The air at the Ninja Academy is different today.
Training grounds are abuzz as instructors announce a new challenge: a two-on-two sparring exercise meant to test coordination, reflexes, and chakra flow. For most students, it's just another chance to show off or survive the lesson. But for Hinata Hyuga, it's something else entirely.
Another chance to prove she isn't the clan's quiet failure.
When the names are called, her breath catches in her throat.
"Kazuki Arata and Hinata Hyuga, pair two."
She blinks in surprise. Kazuki—that boy. Quiet, mysterious, unsettling. Rumors swirled around him like mist. Some said he could control the weather. Others whispered about glowing eyes and lightning that answered his call. She'd seen glimpses—his chakra, wild and beautiful, unlike anything she'd ever felt.
Still, when he walks beside her to the sparring area, he doesn't seem menacing. His gaze is focused, not unfriendly. He nods once, respectful.
"I'll follow your lead," he says softly.
Hinata freezes. No one ever says that to her. Not her cousins. Not her teachers. Not even her own father.
"…Okay," she whispers, her voice barely audible.
Their opponents are two older boys from the upper class—Raido and Tetsuma. Confident. Loud. Dangerous.
Raido sneers. "Aw, look. The Hyuga reject and the weirdo. This'll be fun."
The instructor gives the signal.
The match begins.
Hinata moves first, sliding into the Gentle Fist stance. Her strikes are precise but cautious. Tetsuma charges at her, and for a moment, her nerves get the better of her. Her footwork falters.
Then lightning flashes.
Kazuki blurs into motion, faster than expected. He slips between Hinata and Tetsuma, his palm glowing faintly with crackling blue energy. The air shifts with pressure, buzzing with static. Tetsuma's kunai meets Kazuki's hand—and shatters.
"You're done," Kazuki whispers, and with a subtle twist of his wrist, Tetsuma is knocked back into the dirt.
Raido tries to capitalize, rushing Kazuki from behind. But Hinata, emboldened, pivots smoothly, her palm grazing Raido's side. Gentle Fist. Chakra strike. His muscles seize up, and he crumples to one knee.
It's over in under a minute.
The watching students are stunned.
Some whisper. Others stare. But the impression is clear: Kazuki Arata isn't just a rumor anymore. And Hinata Hyuga is no failure.
As they exit the ring, she hesitates beside him.
"Th-thank you… for protecting me."
Kazuki looks at her quietly.
"You didn't need protecting," he replies. "You just needed someone to believe in you."
Her cheeks flush. She bows her head quickly and hurries away.
Later that afternoon, Kazuki stands alone in a secluded clearing behind the Academy. It's quiet. Peaceful. His fingers trace the air, condensing moisture into beads of water. Slowly, he threads lightning through them, forming tiny orbs that flicker and spark.
Control is difficult. The chakra within him pulses like a storm barely held at bay.
He exhales, trying to center himself.
That's when he senses her.
Hinata. Again.
She's at the edge of the field, half-hidden behind a tree, nervously fidgeting.
"I—I was just passing by and… I saw you," she mumbles.
He nods without turning. "You can stay."
She sits beneath a tree, legs crossed, and watches in silence as he continues his work.
Minutes pass.
Then she asks, almost in a whisper, "Why do you work so hard?"
Kazuki's hands pause. He looks up at the sky, grey clouds slowly shifting overhead.
"Because I couldn't save anyone last time," he says. "This time… I will."
Hinata doesn't understand, but she hears the weight in his voice. The pain. The regret.
"I'll get stronger too," she says suddenly. "So you don't have to protect everyone alone."
Their eyes meet.
A quiet bond forms—uncertain, fragile, but real. Kazuki lets the smallest smile cross his lips.
High above, nestled among tree branches, a figure watches them silently.
Ino Yamanaka.
Arms crossed. Expression unreadable. She scoffs quietly.
"Seriously? That moody guy? What does she even see in him?"
But even she can't hide the spark of curiosity in her eyes.
The next morning, Kazuki enters class and finds Ino waiting near his seat.
"You think you're so mysterious, huh?" she says, arms crossed. "Quiet guy. Lone wolf. Girls like that kind of thing—but not me."
Kazuki blinks slowly. "Then why are you talking to me?"
She flushes. "I—! Shut up."
She storms off.
Thus begins an unspoken rivalry: Ino, bold and brash, drawn to what she claims to dislike. Hinata, quiet and sincere, watching Kazuki with growing admiration. Kazuki remains focused, but he's beginning to realize that the storm he wrestles with isn't just chakra.
It's emotion. Connection. People.
That evening, in the solitude of his room, Kazuki opens a worn notebook—the one he's kept since the day he awoke in this world.
He sketches the triskelion lightning symbol—three bolts spiraling around an eye—and beneath it writes:
"This world is already changing me. I didn't expect… connection. If I'm not careful, they'll get close. And when they do, they'll get hurt."
Far away, in a tower bathed in the orange glow of dusk, the Third Hokage peers into a crystal ball.
Inside the orb, the image of Kazuki's sparring match replays in perfect clarity.
Behind him, Anko Mitarashi steps into view.
"The boy's chakra is changing," she says. "His bloodline's active."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes narrow.
"Then the countdown begins," he murmurs. "The storm is waking."