Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: Betting on the Underdog

As Ryu walked into the classroom, he noticed the tense atmosphere and the worried expressions on his classmates’ faces. Ryu took his usual seat and turned to Noboru Nara, asking, ”Why so many long faces?”

Noboru Nara replied, ”Today marks the day of the highly anticipated midterm assessment exam.”

Ryu asked, ”So?”

”Man, this is a drag,” Noboru Nara replied in his typical nonchalant tone, reflecting his casual attitude towards the situation like all Nara Clan members.

Ryu chuckled and replied, ”Don’t worry; I know you have studied for this. You will do just fine.”

Noboru Nara replied, ”Maybe you are not bothered by it because you are smart as well as proficient in hand-to-hand combat. but for others, it’s a pain in the ass. Just look at the faces of your fellows from a civilian background. They are scared that they will be ranked dead last.”

He looked at one of the civilians and continued, ”Just look at them. They look like they are going to shit a brick if someone shouts their name too loud.”

”They are unnecessarily tense,” Ryu remarked, his voice calm and reassuring. ”They will be fine. Even if they lose, they will score better than before. They just need to relax and trust in their abilities.”

Noboru Nara asked, ”What makes you say that?”

”Because I trained them,” Ryu responded.

Noboru said, ”You trained them? I was wondering how they suddenly became a bit better at taijutsu.”

”I drilled the basics into them. Some chakra control exercises and basic stamina improvement exercises,” said Ryu

He continued and said, ”I would have trained you too if you had asked, but I guess you don’t need that.”

Noboru Nara replied, ”I don’t care even if I got last in the class. And man, my family’s training is such a drag; why would I ask for more from you?”

Ryu looked at his lazy face and, understanding his nature and that of all others from the Nara clan, said, ”Fair point.”

Suddenly, the instructor, Hiroshi Tanaka, entered the class. He said, ”Ok, class, take the seat. I will be in charge of your half-yearly evaluation.”

This test mirrored the academy’s entrance exam, including a race followed by a shuriken-throwing test. However, this time, it also included a written test and a duel to evaluate the basics taught and assess combat readiness, with students being ranked again based on their performance in these varied tests.

”First is the written test. Come collect your answer sheets and wait for your papers,” said the instructor, as the students eagerly lined up to receive their test materials.

In the adjacent building, there were many individuals watching the S-Class. It wasn’t uncommon for top ninjas to observe this particular class, the S-class, for potential talents. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was also there watching the exam along with Kakashi Hatake and a few others.

It was a very big hall, and there were many Jonins and a few Chunnins betting on who would come first in the half-yearly test. It was something like a tradition or fun time for those who were not on the mission.

”Ok, my bet for 1st position is on the kid named Ryu. The one with funny hair,” said Might Guy.

Might Guy’s prediction caused a few chuckles among other ninjas. Might Guy’s reputation for always betting on the underdog and his unwavering belief in hard work and determination made him always lose his bets.

Aoba Yamashiro said, ”You always lose these bets because you always bet on the struggling ones. This kid was ranked 15th in the last exam. There is no way he would climb that high even if he improved a lot in the past six months.”

”You don’t see what I see in him,” said Guy.

”And what is that?” Aoba asked.

”I have watched him train many times. From what I can tell, he is a man of focus, commitment, and sheer will.” Guy said.

Aoba said, ”You said that last time too and lost the bet. Focus and commitment without talent can only get you so far.”

Ignoring the chatter, Hiruzen asked Kakashi, ”Try to evaluate Ryu using Sharingan.”

Kakashi nodded. He too wanted to test him and evaluate him.

Ryu got his paper and thought, ”This is very easy.”

Everyone began answering their papers, but in about a minute into the exam, Ryu took another pen and started writing with both hands.

Hiruzen observed Ryu’s impressive multitasking skills and mentally noted it down for his evaluation. It wasn’t an uncommon skill for skilled shinobi. It helps increase hand seal-making speed. The Third himself can write with both his hands.

Hiruzen thought, ”I can do it too, but not as effortlessly as him.”

Others also looked at his skill and were impressed. Kakashi also looked at Ryu’s skill and thought, ”With the Sharingan, I can do it too, but without it, it would be tedious.”

Kakashi knew that mastering such a skill without it would require significant effort and practice. Kakashi made a mental note to work on his multitasking abilities without relying on his sharingan.

After his last encounter with Orochimaru, Kakashi understood the importance of honing his skills to be more versatile in battle. He was determined to push himself.

Aoba, who had a different opinion of Ryu, watched in surprise as Ryu wrote with both hands. He said, ”What the hell. How is he doing that?”

Might Gyu smiled and said, ”Look at him; he has got twice the youth in him.”

Aoba said, ”There is no such thing as twice youth. That was unexpected from an academy student, but that skill is not very rare for exceptional gennins and chunnins.”

”You are right. For faster hand sign weaving, dexterity and superior hand coordination are trained by all ninjutsu specialists, but even they cannot do it like him,” said Asuma Sarutobi, smiling. ”This kid made this ever-so-boring written exam interesting.”

Ryu then stood up and handed his paper to the invigilator and said, ”I am done.”.

After submitting the answer sheet, Ryu joked, ”Are there extra marks for finishing in record timing or for the good handwriting?”

Tanaka’s face twitched, and he replied, ”No, there isn’t. Go back to your seat.”

Might Guy said, ”That should be a record for finishing time. With this, I have the lead on the bet.”

Aoba said, ”Only if his answers are as correct as they were fast.”

Next was the race, which, like before, wasn’t even worth the effort for Ryu. He also again attempted to antagonise Kenji by running just behind him, but in the last lap he overtook him and everyone else.

During the final shuriken throw, which was also easy for Ryu to ace, he had other thoughts. Ryu looked at Kenji and thought, ”I need not make it easy. I can spice up the game.”

He began his shuriken test and exhibited skills on par with the Uchiha clan, which is specialised in shuriken and kunai skills. But slowly he started using very difficult moves, almost impossible for a genin outside of the Uchiha clan.

Ryu used the same move as that of Kenji that had previously been used and took advantage of the colliding shuriken to change trajectory. By calculating using his abilities.

The next test was a chakra measurement that surprised the examiners. The improvement in his chakra volume was also much better than his peers.

The sensor from the Yamanaka Clan member who was evaluating chakra levels for genins thought, ”This is not genin-level chakra. And what’s with this intensity? I need to report this.”

He was already instructed to downplay his results and not say out loud even if he is at the top of the class. Ryu’s chakra was almost double that of other genins of similar age, and also the quality of his chakra was superior to theirs thanks to his Uzumaki and Senju lineage.

After all the tests were over, last was the official spar. To be fair, the pairing was done as per the ranking of the last two tests, excluding the written tests. So that the most physically fit would be paired together.

During the last six months, one more person was giving his all to the training. Due to his hard work, he was able to reach the top of the class just behind Ryu. When the instructor announced the pairing, he had a big smile on his face.

Kenji understood that this spar would truly test his abilities, and he was determined to showcase his skills against Ryu, especially after experiencing defeat in their previous encounters.

”This will be interesting,” said Shisui, one of the most talented chunnin from the Uchiha clan.

Next to him was a Genin from the final year of the academy, whom he brought to watch this exam. He was not much older than Ryu, just about 2 years older, but he was admitted to the academy at 5 years old, which was much less than others, and he got recommended for early promotions multiple times due to him being far superior to his peers, that too without awakening his sharingan.

Showing this talent without the Sharingan also helped him advance faster than expected. He will be graduating the academy soon and will be the youngest by far to do so.

He had noticed him influencing the younger generation of his clan, so he was also very eager to see Ryu Hamura in action.

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