Chapter 19: Echo of Heavy Footsteps

Founding Year: Third Year of Konoha's Establishment

Month: February (Final week of the two-month break)

Kenichi Sato's Age: 7 years and 11 months

Kenichi woke with the first thread of light. His body felt unusually light, but his mind was consumed by a single thought:

"That blow from Dai yesterday… it wasn't a coincidence."

He moved quietly to the snowy training ground. The air was sharply cold, biting at his cheeks with every deep breath. The sound of the wind threading through the bare branches resembled a soft moan.

Beneath his feet, the ground was frozen—slippery at times, but familiar. He stepped carefully over the layered snow and paused where yesterday's footprints remained. They were still imprinted on the white surface, with faint spots of blood beside them, like a sorrowful tattoo on winter's canvas.

He looked up at the sky, but saw no sun. Heavy gray clouds had covered everything, casting their shadow over the hearts of those who trained in silence.

—

An hour later, Might Dai appeared as usual, running with enthusiasm—but his steps were uneven, and his right arm was wrapped in a simple bandage.

Kenichi spoke in a quiet voice,

"Your arm… it hasn't stopped hurting, has it?"

Dai replied with his usual cheer,

"It's nothing! Just a muscle remembering how much I use it!"

But Kenichi approached him, gently took his arm, and pressed a specific point. Dai flinched slightly.

Kenichi said with rare seriousness,

"Dai… your body isn't a machine. If you truly want to push it to its limit, you need to respect it first."

Dai was silent for a moment, then whispered,

"I just… don't want to stop. Because every time I stop, I feel like I'll lose my way."

Kenichi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Rest isn't weakness. It's part of strength. Real weakness is ignoring your body's signals."

He then pulled out a small notebook, opened a fresh page, and wrote:

> Recovery Program for Might Dai:

– Warm baths after each training session.

– Daily stretching for 20 minutes.

– Seated breathing exercises, twice a day.

– One rest day every four days.

—

Later that day, while Kenichi was having a light meal at home, another thought came to him:

"We can't afford medicinal herbs… but the forest behind Konoha… maybe there's something useful."

He took his notebook and began listing herbs he remembered from old readings—natural painkillers, anti-inflammatory plants, herbs that relax the muscles. He decided to take Dai on a trip to the forest tomorrow—not for training, but for gathering.

—

What Dai didn't know was that after every session with Kenichi, he would return to the training grounds in secret and continue on his own. At first, Kenichi thought it was just stubbornness, but later he realized it was something deeper… Dai was punishing himself for every failure.

One time, Kenichi returned to the training grounds silently, only to find Dai training in the rain—repeating a single strike dozens of times, even as his body trembled.

That day, Kenichi understood something new: Dai wasn't trying to surpass him—he was trying to surpass the weak version of himself that everyone once laughed at.

—

The next day, as Kenichi was explaining a simple deep breathing technique to Dai, he caught a shadow behind the trees. It wasn't an intruder… but a familiar observer: Tobirama Senju.

Neither Kenichi nor Dai noticed him. He stood quietly, his eyes following every movement with precision.

He whispered to himself,

"Dai… this boy has nothing but determination. But maybe… maybe one day he'll be given the chance he deserves."

Then he shifted his gaze to Kenichi,

"And you… what you're planting now won't just bear fruit for you alone."

—

That evening, Kenichi wrote in his notebook:

> "Dai teaches me patience. Not because he's slower than me, but because he's not afraid of repeating a mistake a thousand times."

"I think that finally… I'm not alone anymore."

End of Chapter 19