-5- First fight

'Ok, so how do you use chakra?' Renji began to think.

He started to try to move the new internal energy he could feel, and to his surprise, the energy responded easily. It wasn't like moving a limb but more like wiggling your ears.

Despite its ease of movement, precise control proved elusive.

'Ok, now that I can move it, I guess I need to focus it in my muscles.'

He started to try and guide the energy that had until now been following a set path out and into his muscles. After about 10 seconds, he started to get the hang of it, and he could feel his body becoming lighter and stronger. The only problem was he was using way too much chakra.

'I have to work on efficiency,' he thought. 'I can't waste all my chakra on this run. I need to save some for the rest of the test.' He realized this was likely a hidden part of the test—learning to pace oneself is crucial for a ninja, always needing to be ready for anything.

After another 15 minutes of running, with the teacher bumping the speed up for the last 5 minutes, the first test finally ended with them stopping at the opposite side of the training grounds from the other 5000 kids from before.

"Good job for those that made it. Out of the 461 kids that started the run, 423 of you are still here, so be proud of yourselves for making it," the lead teacher said, not even out of breath.

"Now we're going to give you a 5-minute break while showing you how to throw a punch properly."

"Everyone line up in rows and give yourselves space to move."

The children shuffled into position, their eager faces a mix of concentration and excitement. 30 seconds later, the session began.

"The key to a strong punch starts at your base..."

The lead teacher, with the help of the other 9 teachers, began to explain how to throw a punch correctly while showing examples of the movement starting from the feet, then going up from there with all the kids mirroring their movements.

After 5 minutes, they stopped.

"Alright, now we're going to do another exercise," the lead instructor announced, a hint of challenge in his voice. "Everyone get down and follow me. This will test your strength and willpower."

The lead teacher got down in push-up position and started to slowly do push-ups.

"One," he counted, going slow on the way down and quick on the way up.

"Two."

"Three."

"Four..."

The count continued, unwavering, as the children followed, determination etched on their faces.

"Forty-two…"

"Sixty-seven…"

At this point, very few students had been forced to quit

"Ninety-one…"

Renji was starting to get better control of his chakra the difference from the beginning was night and day.

"One hundred."

The teacher finally stopped and stood up with a smile, "Alright, good job guys. For those that made it to one hundred, I know you're getting tired, so we're going to take another 5-minute break. This time, we're going to show you how to kick."

'Damn, another 36 kids dropped out,' Renji sighed at their misfortune.

"Once again, a good kick starts from the ground and works its way up…" The teachers demonstrated the proper kicking technique with practiced ease.

For five minutes, the students watched, absorbing the instructions. The lead teacher then addressed them, "Ok, now that we've shown you how to punch and kick, we're going to see how quickly you can learn as a ninja. If you aren't a quick learner, you'll never be a good shinobi."

The anticipation in the air thickened as the teacher continued, "So, it's time to fight. We have 10 teachers, so everyone line up in 10 even rows."

The kids scrambled to form lines, a mix of nervousness and excitement evident on their faces. Renji, trying to bolster his own spirits, thought, 'I haven't been in a real fight in I don't know how long, but I should be able to beat some little kids.'

The lines started to move forward, each teacher overseeing pairs of students sparring for 15 to 20 seconds. So far, no one had been dismissed, which was a small relief.

"Next."

It was finally Renji's turn, and he was set to fight the kid in front of him.

The kid was a little shorter than him with black hair and brown eyes. He wore a green shirt, and Renji didn't recognize the kid's family crest.

Renji stepped up in front of the teacher and readied himself.

'I wouldn't call myself a fighter, but I've always been a quick learner, so I should be fine. Plus, in my previous life, I watched plenty of YouTube videos on how to fight when I was bored, and I even taught Kazuki how to fight when we were growing up so he could protect himself.'

"Begin." the teacher commanded.

Renji held his ground as the kid made the first move.

The kid closed the distance swiftly, throwing a left jab followed by a straight right.

Renji blocked the jab with ease and dodged the right, his body moving with a fluid precision. Reaching out, he grabbed the kid's shoulder, pulling him close while driving his knee into the kid's gut.

"Bang."

The knee landed perfectly, knocking the air out of the kid, and then Renji pushed the kid back, throwing a straight right punch and following it up with a left-footed kick, dropping the kid to the ground.

'Damn, I didn't think I had it in me, but my brain should be much more developed than his, so I should also be able to think quicker, and that's huge in a fight.'

"Damn, good job, kid," the teacher who watched his fight said as he wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Next."

"Wait, wait! I want a redo! I wasn't ready," the kid quickly jumped up and said to the teacher, embarrassment and anger coloring his face.

"No redos and it's fine. You'll get another chance. You won't get kicked out just for this. Now move on. Next!" the teacher said, not bothering with the kid anymore.

Renji and the kid moved on, and the fights continued.

About 15 minutes later, the fights wrapped up, and the lead teacher said, "Good job, guys. Most of you did very well. Now we're going to give you 10 minutes to think about your fights and practice your moves, then we're going to do it again. Make sure you line up with the same teacher. If you can't even follow this easy direction, you're out."

The teacher's voice hardened. "This time, if you don't meet the requirements, you're out. After your fight, if the teacher thinks you're good to go, you move on, and congratulations, you're one step closer to being a ninja. But if the teacher says you're not ready, you have one more fight to prove yourself, and then you're done. Now spread back out and start practicing."

The kids dispersed quickly. Those who had struggled before were eager to redeem themselves, while the more confident ones moved with deliberate, thoughtful precision. The ten minutes slipped by in no time, and soon it was Renji's turn again. His match was swift, a mirror of his previous victory, ending in seconds.

'I wonder what it'd be like to fight one of the kids from the other group.' Renji knew that most of these kids were like him and had never even fought once in their life, so he had the advantage with his mental age and previous life's memories. But most of the kids from the other group had already been taught by their ninja parents to fight and use their chakra, so he was curious about how he would fare against them.

Renji moved on to the group that passed and slowly waited for the fights to finish. Once it was all said and done, out of the 387 kids that made it to the first fight, only 312 were left.

The lead teacher stepped forward after the kids that failed all left and said, "Good job making it this far. You're one step away from being a ninja."

"Now all you have to do is show that you can control your chakra."

'Yes,' Renji thought, excitement bubbling up. He was fairly confident in his ability to control his chakra, at least to some degree.

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