Ninja Gamer

Chapter 18: Descending into the Bloody Mist

"Dammit!" Naruto-kun cursed as he tried again to create an illusionary clone only for it to come out looking rather weak and feeble. "Why can't I get this right?"

I smiled encouragingly at him. "Well, I guess that means you're just not that good with fine chakra control," I told him comfortingly. "I'll try asking Sarutobi-sama if he knows any other clone techniques you can learn."

Naruto-kun pouted a bit in response. "But... I don't want to disappoint you with not being able to learn your techniques..." he admitted reluctantly, not meeting my eyes.

"Naruto-kun, you would never disappoint me, I saw you putting in your every effort to learn everything I tried to teach you," I assured him. "Even if you can't learn my techniques, that just means you must create your own."

Naruto-kun blushed a bit before nodding. "Then I'll make the best damn jutsu you will ever see!" he declared proudly making me smile cheerfully at him.

"I know you will," I assured him with a chuckle. "How about you work on splitting the leaf for now while I help the others with their training?"

Naruto-kun nodded eagerly before running over to one of the trees in the Uchiha training ground and running up it to grab a leaf to do his Wind Nature Manipulation training.

Looking away, I grinned at Sasuke who was working on igniting a leaf with his fire chakra, managing to get some wisps of smoke emanating for it, my eyes came to a rest on the pink hair of Sakura as she walked into the training field. "Ah, good morning, Sakura-chan," I greeted her cheerfully, getting a somewhat nervous smile from her. "Ready to continue your training?"

"Yes, Yuriko-sensei," Sakura-chan confirmed, her face becoming determined. "What are we working on today?"

I smirked at her a bit before tossing her a wooden kodachi. "Self-defense," I told her firmly. "Being able to heal your allies is all well and good, but, it is of no use if they are getting killed by nearby enemies while you are trying to avoid getting hurt."

Sakura-chan stared at the wooden blade in her hand for several moments before meeting my firm gaze with a small gulp, letting out a firm breath she settled herself and tried to mimic my stance. Humming, I looked her over carefully, making adjustments to her stance, changing her grasp minutely. "Alright, step and swing, maintaining the stance," I instructed, watching her carefully. "Once you have swung, step back into the proper stance."

I made a slow slash of my own, giving her an example as to what it should look like. "Don't worry about doing it quickly at first, take your time, and you will gradually speed up a bit," I told her gently. "Don't worry about messing up, I'm not expecting perfection."

Sakura-chan nodded before following my orders. "Um... what about Tsunade-sama's rules for Iryo-nin to avoid fighting?" she questioned nervously, slowly going through the motions of the slash.

"Do you know how many actually listen to that?" I questioned dryly. "Iryo-nin developed their own fighting style for a reason. While I will always defer to Tsunade with medical matters, many of us refuse to allow our skills as shinobi to falter simply because we wish to heal our comrades. Sometimes, however, the only way we can save lives, is to take them."

Sakura-chan swallowed tightly at my admission. "So... you don't follow the rules? But... aren't they the... well... rules?" she asked nervously.

I snorted in response. "They are not the ironclad rules of the Iryo-nin," I told her firmly. "While I admit many do join the medical corps because they dislike fighting, but still wish to aid their comrades, but, like with two different taijutsu masters of differing styles, every Iryo-nin is different. The best example would be myself and Tsunade; I am fully dedicated to being a combat medic, I will fight beside my comrades to ensure their health. Tsunade is a support medic, she fights at the rear lines, dealing with the serious injuries that us front liners can't deal with without distracting us from dangerous enemies."