Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 236: Chapter 233: The Enemy’s Retreat

Kaminari’s face was a mask of profound shock and lingering fear as he stared at Ryu. The raw power, the horrifying screams, the sudden, complete healing – it defied everything he knew.

”What the hell was that?” Kohinata’s mind reeled. ”His wounds are completely healed... but how?”

Kaminari blinked, shaking his head slightly, trying to make sense of the monstrous display he had just witnessed. ”What was that killing intent?” The memory of that crushing aura made his skin crawl. ”How can a kid have such intense killing intent? Even Raikage himself doesn’t possess such killing intent, even when he is angry.”

His gaze shifted, following Ryu and then in the direction of the bird, now flying away. ”Who was he speaking to?” The question added another layer to the unsettling mystery.

Kaminari’s thoughts then went to the sudden, masked ninja who had appeared. ”That guy who tried to kill the kid... must be from Root.” The pieces clicked together. ”The kid, or his grandfather... must have done something to anger Danzo.”

A dangerous conviction settled in his mind: ”I need to kill him.”

While assessing the situation and the unpredictable element this boy represented, Kaminari decided to test his state. He channelled lightning chakra, compressing it, and fired a long-range [Lightning Bolt] towards Ryu.

The moment the foreign chakra of the ninjutsu attack came near Ryu, a small, hexagonal shield of chakra shimmered into existence around the boy, automatically activating to protect him. The [ReflexGuard] blocked the [Lightning Bolt].

Kohinata, snapping out of his stunned paralysis when Kaminari attacked Ryu, and he suddenly ran towards Ryu.

Kaminari’s eyes widened slightly. ”This brat,” he thought, a mix of annoyance and grudging respect. ”Even unconscious, those seals are active. A seal that automatically triggers on sensing foreign hostile chakra... clever.”

Kaminari considered launching a direct attack on Ryu again, trying to swiftly incapacitate him while he was vulnerable. But he discarded the idea just as swiftly as Kohinata reached Ryu and knelt beside the unconscious boy to assess his situation. Kohinata gently checked for signs of life, his eyes scanning the impossibly healed body.

”Should I kill him at close range? I can break the shield if I try in close range...” Kaminari thought.

The boy remained a threat, and the automatic shield indicated that he would be too difficult to defeat, particularly in the presence of other ninjas.

”No,” he decided. ”I should also escape now that I have a chance. That Root ninja too chose to run away. The backup he sensed must be formidable, and I cannot afford to engage in a losing battle.”

With a sense of urgency, Kaminari quickly retreated from the scene, leaving the unconscious boy behind.”

Kaminari couldn’t take on multiple Konoha ANBU, especially not in his current state, and certainly not with that masked Root ninja potentially lurking.

”I should escape in that direction, away from River City and Leaf village forces.” Kaminari mentally charted a course that avoided known patrol routes.

With that, Kaminari escaped, moving away from the battlefield in the direction least likely to have any enemy ninjas, leaving behind the unsettling scene of the collapsed, miraculously healed boy and his automatically activating defences.

Elsewhere, in a hidden, underground place within the Land of Rivers not far from where Ryu and Jisatsu Ninjas fought, a few Root ANBU took care of the unconscious Fuu.

Tatsuma Aburame, the vice commander of Root ANBU, arrived, running away from the battlefield. He looked at one of the Root ninjas tending to Fuu. ”Were you able to recover the Jisatsu Seal?” Tatsuma asked. Root was always interested in unique seals and abilities.

The ninja shook his head. ”No,” he replied. ”The enemy ninja exploded into bits before we reached the direction where Fuu had sent us.”

Tatsuma clicked his tongue and thought, ”Why is Fuu taking time to return? The kid is dead. What more is there to spy on?”

Suddenly, Fuu jolted awake, looking scared, his eyes wide behind the simple fabric covering his lower face.

Tatsuma turned towards him. ”What’s with that face? What did you see?”

”That kid...” Fuu’s voice trembled slightly. ”He’s alive.”

Tatsuma showed no emotion on his face, but a small flicker of surprise registered in his voice. ”Not possible,” he stated flatly. ”He was burnt to a crisp. That kid was beyond injured even before I hit him with a paper bomb.”

Tatsuma knew the lethality of his own attack. ”And that paper bomb was stronger than normal.”

Fuu pushed himself up, fear overriding his exhaustion as he spoke, ”While I was spying on the battlefield, posing as the bird, I witnessed all of it.” He met Tatsuma’s gaze. ”That kid... he is dangerous. I haven’t seen anything like it before.”

Tatsuma had seen most of Ryu’s battle remotely from his hiding place – his card tricks, his fuinjutsu, and his superior taijutsu and ninjutsu techniques. He agreed the kid was talented and unpredictable. But there was nothing in that display that would be scary enough to elicit such a reaction from Fuu.

Tatsuma pressed. ”Tell me what you saw after I left.”

Fuu gave a detailed account. Fuu told Tatsuma-sama about the terrifying scene he saw through the bird’s eyes after the paper bomb went off. ”The kid was half-dead.” ”But after you left, he miraculously stood up on broken limbs.”

Fuu shivered, remembering the impossible sight. ”He stared right at me.” Fuu’s voice hitched, remembering the intense gaze through his possessed bird form. ”And he said... he said, Tell him... I survived.”

Fuu looked at Tatsuma and said, ”I think that statement was directed at us.”

He paused, taking a shaky breath. ”The killing intent, sir... it was crushing.” A fresh wave of fear entered his voice. ”And then... his wounds. His burns and cuts began to heal. He screamed as they healed, sir. Like the healing was far more painful than the injuries themselves. The flesh just... knitted back together in tens of seconds.”

Fuu swallowed hard. ”He was like a... monster.”

”So, he survived,” Tatsuma conceded, a rare hint of something akin to grudging respect in his voice. ”It was going to be hard to explain this to Danzo-sensei.”

Tatsuma looked at the other Root subordinates. ”Let’s leave. Both missions were a failure.” He saw the strategic value in their retreat. ”At least we got the info on the kid and his talents. Danzo-sensei will at least want to know why we failed and what kind of anomaly he is.”

Fuu tensed, his sensory abilities detecting something new: powerful chakra signatures approaching rapidly. He reached out with his senses, trying to pinpoint them. But instead of just sensing, his chakra was sensed back, located, scaring him, making him flinch.

”The ANBU fight has ended,” Fuu reported quickly, his voice strained. ”I was sensing them and found there are other strong chakra signatures also, not belonging to ANBU.” He identified them based on their nature or known patterns. ”And they found me sensing them. But... They are now going towards that monster kid, ignoring us for now.”

Tatsuma’s face tilted slightly, processing the information. ”They must be Royal Guards,” Tatsuma confirmed. ”We are leaving now that the Royal Guards are here. It will not end well for us if we stay here any longer.”

With that, Tatsuma and the few Root subordinates left the hidden location, leaving the Land of Rivers for the Leaf Village.

Someplace else, Ryu’s consciousness drifted. The agony of healing, the collapse, the darkness of unconsciousness—it all faded. He opened his eyes.

He found himself in an all-consuming darkness that left him momentarily disoriented. He recognised this place... This was the Celestial Void. The backyard of creation and destruction. Where nothing exists, yet everything exists there. The place where everything starts, including his reincarnation into this ninja life.

There, amidst the infinite darkness and bubbles that contained universes and multiverses in this void, was a familiar figure, the entity Ryu had first met a few years ago as Ken’s soul.

Mr. Beginning was there, waiting, blowing bubbles as if idly passing eternity.

Ryu looked at the entity with a smile of recognition on his face and said, ”I am not dead... Am I?”

Mr. Beginning paused its bubble-blowing and replied, ”No, Mr. William, you are just in a coma after you exhausted every ounce of strength you had.”

He continued, ”When you actually meet your end in this new life, my brother will come to welcome you, and you will know it’s your time.”

”speaking of ends, how is Mr. End doing?” Ryu asked.

”He is doing fine,” Mr. Beginning replied. ”He is enjoying your story as it unfolds.”

Ryu simply replied, ”Good to know.”

He gestured to the space in front of him. With the subtle power of the void, a new chair, a small table, and a chessboard materialised out of the darkness, shimmering into existence. He pointed to the empty chair opposite him. ”Join me in a game.”

A faint, tired smile touched Ryu’s lips. ”It’s good to see you again too,” Ryu said as he sat down facing Mr. Beginning.

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