Chapter Five: Physical Techniques Ninja (Part 2)

This battle, too, could be described as a swift victory.

"Aizawa-sensei."

"Ah, yes."

At the reminder from Kenji Nakamura, Aizawa, the Chunin instructor, finally snapped out of his daze. He hurried to the training field, conducted an inspection, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Might Guy had merely lost consciousness; there was no life-threatening danger.

The final blow earlier, Kenji had held back. He couldn't bring himself to strike his fellow comrade so hard.

"Kenji-kun, even though I don't know when you acquired such a powerful Raiton jutsu, I must remind you that this technique is not meant for use against allies," Aizawa called out. He signaled the medical team and then warned Kenji.

"I understand, Aizawa-sensei." Kenji nodded obediently. It was his first time displaying his true strength, and he had a hard time holding back. Otherwise, Guy wouldn't have fallen unconscious.

The medical team arrived again to take care of Might Guy.

"Ninja graduation exam, second round, first match. Winner: Kenji Nakamura," announced Aizawa-sensei.

As Kenji returned to the group of students, everyone involuntarily moved away from him. He couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed he had been too heavy-handed today. He had knocked out two opponents in a row. While he felt fine about Kurenai, Might Guy's condition was truly difficult to look at, and his injuries would probably take a while to heal.

"Kenji, you really went too hard on Guy," Obito said when walking up to him. Despite having bruises all over himself, Obito immediately came to Guy's defense.

"Let's go check on Guy's condition."

Rin was already by Guy's side, and medical ninjas were tending to his wounds.

"While Guy does look quite battered, his injuries aren't as bad as they look, and they are all external wounds. He should recover in a few days," Rin explained. After receiving some formal medical training, she could accurately assess Guy's condition.

"It's all Kenji's fault for hitting Guy so hard," Obito repeated once more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hold back with the final blow," Kenji quickly apologized. He had indeed been a bit reckless. He had focused on using his true strength against Guy and hadn't considered the opponent's endurance.

"However, giving your all in a fight is a form of respect for your opponent. Do I need to hold back when fighting you, Obito?" Kenji countered, reminding Obito that in a real battle, holding back wasn't a given.

"I..."

Kenji's point was easy to understand. Nobody would want their opponent not to take them seriously.

"Using 30% of my actual power would be enough to defeat you. Or should I say, I'll go all out in our next fight? Which one would you prefer?" Kenji's retort was met with understanding from Obito.

"When will Guy wake up?"

"He's not in serious condition. He should wake up within an hour. However, causing your opponent to suffer like this in the graduation exam is quite rare," a medical ninja treating Guy's injuries commented.

Kenji felt even worse about what happened.

After the second round, with both Kenji and Kai injuring each other, only Kenji and Rin, the surviving members of the Four-Person Group, remained. At this point, both of their scores had entered the top eight of the class rankings.

Next, in the third round's third match, after facing Might Guy, Kenji once again encountered Rin Nohara.

"Don't forget what you just said – giving it your all is a sign of respect for your opponent," Rin told Kenji on the training field.

This had to be karma. Over there, Obito Uchiha was keeping a close watch on him. If Kenji used the same level of force as in the previous round, Obito would likely intervene immediately.

Kenji decisively raised his hand and addressed the instructor, Aizawa-sensei. "Aizawa-sensei, I used up all my chakra during my match against Guy, so I forfeit this round."

"You..." Aizawa-sensei was about to reprimand Kenji but hesitated. Kenji might be telling the truth this time. Given Kenji's age, being able to utilize a chakra nature transformation like Raiton was a rare feat. Perhaps Kenji had indeed exhausted his chakra with that technique.

"Understood," Aizawa-sensei nodded at Kenji, agreeing to the forfeiture. He then announced loudly, "In the third round of the graduation exam, Kenji Nakamura forfeits. Rin Nohara wins without fighting."

In reality, Kenji was sure with his performances in the first two matches, he had already secured his graduation. Hence, he had no need to fight against Rin. So, he ignored Rin's gaze and quickly left the training field.

Was his chakra truly depleted? Of course not, he had plenty of chakra left. In fact, Kenji's chakra capacity was considered excellent among his peers. However, due to the lack of a proper benchmark, he couldn't accurately determine his own chakra level. But based on his physical abilities and mental energy, his chakra capacity was quite decent.

In fact, Kenji had another technique when it came to chakra usage: precise chakra control. Typically, when using ninjutsu, a portion of chakra would be wasted. However, Kenji was an exception. Through precise control, he could save 30-60% of his chakra compared to an average ninja when using the same jutsu.

Compared to A-rank skills or S-rank innate talents, this "Abilitie" was the foundation of Kenji's existence in the world of shinobi.

In the next round of the graduation exam, Rin Nohara's lucky streak came to an end. In the following battle, she was defeated by Takeshi. Kenji's expectations hadn't been wrong. In this practical assessment, the passing rate for the First Division students was high. Even Obito Uchiha graduated successfully, let alone Kenji Nakamura.

This meant that they had all graduated. Soon, they would be heading to war.

Unlike during times of peace, when teams were formed by dividing the class, during wartime, newly graduated ninjas would be added to existing squads with shortages. This meant that the composition of squads varied, with some having two members, others one, and hardly any having three.

For instance, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha were assigned to the same squad, which meant they would be added to a two-member team. On the other hand, Kenji Nakamura and Might Guy were in separate squads, indicating they would be added to three-member teams.

However, Kenji's estimation was off. Almost all new graduates would be deployed to the battlefield. But he was an exception – he wasn't assigned to any frontline team and wasn't headed to the battlefield. He would have to stay put in Konohagakure.