Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: Fierce Youngsters

The crisp morning air filled Ryu’s lungs as he completed his daily run, his feet pounding a steady rhythm on the path that snaked through the village outskirts.

[Heart rate: 120 bpm]

[Distance covered: 9.8 kilometres]

[Chakra levels: 88%]

It was a habit he had developed to keep himself motivated and track his progress, like in those NovelPhoenixs he read as a kid.

”Ten kilometres down,” Ryu thought to himself. The improvement in his stamina over the past few weeks was evident. His body had become more efficient, his movements more fluid.

He had also started using chakra in his workouts to deplete his reserves in order to build up reserves. The day he decided to do that, his subconscious mind assigned a value to his chakra levels that day, and from that day on, it has been slowly increasing day by day.

[Chakra levels: 87%]

[Chakra capacity: 110 units]

Now, he was pushing himself beyond what he thought possible.

After getting clean, Ryu began assisting his grandfather in making breakfast. The smell of grilled fish and rice filled the small kitchen, the sizzle of the pan was a comforting sound in the quiet morning. His movements in the kitchen were as precise as his training—every chop, every stir, calculated.

As they ate, Dan asked. ”What progress have you made with your water walking?”

Ryu replied, ”Well, I am getting used to fast-moving waves in the water. Soon it will be like a walk in the park, and I will be able to do it with a blindfold.”

He continued, ”But it wasn’t as easy as tree climbing. But once I got the hang of it, it just... clicked. Like a puzzle piece falling into place.”

”Such chakra control in your first year at the academy is rare. Flow of chakra in developing body is not smooth for everyone,” Dan mused ”You should be proud. But don’t let it go to your head. Now’s the time to focus on your affinity training and reading stuff Yuki gave you.”

Ryu nodded eagerly. ”I’ve already started improving my lightning affinity. I can now sometimes generate some small sparks without chakra friction.”

Dan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ”Already? Well, I expected this much. Continue until you have mastered that, and then we can begin training in fuinjutsu.”

Ryu thought, ”Now that’s where things get really interesting.”

Ryu’s eyes lit up at the mention of fuinjutsu. He had always been fascinated by the intricate art of sealing techniques, and the idea of learning it from his grandfather filled him with excitement.

As Ryu and Dan continued their discussion, someone was also solo levelling very hard in the Uchiha grounds.

The air was filled with the sound of whistling metal as Shuriken and Kunai flew through the air, seemingly from all directions. At the centre of this storm of shurekens was Akira, her body moving with fluid grace as she dodged and weaved through the onslaught of carefully laid traps that throw shurekens and kunai.

Her hair whipped around her face as she spun, narrowly avoiding a kunai that embedded itself in the ground where she had been standing just moments before. Even though she was sweating profusely, her eyes stayed alert and focused, constantly looking around her for the next onslaught, which continued for another ten minutes.

These traps were built into the Uchiha training grounds so that their young ones could be trained. Moreover, all of the shurekens and kunai were training weapons with weak penetration capabilities.

Standing in the middle of what appeared to be a battleground, Akira watched as the final projectiles fell to the ground. The ground around her was littered with weapons, each one a testament to her skill and agility.

Suddenly, the sound of slow, deliberate clapping broke the silence. Akira whirled around, her hand instinctively reaching for a kunai, only to relax slightly when she saw who it was.

”Kenji?” she called out, her voice a mixture of surprise and annoyance. ”What are you doing sneaking around here? I’ve never seen you on these parts of training grounds before, or any other part.”

Kenji walked towards Akira with a smirk playing on his lips.

”Impressive display,” he said, ignoring her question. ”But you needn’t worry about Ryu. I’ll be the one to beat him.”

Akira’s eyes narrowed, a surge of anger rising in her chest. ”You should train somewhere else,” she spat.

She thought about yesterday when she followed Saya and got to see Ryu train himself. She turned to face Kanji and said, ”By the way, you are no match for Ryu. Not only is he physically stronger, but he is very cunning. He loves exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses and can turn even the smallest opening to his advantage. A person as reckless and erratic as you will not last two minutes.”

Kenji’s smirk faltered and was replaced by a flash of irritation as he recalled the two minutes he had spent fighting with Ryu.

”You underestimate me,” he growled. ”I’ve awakened my Sharingan. I can beat him now.”

Akira’s laugh was sharp and derisive. ”Prove it,” she challenged. ”Beat me first.”

A tense silence fell between them, broken only by the rustle of leaves in the wind. Finally, Kenji’s lips curled into a grin.

”I’ll be more than happy to do that,” he said. ”But let’s make this interesting. No academy rules this time. No time limit or boundaries apply, and weapons and ninjutsu are allowed. The first one to hit the ground loses.”

Akira’s eyes lit up with excitement. ”Now you’re talking,” she said, a fierce grin spreading across her face. She reached down, picking up a small stone from the ground. ”When this hits the ground, we begin.”

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the stone high into the air. Both young ninjas tensed, their eyes locked on the falling projectile. As it struck the earth with a soft thud, they exploded into action.

The air crackled with energy as Akira and Kenji clashed, their movements a blur of punches, kicks, and blocks. Kenji found himself being pushed back, Akira’s taijutsu skills proving to be superior to his own.

Realising he couldn’t win in hand-to-hand combat, Kenji leapt back, his hands already forming seals. Akira, anticipating his move, mirrored his actions. Twin fireballs roared to life, colliding in mid-air with a deafening explosion that sent waves of heat washing over the training ground.

As the flames died down, Kenji’s eyes blazed red, the tomoe of his Sharingan spinning into existence. ”I’ll end this with a genjutsu I recently learnt,” he thought, locking eyes with Akira. He baited Akira using a genjustu trap. Akira cornered Kenji and put a kunai on his neck.

But just then a kunai appeared at Akira’s throat from behind, held by real Kenji that materialised behind her.

”I win,” Kenji declared triumphantly as the mirage of fake Kenji disappeared from view.

For a moment, it seemed as though Kenji had succeeded, but Akira’s response was not what he expected. A smile played on her lips as she began to fade away, similar to Kenji’s mirage.

”Think again,” her voice echoed as she disappeared completely.

Kenji’s eyes widened in shock. ”Genjutsu? But when...?”

His question was answered by the cold touch of metal against the back of his neck and the sight that greeted him as he turned his head. Akira stood behind him, a training kunai in her hand, and in her eyes burnt the unmistakable red of the Sharingan.

”You too?” Kenji gasped. ”When? And why didn’t you tell anyone at the meeting?”

Akira’s expression softened slightly as she lowered the kunai. ”I wanted to beat Ryu without relying on the Sharingan,” she explained.

”During our fight, he said something that stuck with me.”

She thought about what Ryu said: ”If life were fair, everyone would have been born with the Sharingan.”

She continued, ”You may have awakened your Sharingan before others, but you clearly don’t know how to use it well. Don’t let your small achievement go to your head. I feel like the way we both are now, we cannot beat Ryu even if we fight him together.”

As Akira turned and walked away from the training grounds, two dark figures emerged from the background who were observing the entire altercation from a concealed position.

”Youngsters are becoming more and more fierce these days,” one of the figures mused. ”At this rate, everyone will surpass us, and we’ll be forgotten.”

A soft chuckle came from the other figure. ”Yes, Sasuke has started walking and running now.”

”You and your big brother complex, Itachi,” the first figure, now revealed to be Shisui, said with a shake of his head. ”It is natural for a kid. Jokes apart, maybe we should tell Fugaku-san about this.”

Itachi nodded, his expression thoughtful. ”Akira wanted to keep this a secret, but we cannot keep something like this hidden. I would let my father decide what to do. Let’s Go”.

Both of them flickered and disappeared.

##PoWeR StOnEs##

If you like the story, please donate powe stones. Your support is what gets this story going.

25+ more Chapters, including 5 free Chapters for everyone, are available to read on patreon. com/PageTurnerPJ.

Keep supporting the story.