Chapter 232: Reason
"What, do you think I would only come to meet you for a reason? You think I'm that type of person?" Ryota said in an overly dramatic tone.
"So, you don't have anything you want to ask?" Kaida asked, not a bit affected by Ryota's acting, having been trained by Shisui daily for such situations.
"I didn't say that. Actually, I wanted to have a sparring partner. My sensei said that even though I know some moves, I don't know how to use them efficiently. The only way to learn is through constantly using them against someone. But I don't take nearly enough missions to get the experience in fighting, so I need a sparring partner," Ryota said.
"You want a ninjutsu spar?" Kaida asked.
"No, ninjutsu can be learned without that. I want a spar focused only on taijutsu," Ryota replied.
"I don't have much experience in taijutsu; I only have the basic knowledge of it that we learned in the academy," Kaida said.
"But you're now part of the Uchiha clan. Aren't they teaching you taijutsu too?" Ryota asked.
"Why would I learn that when I can learn Uchiha kenjutsu, one of the most lethal and effective styles in the village?" Kaida said, as if it were a fact a newborn child would know.
"So, you don't want to be my sparring partner?" Ryota asked dejectedly.
"When did I say that? I just want to warn you not to keep your hopes high when we spar," Kaida said.
"Great!"
"Why don't we have a small spar now, just to get a basic idea?" Kaida suggested.
"Sure, I'm free anyway," Ryota said.
Bark! Bark!
"Yeah, buddy, I know you'll join too," Kaida said.
All three of them then went to one of the training areas. Since they were just going to spar, there was no need for them to book the training area.
"Alright, Ryota. Let's see what you've got," Kaida said, getting into a fighting position.
"Don't hold back, Kaida. I want to see what you're really capable of," Ryota said, both he and Kiba getting on all fours, ready for a burst of speed.
"Okay then, I'll go all out, and you don't pull any punches. I can heal most lethal injuries now; broken bones are no problem at all," Kaida said.
Ryota grinned and then charged forward, his fists raised. Kaida dodged to the side, then delivered a powerful chakra-enhanced kick aimed at Ryota's leg. Ryota blocked the kick with his shin, but Kaida's momentum carried him forward, allowing him to land a punch on Ryota's shoulder.
Ryota grinned. "Not bad, Kaida. But I'm not going to use just punches and kicks."
Ryota jumped back and passed a pill to Kiba, who suddenly transformed into a clone of Ryota.
Fang Over Fang!
Then Ryota started making various hand signs.
Whirlwind Fang!
Suddenly, both Ryota and Kiba transformed into whirlwinds and started attacking Kaida from various directions. Kaida initially dodged some of the attacks, but the coordination between Ryota and Kiba was too strong. When Kaida dodged one of Ryota's attacks, Kiba attacked Kaida from one of his blind spots created due to dodging Ryota's attack, throwing Kaida some distance away. Ryota didn't let go of this opportunity and attacked Kaida once again.
'This is annoying; I'm not even getting a chance to attack,' Kaida thought as he dodged Ryota's attack. Luckily for Kaida, this jutsu was very chakra-consuming, and Ryota couldn't maintain it for too long since he had still not fully mastered it. He and Kiba stopped spinning and went back to all fours, once again focusing on punches and kicks.
Ryota continued his assault, his claws raking across Kaida's chest. Kaida tried to counter with a chakra-enhanced punch, but Ryota dodged the attack. At that moment, Kiba distracted Ryota with a bite toward his leg. Using this opportunity, Ryota landed a kick to Kaida's stomach. Kaida stumbled backward, gasping for air.
Just as Ryota was about to deliver the finishing blow, Kiba leaped into the fray. Kiba charged at Kaida, his teeth bared. Kaida was forced to defend himself against both Ryota and Kiba, but now Kaida could fight back a little. He suddenly jumped and spun in the air to dodge Kiba's bite attack while landing a spinning kick on Ryota.
Ryota used his arm to defend, but it wasn't enough to counter the force of the chakra-enhanced kick. He managed to push Kaida away at the cost of his forearm bones, rendering one of his hands unusable in the fight. But Ryota didn't pay any attention to that and ran forward to where Kaida would land, throwing a punch straight toward Kaida's face.
The punch landed squarely on his face, almost knocking him out. Ryota could have followed up with another attack, but since it was just a short spar, this was enough to check each other's level.
"That was... exhausting," Ryota said.
"You're telling me. I thought I was in better shape. But that last punch almost broke my nose," Kaida said, massaging his nose.
"Almost? Can you see this hanging meat? It used to be my arm," Ryota said, pointing to his arm, which was broken during the fight.
They both laughed, their friendly banter easing the tension of the fight.
"Seriously though, that Whirlwind Fang was impressive. I didn't realize you could move that fast," Kaida said, going near Ryota to check the injury.
"Thanks. I've been practicing a lot lately. But you weren't too bad yourself. You dodged most of my attacks even without using the Sharingan," Ryota said.
"What can I say, I'm a genius," Kaida said, then started healing Ryota's arm. Luckily, the damage was small because Ryota used chakra to defend against the attack; otherwise, his bones might have shattered and taken longer to recover.
'I went a little overboard there,' Kaida thought when he considered the consequences.
'Genius? I think you're forgetting that I won," Ryota said, raising his head.
"So what? I'm not focusing on taijutsu anyway. Want to have a kenjutsu spar?" Kaida asked, finishing healing Ryota's arm.
"No thanks, I'm still not crazy enough to go against an Uchiha in kenjutsu," Ryota said, moving his arm to check if it was fine.
"Don't move it much. Rest for a few hours before doing anything major with that hand," Kaida said.
"You're starting to sound more and more like a doctor now," Ryota said.
"Thanks."
"That wasn't a compliment, but whatever. So, we're going to continue these sparring sessions, right?" Ryota asked.
"Yes, I want to keep meeting Kiba," Kaida said, patting Kiba's head.
"When are we going to have spars then?" Ryota asked, knowing fully well that Kaida was usually very busy.
"I go to the hospital at eight in the morning, so we can have a spar at seven. That way, if you get injured too badly, I can get you fixed up at eight."