The sun peeked over the rooftops of Liria, its golden light pouring into the open training yard at the edge of the city. The space, usually used by apprentice mages and spell-knights for drills, was today… unofficially reserved for two very small, very determined boys.

  On one end stood Leo Ferrowind, arms crossed, a smug grin pstered across his face. His cloak fluttered dramatically in the breeze—well, mostly due to the tiny wind enchantment stitched into it by his mother.

  On the other side was Kagami, barefoot, his small fists clenched at his sides. Mikay stood nearby, arms crossed, watching closely.

  Zack was munching on a stick of honeyed meat and muttering, “Two toddlers about to sling magic at each other. What could possibly go wrong?”

  A small crowd had gathered—mostly curious junior hunters and low-ranked mages from the nearby guild hall. A duel between magical children wasn’t common, and word of yesterday’s “fruit cart incident” had spread fast.

  Leo stepped forward, lifting his wand. “Let’s make this clean. Three hits or one surrender.”

  Kagami simply nodded.

  Leo began with a flourish. “Fmma Minoris!”

  A small fireball burst from his wand, spiraling toward Kagami.

  Kagami’s eyes sharpened. He sidestepped, his feet barely moving. Despite his toddler frame, there was something in the way he moved—like a shadow slipping past a bde.

  Then he raised his hand.

  “Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!”

  The words rang out—not in chant-like repetition, but with focused intent.

  Mikay blinked. “What spell is that?”

  Zack furrowed his brow. “He keeps saying that weird ‘Sui’ word.”

  As Kagami thrust his hands forward, water surged from the air around him—but it didn’t just form. It roared.

  A stream of spiraling water spun into the shape of a small dragon's head, its body unfinished and barely formed—but it shot forward with speed and force far beyond a typical beginner spell.

  But something else was happening.

  The spell shimmered—not just with mana’s natural glow, but with a reddish-blue flicker underneath it. Chakra.

  His chakra had awakened—drawn up alongside the mana instinctively.

  The watery dragon crashed into Leo—not enough to seriously hurt, but more than enough to knock him off his feet and send him tumbling through a pile of hay bundles stacked behind him.

  WHUMP.

  Leo groaned. “Ow. Ow. That bruised.”

  The crowd gasped. Not just because a toddler had just unched a mid-tier water spell, but because it wasn’t a spell anyone recognized.

  “That… wasn’t in any spellbook I’ve read,” a junior mage whispered.

  “Did he say… ‘sue-ree-you-dan’?” another murmured.

  Zack scratched his head. “That water bst looked like a dragon. But it wasn’t normal mana behavior…”

  Mikay, wide-eyed, whispered under her breath, “That wasn’t just mana. That was something else.”

  Kagami walked forward slowly. “You lose. Water jutsu… win.”

  Leo sat up, a slight bruise on his shoulder, cloak soaked, pride dented. “I didn’t surrender…”

  He was about to argue more when the crowd began cpping.

  Kagami turned to Mikay with a wide grin, his chest puffed. “Did it. Jutsu work.”

  She crouched in front of him, gently pcing her hands on his shoulders.

  “You didn’t just use magic,” she said softly. “You made something I’ve never seen before.”

  Kagami blinked. “It’s normal… in my world.”

  Zack joined them and bent down. “Still not understanding anything he says.”

  Leo stood and walked over, frowning. “That… wasn’t fair. I didn’t know you could do that.”

  Kagami tilted his head. “You mad?”

  Leo paused, then extended his hand. “You’re strong. And weird. But strong. Let’s duel again sometime.”

  Kagami nodded. “With bigger dragon.”

  Mikay blinked. “Please don’t.”

  As the small crowd dispersed, whispers of the strange new magic—jutsu, as the boy called it—spread across the city.

  And high above, in the watchtower of the Magical Corporation, a robed figure took notes.

  “A child who blends mana and… something else,” the figure muttered. “Interesting.”

  ---

  Later That Night…

  Kagami sat cross-legged on his bed, holding a small glowing orb of water in his palm. He pulsed a little chakra into it.

  The orb flickered—momentarily taking the shape of a serpent.

  He grinned.

  This world… doesn’t know what chakra is. But maybe… I can teach them.

  And with that thought, he closed his eyes, eager for tomorrow.

  ---