Enji waited in focus, keeping his eyes on every move of his teacher. Just as he was getting impatient, his teacher proclaimed "I will limit myself to the level of a Genin, I will only use the strength and speed I had when I was a Genin"
As soon as he finished speaking, he moved. ' Fast' Enji had only this thought as Yasu's right fist came barreling towards his face. Enji shifted his head sideways dodging the fist, but before he had the time to land a counter punch,his teacher's right knee had impacted his ribs knocking the wind out of his lungs and launching Enji a few metres. Enji rolled on the ground a few times and readied his stance.
Yasu was surprised how quickly he got his bearings back.' He got up quickly. Even though I am holding back, my fists and bones that had been hardened by lifelong training, is no way comparable to a genin, it was not a strike a genin could recover so quickly from'
Enji winced from the pain,he expected himself to be outclassed, as his teacher had the reflexes and fighting experience of a veteran jounin. Enji thought with a sigh ' this is going to be a pummeling.'
As he braced himself for the suffering. Yasu arrived in a flurry of punches and kicks.Enji completely focused,entering the same state he had when he was in the hospital. He saw every twitch of his teacher's muscle, allowing him to trace the trajectory of his teacher's punches,jabs and kicks.He tried blocking and guarding every hit. He started slowly getting into the rhythm and he found it easier to block his teacher's moves.
'He's adapting,he's able to see my moves before they land,good! Let me test his limits' Yasu thought and increased his speed and strength.
Enji's guard shot up just in time to catch a crushing straight punch, the impact rattled his bones, pushing him back a half step. Before he could reset, Yasu's knee rose for his ribs.
Enji twisted, the strike grazing past, and used the spin to drive a backhand toward Yasu's jaw. Yasu caught the wrist mid-motion, twisted it, and shoved him off-balance.
Enji's arms were shaking in pain,' I should block less and dodge more,he is using more strength and his strikes hitting harder, I must dodge and counterattack.'
Enji's thoughts were brought to an abrupt end by an axe kick that he barely dodged,that too by a hair's breadth. Before he had the time to take a breather he was thrown across the ground by a punch to his sternum.
Enji didn't fall, he planted his foot hard, lunging forward with a short, snapping front kick aimed at Yasu's midsection. Yasu sidestepped, caught the ankle, and shoved it away, forcing Enji into a stumbling turn.
But Enji didn't waste the motion. His heel whipped around in a spinning kick, aimed low for Yasu's knee.
Yasu bent his leg, letting the strike pass under, and countered with an elbow aimed for the side of Enji's head. Enji ducked just in time, feeling the rush of air scrape his ear, and drove an uppercut toward Yasu's chin.
"Too predictable," Yasu said,his voice even. And then he was gone from Enji's sight.
The boy's instincts screamed, he pivoted right, guard snapping up, just in time to meet a hammering kick that sent him sliding back three meters. His heels dug into the frost, stopping him an instant before Yasu was on him again.
Palm-strike to the chest — blocked.
Knife-hand toward the neck — deflected.
Low kick toward the shin — checked.
Enji stepped inside the arc of Yasu's next strike, snapping a quick triple-kick combination - inside thigh, ribs, head. Yasu blocked each strike with calm efficiency, then swept Enji's leg.
Enji jumped over it, twisting in midair to bring down a sharp heel kick. Yasu raised his forearms, catching the blow with a deep thud. The ground under his feet cracked from the force, but he didn't move.He let Enji's feet slide along his forearms to the side nonchalantly, but the slight twitch of his eyebrows indicated his surprise.
'Strength boosted by chakra?!!' Yasu exclaimed inwardly. The boy was breaking every bar he had set. The jounin let the boy catch a breather and lowered his stance.
"You're starting to see openings," he said. "Now you need to create them."
Enji's lips curved into a faint grin despite the ache in his body. "Then let's go again."
Enji pressed in again - jabs to draw the guard, a sudden switch into a hook, then a driving knee toward the gut.
Yasu caught the knee, shoved it aside, and countered with a rising kick so fast Enji barely saw it. The boy leaned back, letting it miss by centimeters, and answered with a whipping low kick that connected this time, jarring Yasu's stance.
The jōnin's eyes sharpened.
"Better."
His pace jumped again - faster and heavier, culminating into a rain of blows. Enji blocked what he could, took some on his arms and legs, every strike numbing hisbmuscles and rattling his bones.
His arms and legs were covered in fresh bruises, purple and red blotches spreading under the skin. His lip was split, a thin trickle of blood sliding down his chin.
And still, his eyes were lit with that same stubborn fire.
"That's enough," Yasu said at last, letting his stance relax. His voice held no trace of disappointment - only the quiet satisfaction of a craftsman seeing his work take shape.
Enji straightened slowly, wincing as his muscles complained... sigh..."I still couldn't land one clean hit."
"Not yet," Yasu replied. "But you've lasted this long against me without collapsing. For a 7 year old brat and a nine-week student, that's already well above standard. You'll get your hit soon enough." but inwardly he thought ' tsk,how would I face anyone if I got hit in a spar with a wet behind the ears brat. It's already shameful enough that I used more strength than I declared before the spar.'
After the spar they sat side by side on the training ground,the soil cold beneath them. Steam curled from their bodies into the winter air. Yasu sipped from a small flask of hot tea, then wordlessly handed it to Enji.
"You've pushed yourself harder than most genin would have." Yasu said, glancing at the boy's scraped knuckles. "I've seen grown shinobi give up before getting this far."
Enji drank slowly, letting the warmth seep through his sore body. He didn't answer right away,because in truth, words felt almost....too small and unnecessary for the moment.
In his other life, there had been no one like this. No Yasu,no mentor,no guardians,no New Year that carried the promise of something worth looking forward to. He'd woken in this body half-prepared to treat the world and it'speople as fiction. He had thought he would never be able to connect with anyone, never feel for anyone.
But somewhere between the training bruises, the silent encouragement, and the shared tea in the cold, the distance had narrowed.
'I want to stay. I want to see the all the wonders this world had to offer. I want to meet them,my favourite characters, change their fate, their tragedies and I will' Enji promised himself.
He will stay not because he had to survive, not because some grand plot demanded it,but because moments like this, people like this,made the world feel less like paper and more like home.
When they stood to leave, Yasu reached into his vest pouch and pulled out a small, brown-wrapped storage scroll tied with red string.
"It's almost the New Year," Yasu said, holding it out. "You've earned something better than those wooden practice targets."
Enji poured some chakra into it. With a proof of smoke ,lay a dozen finely balanced shuriken and kunai,their edges gleaming ; some clothes, each etched with the curling lines of the Sarutobi clan crest and more training equipment.
Yasu said. "Now they're yours. Use them well."
"Thank you, ...Yasu-sensei," he said quietly, and meant it.
Yasu nodded once. "Happy New Year, Enji. Let's see how far you can go before the next one."
Enji placed everything back into the scroll, and with Yasu headed through the bustling streets filled with festivities and joy towards the hospital.
Unknowingly both the student and the teacher had a small smile on their faces.