The sun snted through the obsidian arches of Drakemount’s outer training field, painting golden lines across the moss-covered stone floor. The open-air coliseum roared with the wind rolling down from the mountains, but the space had been sealed just for this occasion. This wasn’t an ordinary session.

  It was a reunion.

  Kagami stood at the center of the arena, arms folded, his bck combat coat fluttering around his calves. He exhaled deeply as he felt the presence of three distinct mana signatures approach—their rhythm familiar, yet different. Sharper. Stronger. Refined.

  The gates opened with a hiss of magic steam.

  “About time,” Kagami said without turning.

  “Still dramatic as always, huh?” Leo’s voice came first, brash and amused.

  “Shut it, Leo,” Iren followed, calmer, but his mana pulsed subtly under his skin. “You’re still slower than your fire spell casting.”

  “You wanna go, tree-hugger?”

  “Enough, you two,” Minna’s voice cut through like a bde, calm and centered. “Kagami’s waiting.”

  They stepped onto the field—Leo with a confident swagger, fire already crackling along his wrists; Iren with calm, coiled wind gathered in his palms; Minna in front, water dancing like ribbons at her fingertips, with glowing circles of silver-blue mana orbiting her shoulders.

  Kagami turned, a flicker of genuine pride softening his sharp features.

  “You’ve all grown,” he said.

  Minna smirked. “Mikay and Zack don’t py around. Master Rivel either. They broke us and built us back stronger.”

  “I can see it,” Kagami nodded, noting the stability of their mana flow. “Even your movement feels...almost like chakra molding. You adapted mana manipution into chakra-like discipline.”

  Leo grinned. “We made our own versions of those tricks you showed us—Tree Climbing, Water Walking, even short-distance Body Flicker using compressed mana bursts.”

  “Still not as fast as mine,” Kagami teased.

  Minna tilted her head. “Then prove it.”

  Kagami raised an eyebrow.

  “I want to test your growth,” he said. “Three on one. Full spar. No holding back. If you can touch me, I’ll admit you’ve improved.”

  Leo cracked his knuckles. “Heh. Big mistake.”

  Iren exhaled slowly, entering stance. “Don’t underestimate us.”

  Minna's mana surged like a tide. “Ready.”

  Kagami smirked. “Begin.”

  The field erupted.

  Leo unched forward, fire trailing from his feet like afterburners. His punch roared with heat, mimicking Kagami’s chakra-enhanced strikes. Kagami sidestepped, palms weaving—his Genyle-style blunt strike knocked Leo aside.

  But Iren was already there, a spiral of wind whipping into slicing threads. Kagami twisted, ducking under the wind-bdes, only to find Minna’s water javelin racing at his blindside.

  He dropped low, flickered, vanished.

  “Body Flicker Technique: Second Form.” His voice whispered behind them.

  Iren barely blocked in time, his wind catching Kagami’s heel mid-spin. But the strike still rang his ribs.

  Minna flicked her wrist, water forming a dome—“Tide Veil!”—buying them a second of regrouping.

  But Kagami’s chakra-infused hand pierced the veil.

  Leo yelled, charging again, fire turning blue.

  “Ashen Fangs!” he shouted—a move that mimicked a chakra cw strike, infused with combustion magic.

  Kagami’s Sharingan glimmered faintly—not fully active, but his instinct sharpened. He weaved between strikes, then exploded upward with—

  “Konoha Ryūjin!” A tornado kick sent Leo tumbling, though a fire shield absorbed most of it.

  Minna and Iren struck from two sides—wind and water colliding to form “Mist Rend Spear”, a fused technique that could slice stone.

  Kagami finally slid to a stop, panting.

  “Well damn,” he grinned, “you’re monsters now.”

  The three of them stood across from him, also heaving.

  “You didn’t go easy on us,” Minna said, but there was pride in her eyes.

  “You didn’t need me to,” Kagami replied. “You’re ready.”

  Elias cpped from the stands, walking down with a grin.

  “Good. Because your first mission briefing starts in twenty minutes.”

  They turned.

  “What’s the mission?” Iren asked.

  Elias’s face darkened slightly.

  “You’ll be investigating the rift zone near the Desote Ring. The disturbance is growing. And the Academy believes the dark mage group might be involved again.”

  Kagami’s eyes hardened. “We’ll be ready.”

  Elias looked at all four of them, proud but wary.

  “I believe you,” he said. “But understand, this mission...might change everything.”

  ---