Neji's Challenge: I'm a Medical Ninja, You Know!

He turned it into nourishment and fused it perfectly with himself, directly gaining the other person's Kekkei Genkai.

Moreover, influenced by Shisui Uchiha's vast Chakra, he had directly acquired the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Still, the Uchiha Clan..."

He deactivated his Sharingan.

Chiya Rikuto looked in the direction of the Uchiha Clan, unable to suppress a sigh of regret.

As a transmigrator, he knew the Uchiha Clan's fate all too well.

Ever since the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha eight years ago, Konoha's higher-ups, who had already been suspicious of the Uchiha Clan, had continually suppressed them.

As a result, the Uchiha clan members had grown increasingly resentful of Konoha's higher-ups.

Two years ago, the Uchiha Clan's hardliners had already grown impatient and attempted to seize power by starting a civil war.

The Uchiha Clan had intended to make Shisui Uchiha, a prodigy of astonishing talent who had earned the name "Shisui of the Body Flicker" at a young age, a major fighting force in their rebellion. His death had caught them somewhat off guard, forcing them to postpone the rebellion for two years.

By now, the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's higher-ups had intensified to the point where it seemed irreconcilable.

Barring any surprises, the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out within the next few days.

"Forget it. Everyone should mind their own business... Luckily, school lets out for the holidays in a couple of days, so I won't have to attend class. I'll have time to take it slowly and see if I can extract Senjutsu Chakra!"

Looking at the gradually rising sun,

Chiya Rikuto stretched his limbs.

He wasn't an Uchiha anyway, so he had nothing to worry about.

Those arrogant, stubborn Uchiha who were immersed in their clan's former glory really weren't very likable either.

"Whoosh..." He made a light leap.

He picked up the books he had left in the tree earlier and darted toward the ninja school.

Apart from the textbooks issued by the school, there were three books he had borrowed from the library.

They were An Introduction to Puppet Techniques, Basic Skills for Puppet Masters, and Puppet Design and Construction.

The Puppet Technique was a school said to have been founded by the Second Kazekage of the Land of Wind.

During the three past Ninja World Wars, Suna Village's ingenious Puppet Techniques and their puppets' hard-to-guard-against mechanisms had inflicted heavy casualties on Konoha.

Konoha had therefore made a special study of Suna Village's Puppet Techniques.

But because its related skills lagged behind, the puppets it produced were far inferior in both intricacy and agility to those of Suna, which had pioneered the puppet school...

Using half-baked Puppet Techniques against Suna Village's ninja in battle was like showing off one's skills before an expert.

As time passed, the puppet school had never truly managed to develop in Konoha.

Chiya Rikuto was indeed somewhat interested in Puppet Techniques and intended to spend some time studying them.

Of course, he didn't intend to actually become a puppet master or anything of the sort.

After all, as a user of the Logia-type Woods-Woods Fruit, devoting himself wholeheartedly to becoming a Puppet Master would be getting his priorities backward.

It was just that, for now, he didn't want to expose his Wood Release too early and attract certain people's covetous attention and suspicion.

Among the ninjutsu scrolls left behind by his father, Chiya Kawasuke, aside from the more advanced Shadow Clone and Body Flicker Technique,

There were also a few low-level Fire Release techniques.

But there were no other, more powerful ninjutsu.

Purely out of personal interest, he planned to study Puppet Techniques a little.

He could also use them to train his Chakra control.

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Chapter 3: Neji's Challenge: I'm a Medical Ninja, You Know!

At this time,

The previously quiet village gradually grew noisy.

Pedestrians came and went along the streets.

Stalls of all sizes lined both sides, and vendors' cries filled the air.

Time was the most merciless force. Eight years had passed,

And some villagers had gradually begun to recover from the nightmarish night of the Nine-Tails attack.

Then a blond-haired child with six whisker marks on his face came dashing out like a gust of wind, playfully causing trouble as he leaped across the vendors' stalls...

"Woo-hoo!"

"Naruto, you again!"

"Stop right there!"

"Damn brat, stop running if you've got the guts!"

"Idiots, come and catch me!"

Happening to witness the scene,

Chiya Rikuto smiled faintly as he passed by.

He pushed off with his feet again, launching himself into the air.

He moved and leaped from rooftop to rooftop,

At a fairly brisk pace,

Heading for the ninja school.

He had naturally recognized the boy.

The so-called Child of Destiny, the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, the reincarnation of the Chakra of Ashura Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths' younger son, and one of the two protagonists who would stand at the pinnacle of the future ninja world... Naruto Uzumaki!

But he had no intention of going over just to greet him.

The boy's identity was far too sensitive, after all.

Just as Chiya Rikuto arrived at the school gates,

A gray figure came speeding toward him upside down, like a whirlwind.

"Hey, morning, Rikuto!"

The sweat-drenched figure jumped to his feet.

Paying no attention to the strange, contemptuous looks from the people around him, he greeted Chiya Rikuto enthusiastically.

He wore a gray training outfit, had black bowl-cut hair, and very thick eyebrows.

He looked particularly comical.

"Lee!"

Chiya Rikuto smiled and nodded.

Among the students at the ninja school,

Rock Lee was the person he admired most, without exception.

Ordinary people really couldn't match the near-suicidal intensity of his training.

He really had no idea what kind of strange constitution Lee had.

Honestly, anyone else training like that would have broken their body long ago.

"Phew... phew... It's another beautiful day! I've run ten whole laps around Konoha today!" Lee shook off his sweat, gave Chiya Rikuto a thumbs-up, and flashed his gleaming white teeth.

Because he lacked talent for controlling Chakra to use ninjutsu and couldn't learn any ninjutsu or genjutsu,

He was naturally subjected to discrimination and ridicule at the ninja school, and was even shunned and ostracized by his classmates.

But Chiya Rikuto was the sole exception.

Not only had he never mocked Lee, he had encouraged him time and again.

That had strengthened Lee's belief that even without ninjutsu, he could become a true ninja using taijutsu alone.

Rikuto was one of the few good friends he had at the ninja school.

Unfortunately, although Rikuto often trained with him, building their strength and practicing taijutsu together,

And had even taken the trouble to treat the various injuries Lee sustained in his daily training on many occasions,

Sadly, his good friend couldn't be as passionate as he was every morning, embracing his youth and running around Konoha Village for exercise.

Lee found that quite regrettable.

"Ten laps..."

Hearing that, Chiya Rikuto couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Konoha was quite large, and a single lap took a good deal of time.

Not to mention that, after hearing a suggestion Rikuto had once casually made, this guy often ran all the way around Konoha on his hands instead of his feet, in addition to his regular running.

Heaven knew what time this guy got up. Doing it for a day or two was one thing, but he pushed himself this hard every day and ran so many laps.

Yet Lee, who was only nine, had managed it.

His tenacious willpower was truly admirable.

"Hmph, a dead last will always be a dead last. No amount of effort will change that..."

A cold snort sounded.

A figure in a kimono arrived at the school gates.

He had long black hair, a gray bandage tied around his forehead, and an expressionless face.

Surprisingly, his eyes were pure white.

"Morning, Neji!"

Chiya Rikuto greeted him with a smile.

Although Neji looked neat and tidy,

He didn't seem particularly energetic.

His bandaged hands, much like Lee's, moved a little awkwardly.

He had most likely been working hard at high-intensity training as well.

"Neji, I'll definitely beat you in our next taijutsu match!"

Lee wasn't discouraged. Instead, he fixed his burning gaze on Neji Hyuga and shouted, "I'll prove that even a dead last can surpass a genius through his own hard work!"

"Then I'll be waiting!"

Neji Hyuga's tone remained unchanged.

His gaze was full of fighting spirit as he looked at Chiya Rikuto. "I'm looking forward to the day you use your full strength and face me in a fair fight, Rikuto!"

He always had the feeling that whenever Chiya Rikuto fought him,

Rikuto appeared to be going all out, but was holding something back.

That put him under considerable pressure and made him train even harder.

"I've gone all out every time..."

As if he hadn't picked up on what Neji was implying,

Chiya Rikuto looked at Neji Hyuga before him and said earnestly, "It can't be helped. The Hyuga Household's Gentle Fist isn't like ordinary Strong Fist. Fighting you at close range is too limiting, and I can't afford to let my guard down for even a moment!"

"Besides, I'm a medical ninja! All I need to do is stay in the back and let my teammates protect me!"

"When it comes to fighting, it isn't my turn yet!"

He couldn't very well say,

If I got serious,

You wouldn't be able to withstand even a single move, would you?