I lost.
Kakashi slowly exhaled, loosened his grip on the Shuriken, and placed it back into his Ninja tool pouch.
Ren also put down his Kunai, squatted down, and began to assess the Chakra consumption within his body.
Outside the arena, there was a deathly silence.
Kakashi... lost?!
Jiraiya stared at Kakashi, who had admitted defeat in the arena, his face filled with surprise.
Who is this kid? I've never heard of him. The other day, when I saw Ren and Kana Maiko looking so familiar, I thought he was Kana Maiko's relative, a Medical Ninja intern arranged to train at the hospital.
Earlier, listening to Obito and the others talking, they and Kakashi must have been classmates. The battle between two seven-year-old children would probably make even a Chunin feel ashamed.
"Ren... won?"
Kurenai's red eyes widened, and she rushed towards the two in the arena with Rin.
"Kakashi, are you alright with your injuries?"
After checking his own body, Ren stood up and walked closer to Kakashi, his gaze fixed on Kakashi's still bleeding left arm. Blood was continuously flowing out, staining his entire arm red and soaking into his clothes, making it look a bit frightening.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be asking me if I'm okay here; I'd be finding me a Medical Ninja."
Kakashi rolled his eyes after hearing Ren's reply, returning to his usual dead-fish-eyed expression.
"No need to be so troublesome. Turn your body around, and face the wound towards me."
Ren looked at Kakashi helplessly, then said with annoyance.
"Hmm? What are you going to do?"
Although Kakashi was very confused, he still obediently turned his body sideways and aimed the wound at Ren.
"Don't talk, just watch."
Ren raised his palm, brought it close to the wound, and channelled the remaining Chakra in his body to his palm. Immediately, a green glow covered Kakashi's wound.
A miraculous scene unfolded: the bleeding from the wound slowly decreased until it stopped, and then it began to heal gradually.
"Healing Technique?!"
Kurenai and Rin, who had walked closer to Ren and Kakashi, recognised the green glow emanating from Ren's hand, and Rin exclaimed in surprise.
Although Healing Technique is not as rare and difficult to learn as Mystical Palm Technique, it is a standard Ninjutsu for general Medical Ninja. Ren actually knew how to use Medical Ninjutsu.
"Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, it seems this kid is a versatile genius who develops in all aspects... Losing to this kid doesn't seem too unfair."
Jiraiya thought, his expression frozen, as he watched Ren intently treating Kakashi not far away.
"Whew."
Ren withdrew his Chakra, dispelled the Healing Technique from his hand, looked at the now scabbed wound, wiped a thin layer of sweat from his forehead, and turned to look at Kurenai.
"Kurenai, there's a bandage in my backpack. Could you please help me find it?"
"Oh... oh, okay."
Kurenai, who had come back to her senses, searched Ren's backpack for a moment and found the bandage, then prepared to hand it to Ren, but Rin took it.
Rin took the bandage, walked to Kakashi's side, and began to wrap the bandage around Kakashi while explaining.
"Let me handle this small matter. Ren, you should rest for a bit. After all, I'm also aiming to be a Medical Ninja."
Hearing Rin's reply, Ren nodded and no longer forced himself. He leaned against a tree and began to recover his Chakra; the previous treatment had completely drained the last bit of Chakra from his body.
There was none left, not a single drop.
"I'm fine, Kurenai. It's just that my Chakra is depleted. I'll be fine after I rest for a while."
Ren recovered his Chakra while looking at Kurenai, who stood beside him, watching him with a worried expression. He forced a smile to reassure Kurenai, then turned his head to the other side.
"Lord Jiraiya, about this bet... what do you say?"
Jiraiya looked at Ren, who hadn't forgotten the bet even in his current state, and flung his head back.
"I know, I know. How could I, Lord Jiraiya, not keep my word? Tell me what you want to learn, but it's limited to what I know and common Ninjutsu. Don't even think about advanced Ninjutsu; you wouldn't be able to learn them even if I taught you."
"I want to learn the Summoning Technique and contract with Lord Jiraiya's toads."
Ren knew that Jiraiya was telling the truth and said without hesitation.
"Summoning Technique and Summoning Beasts?"
Jiraiya looked at Ren strangely, then began to ponder.
Ren nervously watched Jiraiya. Aside from Summoning Beasts, other common Ninjutsu wouldn't provide much of a combat power boost for him. If this path didn't work, he would only be able to consider Orochimaru's Ryuchi Cave contract.
"Okay, I agree."
Upon hearing Lord Jiraiya's reply, Ren maintained a calm demeanour, but his heart was already ecstatic.
"Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."
Ren straightened his body and bowed deeply to Jiraiya.
"Tomorrow is Friday, right? I'll wait for you at the Ninja School entrance tomorrow at noon to teach you the Summoning Technique and take you to Mount Myōboku to get acquainted."
After speaking, Jiraiya yawned lazily and then left directly.
"Ren, you want to learn Summoning Technique and Summoning Beasts?"
"Yes, Uncle Sakumo."
Hearing the question from behind, Ren turned his head and respectfully replied to Sakumo.
Sakumo pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"That's good too. The Summoning Beast clan that Jiraiya has a contract with is one of the three Great Sage regions for Summoning Beasts. If you contract with them, it's like having an additional powerful ally."
After speaking, Sakumo handed the short blade that had fallen to the centre of the arena to Kakashi.
"You didn't lose unfairly this time. I can tell that your strengths are similar, but Ren's combat awareness is stronger than yours. Also, a swordsman should always have his sword by his side, no matter what. Don't get arrogant just because you became a Chunin, Kakashi."
While admonishing Kakashi, Sakumo was also very surprised. To grow to such an extent from an ordinary Ninja School student in two years, without the resources and guidance of parents, everything could only be fought for by himself. This child must have endured a lot of hardship behind the scenes...
"Yes, Father."
Kakashi took the short blade and reinserted it into the sheath behind him, his gaze shifting to Ren.
"Ren, you are very strong, but next time, I definitely won't lose."
"No problem, I'm ready anytime."
Ren nodded with a smile.
"Then Kurenai and I will take our leave. See you tomorrow, Obito and Rin. Goodbye, Uncle Sakumo, I'll visit another day. Oh, and Kakashi, don't remove your bandage for the next two days. That Kunai of yours was quite vicious; it hurt your bone a bit. Keep it bandaged for two days, and don't do any strenuous activity with that arm during that time. In a couple of days, go to the hospital and have a doctor check when it's appropriate to remove it. After all, I'm not a professional yet. All right, goodbye."
Ren, who had just finished greeting everyone and was about to leave with Kurenai, suddenly remembered something. He turned back and left a few more instructions for Kakashi, then departed gracefully with Kurenai.
"This guy..."
Kakashi watched Ren walk away, his dead-fish eyes slightly raised, then drooped weakly again.
"Kakashi..."
Rin and Obito looked at Kakashi beside them, their eyes filled with worry. Kakashi had been recognised as a genius by everyone since childhood, never having lost, and even on missions, he was unparalleled. They hoped this wouldn't leave any negative impact on him.
"I'm fine, Rin, Obito." Kakashi's expression was normal; he didn't show any significant negative emotions from losing.
It seems I've been a bit complacent. I won't lose next time, Ren!
................
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