Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 229: Chapter 226: Ryu vs Kaminari

Ryu again used more cards, throwing them in a scattered pattern. The cards exploded like smoke bombs, covering the area in smoke again, shrouding the remaining enemies.

This time the enemy leader, Kaminari, didn’t hesitate like his subordinates. The covered smoke made his men hesitant to throw any long-range jutsu or weapons, fearing friendly fire. Kaminari also knew that his men hesitated to throw long-range jutsu or weapons due to the covered smoke, fearing friendly fire. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

”How much harder is it for these idiots to subdue an academy brat?” Kaminari must have thought those words with contempt in his mind. He used his senses to locate Ryu inside the smoke-covered area and jumped at him, a blur of motion in the haze.

Kaminari punched at Ryu with a lightning-enhanced fist but was met with resistance. A hexagonal shield from the [Reflex Guard] automatically formed, blocking his punch. The shield broke but saved Ryu. Kaminari tried again, but this time Ryu avoided it, dodging to the side instead of relying solely on the barrier.

”This brat is good,” Kaminari thought, surprised by the combination of the unexpected shield and the kid’s agility. ”I have never seen an academy brat use fuinjutsu this well. His grandfather must have started teaching him early.I need to capture this brat alive.”

Kaminari thought further, ”But he is clearly underestimating me if he thinks a flimsy shield is enough to stop me.”

Infusing more lightning chakra, Kaminari forcefully punched through the shield tile, shattering the hexagonal construct with sheer power.

Ryu jumped back, avoiding Kaminari’s punch that had shattered the shield. He rolled a few times before getting on his feet.

”He is strong,” Ryu thought, assessing Kaminari’s power. He processed Kaminari’s capabilities instantly. ”If I think I can beat him, I am fooling myself. Best I can do is defend myself. Even then I am not sure. I will be safe. I need to stay away from him for as long as I can and finish others first. I will keep myself in air or in smoke.”

Ryu then used a [Smoke Card], the small explosion adding to the existing haze, and used the cover it provided and his swift movements to disappear from Kaminari’s sight, melting into the smoke. Ryu used [Reflex Guard – Trampoline] a few times on the other side of the smoke very quickly, jumping rapidly from one platform to the next and putting distance between himself and Kaminari.

Moving silently over the other areas covered by the smoke using his [Infrared Vision] and [Peripheral Awareness] to track the scattered enemies, Ryu grabbed hold of one of the remaining Genin, taking him down quickly and silently with a swift incapacitating blow. As the ninja collapsed, a kunai hit him in the head due to friendly fire, and the seal on his nape glowed with an ominous light.

”Shit”, Ryu thought. The Jisatsu Seal was going to explode as the enemy died.

Ryu crossed his arms and executed a slight jump backward just before the blast, strategically using the force to propel himself further away from the explosion. When Ryu crossed his arms, bracing himself, he activated his barriers, pouring chakra into the [Reflex Guard] seal he wore, creating a defensive shell around himself.

As The hexagonal shields absorbed the force of the blast that erupted, they cracked under the pressure. Ryu replaced those cracked shields by forming new ones behind the cracked ones. All this happened in slow motion for Ryu.

The scene shifted back to real time. The residual force of the explosion knocked Ryu off his feet and sent him flying through the air. He flipped many times before finally stopping, landing heavily but alive. The explosion seal had been particularly powerful, utilising all the chakra the ninja had before his death, amplifying the blast. Thus, the explosion was much bigger compared to regular paper bombs, but since Ryu was some safe distance away and he had perfect shields, he was mostly safe.

Before Ryu could even fully regain his balance after the explosion, Kaminari suddenly appeared in front of him, travelling the distance at a speed that was significantly faster than that of typical ninjas. Kaminari wasn’t anywhere near as fast as the Fourth Raikage, but he was still terrifyingly quick. Kaminari’s fist coiled back, crackling with intense lightning chakra, the aura expanding around his body – his [Lightning Chakra Mode], the armour Kaori had described.

Ryu reacted instantly, his body moving on instinct, showcasing his quick reflexes in combat. He brought his arm up, channelling chakra into his [ReflexGuard] seal, preparing to punch back.

Ryu had modified the standard [ReflexGuard - Jackhammer] for greater impact; instead of a series of densely packed layers of compact hexagonal shields forming in the air in front of his fists, it now forms hollow hexagonal shields around his forearms, fitting more like thick bracelets. The modification raised the density of the pack, allowing for more compression and expansion, which boosted the jackhammer’s raw power while also making it appear cool.

When Ryu’s Jackhammer expanded, his fist encased in the shimmering, multi-layered micro-barrier shield met Kaminari’s lightning-infused punch head-on; the impact was immense. A shockwave was generated, a violent ripple of force that pushed outwards in the battlefield, surprising everyone who saw it.

The collision momentarily held Ryu and Kaminari in place, with the crackling lightning and chakra armour visually towering over Ryu.

”My knuckles,” Kaminari thought in pain. ”Just where in the hell did this monster kid come from?”

Ryu’s jackhammer did some damage, enough to feel the pain in his fists. On the other side of the battlefield, Kohinata’s and the secretary’s jaws were wide open in astonishment at the sheer force the Ryu had generated.

”He first dealt with the weak ones in the smoke before confronting the strong ones,” Kohinata thought, processing the sequence of events. ”He can use those strange exploding cards and those smoke-bomb-like cards very well. He is clearly a very good strategist.”

Then his thoughts turned grim. ”But it’s not enough to beat Kaminari. He is very strong, and that armour is difficult to deal with. I am not confident I can break it without using a strong wind attack.”

Ryu was also surprised to see this armour up close—the crackling lightning and the sheer density of the chakras.

”Shit,” Ryu thought, looking at Kaminari. ”Is that the lightning armour of Raikage?”

Ryu rapidly processed the visual data in his mind, searching for any weakness in the jutsu. ”No, it’s not,” he denied the initial thought. ”It’s just a poor copy of it. He is not as fast as him; I can still see him move clearly. Still, I need to end the fight fast.”

Ryu assessed his capabilities against Kaminari’s armoured form. ”Unless I use Senju-style taijutsu, his raw strength is superior to mine. But using that now would reveal a crucial ability. I should not use it, as I would lose the element of surprise.”

A different strategy formed. ”I need to taunt him into making a mistake and hit him with full force when he’s open and very close to me. If he realises the full extent of my abilities, he will not close the distance from me again.”

Ryu knew his limited long-range options were a weakness against Kaminari if the leader decided to keep his distance. ”I don’t have many long-range jutsus except for these cards and a few others that probably will have no effect on him unless i want to use the seal i don’t want to use.”

Ryu looked at Kaminari and taunted him, his voice carrying clearly across the distance, ”You are slow.”

”Ohh boy,” All the watching enemies who heard him thought.

Ryu’s words struck a nerve, causing Kaminari’s eyes to widen as the crackling lightning surrounding him appeared to surge with increased ferocity. Anger, sharp and sudden, flashed in his gaze. Ryu smiled, knowing he had succeeded in provoking him further. Kaminari was sensitive about his speed; wherever he went, he heard that he lacked speed compared to the original lightning armour, even after achieving so much with his copy of the armour.

Kohinata and the secretary, watching from behind Ryu, understood his intention to provoke a reaction. ”He’s trying to make him angry, make him reckless,” Kohinata thought. However, Kohinata was worried. ”Is it wise to provoke someone like him? One mistake will end Ryu.”

They knew Ryu was exceptionally skilled for his age—maybe even surpassing Genin and Chunin—but Jonin, like Kaminari, was too much for him now.

Although Kaminari replicated elements of the Raikage’s Lightning Armour, his version lacked the incredible speed associated with the Fourth Raikage’s lightning armour. Achieving that level of speed required a very high level of physical endurance and compatibility with lightning chakras simultaneously, combined with years of specialised training focused solely on body enhancement from the inside out. Kaminari just used augmentation on his skin to achieve his copy of the armour.

”Brat,” Kaminari snarled, his voice low and dangerous, the lightning around him crackling louder, ”you just dug your own grave.”

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