Red Nara

Collapsing to the ground, I narrowly missed a powerful blow aimed at my head and attempted to strike at the opponent's knee cup, but due to the overhead blow to the head, I had to urgently retreat and break the distance, avoiding another lunge, now aimed at the lower part of the torso.

Because of the obvious difference in height and speed, I had to be especially cautious and calculate the most probable tactics that would work even with insufficient limb length. For now, only the natural flexibility of a child's skeleton, combined with the hellish training from grandpa, along with the good reflexes and endurance of an Uzumaki, saved me.

But even so, my lower lip was split within minutes of starting, my left arm still felt numb from the strike to the ulnar nerve, and my legs tingled from blocking powerful blows, which would surely result in a fair amount of bruises later on.

Shaking my injured arm once again to restore sensitivity faster and trying to ignore the needles seemingly digging into my flesh, I directed even more chakra to strengthen the muscles of my limbs and with one swift motion found myself next to the opponent, raining down a hail of blows.

However, this turned out to be a bad decision, as I constantly ran into blocks and barely dodged counterattacks. Timing the moment, I dodged a strike aimed at my abdomen and, taking advantage of the brief pause, managed to push off the ground and deliver a knee strike to the ribs with all my strength, followed by a kick to the pelvic bone before jumping back.

However, the landing was a bit unsuccessful, and for a moment I lost my balance, allowing the opponent to get within striking distance. Accepting the fist aimed at my solar plexus with crossed palms, I was pushed back and almost toppled onto my back.

But I managed to dodge the overhead kick to where my stomach had been just a split second ago, although it didn't help much — due to constant intense pressure and gradually accumulating fatigue, I didn't immediately notice the side blow to the head, only managing to turn and expose my forehead instead of my temple. Oops.

That was the last thought before consciousness was knocked out of me.

"...Ryu! Ryu! Wake up! Ryu-kun! How are you feeling?!" an anxious voice reached me through the fog enveloping my consciousness.

"Ugh!" I squeezed out and opened my eyes, trying to sit up from the ground, but the sudden movement resulted in a sudden dizziness and darkening vision.

"Ryu-chan!"

In the concerned voice, I finally recognized Ma and opened my eyes again, weakly waving my hand, no longer attempting to get into a vertical position.

"That was quite a hit!" I groaned, trying to get rid of the dark spots in my eyes. "Just... a little break... until I get back in shape."

"Maybe I should take you to the medical-nin?" Saya asked, still looking worriedly at me.

"Nah, it'll pass on its own," I waved her off. "I'll also get a little rest, since I'm already getting tired."

"Alright, if you say so," Nara sighed, knowing my stubbornness. "But still, I think I should hold back and not fight at full strength. You just turned five recently, and throwing full-power strikes, I could easily damage internal organs or break bones if you don't manage to dodge in time."

"I'm already at a level where I infuse my muscles with enough chakra so that nothing fatally dangerous happens," I shrugged, still lying down — the dizziness had passed, but it's better not to risk unnecessarily. "Besides, you avoid hitting vulnerable points, like the neck or spine, so nothing a good medical-nin can't fix threatens me."

"Oh, Ryu-chan, you're just as stubborn as my otosan; maybe it's hereditary," Ma sighed and sat down next to me, arranging me on her lap.

Not saying anything to that, I just smiled and closed my eyes, relaxing, trying not to pay attention to the dull pain of my battered body.