Hiro’s body ached, sweat dripping from his brow as he steadied his breathing. The taijutsu spar had left him exhausted, but he wasn’t done yet. Across the clearing, Shinji stepped forward, his commanding presence impossible to ignore.

  "That was a good warm-up," Shinji said, arms crossed. "Now, we move on to the final exercise—a weapons spar."

  Hiro tensed, gripping his whip tightly as Shinji reached to his waist and unhooked a blunted practice sword. He turned to Natsume and tossed it to her with a flick of his wrist.

  "This should be safe to use on Hiro," he said.

  Hiro’s eyes flickered to the katana resting at Shinji’s waist. A realization struck him—Shinji must have taught Natsume the sword arts himself.

  Natsume caught the weapon midair, then turned to her father, raising a skeptical brow. "Are you sure this is fair?"

  Shinji chuckled, shaking his head. "That depends on him."

  Before Hiro could react, Shinji stepped up to him, lowering his voice. "Keep a kunai in your left hand."

  Hiro blinked, momentarily puzzled. But as he gnced back toward Kaya, the pieces started to fall into pce. Kaya had spent months drilling him on dual-wielding techniques, making sure he used his offhand efficiently alongside his whip.

  Taking a slow breath, Hiro pulled a wooden kunai from his belt and held it in his left hand. He met Natsume’s gaze, determination settling in his chest.

  Shinji stepped back and lifted a hand. "Begin."

  The moment Shinji’s hand fell, Hiro snapped into action.

  His medium-range whip cracked forward toward Natsume, just as she dropped her hips, preparing to unsheath her sword.

  Natsume’s eyes tracked Hiro’s left hand as he sent a wooden shuriken flying toward her.

  She parried it effortlessly, her sword fshing through the air.

  But by the time her bde reset—

  The whip was already mid-strike.

  Natsume shifted to block it, expecting a predictable arc.

  She was wrong.

  The whip’s snakelike movement accelerated, its tip snapping faster than she anticipated. Her eyes lost track of the end.

  A sharp sting erupted in her left thigh.

  Natsume’s jaw clenched as she flinched from the unexpected strike.

  "First point, Hiro!" Shinji’s voice rang out.

  Natsume stood frozen, eyes wide. This was the first time she had been struck in a weapons spar.

  Hiro exhaled sharply, rolling his wrist as he brought his whip back into position. He had nded a solid hit.

  Natsume looked down at the red mark forming on her thigh, then back at Hiro. Her expression shifted from shock to something more serious.

  "Natsume," Shinji said, voice steady, "it is a falcy to believe that the sword is the only deadly weapon on the battlefield."

  Natsume’s gaze flicked toward her father.

  "You have only worked with shuriken, kunai, senbon, and swords because our cn favors these," Shinji continued. "But in other parts of the world, there are a variety of nonstandard weapons you will encounter."

  His expression hardened slightly. "And when ninjas fight, often you only make one mistake before your life is over."

  Natsume straightened, gripping her sword more firmly. "Understood."

  Shinji smirked slightly, then stepped back. "Prepare for the next round."

  This time, Natsume didn’t wait.

  As soon as Shinji gave the signal, she exploded forward, closing the distance before Hiro could react.

  His medium-range whip snapped out again, but Natsume was already inside its range.

  Her sword came down in a swift arc—

  Hiro barely managed to deflect it with his kunai.

  But before he could reposition—

  A follow-up strike nded against his fnk.

  "Point, Natsume."

  Hiro staggered, sucking in a breath as Natsume stepped back, her expression still serious. The match was even now.

  As the sparring session continued, Natsume began to dominate, her experience and skill taking over.

  Hiro nded occasional hits, using the whip’s unpredictable movement to sneak in strikes.

  But Natsume adapted quickly, forcing him onto the defensive.

  Each round, she widened the score gap.

  By the final round, Hiro was exhausted, sweat dripping down his face, while Natsume looked as fresh as ever.

  "Final score," Shinji announced, arms crossed. "Natsume: 25. Hiro: 4."

  Hiro hunched over, gripping his knees, chest heaving. Across from him, Natsume twirled her blunted sword before sliding it into its holster.

  "Not bad, Hiro," she said, grinning again. "But four points? I thought you were aiming higher."

  Hiro wiped sweat from his forehead and straightened. "Next time, it’ll be more."

  Kaya, who had been observing quietly, finally spoke. "You both did well."

  Shinji nodded, looking over at Kaya. "This was good for both of them. Natsume needed a challenge outside of her usual Uchiha training, and Hiro… he’s got potential."

  He gnced back at Hiro. "For someone hiding his actual specialty—this summoning power you asked me to help cover up—he’s not half bad at armed combat."

  Hiro tensed at the mention of his summons but quickly realized Shinji wasn’t mocking him.

  "If he can further his whip style and add a solid close-range counter, he could be a formidable combat ninja."

  Hiro straightened, gripping the handle of his whip tightly. He had a long way to go, but this was just the beginning.