"Ugh… so I really can't escape training, huh?"
Shikamaru sighed as he dragged himself down the street.
It was Monday—the start of a new training phase. The worst part? He had no clue what the new training even was.
And that was what made it terrifying. After the hellish water-walking exercise, he could already guess what fresh torment awaited him.
"Honestly, I think Kitazawa-sensei's training is kinda fun."
Ino tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Did he use any jutsu when you were doing water-walking?"
Shikamaru glanced over at her.
"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "Sakura and I just threw kunai at each other."
"I suffered way more than you!"
Shikamaru cried dramatically. "You don't even get how painful mine was!"
"Why do both of you have special training?"
Chōji asked, confused.
"Run! Don't ask questions!"
Shikamaru blurted instinctively. "It's hell up ahead!"
"That bad?"
Chōji instantly backed off.
"I was just making conversation, man."
"Ino!"
Sakura ran up to them.
"What are you guys talking about?"
"Kitazawa-sensei's special training."
Ino paused, then asked,
"You're starting medical ninjutsu today, right?"
"Yup!"
Sakura nodded, practically glowing.
"I've been dying to start!"
"You really are dumb lucky."
Ino exchanged a knowing glance with Shikamaru.
Sakura, coming from a civilian family with zero connections, was somehow already learning medical ninjutsu in her first year. Unreal.
"Why are you insulting me?"
Sakura shot her a glare.
"If you're jealous, go ask Kitazawa-sensei to teach you too!"
"It's not that easy,"
Ino replied seriously.
"You just happened to meet the right teacher. Without Kitazawa-sensei, you wouldn't even have the chance."
"Really…?"
It was the first time Sakura had seen Ino look that sincere. She was smart enough to realize Ino wasn't wrong.
"You owe him a big thank you,"
Ino reminded her.
Sakura nodded, more thoughtful now.
"Once I master the Mind Body Switch, I'll need to thank him too," Ino added, already stressing about how.
"Kitazawa-sensei said to meet him directly at the school's training field this morning,"
Ino said as they reached the academy gates.
"Good luck, guys,"
Chōji waved, a chip bag in one hand, his other fist raised like a cheer.
For the Akimichi clan, snacking was training—turning food into battle-ready body fat was strategy.
"No point running. It was always gonna happen,"
Shikamaru muttered darkly.
"You're being dramatic,"
Ino chuckled at his look of doom.
…
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura lit up at the sight of Sasuke and rushed over.
"Don't come near me."
Sasuke turned and launched three tiny fire dragons from his mouth.
The heatwave twisted the air, forcing Sakura to stop in her tracks.
Kitazawa raised a brow.
Did he practice at home? Three dragons already?
He immediately thought of one name: Uchiha Itachi.
With a genius like Itachi backing him, Sasuke's growth wasn't surprising—but he still had a long way to go. Honestly, learning a B-rank Fire Style at his age was already insane. He just didn't have the chakra reserves someone like Naruto did.
Not that the Uchiha were weak in chakra, but Sasuke was still a kid. Chakra capacity was mostly determined at birth.
Bottom line? It was all about the body—and a ninja's physical prime didn't come until around twenty.
"Sakura,"
Kitazawa called out.
"Go to the school pond and catch a fish. Knock it out, but don't kill it."
"Huh?"
She turned from Sasuke, confused.
"Catch a fish?"
"Yup. Just make sure it's alive but unconscious."
Still puzzled, Sakura nodded and headed off.
"Ino, Shikamaru—you two, come here,"
Kitazawa waved them over.
Ino froze for a second. Wait—did my training change too?
Shikamaru, on the other hand, felt a weight lift. If Ino was with him, it couldn't be that bad.
Kitazawa hadn't really planned anything for Shikamaru—until he saw him learn Shadow Imitation. That changed everything.
He'd train them in Yin Release chakra control—a form of chakra nature transformation centered on turning thoughts into reality.
Basically: making something out of nothing.
Take Shadow Imitation, for example. A shadow isn't even real—just a trick of the light. But Yin chakra makes it tangible.
The Yamanaka's Mind Body Switch? Same principle. It makes your mind into something that can possess another body.
"Your new training is Yin Release chakra transformation," Kitazawa said.
Ino and Shikamaru exchanged stunned looks.
As clan kids, they knew how advanced this was. Most genin wouldn't even touch this stuff.
"It's not too complicated,"
Kitazawa said, setting a wooden puppet on the ground.
"Shikamaru, connect your shadow to this."
Shikamaru formed hand seals, and his shadow latched onto the puppet's.
"Now shape its shadow into a desk."
Shikamaru frowned and gave it a shot.
Shadow Imitation was normally used to make someone copy your movements—not to sculpt a shadow. This was new.
A few minutes later, drenched in sweat, he'd somehow done it. The puppet's shadow vaguely resembled a desk.
"Not bad."
Kitazawa smiled and dumped an entire pile of puppets on the ground.
"They're all yours."
"Wait—what?!"
Shikamaru froze. If water-walking had been physical torture, this was gonna be mental torture. He honestly didn't know which was worse.
"What about me?"
Ino asked, clearly excited.
"Wait a sec. Let's wait for Sakura."
What does my training have to do with hers? Ino thought.
Moments later, Sakura returned with a flopping carp in her hands.
"Today's lesson is the Healing Technique,"
Kitazawa said, setting up a table.
He had Sakura lay the carp down, then casually sliced it with a kunai.
"Healing Technique."
He formed hand seals and placed his hands over the wound. A soft green glow spread out—and the wound closed up like it never happened.
Ino blinked. He really knows medical ninjutsu?
Kitazawa sliced the fish again.
"Your turn."
Sakura inhaled and copied his seals. The green glow flickered to life—then fizzled out after two seconds.
"Totally normal on your first try,"
Kitazawa said gently.
"Keep practicing."
After about thirty minutes of trial and error, she finally healed the wound.
"Great. That's your new training now. Keep going until you can do it perfectly."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Sakura said, beaming.
"What about me?"
Ino finally asked again.
"The carp's still alive and conscious. Your task? Take over its mind."
Mind Body Switch training.
"One warning though."
Kitazawa's tone turned serious.
"Sakura's going to keep cutting it. If you don't exit in time, any injury it takes—you'll feel it too."
Ino's expression stiffened.
Right now, Sakura took thirty minutes to heal. Easy to exit in time. But as she improved, that window would get smaller.
Just like water-walking all over again—except this time, one of them might literally bleed.
"Same deal as before,"
Kitazawa added with a smile.
"Loser gets double the homework."
Sakura and Ino locked eyes. Instant sparks.
"One last thing."
Kitazawa raised his voice.
"This afternoon's sparring class will be a joint one—with Year Two, Class A."
Shikamaru, Sakura, and Ino didn't react much.
But Hinata and Sasuke stiffened.
Hinata wasn't sure how to face Neji.
Sasuke, though? He was ready. He'd wanted to spar with Neji since the last exhibition match, but Kurama Yakumo had stolen all the attention—and he didn't even get to fight.
But now? He was stronger.
Time to see how far he'd come.
…
Since this was the first time the two classes were training together, the field buzzed with excitement. A few bold students were already chatting and laughing with each other. After all, they'd already met during the last friendly match—nothing breaks the ice like a good fight.
"Lee!"
Naruto shouted the second he stepped onto the training grounds.
"Naruto! Over here!"
Rock Lee sprinted over.
"This is the ultimate reunion of youth!"
The two locked eyes dramatically… and then crashed into a tearful hug like they were starring in their own overly emotional drama.
"I can't even look at this,"
Tenten groaned, covering her face with one hand.
"…"
Neji twitched at the corner of his mouth.
One Rock Lee was already a handful. But now there were two of them—him and Naruto?
Double the chaos. Double the energy.
"We're doomed,"
Kiba muttered as he watched the two cry and hug like long-lost soulmates.
"What are the odds our school produced two of these lunatics?"
"I'm starting to think mixing classes was a terrible idea," Sakura said dryly.
She glanced at Sasuke.
"Good thing Sasuke-kun's still normal."
"…"
Sasuke imagined himself acting like Naruto and Lee for even a second. The mental image made his scalp tingle.
He'd rather jump off the academy roof than become part of that circus.
Meanwhile, Hinata looked a little out of it.
Until—pat—a warm hand gently ruffled her hair.
She blinked and looked up, meeting Kitazawa's calm gaze.
"Let's get started,"
he said with a small smile, walking forward.
"First-year A, line up on the left. Second-year A, line up on the right."
Everyone moved into formation immediately.
"Even though it's a joint session, don't stress. Just follow the usual structure,"
Kitazawa said casually.
"We'll split into groups like last time and rotate through the stations."
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Sasuke raised his hand.
"Yeah?"
"I want to challenge Neji."
The moment the words left his mouth, murmurs swept through the students like wildfire. Most of them were curious, excited—even a bit hyped.
Everyone remembered the last match where they expected Neji vs. Sasuke... but Kurama Yakumo had unexpectedly taken the spotlight.
Kitazawa glanced up at the sky—perfectly clear.
Sunny day. No distractions. Sasuke's confident again.
"I accept."
Neji replied, his voice calm and composed.
"Alright then,"
Kitazawa nodded.
"Keep it clean. No injuries."
If Sasuke wanted a reality check, Kitazawa wasn't going to stop it.
Sasuke and Neji stepped onto an open part of the field and faced each other.
"Begin!"
Kitazawa called, taking up the role of referee.
Sasuke instantly jumped back, forming seals as six shuriken flew into his hands—three in each.
Neji dashed forward.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and launched all six shuriken at once.
Byakugan, activate.
Neji's vision exploded into clarity.
He read the flight path of every blade, and with swift, fluid steps, dodged them all. The shuriken clinked into the dirt around him, forming a tight circle.
"Whoa! Amazing!"
Hinata clenched her fists in awe.
Sure, Byakugan gave you a wide field of view—but just because your eyes could keep up didn't mean your body could. Sasuke's throws were fast.
If it were me, she thought, I'd have panicked for sure.
"Sasuke's good with ninja tools, but throwing weapons at Neji?"
Tenten smirked.
"Big mistake. My throws are even sharper, and Neji dodges mine like it's nothing."
She'd trained with Neji countless times. This was light work for him.
"Do you think Sasuke-kun can win?"
Sakura asked nervously, eyes fixed on the field.
She had faith in Sasuke, but Neji was no pushover. He had the same "genius" reputation, and judging by this first exchange, it was well-earned.
"Of course he'll win!"
Naruto said with full confidence.
"Sakura, did you forget all the training Sasuke went through?"
"He hasn't even shown his full hand yet,"
Ino added, reassuringly.
Before Sakura could respond, a wave of gasps erupted from the crowd.
She turned back to the match—and saw Sasuke raise his hands, fingers fluttering like he was playing piano.
Then—swish!
The six shuriken embedded in the ground sprang into the air, attached to near-invisible rubber wires.
The setup was brilliant—too close to react. The blades whipped around Neji like a cage.
"You're caught, Neji!"
Sasuke grinned, suppressing a surge of smug laughter.
The Hyūga genius? Taken down by my wire-controlled shuriken. What now?
"Is that so?"
Neji's eyes narrowed.
Boom.
He exploded into motion, dancing through the blades with surgical precision. Not a scratch.
"What?!"
Sasuke's heart dropped.
"Your wires are hard to spot, sure,"
Neji said, tapping the side of his face.
"But I'm Hyūga. With Byakugan, your trick might as well be in slow motion."
"Damn it…"
Sasuke clenched his teeth.
Those were supposed to be my lines after unlocking Sharingan… Now I know how it feels.
Neji didn't wait for him to recover emotionally.
He was already on top of him.
Twin palms flew toward Sasuke's chest—targeting his chakra points.
Sasuke panicked. He knew exactly what a hit from Gentle Fist would do to his chakra flow.
At the last second, he leaned back hard and planted his right hand on the ground to flip away.
Neji missed—barely.
But he followed up with a brutal kick to the chest.
BAM.
Sasuke flew back, sliding several meters.
Gritting through the pain, he flipped upright, formed hand seals—
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The air shimmered with heat. The massive eight-meter fireball that stunned everyone during the last match was back.
Neji was forced to stop and dodge.
"Now's my chance!"
Sasuke growled and formed another set of seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Three fire dragons shot forward—small, fast, flaming.
The entire class gasped in shock. Even if the technique wasn't polished, pulling it off at his level was impressive.
Neji, however, just shook his head.
Yes, Sasuke's progress was surprising.
But Dragon Fire? Against him?
Bad call.
The dragons were smaller, slower—less threatening than his earlier trap.
Neji locked in.
One step forward. He dodged the flames with ease, closed the gap, and slammed four palms into Sasuke's chest in rapid succession.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Sasuke hit the ground hard.
"You lost, Sasuke."
Neji stood over him, calm and unshaken.
"I… I'm not done yet…"
Sasuke struggled to get up—but the Gentle Fist strikes had completely scrambled his chakra flow.
He couldn't even move properly.
~~~
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