Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 104: Chapter 103: Electric Ambitions

Ryu made his way to class, his bag slightly more loaded than usual. Hidden among his scrolls and notebooks were a handful of cotton balls, inconspicuous tools for his secret training.

As Ryu settled into his seat, he caught sight of Akira Uchiha from the corner of his eye. The Uchiha girl’s face was a mask of barely contained frustration, her dark eyes occasionally flickering towards Ryu with a mixture of resentment and curiosity. Their recent sparring match, which had ended in an unexpected draw and left Akira out of bounds and on the ground, clearly still rankled the proud Uchiha.

The memory of her fall replayed in Ryu’s mind, and he could almost feel the tension radiating from her. He was aware of the strong sense of pride held by the Uchiha clan and that a draw would probably be just as painful as losing for an academy top-3 player like Akira.

”Tch,” Akira muttered under her breath as Ryu passed by. ”Don’t think you’ve won anything, Hamura. This isn’t over.”

Ryu met her gaze briefly, his face a mask of calm indifference. Inside, however, his mind raced.

”I need to be careful,” he thought. ”The Uchiha aren’t known for taking defeat—or draws—lightly. But I won’t be bullied by anyone, no matter their clan name. Whoever makes trouble for me, I’ll teach them a lesson. I won’t be a pacifist like in my past life.”

The thought sent a surge of determination through him. He had been given a second chance in this world, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

Yuuki Kurama, the instructor, broke through the morning commotion with the words, ”Okay, class, settle down. Today, we’ll be discussing a crucial skill for any shinobi . That is the ability to identify and break genjutsu.

Ryu’s ears perked up, but his mind was already divided. As the teacher began to explain the various methods of dispelling illusions, Ryu’s hands moved beneath his desk, fingers rubbing together in slow, deliberate motions. He could feel the faint tingle of static building between his palms, a reminder of the lightning chakra he had been practicing. The sensation was addictive, the power of lightning just waiting to be unleashed.

”Pain is one of the most reliable ways to break a genjutsu,” the instructor continued, his voice a distant buzz in Ryu’s ears. ”But other external stimuli can be equally effective—a sudden touch, a strong smell, or even a flash of light.”

- Taking notes, processing the lecture, and adding the information under ’The Genjutsu’ tag

Ryu nodded absently, his focus split between the lesson and his lightning affinity training thanks to [Parallel Thinking] and his [Editic Memory] helping him unconsciously record all the key points taught in the lecture to review it later.

He could feel it—the static charge building up, a miniature storm contained within his skin. The urge to test it on one of the cotton balls in his bag was almost overwhelming, but he resisted. ’Not here,’ he reminded himself. ’The smell of burning cotton would definitely draw attention.’

”Ryu!” The instructor’s sharp voice snapped him back to reality. ”Since you seem so attentive, perhaps you’d like to share with the class how you would avoid getting caught in a genjutsu?”

With his mind racing to catch up, Ryu blinked and blurted out, ”Uh, by not looking into the opponent’s eyes, sir.”

A wave of laughter rippled through the classroom, but Ryu noticed the Uchiha students remained stonefaced. Their dark eyes narrowed, a silent understanding passing between them. They thought Ryu was already planning for future confrontations with their clan.

The instructor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ”Ryu, we’re discussing genjutsu in general, not just ocular genjutsu of the Uchiha Clan. And while we’re on the subject, I’m aware of your little... altercation with young Akira. I trust that matter is settled.”

Ryu nodded quickly, grateful for the chance to redirect the conversation. ”Yes, sir. It was just a sparring match.”

As the lesson continued, he felt Saya’s curious gaze on him from the neighbouring desk. When class finally ended, her curiosity got the better of her.

”Hey,” she whispered as they stood to leave, ”what were you doing with your hands under the desk all this time during the class? Are you feeling alright?”

Ryu paused and then sowed a mischevious smile. Without a word, he reached out and tapped her nose with his index finger. A tiny spark jumped between them, causing Saya to yell in surprise.

”Ow!” Saya yelled, more surprised than hurt. ”What the hell was that?”

Ryu’s smile widened slightly. ”Just a little static,” he replied innocently before turning and walking away.

As Ryu left the classroom, he could hear the excited chatter of his classmates behind him. Akira’s voice cut through the noise, her tone a mixture of grudging respect and challenge. ”That wasn’t just static,” she said. ”That was lightning chakra.”

The revelation sent a ripple of astonishment through the group.

”Lightning affinity? Isn’t that rare in the Leaf Village?” one student asked, eyes wide.

Another nodded vigorously. ”Yes, it is supposed to be extremely powerful, and it is all about offensive capability and speed!”

”I thought only the Hatake clan specialised in the Leaf Village,” a girl mused while looking at Shoda Hatake.

The Hatake boy in question spoke up, his voice tinged with pride and a hint of defensiveness. ”That’s not entirely true. We’re famous for it because of our previous clan leader Sakumo Hatake and his son Kakashi Hatake, but plenty of us have different primary affinities. In addition, there exist other individuals who specialise in lightning jutsu.

As the chatter continued, Ryu made his way to the academy’s training grounds. He settled on a bench, away from prying eyes, and pulled out one of the cotton balls. Half of it was already blackened, a testament to his previous attempts.

”Let’s continue,” he murmured to himself.

A small spark leapt from his finger to the cotton, leaving a tiny scorch mark. Ryu smiled. It wasn’t much, but it was progress. As he continued his secret training, his mind wandered to the genjutsu lesson he had half-ignored. He made a mental note to review those techniques later from memory. After all, a well-rounded shinobi needed to be prepared for anything.

Ryu was working without realising that Tanaka-sensei was watching from a window; he was well concealed by tree branches. With a contemplative expression on his face, the instructor was already working on the report he would present to the Hokage later that day.

Tanaka thought to himself, ”To train nature manipulation at such a young age, and it’s lightning release that is rare in the Leaf Village.”

As he watched another spark fly from his finger to the cotton, Ryu thought, ”This is just the beginning. Before I leave the academy, I will try to master all affinities, at least to a basic level and some to an advanced level.”

When the lunch break was almost over, Ryu packed his training gear and headed to the academy’s training grounds. Upon arriving at the training grounds, Ryu discovered Akira once more, observing him closely. Although there was still a challenge in the Uchiha girl’s eyes, there was also a glimmer of curiosity; their rivalry was far from over.

Next was Taijutsu class of Tanaka-sensei. He could not do his lightning affinity training this time around, but Ryu was not concerned. There was plenty of time for him at home and in other classes.

As the physical torture began, Ryu began reviewing the lessons he had recorded with the help of his personal note-taker. He did not have to borrow notes from anyone else.

As he was running, his thoughts also drifted to something related to lightning affinity.

He thought, ”Lightning can also be used to augment the body’s reaction speed and movements, just like Forth Raikage. But to do that, the body must be able to handle a large amount of lightning within the body. But if I just focus on the reaction speed aspect of it from the perspective of my mind, will I be able to increase my thinking speed further? Will it do me any good?”

His thought wandered to a bad ending of a Bleach villian, and he thought, ”I guess not? It’s definitely a bad idea. Without my body being able to react to a high-level thought process, every second will be like minutes or maybe more if I overclock it with [Temporary Enhance] also. I don’t want to fry my brain and end up like Szayelaporro during a fight. In any case, it is too dangerous for me to experiment with my brain, so I should keep my electric ambitions to a minimum and focus on the physical aspect of lightning enhancement.”

’For now, I should focus on basics,’ Ryu thought, a small smile playing on his lips. ’I’ll master the basics within a month.’

##PoWeR StOnEs##

FYI, Szayelaporro is a character from Bleach. His fate is rather interesting.

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