that threatened to spill over. Her hands, scraped from the fall, trembled slightly as she pushed herself up.

Ryu felt a surge of anger, impossible to ignore. He helped Saya to her feet before turning to face this Uchiha brat.

”Hey, Mr. Prodigy,” Ryu said, his voice low but firm. ”Did you miss the lesson on not being a jerk, or is that an Uchiha speciality?”

Kenji’s eyes narrowed, his posture stiffening as he sized up Ryu. The air crackled with tension, like the calm before a storm. ”And who are you to lecture me?” he spat. ”Some no-name country bumpkin? I bet you couldn’t tell a kunai from a kitchen knife.”

Ryu felt his patience wearing thin, his chakra responding to his emotions. With effort, he forced himself to remain calm, drawing on his grandfather’s advice. ”My name is Ryu Hamura,” he repeated steadily. ”And whether you’ve heard of me or not doesn’t matter.”

The Uchiha scoffed, turning to his friends with a dramatic eye roll. His voice dripped with sarcasm as he addressed the growing crowd. ”Can you believe this Hamura kid? Trying to teach an Uchiha? That’s like a chicken teaching an eagle how to fly! You are probably some no-name civilian playing Ninja.”

Ryu felt his chakra stirring within him, responding to his emotions. It pulsed through his body, begging to be released. He took another deep breath, forcing it back down.

”Kids these days,” he sighed, shaking his head. ”Is bullying all you know? I doubt your clan taught you to act like this. I wonder where you picked up such poor behaviour. Maybe you missed a few important lessons while polishing that ego of yours.”

He lectured like an old man, which he actually was on the inside. When Ryu called the Kenji Uchiha a kid, the boy’s face flushed red, his fists clenching at his sides. His chakra flared, visible for a moment as a faint blue aura around him.

Kenji spat, ”You do not know anything about our clan or what it means to be a true ninja.” His chakra crackled like irate static as he stepped towards Ryu.

Ryu stood his ground, meeting the boy’s glare with a steady gaze. The air thickened with tension as a crowd gathered around them.

”I may not know everything about your clan,” he admitted, his voice calm and measured, ”but I do know that a real Shinobi builds others up, not tears them apart. We’re all from the same Leaf Village, after all. Furthermore, she belongs to your clan. You are making fun of her instead of trying to help her.”

Saya stepped forward, strength replacing her previous embarrassment, her eyes shining with new determination. ”He’s right, you know,” she said, addressing her clansman. ”We are taught by our clan to respect strength and to use it to defend our fellow members of the same team. What you are doing is not in line with the values of the Uchiha.”

The boy appeared surprised by Saya’s newfound confidence, but before he could react, Kazuo’s voice called out, ”Come on, everyone! The race begins in one minute.”

The spell was broken. In an instant, the tension vanished, to be replaced by a rush of activity. Youngsters hurried to take their places, the previous altercation temporarily forgotten in the face of the challenge that lay ahead.

Ryu was standing beside Saya as the kids rushed to get into their places. Her eyes gleamed with admiration and gratitude, and she smiled gratefully at him.

She said, ”Thanks for standing up for me,” in a voice that could hardly be heard over the noise. ”Not many people would do that, especially for someone they just met.”

Ryu smiled; the earlier anger had faded, replaced by a sense of satisfaction as he said, ”Don’t worry about it. We’re all here to become ninjas, right? We should be supporting each other, not tearing each other down.”

Ryu inhaled deeply before joining the student file that was prepared to start the race. He thought back to his training that made him feel almost light enough to fly. That race would be easy in comparison to his training days, but he reminded himself of his strategy. Fifteenth place. Not too high, not too low.

But as he glanced around at the arrogant faces of some of the clan children, and particularly the two he spoke with, a new idea began to form in his mind. The earlier encounter had ignited something inside him, a desire to prove himself and to show these children that life was about more than ancestry.

A mischievous grin spread across his face as he said to himself, ”Oh boy, this is going to be fun. I might as well paint a target on my back after this. But what the hell? Time to teach these clan kids a lesson they won’t forget.”

With that thought, Ryu crouched into a starting position, his muscles tensed and ready for action. He could feel the energy thrumming through his body, his chakra responding to his excitement.

As Kazuo raised his hand, preparing to start the race, Ryu’s grin widened. He would use his action to make a statement today. Just then, a kid pulled up next to him, looking as bored as hell.

”Hello, Ryu, right? My name is Noboru Nara,” he whispered. ”I’ve been watching you. You’re not like the others, are you? You every move tells me that you are hiding something.”

Ryu’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected anyone to pick up on his act so quickly. ”What makes you say that?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

Noboru yawned, stretching his arms above his head like a cat waking from a nap. ”It’s a drag to explain, but let’s just say you move like you’ve got more training than a seasoned Jonin. Your stance, your breathing, and your demenour ... it’s all too controlled for a kid. You’re about as unprepared as I am motivated.”

Ryu laughed, impressed by Noboru’s perception as he said, ”You’re pretty observant for someone who looks like they’d rather be napping.”

”Napping does sound good right about now,” Noboru Nara agreed with a lazy smile. ”But don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. It’s too troublesome to go around telling everyone anyway.”

Before Ryu could respond, Kazuo’s voice boomed across the field. ”On your marks!”

The chatter died instantly as nearly 1500 children tensed, ready to spring into action. Ryu could feel the anticipation in the air. He glanced to his left and right, taking in the determined faces of his fellow examinees and curious faces of examiners. Some looked confident, others terrified, but all were focused on the task ahead.

The examiner then shouted, ”Get set!”

In that moment, Ryu made a decision. In his mind, Ryu declared, ”Time to show this ’Young Lord’ wannabe what real skill looks like. No holding back now. Consequences be damned, I’m going to thrash them so hard that they will be talking about this race long after that have all become ninjas.”

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