The following week, Kazuki chose Sensory & Tracking as his specialization.
After the lunch break, the students were divided into groups and sent to their respective special jonin sensei. There were only four students in Kazuki's group, including Kazuki and Izumi.
They arrived at a large room with glass walls and several doors leading to smaller rooms. A tall man in his mid-thirties, with short blonde hair and wearing a standard jonin outfit, stood waiting for them.
The man said in an amused voice, "Four students this year? Well, it's more than last year. Alright, introduce yourselves."
The four students introduced themselves.
The man continued, "My name is Osamu Yamanaka, and I will be teaching you everything about sensing and tracking. This is a very important specialization that will help you greatly in your shinobi career. Most students underestimate this specialization because it's not as flashy as ninjutsu or as powerful as taijutsu, putting it bluntly they are dumb because in truth, it is one of the most important skills to have. In a ninja squad, there is always at least one ninja who can sense, so sensory ninjas are vital to the village. Even if you don't want to be a sensory ninja, its still a very important skill to have in combat too. Now, let's not waste any more time and get started."
Osamu took out a blindfold from his bag and said, "Kazuki Uchiha, step forward."
Kazuki stepped forward, and Osamu led him to one of the rooms and told him to sit on the mat on the floor and blindfolded him.
Kazuki sat down while Osamu placed small objects infused with chakra at random locations in the room.
Osamu instructed, "The first part of your training will be to sense the chakra in your surroundings. The second step will be to find the direction of that chakra, and the third and final part will be to pinpoint the location of the object. But the training doesn't end there. After the final step, you will have to increase the speed of sensing, and I will measure the radius of your chakra field. You will train to increase it. The chakra field is an imaginary circle that shows the distance you can sense chakra. For the first step, you will have to focus, but not like the meditation you used to do where you thought of nothing. You will have to put your entire focus on sensing the chakra outside your body, not inside. Do you have any questions?"
Kazuki shook his head.
Osamu said before leaving, "Alright then, I'll be watching your progress from the outside and will give you instructions if needed. All the best."
Osamu went outside to teach the other students while Kazuki began meditating.
It didn't take him too long to grasp the concept. He just had to meditate, but instead of focusing on the chakra inside his body, he had to focus on the chakra outside his body, which was still a bit difficult. Kazuki managed to clear the first step in two months, the second step in one month, and the third step also in one month.
They also had tracking sessions, but they were far fewer and easier compared to sensing, so Kazuki didn't put much effort into them.
Kazuki didn't start fuinjutsu yet and decided to focus mainly on sensing, even at home.
During that time, Kazuki visited the Senju compound twice, and the hospitality was outstanding. They treated him as if he were truly a member of the Senju clan, which he technically was, though not many people knew about it.
Osamu spoke, "Well done, kid. You have talent in sensing. Izumi Uchiha has completed two steps, while the other two have only completed one. Why don't you become a full-fledged sensory ninja? You could even reach the special jonin rank like me one day."
Kazuki made a small bow and said, "I'm sorry, sensei, but I want to become a combat ninja. I am only learning sensing to help me in my missions in case there is no sensory ninja on my team."
Osamu frowned. "That's too bad. Everyone wants to become a combat ninja, even though there is so much risk in it. Well, I can't say anything if that's your dream. Anyway, now that you can pinpoint locations, your next task will be to increase your speed. You should be able to pinpoint any object in an instant. Then we will work on your chakra field."
Kazuki trained for another month before managing to pinpoint chakra sources instantly.
Kazuki thought, 'I don't have much time left in the year. I want to learn Kenjutsu too. I should start training more at home from now on. Let's slow down taijutsu training for now.'
Osamu said, "You've exceeded my expectations, Kazuki. I have to say, I didn't expect you, out of all four, to be this talented. The next step is just practice, and no instructions are needed for that. Let's measure your chakra field first."
Osamu tried placing objects at multiple distances and found that Kazuki's current chakra field had a radius of 20 meters.
Osamu said, "It's not too good, but I have faith that you'll soon multiply it by many times."
After one more month of training, the radius of Kazuki's chakra field had grown to 100 meters.
Kazuki asked Osamu, "Sensei, I have a favor to ask of you."
Osamu said with an amused look, "A favor? Yeah, what is it?"
Kazuki said, "Sensei, I wanted to take two specializations, so Hiroshi-sensei told me that if my special jonin sensei agrees that I have learned enough of the specialization, then I can choose another. So, I wanted to ask you if you think I have learned enough and can take another specialization."
Osamu had a serious expression on his face. "Well, if you wanted to be a sensory ninja, I could teach you more, but you told me that you want to become a combat ninja, so I guess it's fine. You will have to practice more and increase your chakra field by yourself at home. Don't worry, I'll talk to Hiroshi today. You can go home."
Kazuki bowed deeply before leaving.