Renji showed up at dawn with a packed bag. Yan and Retsu arrived a heartbeat later, chattering about plans.
"I brought a mountain of spices," Yan bragged. "Chef mode is on."
Retsu eyed the field. "Couple traps here and there. Imagine the new instructors' faces."
"Imagine our funerals," Renji said, dragging him away. Even Yan vetoed it on the spot.
Kenshi crossed the yard with two Uchiha in flak vests. "These are clan elites, Uchiha Ze and Uchiha Sa. The three of us will run a one-week closed camp for you."
The boys bowed. "Please teach us."
Ze smiled. "No need to be stiff. I'll handle genjutsu. Casting, breaking, layering, and how to lace illusions through trap networks. How much you master is on you."
Sa nodded. "You all share Fire and Earth. I specialize in Fire, Wind, Earth, and their combos, plus chakra nature transformation. Forget anything else for now. You won't learn it in a week."
Kenshi's lips curved. "I keep it simple. Uchiha sword style. You can train with your Sharingan open, which makes the basics bearable. It still takes years, so this week is foundation only."
His gaze flicked to Renji's short blade, Seikaze, and he gave a satisfied nod.
"We start now. Sa, they're yours. Ze and I will set up some… lessons in the woods."
The boys shivered. Polite smiles in front of Sa, cold sweat behind him.
"Show me what you have in Fire, Wind, and Earth," Sa said. "No holding back."
They unleashed Fireball, Phoenix Fire, Crimson Claw, Dragon Fire, Earth Wall, Headhunter, Gale Burst.
Sa watched, amused. "You hit hard, but your control is thin. Defense is one note. You need a clean engage tool. Before element specifics, learn this. Shadow Clone."
A soft pop. Two Sa stood grinning. "One on one teaching starts now."
In the trees, Ze set tags and wire while side-eyeing Kenshi. "Your genjutsu and trap work are close to mine. Why drag me out here? What do you really want taught?"
Kenshi lowered his voice. "You care about the juniors. They will go further with your hand on them."
Ze snorted. "What you want is my network. Three or four dozen students I have mentored, all with favors owed. Building Renji's base of support, are we?"
Kenshi did not deny it. "Renji's talent is the best I've seen. He loves the clan. I have a feeling he is the one who can pull us through. The Police Force spun up a Fourth Division. I am captain, but I only have their squad. Next year I want Renji promoted to sub-captain with three squads under him. Recommend people I can trust."
Ze laughed. "Now you are speaking my language. I have names. It is easier to trust brothers who share a teacher. We will meet after camp. Let them bond."
They finished seeding the woods with surprises.
By noon the yard was three mirrored lanes.
In lane one, Sa taught Earth Release: Yellow Springs Swamp, a brutal control technique that turns soil into sucking mire. He broke down seals, chakra shaping, timing, even his field notes from real missions. The boys scribbled furiously.
In lane two, Sa set pair drills for Fire and Wind fusion. He put Retsu with Sa himself, Yan with Renji. No chakra at first, only footwork, positions, timing, and the exact moment names are called so a combo lands like a single blade.
In lane three, pure theory. Chakra nature transformation. They filled pages with pitfalls, practice progressions, and small hacks that save weeks.
Lunch came and went. Sa stretched in the shade with a cup of sake. Kenshi ordered one shadow clone from each boy to keep studying, then took their real bodies into the trees.
"Sharingan on," Kenshi said, resting Seikaze across his shoulder. "Sword 101. A blade is a mirror. In good hands it guards. In cruel hands it ruins. Train the blade, do not become its servant."
He paced. "Grip breathes. Hands light yet firm. Wrist alive, arm rooted, body and steps aligned. Do not freeze into forms. Do not worship names of strikes. Cut, lift, sweep, cloud, thrust, check, draw, parry, circle, pick, thread. You can memorize the shapes in a week. That is the shell. The substance takes years."
He flowed through the basics with clean, unshowy precision. Sharingan spun. The boys imitated, stiff at first, then a little less so. Sa chuckled from the sideline. Watching sword beginners is a guilty pleasure.
Ze waved them deeper into the trees and held up half a mask. "Your task is simple. The other half is somewhere within three hundred meters. Find it, and I teach a genjutsu tonight."
Simple was a lie. The birds had gone silent. The woods felt like a sealed room.
Retsu took point. Renji covered center. Yan watched their backs. They moved slow, checking branches, roots, shadows.
Then it began.
A pop, a hiss, the air split.
"Down."
"Left."
"Jump."
"Front."
Explosions and wire snaps and slate-silent darts stitched the forest. The boys dodged, slipped, got clipped, kept moving, and got clipped again.
At the edge of laughing, Kenshi said, "Pull them out."
Ze and Sa vanished, returned moments later. Ze had Renji under one arm and Yan under the other, both torn and smoky, eyes glassy. Sa carried Retsu on his back. Retsu's face had puffed into a tragic peach.
"Release your clones and rest," Kenshi said, keeping a straight face. "We continue after dinner."
The clones popped, fatigue dumped into their bodies like wet sand, and all three fell asleep where they stood.
Kenshi bowed to Ze. "I will still need you tonight for genjutsu."
Ze waved him off. "If I teach, I teach properly. They will get what they came for."
Night would come with illusions and counters, then more sword forms, more element timing, and a new layer of pain. But under the bruises, something bright had started to take shape.
Three boys moving toward one rhythm.
.
.
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