Before Raizen knew it, Year Three of the Academy was already upon him. The break had passed in a blur — three short weeks, barely enough to catch his breath.
He could still picture Takuma-sensei's smug grin, the man almost taking pride in announcing their "extended" rest.
"This year, you get three weeks instead of two. Don't spend it slacking."
The class had groaned, but Raizen hadn't minded much. Time off was just time away from growth.
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During the break, Raizen poured himself into training. His hearing sharpened, fine-tuned enough to catch even the faint creak of a floorboard in the clan compound. He pushed his chakra control drills further, balancing leaves on his fingertips while simultaneously weaving threads of chakra across his body, forcing himself to maintain stability under pressure.
But the subject that gripped him most was one every shinobi took for granted: hand signs.
Raizen sat in his room night after night, fingers curled and uncurling in practiced motions, whispering their meanings under his breath. He wasn't just memorizing them—he was studying their purpose, the hidden science behind each gesture.
• Ram: steadies the mind and focuses chakra flow.
• Tiger: fuels fire and raw offensive output.
• Ox: grounds chakra into the body, reinforcing strength.
• Dog: draws on the element of water and adaptability.
• Monkey: sharpens agility, useful in clones and deception.
• Dragon: channels large-scale elemental transformation.
He discovered that single signs were like syllables of a language, and combinations strung them into meaning.
• Tiger → Snake → Dragon: the ignition, shaping, and release of a Fireball.
• Ox → Hare → Ram: chakra condensed for Earth Walls.
• Boar → Dog → Ram: the framework of a basic clone technique.
The more he practiced, the more it made sense: hand signs weren't random; they were shortcuts to control, turning raw chakra into a structured formula.
Raizen found himself experimenting, weaving small chains just to feel the shift in his chakra flow. He was no master yet, but he understood something critical: if he could master the logic of hand signs, then one day he could bend or even break the rules entirely.
The first morning of Year Three, Raizen arrived to class early, sliding open the door of the academy room. The smell of chalk dust and tatami mats hit him like an old routine, but the air felt charged, heavier than before. He took his usual seat near the front, setting his notebook and ink brush aside.
One by one, the other five elites filed in: Reina with her crisp posture, Omoi scratching the back of his head, Karui muttering about how "this better be worth it," Samui silent and cool as ever, and Tetsuo dragging his feet but cracking his knuckles like he was already preparing for a fight.
Then came Takuma-sensei, striding in with that smug smirk Raizen knew too well. The room quieted.
"Year Three," Takuma began, writing the number in bold strokes across the board. "If you thought the last two years were hard, congratulations—you've only been through warm-ups." His grin widened. "This is where we separate shinobi from children."
He tapped the chalk. "Here's the breakdown. You'll have electives this year. Two are mandatory—part of your schedule. The third is optional, but it takes place after hours for those of you who want more than the minimum. These classes will mix both general students and elites. And depending on class size, you'll be taught by two, sometimes three Tokubetsu Jōnin. Real shinobi. Specialists. Not academy drones like me."
The class stirred at that—some nervous, others excited.
"As for homeroom," Takuma continued, his tone sharpening, "this year isn't about memorizing scrolls or theory drills. It's about proving you can survive. Expect sparring matches every week. Expect mock missions—escort, infiltration, survival runs. And yes, some of those will put you against your classmates. Think of it as… sharpening kunai on kunai."
He scanned the room, eyes narrowing on Raizen for half a second longer than the others. "You'll also be doing class activities designed to test your leadership, teamwork, and ability to adapt when plans crumble. Because out there—" he jabbed a finger toward the window, where Kumo's skyline loomed— "no plan survives first contact."
The silence after his words was thick. Even Omoi stopped fidgeting.
Takuma went from student to student handing out a sheet of paper with each elective with a breif description on it, but before the students started answering which elective they would like to choose.
Takuma said that if you pick an elective and aren't interested by it, feel you have no talent in the field, or would just rather try something else it would be completely fine to change, all you had to do was ask him and he would do the rest.
Raizen was shocked by this, he was expecting to pick him classes and be stuck with them until he graduated by this made a lot more sense, why keep a student in a class they have no talent for.
This also go Raizen thinking, would a teacher kick a student out of their class if they sucked so bad?
Raizen looked down at his paper and started reading each option
Year Three Electives
1. Ninjutsu
• Focus: Core elemental manipulation, chakra nature application, and mid-range combat techniques.
• Students will practice refining their chakra affinities and be introduced to mid-level elemental jutsu. Expect long drills, precision tests, and stamina-building exercises.
2. Taijutsu
• Focus: Physical combat, conditioning, and body mechanics.
• Daily sparring, reaction training, and harsh endurance routines. Students will learn advanced strikes, grapples, and evasive maneuvers.
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3. Kenjutsu
• Focus: Sword arts and chakra channeling through weapons.
• Students train with bokken and live blades under Tokubetsu Jōnin supervision. Expect strict discipline, precision-based drills, and weapon conditioning.
4. Weapon Arts
• Focus: Shurikenjutsu, kunai combat, explosive tags, and improvised tools.
• Emphasis on accuracy, ambidexterity, and situational creativity. Students will learn to fight with and against projectiles.
5. Genjutsu
• Focus: Illusionary tactics, chakra disruption, and counter-genjutsu methods.
• Students will practice weaving illusions, breaking mental traps, and using deception in combat. Requires strong chakra control and mental sharpness.
6. Medical Ninjutsu
• Focus: Basic diagnostic techniques, chakra scalpels, and healing jutsu.
• Expect long hours of precision chakra control and anatomy study. Students will be tested on patience, discipline, and the ability to stay calm under pressure.
7. Leadership & Tactics
• Focus: Command presence, team coordination, and battlefield strategy.
• Students run mock squads, rotate leadership roles, and compete in tactical exercises. Failure often means your "squad" suffers the consequences, teaching accountability.
8. Sealing Arts
• Focus: Introductory fuinjutsu — barrier creation, storage seals, explosive seals.
• Complex, time-intensive, and theory-heavy. Students with poor chakra control will struggle, but those who succeed can alter the flow of a battlefield.
9. Intelligence & Espionage
• Focus: Gathering intel, disguise techniques, infiltration basics.
• Includes stealth exercises, code-breaking, and physical tests like rooftop pursuit drills. Expect to be "hunted" by instructors during training.
10. Tracking & Survival
• Focus: Field survival, trap-making, and shinobi tracking methods.
• Students spend extended time in the wilderness, practicing navigation, hunting, and pursuit tactics. Failure means going hungry or being "caught" in mock exercises.
11. Summoning Basics
• Focus: Contracts, summoning mechanics, and building spiritual bonds with animals.
• Students won't form full contracts yet, but will study summoning rituals and chakra synchronization. Includes exposure to minor animal spirits for practice.
Raizen was stunned by the sheer number of electives written across the board. Takuma hadn't even mentioned all of them, yet here they were—an array of paths that could shape the future of any shinobi. Each subject seemed worthwhile in its own way, but one in particular caught his eye: Summoning Basics.
The idea of summoning creatures had fascinated him since his previous life. He'd often fantasized about calling forth dragons, phoenixes, or other mystical beasts to fight by his side. In practice, he knew only a handful of contracts—like the legendary toads, slugs, and snakes of Konoha—truly held weight in history. Everything else, aside from the unique summons tied to the Rinnegan, had largely faded into obscurity. Still, the concept stirred something in him. It might not be practical now, but it was an avenue worth keeping in mind.
Even so, Raizen already knew where his focus needed to be.
The book on Aether Lightning left to him by his father described it as an advanced evolution of the Lightning Release, one that relied on the delicate balance between yin and yang chakra. If he wanted to master it—truly get ahead of everyone else—he couldn't just keep refining raw lightning techniques. He would need to shape the very roots of his chakra nature. That meant choosing electives that would force him to develop both halves of that balance.
Genjutsu came first. Alone, illusions weren't particularly valuable unless you were an Uchiha with the Sharingan. But Raizen suspected—because of his fused soul—that his yin chakra was naturally heightened. The end-of-year elective trials had confirmed his hunch. He had resisted illusions with surprising ease, and when casting them, his opponents crumbled faster than expected. He had a natural aptitude. By taking this class, he could refine his yin manipulation, and in turn strengthen the foundation for Aether Lightning.
His second choice was Medical Ninjutsu. He wasn't sure yet if he had a gift for it, but his father had told him the Tsukihana line carried unusually strong yang chakra. If that was true, then medical studies could unlock talents buried in his bloodline. Even if he never mastered advanced techniques like Tsunade's fabled Creation Rebirth—which required Uzumaki sealing secrets and decades of study—he could still expand his control of yang chakra in ways most shinobi overlooked.
For his third elective, Raizen chose Sealing Arts. Every legendary jutsu in the history of shinobi seemed to circle back to fuinjutsu—barriers, storage, containment, even immortality. It was the most versatile art, and ignoring it would be reckless.
He knew these choices wouldn't make him the strongest in direct combat—at least not immediately. Genjutsu fell off against top-tier shinobi, who could shrug off illusions with sheer willpower. Medical jutsu rarely offered offense. Even sealing arts were often slow and preparation-heavy. But Raizen had something no one else in this world did: the knowledge of what lay ahead—the peaks of every art, the forgotten roads, the ideas waiting to be twisted into something new.
Others would see genjutsu and medical ninjutsu as secondary tools. He saw them as the missing keys to a greater weapon. If he could fuse yin and yang mastery with his lightning, then Aether Lightning wouldn't just be another advanced technique. It could become something the shinobi world had never witnessed before.
Raizen handed in his elective paper. Takuma skimmed it, one eyebrow arching in surprise before a grin tugged at his lips. He didn't comment, though—just waved Raizen off and called the next student forward.
The first day of Year Three ended early, and Raizen made his way back home. Sliding open the door, he found Ayame and Taro sitting at the table, mid-conversation. Both of them turned the moment he stepped inside.
Ayame smiled warmly. "So, Raizen—how was it? More importantly, what electives did you choose? When I was in the academy, I loved Medical Jutsu and Espionage. I always thought spying was so… exciting."
Taro leaned back with a smirk. "I went the opposite way. Taijutsu and Weapon Arts. Your father? Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, and Sealing Arts. He was all about tradition."
Raizen set his pack down. "I picked Genjutsu, Medical Jutsu, and Sealing."
The room went quiet. Both Ayame and Taro gave him the same raised-eyebrow look, as if waiting for the punchline.
Taro scratched his chin. "Sealing and Medical, I can see. But Genjutsu? That's… not exactly a Tsukihana specialty. Pretty weak art if you ask me—"
He didn't get to finish. Ayame smacked the back of his head with a sharp thwap.
Ayame: "Don't dismiss him before he explains, idiot."
Taro grumbled, rubbing his scalp, while Raizen hid a small smile.
Raizen: "At the end of last year, Takuma-sensei gave us mock tests for each elective. I realized I have a strong yin attribute—my illusions were sharper, and I resisted them better than most. Genjutsu might not be flashy, but it'll strengthen my yin control. And that ties directly into Aether Lightning. If I want to master it, I need both yin and yang."
Both Ayame and Taro blinked, surprised at the clarity of his reasoning. Slowly, they nodded.
Taro sighed. "Alright, fair point. Still, one thing doesn't add up. What about Taijutsu and Ninjutsu? Most kids your age can't resist the flashy stuff. Why skip it?"
That was exactly the question Raizen had been hoping for.
Raizen: "Because I don't need the academy for that. I have the clan. I figured—between my father, you, and Mother—I could find better teachers than any standard class. Why settle for general instruction when I can learn the Tsukihana way directly?"
For a moment, Ayame just stared at him. Then her eyes lit up. She shot to her feet and wrapped Raizen in a crushing hug, lifting him halfway off the ground.
Ayame: "That's my boy! You want ninjutsu training? I'll teach you myself. I'm better at it than your father anyway—you'll see, I'll make you awesome just like your mother!"
Raizen wheezed, struggling against her iron grip. "C-can't… breathe…"
Taro chuckled and stepped in, prying Ayame's arms loose. "Don't kill him before he graduates. Besides, I'll take him for Taijutsu. He should know more of our clan's style, and I'll make sure he can throw a proper punch before any fancy lightning."
Raizen caught his breath, a smile spreading despite his mother's overenthusiasm. In a single evening, he had lined up everything he wanted: a Genjutsu class, a Medical class, his mother for Ninjutsu, Taro for Taijutsu—and perhaps, when the time came, his father to guide him in the sword.
For the first time in a long while, Raizen felt like his path forward was clear.