Naruto: The Medical Shinobi

Ryu and Kenji were about to face off. Kenji looked at Ryu and confidently declared, "I will not lose to you this time because I have worked too hard this time around."

Ryu sarcastically replied, "Well, congratulations on discovering the importance of hard work. You finally grew up. But remember, hard work alone won't be enough to defeat me. You'll need more than just determination to win this fight." Ryu's words struck a nerve with Kenji.

Giggles could be heard in the background after his sarcastic reply, causing Kenji's face to contort with anger as he struggled to restrain himself from reacting physically.

Even Tanaka sensei sighed watching them argue like that, realising the tension between Ryu and Kenji was escalating. Tanaka sensei thought, "Ryu knows how to rile up his opponents. It's a good skill and can help in real battles as well. Ryu just earned a point for himself, and judging from Kenji's face, Kenji just lost one."

He again explained the rules of this spar: "Listen carefully. Only training weapons are allowed, and no ninjutsu. All of your actions will be evaluated at every step of the exam by the observers. Even if you lose in sparring, you will be graded based on how you performed against your opponent. Even if you lost the match, you could score higher than your opponent."

He decided against banning genjutsu since only Kenji and Ryu possessed the skill, making it unnecessary to exclude it. And as they were fighting each other, there was no need to rule out genjutsu. If they were to fight someone else other than each other, then it would have been unfair for 1st-year students. Even the seniors are not all familiar with genjutsu. Only Ryu and Kenji had shown this particular talent.

Ryu smiled and thought, "So how should I go about this? All in from the start, or should I take my time? Either way, I should not underestimate him. In this world of ninjas, underestimating your opponent is a sure way to get yourself killed. I will go defensive first."

Then he moved forward and extended his hand and said, "No matter who wins, let's give our best."

Kenji glanced around at his clan members observing, and to avoid appearing inadequate in their eyes, he shook hands with Ryu.

Kenji thought about it for a second and said inside his mind, "I am going to give it my all. I have to prove myself in front of my clan and show them what I am capable of." Kenji took a deep breath, ready to face his opponent with determination and focus.

He understood what Ryu was trying to say. He was actually saying not to underestimate him and to use Sharingan this time in this battle. But it also had another meaning for Kenji: "Without your all, you cannot beat me."

"Are you ready?... begin!" Takan-sensei's voice echoed through the arena, signalling the start of the intense showdown between Kenji and Ryu.

The confrontation between Kenji Uchiha and Ryu Hamura gripped the crowd in a tense silence. The fight began slow with only punches and kicks being thrown around, and in just a minute into the fight, both the opponents sped up their assault.

Kenji, determined to emerge victorious, activated his Sharingan a minute into the fight. His eyes gleamed with fierce intensity as he focused on Ryu.

Ryu thought, "That's more like it. It's level-1 sharingan. The lowest tier, but even so, I will have data gathered regarding it for further analysis."

Akira Uchiha, observing from the sidelines, mused, "At least he isn't repeating his previous mistakes of not utilising his Sharingan from the start. However, from the looks of it, even using the Sharingan is not helping him much. I'm wondering how Ryu is keeping up with the Sharingan. You need a lot of fighting experience against Sharingan to be able to do that. Or a sharingan of your own."

Kenji's use of the dojutsu allowed him to anticipate Ryu's movements, and he struck with lightning-fast speed. However, Ryu was not caught off guard. He had been expecting Kenji to use his Sharingan, and he was well-versed in the advantages the Sharingan provides, like the predictive ability and kinetic vision, and he countered with his own mind-accelerating abilities.

- [Acting Mode] activated

He started feeding Kenji's Sharingan false information by micromanaging his facial expression and body language and controlling slight muscle movements before his actual moves.

- [Fast Thinking] activated

- [Parallel Thinking] activated

Ryu's perception time suddenly slowed down, giving Ryu an unfair advantage. Well, it's unfair even if you count one tomoe sharingan, which doesn't even count compared to the versatility Ryu's ability possesses in this level of fights.

Ryu's physical superiority and flexibility in battle also became bad news for Kenji and allowed Ryu to keep up with Kenji's lightning-fast strikes and his sharingan's foresight.

As the fight progressed, the battle shifted from hand-to-hand combat to weapon clashes. Both Kenji and Ryu drew their dulled training weapons, and the sound of clashing steel echoed through the air.

The crowd watched in awe as the two opponents exchanged blows, their movements a testament to their skill and training.

"Are they really first years?" someone asked in amazement.

Kakashi, observing the fight with his advanced 3 Tomoe Sharingan, pointed out to the Third Hokage, "He is always prepared to dodge even before Kenji makes a move, as if he is predicting the future."

The Third Hokage nodded, intrigued by Ryu's abilities. As the battle continued, Ryu's strategic manoeuvres and quick reflexes seemed to give him the upper hand.

Elsewhere, Fugaku Uchiha and his two top ninjas from the younger generation watched the battle unfold. They all noticed the same phenomenon but were not as close as Kenji, so they did not pick up on the false information Ryu was using to deceive the Sharingan.

Only Fugaku Uchiha noticed it after focusing intently for some time with his Sharingan. Being a Sharingan user himself and having extensive experience, even more than Kakashi, he was able to notice what Kakashi could not.

Fugaku thought, "He is faking muscle twitching that comes right before movements. He knows how to fool the Sharingan."

Fugaku smiled, impressed by his strategic prowess. He turned to Shisui Uchiha and asked, "What do you make of this? It appears he's anticipating every move with remarkable precision. It's unusual for someone so young and inexperienced in real battles to possess such foresight."

Shisui replied, "Either he's too experienced in hand-to-hand combat, or he can predict his opponent's moves through subtle signs like small muscle movement, posture, and eye movement, just like the Sharingan can."

 "Or, perhaps, he can really see the future." Itachi said.

Fugaku Uchiha scoffed, "There's no such ability as seeing the future. Fate is set in stone. No one can predict it or change it. Shisui guessed it right. Watch that kid carefully, both of you. You will learn a lot from this fight."

Both Itachi and Shisui Uchiha nodded in agreement.

When Taijutsu and Kenjutsu proved ineffective, Kenji turned to Genjutsu as his next strategy. The Rules did not even mention Genjutsu, so he thought he would take advantage of this loophole. But he still had reservations regarding using genjutsu.

Kenji thought, "Ryu can also use genjutsu, so he must also know how to detect and counter it. Even if I trap him in genjutsu, I would have a very short window."

As the fight continued, Kenji attempted to engage Ryu in a genjutsu battle. He locked eyes with Ryu, trying to trap him in a web of illusions.

Ryu immediately sensed him trying his visual genjutsu; he thought, "Genjutsu!! Didn't he learn anything from our previous battle?"

Ryu broke the genjutsu by disrupting his chakra; he commented, That level of genjutsu will not work on me. You need a stronger will to catch me in a genjutsu. My hold on reality is better than anyone you have ever met." 

Shisui commented, "He encountered a genjutsu attempt very fast. He is good."

Itachi nodded and said, "Not just that; he himself seems to understand the predictive ability of the Sharingan very deeply."

Shisui said, "And his control over his chakra and his body is very good to support his knowledge."

Meanwhile, Kenji was growing increasingly exhausted as he tried every trick in the book, except Ninjutsu, yet he still struggled to land a proper hit on Ryu. However, despite his best efforts, Kenji failed to land a single hit on Ryu, who skilfully evaded every strike with precision. Nothing seemed to work against Ryu, who had been largely defensive until now.

Ryu then smiled and said, "My turn now." 

Kenji lost his footing, creating an opening for Ryu to swiftly throw him to the ground and secure his victory. The crowd erupted in cheers as Takan-sensei declared Ryu the winner. Kenji lay on the ground, panting as Ryu stood over him, his chest heaving with exertion.

Takan-sensei declared, "The winner is… Ryu Hamura."

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