Spring arrived earlier than expected that year, melting the last of winter's grip on our mountain training grounds by the time my civilian friends and I could meet regularly again in the village plaza.
"You're getting taller," Yuki observed as we gathered for our first group game since the cold months had separated us. "And stronger looking too."
She wasn't wrong. The winter training had changed me in ways that went beyond just physical conditioning. My movements felt more precise, my awareness of my surroundings sharper, and my chakra control had improved to the point where I could maintain the leaf-sticking exercise for nearly five minutes without strain.
"Clan training never stops," I explained, helping Kenji up after he'd tried to copy one of my balance exercises. "Even when the weather's bad, we find ways to practice."
Masa watched us, a little envious. "I wish my family had a place to train. The stuff you showed us helped, but Academy training is way tougher. My brother says the village training grounds are only for Genins and above, so we can't use them unless a teacher is with us."
"Really? So you can't just go there after class?" Yuki asked, sounding disappointed.
Masa shook his head. "Nope. Only with an instructor. I guess it's to keep us from getting hurt."
"How's Academy so far?" I asked, genuinely curious.
He grinned. "Hard, but kind of fun. The teachers make us do all sorts of drills. It's way more serious than what we did before."
---
As spring turned to summer, I found myself in an unusual position within our friend group. While Masa was attending Academy and the others looked forward to theirs the following year, I was caught between worlds, too advanced for my current age group but still a year away from my own Academy start.
The clan took advantage of this extra preparation time by intensifying my training in ways that would have been impossible if I were attending Academy daily.
"Today we begin advanced chakra nature exercises" Father announced one morning as we stood in our compound's main training area. The summer heat was already building, despite the early hour. "You've mastered basic control and demonstrated unusual sensitivity to elemental connections. Now we'll see what that means for your future development."
Elder Genzou had arranged several stations around the training ground, each designed to test different aspects of chakra manipulation. At the first station, a collection of stones ranging from pebbles to large rocks sat in careful arrangements.
"We'll start with earth, naturally" Genzou-jii said, gesturing for me to approach the stone collection. "But instead of simply sensing them like you've been doing, I want you to try influencing them directly."
I placed my hands on a medium-sized stone, focusing my chakra the way I'd been taught. The familiar warmth spread through my palms, but this time I tried to push the energy into the stone itself rather than just sensing what was already there.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then I felt the stone respond, not dramatically, but with a subtle shift that seemed to make it somehow more solid, more present.
"Excellent first attempt" Father nodded approvingly. "You're actually reinforcing the stone's natural structure with your chakra. That's a more advanced technique than most Academy students learn in their entire time there."
The summer training continued to build on these foundations. I learned to sense the difference between various metals at Mom's forge, practiced maintaining chakra flow while performing increasingly complex physical exercises, and began studying basic theory about elemental interactions.
"Understanding comes before application" Elder Genzou reminded me during one particularly challenging lesson about chakra transformation. "Your unusual sensitivity gives you advantages, but only if you learn to use them properly."
---
As autumn returned and my sixth birthday approached, the mood in our compound grew more serious. Academy enrollment was only months away, and everyone seemed to understand that this represented a major transition not just for me, but for our entire family dynamic.
"Six years old" Mom said thoughtfully as she worked at her forge one afternoon while I practiced chakra exercises nearby. "It seems like just yesterday you were taking your first steps in this courtyard."
"Are you worried about me starting Academy?" I asked, pausing in my concentration to look at her.
She set down her hammer and turned to face me fully. "Not worried, exactly. Proud, certainly. But also aware that this changes everything. Once you start Academy, you'll be part of something larger than just our clan. You'll have loyalties and friendships that extend beyond these walls."
"That's good though, right? Father always says we serve the village, not just ourselves."
"It is good" she agreed, smiling. "It's also complicated. You'll need to balance clan teachings with Academy instruction, family expectations with personal choices, individual goals with team responsibilities."
The conversation stayed with me as the weeks passed and my birthday celebration drew closer. This wasn't just another year, it was the final milestone before everything changed.
The birthday celebration itself was larger than previous years, with extended clan members traveling from across the Land of Earth to attend. Uncle Daichi, Father's closest friend, had returned from his latest mission just in time for the celebration.
"He's grown so much since I last saw him" Uncle Daichi said to Father as they watched me play in the courtyard. "Six years old already, time for his affinity testing."
"Yes, we'll do it after the celebration" Father replied, though I could hear the pride in his voice. "Given his unusual sensitivity to materials, I'm hoping he's inherited the bloodline."
"Another gravity user in the family would be wonderful" Uncle Daichi said with a smile. "The boy's shown all the right signs during training."
I continued playing, but their conversation had caught my attention. I knew about chakra affinities from my studies, and I'd heard about our clan's gravity manipulation, the kekkei genkai that required both earth and lightning natures.
After the birthday celebration ended and most of the relatives had departed, Father approached me with a simple piece of chakra paper in his hand.
"Time for your affinity test, Tetsuya. You know what this is?"
"Chakra paper" I nodded. "It reacts to show your natural elemental affinity."
"That's right. Channel your chakra into it and let's see what you've inherited."
I took the paper and focused my chakra into it the way I'd been taught. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the paper began to change, one section crumbled to dirt while another wrinkled and sparked with tiny bolts of electricity.
Father and Elder Genzou, who had approached during the test, exchanged satisfied looks.
"Both elements" Father said with quiet pride. "Earth and lightning, just as we hoped."
"Strong reactions too" Genzou-jii observed with satisfaction. "He can begin proper gravity training now. The bloodline potential is confirmed."
"What does this mean for my training?" I asked, examining the remains of the paper with fascination.
"It means you can learn our family's techniques" Father explained. "The combination of earth and lightning allows us to manipulate gravity, our clan's kekkei genkai."
---
[POV SHIFT - RYUUSEI]
Watching my son's affinity test confirm what we had hoped for, I felt a surge of pride mixed with anticipation. For our clan, earth and lightning together meant he could join the ranks of active gravity users like myself, Genzou, and Daichi.
The earth affinity hadn't surprised me. Tetsuya had shown exceptional connection to stone and metal since early childhood. But seeing the lightning affinity confirmed alongside it meant he could now begin learning the techniques that defined our clan's strength.
"The bloodline is confirmed" Elder Genzou said with satisfaction. "He can begin learning our techniques."
I nodded, watching Tetsuya examine the remains of the paper with fascination.
"When do we begin his training?" I asked my father.
"Immediately" Genzou replied.
[POV SHIFT - BACK TO TETSUYA]
---
"So what does this mean for my Academy preparation?" I asked as we returned to the main compound, my mind still processing what had just happened.
"It means your training becomes more specialized" Father said seriously. "Our bloodline gives you access to Gravity Release, but it also means you can't learn the standard way other dual-affinity users combine earth and lightning."
"What do you mean?" I asked them.
Elder Genzou answered thoughtfully. "Explosion Release, the technique that most people with both earth and lightning affinities can learn. Our bloodline prevents that. When we try to combine the elements the normal way, we get gravitational effects instead of explosions."
"Is that... bad?" I asked, uncertain whether this was a limitation I should worry about.
"Different" Father corrected. "Our clan discovered this generations ago when they tried to learn Explosion Release but kept getting gravitational effects instead. What seemed like failure became our greatest strength."
"Will the Academy instructors know how to teach me?"
Elder Genzou stroked his beard thoughtfully. "The Academy will teach you standard techniques that all students learn. But our clan's kekkei genkai require specialized knowledge that only our clan possesses."
"More training?" I asked, though I wasn't really complaining. The idea of learning lightning techniques alongside earth manipulation was exciting rather than daunting.
"Much more training" Father confirmed. "But also much greater potential. The combination of earth and lightning opens possibilities that few ninja ever have the chance to explore."
Over the remaining months before Academy enrollment, my training schedule intensified beyond anything I'd experienced. Mornings were devoted to advanced chakra control exercises designed to help me channel both elements safely. Afternoons focused on basic technique theory and physical conditioning. Evenings involved meditation and study of elemental interaction principles.
"The key is understanding the limitation as much as the advantage" Mom explained during one of our forge sessions, where I was learning to sense the electrical properties of different metals. "Lightning wants to move quickly and strike hard. Earth prefers slow, steady, overwhelming force. From what your father and grandfather have told me, most dual-affinity users can create explosions by combining them, but your clan's bloodline forces a different path."
"So I'll never be able to make explosions?"
"That's what the clan records say" she said simply. "But you'll be able to do things no one else can. That's often more valuable than following the common path."
The mistakes came frequently during those intense preparation months. I accidentally shocked myself during lightning exercises, cracked training stones with poorly controlled earth techniques, and more than once ended up unconscious from chakra exhaustion when I tried to do too much too fast.
Gradually, I began to understand what everyone meant about balance. Lightning could make earth techniques faster and more precise. Earth could give lightning techniques stability and lasting power. Used together properly, they created possibilities that neither element offered alone.
But the most significant change came two weeks after my birthday, when Elder Genzou announced it was time for me to join the gravity-enhanced training that all clan members began at age six.
"Today you begin training under increased gravity" he explained as we stood in a specialized section of our training grounds I'd only observed from a distance. "Every Sakamura learns to condition their body this way. It will make you stronger, faster, and more resilient than normal training ever could."
"And today you'll also begin learning Kasō-ryū," Father added with a smile. "Our clan's signature taijutsu style."
I looked between them curiously. "What makes it special?"
"Watch" Elder Genzou said simply.
Elder Genzou moved to the center of the training area with surprising grace. He activated his gravity technique, and I felt the air around us grow heavier, pressing down like an invisible weight.
Then he began to move.
Each punch and kick seemed to carry incredible force, as if the enhanced gravity made his attacks devastating rather than hindering them. His footwork was precise but powerful, each step creating small tremors in the stone floor. When he demonstrated a defensive stance, he looked absolutely immovable, like a mountain that had learned to fight.
"Kasō-ryū means 'Weighted Style,'" Father explained as Genzou-jii completed the demonstration. "The techniques are designed for bodies that have trained under enhanced weight."
"But here's what makes it truly special," Genzou-jii said, deactivating his technique. The sudden return to normal gravity made him seem to move with lightning speed as he repeated several of the same movements. "When your muscles become accustomed to fighting against increased weight, removing that resistance makes you incredibly fast and strong."
"And the style works for all clan members," Father emphasized.
"Really?" I asked, thinking of cousins like Kaito and Yuna who only had earth affinity.
"The enhanced conditioning improves everyone's strength, speed, and reflexes," Father nodded. "The fighting style takes advantage of those improvements whether you can manipulate gravity with chakra or not."
Elder Genzou focused his chakra, and I felt the change immediately, a subtle but noticeable increase in pressure that made my training clothes feel heavier. Unlike the demonstration, this was a controlled, sustained technique designed for training rather than combat.
"The foundation of Kasō-ryū has four core principles" Genzou-jii began as I adjusted to the enhanced gravity. "Heavy striking, centered balance, explosive movement, and endurance focus. Each principle builds on what weighted training teaches your body."
The first lesson focused on basic stance and movement under the enhanced conditions. Even standing properly required more effort than normal, and my legs trembled as I tried to maintain the balanced position Genzou-jii demonstrated.
"Good" Father observed as I struggled to keep my feet properly positioned. "Fighting the increased weight now will make normal movement feel effortless later. This is the foundation of our fighting style, techniques that feel natural under gravity become devastating when that weight is removed."
"The key principle," Genzou-jii explained while I practiced shifting between stances, "is to strike with the weight of mountains and move with the freedom of sky. Your attacks should feel inevitable, like stones falling from a cliff."
As the session progressed, I began to understand what they meant. My movements felt deliberate and powerful under the increased weight. When Elder Genzou temporarily deactivated the gravity enhancement for comparison, my limbs felt incredibly light and fast.
"That sensation" Father said with satisfaction, "is why Sakamura clan members have advantages even without the bloodline. Your body learns to function under increased resistance, making normal conditions feel easy. And Kasō-ryū is designed to maximize that advantage."
The training session lasted only thirty minutes, but I felt thoroughly exhausted when we finished. My muscles ached in new ways, and sweat soaked my training clothes despite the cool air.
"Well done for your first gravity session," Genzou-jii said approvingly as he released his technique. "You maintained proper form throughout, which is more important than strength at this stage."
"Will I train the fighting style every session now?" I asked, still catching my breath.
"Kasō-ryū will become part of all your physical training," Genzou-jii confirmed. "The basic forms work under normal gravity too, though they're designed to reach their full potential under enhanced conditions."
"Three times per week to start," Father added about the gravity training schedule. "Your body needs time to adapt gradually to both the conditioning and the fighting techniques."
---
Academy enrollment day arrived with unexpected suddenness, despite months of preparation. I woke that morning feeling a strange mixture of excitement and nervousness that I'd never experienced before.
"Ready?" Father asked as we prepared to walk to the Academy registration building.
I checked my equipment one final time. The clan pendant I'd worn since childhood, a small pouch containing basic supplies, and a scroll containing formal documentation of my training progress and affinity test results.
"Ready" I confirmed, though I wasn't entirely sure what I was ready for.
The registration process was simpler than I'd expected. A middle-aged Academy instructor reviewed my documentation, asked a few questions about my background and preparation, and filled out forms that would determine my class placement.
"Dual affinity, extensive clan preparation, advanced chakra control" she noted as she read Elder Genzou's testing report. "That's an impressive combination for an incoming student. You'll be placed in Advanced Foundations to start, with possible acceleration depending on your progress."
"What does Advanced Foundations mean?"
"Faster pace, more complex material, higher expectations" she explained matter-of-factly. "Students who show exceptional preparation sometimes need more challenging coursework to stay engaged."
As we left the registration building and headed home, I felt the weight of a major transition settling over me. In just a few weeks, I would begin Academy training alongside students from across the village. Some with backgrounds similar to mine, others with completely different preparation and goals.
"Nervous?" Father asked as we climbed the path toward our compound.
"A little" I admitted. "But also excited. This feels like everything I've been training for."
"It's the beginning of everything you've been training for" he corrected. "Academy is just the first step in a much longer journey."
That evening, as our family gathered for dinner, I found myself looking around the table with new awareness. These weekly family meals might become less frequent once Academy started. The daily training sessions with Elder Genzou would be reduced to evenings and rest days. The casual afternoon conversations with Mom at her forge would compete with Academy homework and new friendships.
Change was coming, whether I felt ready for it or not.
Later that night, I lay in bed thinking about the affinity test and what it meant for my future. Earth and lightning, the combination suggested possibilities I was only beginning to understand. But more than the technical aspects, I found myself thinking about responsibility.
Dual affinity wasn't just about having more techniques available. It was about living up to the potential that other people saw in me, meeting expectations that came with unusual abilities, and someday using those gifts in service of something larger than myself.
A soft knock at my door interrupted my thoughts. "Tetsuya?" Father's voice called quietly. "Are you still awake?"
"Yes father" I called back, sitting up in bed.
He entered carrying a small wrapped bundle. "I have something for you. An early Academy gift."
I accepted the package, carefully unwrapping the cloth to reveal a set of training weights, small metal bands designed to be worn around the wrists and ankles during exercise.
I examined the weights closely. They were beautifully crafted, each band inscribed with tiny geometric patterns that seemed to shift slightly in the lamplight. The metal felt warm to the touch, and I could sense the subtle chakra-conducting properties worked into their construction.
"Mom made these?" I asked, recognizing the quality of metalwork.
"Your mother and I collaborated" Father said with a smile. "The base metal is standard, but we infused them with trace amounts of chakra-conductive materials. They'll help you maintain constant awareness of your chakra flow while training, and the weight will build your physical conditioning gradually."
"They're adjustable" Father continued, showing me how the bands could be modified. "As you grow stronger, we can increase the weight. And the chakra-conducting properties will help you practice dual-element control safely, they'll provide resistance if your lightning and earth chakra becomes unbalanced."
"That's... really thoughtful" I said, genuinely impressed by the craftsmanship and consideration that had gone into them.
"Your grandfather suggested the design" Father admitted. "He said that training with proper equipment from the beginning would prevent bad habits and accelerate your development. These will be with you throughout your Academy years."
I looked down at the weights in my hands, then back up at Father. The care that had gone into making these, not just the craftsmanship, but the thought behind every detail, suddenly hit me all at once. This wasn't just equipment; it was a piece of my family's love and faith in my future.
"Thank you, Father" I said, my voice quieter than I intended. "For these, and for... everything. I know how much work you and Mom put into preparing me for this. I won't let you down."
Father's expression softened, and he reached over to ruffle my hair gently. "You never could, Tetsuya. Just do your best and stay true to yourself. That's all we've ever asked."
"Tomorrow we begin gravity training in earnest" he said with a smile. "Elder Genzou has some... interesting exercises planned for you."
I grinned back, suddenly much more awake. "What kind of exercises?"
"You'll find out. But I will say this, you might want to get a good night's sleep. You're going to need it."
After Father left, I carefully placed the training weights on my bedside table where I could see them. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new training, and the beginning of mastering abilities that made me unique even within my own clan.
The real adventure was about to begin, and I was ready for it.