The morning sun painted the Sakamura compound in warm golden light as three year old Tetsuya sat cross-legged on the packed earth, watching his father arrange smooth stones in careful patterns. Father's big hands moved really slow and careful, like when Mom worked metal in the forge. Each stone found its perfect spot, creating circles within circles that made Tetsuya think of ripples in water.
"Today, we begin your training, Tetsuya," Father said, his deep voice gentle but serious. "Are you ready?"
I nodded really fast, even though my tummy felt all twisty. I'd watched the big kids train from my window lots of times. They looked super strong and fast, but sometimes they fell down hard or made faces like things hurt. Now it was gonna be my turn.
The training area felt huge around me. Stone walls went up really high, with scratches and marks that looked like writing I couldn't read yet. Elder Genzou sat on a wooden bench in the shade, his walking stick across his knees. His green eyes were kind but watching everything. Elder Hana worked in her garden nearby, close enough to see but not too close.
"First, you must understand what it means to be Sakamura," Father said, sitting down like me with his legs crossed. "We are children of stone and sky, earth and lightning. Our strength comes from building it slowly, one stone at a time, not rushing."
He picked up one of the smooth stones and put it in my little hand. It was warm from the sun and heavier than I thought it would be.
"Feel how heavy it is," Father said. "Every stone has its place. Just like every person in our clan has their place."
I squeezed the stone tight. It felt really solid and safe. "What's my place, Father?"
Father's serious face got a little smile. "That's what we'll find out together. But first, you need to learn how to be strong."
The next part was really fun! Father called it "play training," but it was just like the games I already liked. We stacked stones in towers to see how high we could make them before they fell over. I got really good at balancing little rocks on my hands while walking around the courtyard. Father taught me special breathing that made my heartbeat go slow and steady.
"Chakra is like breathing," Father explained while we sat facing each other. "It flows inside everyone, but most people never learn to feel it or make it do things. We'll start easy, just try to feel what's already inside you."
Father put his hand on top of mine, and I felt something warm and tingly go between us. It was like when you sit by a warm fire and feel the heat spread through your hands, but nicer.
"That's chakra," Father said softly. "It's the special energy that makes ninja techniques work. Someday, you'll learn to make it do amazing things. But right now, just try to feel it."
I closed my eyes really tight and tried super hard to feel whatever Father showed me. For just a second, I thought I felt something warm running through me like sunlight in my body. But when I tried to grab it, it went away.
"I can't keep it!" I said, feeling frustrated.
"Good," Father said, which confused me. "The first lesson is that chakra can't be forced. You have to be gentle with it, guide it, respect it. You felt it, that's way better than most kids do on their first try."
When we finished the morning training, Mom showed up with rice balls and tea. Her pretty auburn hair sparkled in the sun as she sat next to us. She wasn't wearing her forge apron, just regular training clothes. Her amber eyes looked super happy when she messed up my hair.
"How did our little shinobi do?" Mom asked.
"He has good feelings for things," Father said, sounding proud. "And patience, that's gonna help him a lot."
"Patience is really important," Mom agreed, giving me a rice ball. "In the forge and in training. If you heat metal too fast, it breaks. If you cool it too fast, it cracks. Good things take time."
While we ate, other family people started coming to the courtyard. Daichi-oji came back from running, all sweaty and breathing hard. His muscles were really big! His wife Aiko-oba followed with baby Haru in her arms. Haru's green eyes, just like mine, looked at everything like he wanted to see it all.
"Starting young this time, huh?" Daichi-oji said with a big grin, sitting by us. "How long before he's ready?"
"When his body is strong enough to be safe," Father said. "Maybe another year or two. Right now, we build the foundation."
Aiko-oba moved Haru to one arm and squeezed my shoulder. "Everyone gets stronger at their own speed, Tetsuya. Don't let anyone make you feel like you need to hurry."
After lunch, Father took me to a different part of the compound, a smaller training area I'd never seen before. The big kids were already there in a circle. I knew them from dinner and celebrations, but this was the first time I got to train with them.
Akira-nii was six years old and went to the Academy already. He looked really serious and important. His brown hair was combed neat, and his training clothes looked perfect. When he saw me, he smiled really nice.
"Welcome to real training, Tetsuya," he said, trying to sound grown-up. "Now you're gonna learn cool stuff!"
Emi-nee was five and really quiet most of the time. Her long black hair was braided back tight, and she stood super straight. She'd been training for two years already, so she looked confident. She waved at me but didn't say anything.
Kaito and Yuna were both four, and they looked almost the same when they weren't moving, which wasn't very often. Kaito was bouncing on his toes like he couldn't wait to start. Yuna was stretching.
"Everyone get in position," called Genzou-jii as he walked over to us. The old clan man moved really smooth for someone with a walking stick. "Today we welcome Tetsuya to our training circle. Remember, we all started where he is now. Help each other."
What happened next was my first real clan training! We started with easy stuff, jumping jacks, running in place, simple stretches. But even the easy things felt different when Genzou-jii was watching. He fixed how I stood, showed me how to breathe right when exercising, and explained why each thing mattered.
"Strong bottom means strong building," he said, fixing my stance during a balance thing. "Sloppy bottom means everything falls down when pressure comes."
The big kids showed me techniques I wouldn't learn for a really long time. Akira-nii had perfect leaf sticking, the practice leaf stuck to his hand with steady chakra. Emi-nee balanced three stones in a tower on her hand, not moving at all. Kaito could make the practice leaf flutter without touching it, just by focusing his chakra near it.
I watched everything with really wide eyes, trying to remember it all. Someday, I was gonna do these things too. Someday, I'd be the one showing newer kids how to do stuff.
"Your turn, Tetsuya," Genzou-jii said, giving me a practice leaf. "Don't try to make it stick, just hold it and try to feel your chakra flowing toward it."
I put the leaf on my hand and closed my eyes, reaching for that warm feeling Father showed me earlier. For a moment, nothing happened. Then I felt it, a tiny tingle, like warmth spreading through my palm from the inside. The leaf wiggled a little bit.
"I felt something!" I said, opening my eyes really fast.
"Very good," Genzou-jii nodded. "The leaf moved. That means your chakra wants to reach out. We'll make it stronger from there."
The afternoon kept going with lots of different things. First came making our bodies stronger, building the power we'd need for harder techniques later. Then we did chakra exercises, starting easy and getting harder as we got better. Finally, we practiced basic fighting moves, learning to move with purpose and control.
Everything connected to everything else. The balance exercises helped with chakra control. The breathing techniques helped with both getting stronger and meditation. The fighting forms taught us to make our minds and bodies work together. Nothing was wasted.
During water break, Emi-nee came over to me with her quiet confidence. "Training gets easier," she said simply. "But it also gets harder."
"What do you mean, Emi-nee?" I asked.
"The exercises become normal," she explained, her voice careful like she was thinking about each word. "But then they want you to do more. Today you made a leaf wiggle. Next month, Genzou-jii will want you to make it stick. Next year, you'll need to keep it there while running around."
Kaito bounced over, 'cause he couldn't stay still long. "Don't listen to her being all serious!" he said with a big grin. "Training's the best part! Watch this!" He picked up three small stones and started juggling them really fast, his hands moving so quick I could barely follow.
"Show off," Yuna said, but she was smiling too. "Tetsuya, wanna see something really cool?" She didn't wait for me to answer. She squatted down low and jumped up really high, like twice as tall as she was! "Genzou-jii taught me how to land quiet!" she said proudly when she came down without making any noise.
Akira-nii joined our little group, acting all important 'cause he went to the Academy. "The most important thing," he said, trying to sound like Father, "is you can't give up. Some days are really, really hard. Some stuff feels impossible. But if you keep trying and trying, eventually it just... works."
When training was almost over, Father gathered all us kids together for one last thing. We made a circle holding hands while he stood in the middle.
"Close your eyes," Father said. "Feel the chakra of the person next to you. Don't try to control it, just feel it."
I closed my eyes and tried really hard. Slowly, I started feeling something, warmth from Emi-nee's hand on my left, different energy from Kaito on my right. It was tiny, barely there, but definitely real.
"This is what it means to be a clan," Father said softly. "We're connected. Each person's strength helps the others. When you're having trouble, lean on your family. When you're strong, help those who need it."
The circle felt really solid, like it couldn't break. I understood right then that I wasn't just learning to be a ninja, I was learning to be part of something way bigger than just me.
When evening came and training was officially done, the other kids started going to their evening stuff. Akira-nii mentioned homework from the Academy. Emi-nee went to help Hana-baa with dinner. Kaito and Yuna had one more jumping contest before their parents called them.
I sat alone in the courtyard as shadows got longer, thinking about everything that happened. The training was hard but not too hard, exciting but not scary. Most importantly, it felt right, like this was where I belonged.
Father came and sat on the stone bench next to me with a happy sigh. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Tired," I said honestly. "But good tired. Like after playing really hard all day."
He nodded like that was exactly right. "That's perfect. Honest work, honest tired. You did really well today, Tetsuya. Better than I expected for the first time."
"Will I really be able to do what the others can do?"
"With time and hard work, yes," he said confidently. "Everyone goes at their own speed. Akira-kun started training at three, like you. Emi-chan began at three too. Look how much they can do now."
When stars started coming out in the dark sky, Mom called us for dinner. The family gathered around the long table in the main hall, grown-ups sharing stories about their day, kids talking about training and school. I listened to everything, feeling warm and belonging settle around me like a cozy blanket.
Later, when Mom tucked me into bed, I held tight to the clan pendant around my neck. The mountain and arrow symbol felt warm in my hand, reminding me of legacy and responsibility.
"Tomorrow we'll train again?" I asked sleepily.
"Tomorrow we'll train again," Mom confirmed, smoothing my hair. "And the day after that. And for many years to come. But tonight, you rest."
As I drifted off to sleep, I could hear the quiet sounds of the compound getting ready for the night, grown-ups talking about village stuff in low voices, soft footsteps of family members doing their evening things.
I was a Sakamura. Today had been my first real step on the path to becoming a shinobi, a keeper of our clan's traditions, and eventually a protector of Iwagakure itself. The journey would be long and hard, but I wouldn't walk it alone.
In my dreams, I balanced stones that grew into mountains, felt chakra flow like rivers of light, and stood with my clan against an endless sky. The foundation had been laid. Now came the patient work of building something worthy upon it.