For the students, Thursday passed by in a flash.
From Konoha History in the morning to Mathematics immediately after, then Physical Conditioning, then Stamina Training, then lunch (thank the LORDS), and finally Chakra Theory and, subsequently, Chakra Practice. That was what a young shinobi's school day looked like usually, anyway.
And like any school, most of the classes were incredibly boring. More so for the five students that had already gone through the K-12 education system once already. The only classes that really pushed the five reincarnates were the physical training ones as well as the chakra-related ones; although, with the aid of chakra, even physical training grew to be something that each of the five looked forward to.
With the aid of chakra coursing through muscle and tendon alike, exercise somehow became fun.
The kids ran faster. They recovered faster. They had more stamina than they had ever dreamed possible and it was all thanks to the miracle drug called chakra.
Legs feeling tired? Lungs giving out? Sweat dribbling down your forehead and getting in your eyes? Fucking with your eye lashes? You blink and it sort of stings?
Not anymore!
Focus on the heat found in the pit of your stomach. Really focus on it. Feel it.
Become one with it.
Then direct it. Guide it. Offer it a place to go other than its cage.
The guidance alone will take almost all of your concentration at first, but that's beside the point; as once chakra arrives at wherever you intended it to go, it will ignite!
And that once hot rush of warmth of which you thought chakra felt like–now as it coats your swollen calves and your burning lungs–you realize it feels cool. Almost a little cold.
The chakra slowly sinks within you. It latches onto your muscles, your bones, even your blood; and for a split second, everything gets brighter. Things feel stronger, reactions feel tighter, even your breaths feel fuller, like they somehow injected more oxygen directly into the empty pockets of your lungs.
Chakra was miraculous. It was magnificent. And it was more than a little magical in its ways.
With the aid of chakra, physical training grew fun because the feeling of accessing chakra grew addictive. The feeling of hot reinforcement versus cool relief and the cycle between the two.
Chakra was miraculous because it felt like it was designed to be used. Like it actually wanted you to succeed in whatever grand scheme you were attempting; and that feeling of being aided, of being supported, of being replenished–it was all addictive in a way.
So in some sick, twisted loop–training itself became addictive.
And it wasn't just the five reincarnates that noticed the change within themselves, the outside world too–Takegi Yugotake, their guiding Sensei–as well as their other classmates such as Jun Shimura, Taro Hyuga, and Nana Inuzuka noticed the change as well.
The five students suddenly started taking their classes very seriously. Ando Kaze and Natsuko Sarutobi began taking notes across all of them. To add onto that, in Physical Conditioning and Stamina Training especially, the five had exploded.
Ando Kaze now regularly competed with Taro Hyuga for first during their daily runs. Similarly, Natsuko, Mori, and Sen jumped from the latter half of the class to now, the leading bunch. Surprising everyone was Okuda Tomomori, who rocketted from twenty-seventh place in their class to fifth–just behind Taro, Jun, Ando, and Nana.
Then suddenly, it was Friday.
Spar day.
It was the students' third year in the Ninja Academy, in other words, their last year. Unlike the future protagonist's timeline–where the Ninja Academy extended to six years in length and the graduates graduated at 12 years old–in the current time, before the precipice of the Third Shinobi World War, the Ninja Academy was more so a tool to pump out Genin, rather than a genuine "Academy."
Konoha Village, in general, was more militarized now than it will be in the following two decades.
Regardless, it was spar day and it was the first time since coming to this world where the five reincarnates would truly have to test themselves against the mettle of a natural-born shinobi.
Over the past week, rather than spar with each other, the five instead discussed the world at length. From an onlookers perspective, one might think that the group of five started a philosophy club at Training Grounds 33 since, at present, no training had actually been done on said "training grounds."
By the time each school day had ended, and with the obscene amount of daily exercise committed, plus the constant worrying conversation geared towards their future–it was no exaggeration to say that by the time each of the students returned to their homes each night, all of them nearly collapsed onto their futons immediately and quickly entered dreamland.
All accept Sen, of course, who had a buzzing problem.
Friday. Training Grounds 4. Reserved by the Academy.
Takegi Yugotake stood at the front of the class. The students sat on the ground, meanwhile, in rows of five. Behind Takegi Sensei, a large swath of dirt extended left and right. A white border was drawn around the edge of the dirt field–in the shape of a rectangle. Surrounding the field, tall trees dominated the arena. Most were yellows and orange, with some green splotches here and there.
Jun Shimura, Taro Hyuga, Nana Inuzuka, Natsuko Sarutobi, and Ando Kaze sat in the front row. Just behind them, Sen Aburame, Mori Fūma, and Okuda Tomomori sat beside one another. Takegi Sensei said that the seating was irrelevant, but the kids knew that was far from the truth; it was simple, really–closer to the front, higher the expectations.
And Ando Kaze secured his spot in a breeze. He was fast. He was bright. He smiled and talked a lot. It was easy to see how, in just a week, he caught Takegi Sensei's eye. It was even easier to see when one also considered Ando's recent "clash" with Taro Hyuga for first place in the morning long run.
He failed, of course. Taro still won. But it was the bite that counts. The blood was in the water.
Taro Hyuga was no longer unreachable.
Suddenly, Takegi Sensei interrupted his student's thoughts. "Are there any volunteers?" He smiled warmly.
Immediately, Taro's pale arm rocketed up.
A bunch of others did too, to be fair, but Taro's was certainly the quickest and the cleanest.
"Taro." Takegi said.
"Yes, Sensei." Taro confidently rose and moved beside him.
Takegi scanned the classroom. The moment Taro's name was called, many hands wavered. Some arms writhed weakly, others shot down defeatedly. All of a sudden, only nine students still had their hands up.
Takegi looked at Taro. The boy was a classic Hyuga, white kimono, long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a forehead protector across his head, but the metal was clean–there was no insignia etched into it yet.
"You choose, Taro." Takegi instructed.
"Yes, Sensei." Taro's white-eyes moved straight onto Ando.
"Him." He said, pointing.
"Jeeze! He doesn't even know my name?!" Ando thought.
Takegi glanced at him. "Ando. You're up. Perform the Seal of Confrontation with Taro and begin on my mark."
"Yes, Sensei!"
The two boys stood across from each other. Each widened their stance slightly and extended their shoulders. Then, they held their hands together and formed a half-tiger sign–the Seal of Confrontation.
"Begin!"