Nine weeks had passed since the Nine tailed beast had rained carnage across Konoha, and the village had bounced back to almost normalcy. Streets had been rebuilt, but the faint scent of new paint and plaster still lingered where homes had been rebuilt .The sight of children playing in side alleys,civilians bustling about in their daily activities, had reappeared even though every single one of them carried the memory of that dreadful night. Yet, as the year's end approached, a subtle energy hummed in the air -the rhythm of life pushing forward.
It was the eve of Konoha's New Year festival. Lanterns swayed from cords strung between rooftops, casting pools of golden light over the snow-dusted streets. Merchants called out their wares from market stalls — candied chestnuts, warm dango skewers, and paper charms said to bring good fortune. At the village's heart, preparations for the new year were already underway. The festive mood brought much needed joy to the village and it's people.
For Enji, the festival was merely the background to his own countdown — nine weeks of relentless training under Yasu Sarutobi,and now he was ready to show his teacher the fruits of his labour.
By now, Enji's body no longer fought against his routines; it craved them. Mornings began with a five-kilometer run through the paths of the village followed by a grueling sequence of workouts that pushed his endurance beyond what most genin could match. His muscle definition had sharpened subtly, and his reflexes had become honed tools rather than dull instincts.His scrawny frame had filled up with some muscles, but his face retained some baby fat.His brownish black hair had been trimmed and was well taken care of.He had bought more clothes all in black or grey, he had also bought couple of pouches, two of them attached to his waist and one near his outer thigh. He had also grown a bit taller. Only thing that hadn't changed was his deep black eyes and his calm stoic expression.
Enji had bought more ninja tools,a dozen shurikens and a couple of kunai. He had struggled for a day to get familiar in handling the sharp shuriken, and throwing a kunai was harder than he expected.
Shurikenjutsu had grown into his most deadly asset. His throws were no longer just accurate - they were deceptive. He could bounce a shuriken off a wall into a blind corner, split one projectile mid-flight with another, or launch a trio in such a way that the first two drew attention while the third landed the real strike. Yasu had once muttered that his technique was "starting to smell like an Uchiha's," a rare acknowledgment from the Sarutobi.
Enji knew the main means of a genin was not spamming jutsus, but basic skills like shurikenjutsu, weapon handling and taijutsu, as genins had to save whatever little chakra they had without wasting it, to survive.
In taijutsu, his speed and adaptability had surged. The Sarutobi's constant reminder of ' precision and efficiency ' and ' constant vigilance' had become second nature to him. His strikes carried intent; his blocks anticipated the second attack before the first had even landed. Against a chunin, he would still lose, but the gap was narrowing far faster than Yasu would have admitted aloud.
What Enji excelled in was chakra control, often a slow and frustrating process for academy students but it came to him with startling ease. Tree-walking was easy as breathing for him and water walking no longer troubled him, and he had begun experimenting with chakra reinforcement in his limbs to subtly boost speed and striking force.
Enji had woken up today, excited for the test as scheduled by Yasu.If he performed well enough, he could move on to the next stage of his training.
Calming himself, he regulated his breathing and adjusted his mindset before moving to the training yard beside his home.
The training yard was colder than usual that evening,frost clinging to the edges of the wooden dummies.
Yasu stood at the far end, his breath forming pale clouds. He had promised a "final test of the year" — and judging by the faint glint in his eyes, Enji had no doubt it wouldn't be anything simple.He gestured Enji to follow him and rushed towards the outskirts of the village.
Enji struggled to follow his teacher even though he was trying his best.
Yasu observed as Enji followed,slightly increasing his speed as soon as Enji started to keep pace.
Enji refrained from increasing his speed recklessly and followed Yasu in a way that he was always in his line of sight. He could not afford to waste his stamina here as he had tests waiting and by the way Yasu was behaving he did not think it would be any easier.
Yasu headed to a training area he had already reserved and stood in attention. A moment later Enji arrived, but immediately surveyed his surroundings. He was cautious since Yasu's favourite phrase was ' constant vigilance'.
Seeing him act like he was in enemy territory, Yasu' s lips quirked into a small proud smile, which he immediately retracted.
"Three stages," Yasu said. "Shurikenjutsu, taijutsu, and adaptability. Fail any, and you repeat the whole sequence until you pass."
Enji gave a sharp nod.
The first stage was a nightmare gauntlet of moving targets, rotating boards, and concealed dummies that appeared with barely a whisper. Enji flowed through it like water - each throw precise, each movement efficient. He struck targets mid-swing, ricocheted shots off multiple surfaces, and even hit a hidden mark behind Yasu without turning his head.
The second stage tested his adaptability. Yasu threw him into an obstacle course filled with traps while throwing projectiles at him with no mercy. Enji moved with surprising speed,weaving between obstacles, reacting to feints, and dodging the projectles,deflecting some with his kunai, and even surprised Yasu by even blocking some of them with his own thrown shuriken. By the end, Enji was gasping in ragged breaths but his stance remained solid,vigilant and ready to respond to any unforseen changes.
Yasu happy and satisfied internally, still kept his face stoic and asked Enji to rest for 10 minutes.
Once Enji had rested, Yasu announced the last test- a taijutsu spar with him.
Enji had been waiting to test his progress against another person. He had no delusions that he could give his teacher a hard time in taijutsu or even land a blow on his teacher.He was eager to see how far he had come and how much his training had improved his body and techniques.
He was not nervous, this was not his first spar, he had been in fights, he had killed, he was a soldier in his previous life, the only change was that he was not superhuman and he was not used to fighting in a small body. But these nine weeks had helped him adjust to this smaller body, he was in full control, he was in complete tune with his body.
Yasu watched as Enji arrived a few feet from him and get into a stance that he had grilled into his student over these weeks during training.
His brows raised in surprise as Enji's presence changed from a quiet, withdrawn child to that of an animal readying it's stance to pounce.