_Inside the lodging_
*SLAM*
The door of the Kuki's and Hozuki's room abruptly slams into the wall.
"ARE YOU UP YET KIDDOS?"Suzune shouts,effectively waking up the previously unconscious boys.
"Ughhhh let us rest,haven't you beaten us enough-"Hozuki groaned right after being awoken.
"He's right Suzu,let the kids rest a little"Said Isane.
"Moe!you're so stiff Isane! Hmph!"Suzune said with her face forming a pout.
"You're a samurai captain Suzune,*sigh* act like one please…"Isane said with a tired look.
"The bandaged kid asked for the sparr first!Besides,look at the kid!He has just woken up and he already has the creepy smile on his face like earlier!"
"Huh?What smile?" Kuki,who is completely oblivious to his tendencies , wonders.
"The one you have on your face right now-" "It's no use miss Suzune,he won't acknowledge it"Cutting off Suzune,Hozuki stated helplessly.
Walking further into the room,Suzune takes a chair and places it beside where Isane was sitting and gets herself comfortable leaning on Isane.
"By the way Isane,that kid's bright red hair looks familiar,he's not from the land of iron isn't he?"Suzune questions Isane.
"Yeah,He's an Uzumaki clan member from the land of fire."Isane stated.
"Mhm,I was brought here because of the exchange program "said Hozuki while he was stretching his arms.
"So who was Hozuki exchanged for?"Kuki asked from curiosity.
"I don't remember any of us samurai being sent there,who was exchanged?"Suzune questioned
"No one,we owe them a prodigy of our own "Isane said.
Upon the realization that this could be a chance for him to finally meet Hanabi for the first time,Kuki's eyes were set ablaze.
Seeing a sudden rise in excitement in his youngest samurai,Isane realizes Kuki wants to be a part of this program.
"By the way, Kuki,you'll need to prove yourself well in order to be selected,"Isane chuckled.
Realizing that the cat is out of the bag,Kuki bashfully laughs.
_Kuki's Pov_
Over the past few months training with Isane and the samurai,I've improved significantly in my kenjutsu and Uragiru style knife technique.
But most importantly I've made a lot of progress in my Kekkei Tota, Steel release.I can now quickly create simple constructs such as steel spikes and chains effectively in battles, although I can also create more sophisticated things such as knives ,deploying them in battle still isn't quite viable.
Not only that,with the help of my steel weight bracelets and a lot of training,my strength has increased significantly,allowing me to further improve my gentle fist and gentle fang, my gentle fist.My byakugan has gotten stronger from training too,I can see chakra signatures up to 500 meters away now if I focus.
Although my gentle fang is still too straining for my young body,I've managed to develop a fourth fang!Fourth fang:heart implosion, a technique where I use my knuckles to strike the closest chakra point to the opponent's heart,overloading it with my chakra so their heart implodes from a sudden rush of chakra.
Must prove myself in this tournament!For a chance to finally meet Hanabi!!