The next day during lunch break, Hiroshi approached Kazuki and said, "Kazuki, you can join the Kenjutsu classes starting today."
After the lunch break, Kazuki made his way to the location where the Kenjutsu classes were being held. Upon arriving, he noticed a few students were already there, including Yuki. Most of them didn't look very happy for some reason.
Yuki was already chatting with some girls, so Kazuki just waved his hand toward her. In return, she gave a quick wave back, her smile as bright as ever.
Kazuki wasn't great at socializing, so he had only spoken to a handful of students during his time at the academy. The one he talked most with was of course Yuki, they had become great friends."
After a few minutes, an older man, likely in his early fifties, arrived.
He walked straight toward Kazuki and said, "You must be Kazuki Uchiha, correct?"
Kazuki bowed slightly and said, "Yes, Sensei, I am Kazuki Uchiha, and I will be under your care from now on."
The man said in a firm voice, "My name is Kenji Araki. Hiroshi told me you're a talented student. I'll see for myself if his words are true."
The class began. Kenji handed Kazuki a wooden sword and started teaching him the correct stances and movements. The other students also began practicing. There were a total of nine students in the class, including Kazuki.
After a few minutes, Kenji started sparring with the other students. Those who couldn't keep up with him were struck by the wooden sword with every wrong move, leaving bruises all over their bodies after the spar.
Kazuki gulped as he thought, 'No wonder they weren't looking happy before the class. I'm glad Yuki's able to keep up for the most part. I just hope it doesn't become as painful as tree climbing.'
But Kazuki didn't know that a hell was waiting for him.
After a few weeks, Kenji began sparring with Kazuki too, and with every wrong move, Kazuki was struck with the sword. Without any prior knowledge of swordsmanship from his previous world, Kazuki made many mistakes.
Every mistake meant a hit with the sword, but Kazuki didn't give up. He kept practicing despite the pain because he had to improve, he had to become stronger—for the sake of his survival, for the sake of his "dream."
After returning home from the academy, Kazuki's body ached all over. He didn't even have the energy to move for a few hours.
Kenji was merciless, often saying, "Train hard so that you become strong enough to offer mercy, rather than needing to beg for it."
One day, while Kazuki was sparring with Kenji, the sensei asked, "Do you know why I am so strict with all my students?"
Kazuki, panting heavily, replied, "Because you don't want us to die early?"
Kenji nodded and said, "You're a very smart kid, Kazuki. There was a time when I used to be a gentle teacher who treated his students like flowers, but soon this harsh world changed me. It was the time of war. I was just hired as the Kenjutsu teacher, and I taught many students and bonded with them. Most of them died in the war soon after. Only a few talented ones survived, so I blamed myself for all that. If I had been stricter and taught them more, they might have survived. That's why I'm being this strict—so that no more of my students die an early death."
He added, "Hiroshi was wrong. You have no talent at all, but what you do have is something more important than that—it's your will. I've noticed you over the past few months. No matter how much I hit you or how many times you fall, you always stand up and never give up. There are very few ninjas who can do that. One of them is a very goofy person. I've never seen anyone who works as hard as him, and I believe that he will become one of the strongest ninjas one day. Keep working hard, Kazuki, and one day you will become very strong. But if you die before that, then I'll kill you."
Kazuki bowed his head and said, "I won't disappoint you, sensei."
After a few more months, the year was nearing its end. Kazuki was sitting in his class when Hiroshi announced, "Alright, students, those who want to take the graduation exam this year, raise your hand."
A few students raised their hands, and to Kazuki's surprise, Yuki also raised hers.
Kazuki still didn't raise his hand. He thought, 'I would have liked to graduate this year, but I still have Fuinjutsu and Genjutsu to learn. Okay, this will be the last year. I'll definitely graduate next year.'
After the class ended, Kazuki approached Yuki and said, "So, you're graduating this year, huh?"
Yuki smiled and said, "Yeah, as the daughter of the clan head, I must graduate early, or other people will see it as a weakness."
Kazuki also smiled and said, "So, I guess that was it—our academy days. It was fun while it lasted."
Yuki flicked her finger at his forehead and said, "It's not over, you dummy. You forgot that we're part of the same clan. We can meet anytime we want."
Kazuki rubbed his forehead and said while smiling, "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Kazuki thought, 'If I had graduated this year, I could have been on Yuki's team. But I can't take that big of a risk and end up being a cannon fodder.'
The end of the year came, and Yuki topped the graduation exam.
[A/N- Yuki will not be in same team as Kazuki but I'm not removing her from the story, she'll still be an important character.]