Over the next few days, Shin-chan obediently followed Might Duy and Might Guy to train every day after school.
Although it was called training, in Shin-chan's view, it was just running around the Village every day and then being dragged by Might Duy to do some strange movements from time to time, like handstands, push-ups, and frog jumps.
Might Duy, however, was becoming increasingly confused.
This child named Nohara Shinnosuke followed them every day, doing those basic training exercises, even though he kept shouting, "So tired," "I'm going to die," and "Can we take a break?"
But no matter how Might Duy observed, he couldn't find where Shin-chan's limits were.
For handstands, he could hold on until Might Guy couldn't hold on anymore. For running, he ran and stopped, stopped and ran, but his total distance was even more than Might Guy's.
How could he stimulate the potential hidden in this child's body?
Might Duy scratched his head in distress.
"Father, what are you thinking about?" Might Guy asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Nothing." Might Duy shook his head, stopped thinking about those things, and then revealed his shiny white teeth. "Today, we are going to the back of Konoha to train."
"The back of the Village?" Might Guy's eyes lit up.
"There is a cliff there; we can practice climbing."
Shin-chan yawned on the side. "Climbing? Is that just climbing walls?"
"It's more impressive than climbing walls; it's climbing a cliff."
Shin-chan thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any pretty Older Sisters on the cliff?"
Might Duy's smile stiffened. "No."
"Then I don't want to go."
"Youth cannot pick and choose its location!"
"But only places with pretty Older Sisters have Youth," Shin-chan said seriously. "Burning also requires fuel, and pretty Older Sisters are the fuel for my Youth."
Might Duy opened his mouth, discovering that he actually couldn't refute that. But in the end, the three of them set off for the back of the Village.
The back of Konoha was a stretch of rolling hills with dense trees. Might Duy led them to a steep rock wall.
"This is it." Might Duy pointed to the almost vertical rock wall. "Today's training goal: climb to the top."
Might Guy looked up, staring at the high cliff top as flames ignited in his eyes. "So high, but Youth is all about challenging high places."
Shin-chan also looked up, then swallowed hard. "Uncle, how high is this?"
"About thirty meters, I suppose."
Shin-chan was silent for a while. "Uncle."
"Hmm?"
"I don't think this training is suitable for me."
"Why?"
"Because I'm still small, and I'll die if I fall."
Might Duy patted his chest. "Don't worry, I'll be down below to catch you."
Shin-chan put his hands behind his back, clearly still somewhat hesitant.
"Father, Shin-chan, look over there quickly!" Might Guy shouted, pointing toward the cliff.
Might Duy and Shin-chan looked in the direction his finger was pointing. On the rock wall was a boy about the same age as Shin-chan and the others, with silver hair and wearing a mask. He was using only one hand to grip the rock wall, with his other hand behind his back, his body pressed against the rock like a gecko, moving upward bit by bit.
Shin-chan blinked. "Isn't that Kakashi?"
"Kakashi—he's actually training here too!" Might Guy was somewhat surprised.
Might Duy gave a thumbs up. "Amazing! That child is so young, yet he can climb this kind of rock wall with one hand."
Kakashi continued to climb up, his movements fluid, reaching the top of the mountain bit by bit. Then, he slowly walked down from the other side.
Might Guy clenched his fists. "I can't lose; I want to climb too!"
After saying that, he rushed toward the rock wall, grabbed the rock with both hands, and began to climb up. But just two meters into the climb, his hand slipped.
Thud.
He fell to the ground. Might Guy climbed up, patted the dirt off his body, and rushed up again. He climbed three meters, then his foot slipped.
Thud.
He fell down again.
"Youth cannot give up!"
Might Guy rushed up for the third time. Shin-chan watched from the side, his mouth opening into an "O" shape.
"Might Guy, doesn't it hurt?"
"It hurts." Might Guy's eyes welled up with tears. "But Youth must never admit defeat!"
Might Guy climbed up again. This time he climbed even higher, and then—Thud—he fell even worse.
Shin-chan swallowed hard and looked at the high rock wall. "Is this really something a five-year-old child can climb?"
He walked hesitantly to the rock wall and looked up. The stone was very hard, the crevices were very small, and it looked like there was absolutely nowhere to grab. Shin-chan tried to reach out, hooking onto a small crevice in the rock, and then lifted his foot.
Plop.
He also fell to the ground.
"So painful." Shin-chan sat on the ground, rubbing his butt.
Kakashi's voice came from above: "You need to use Chakra."
Shin-chan looked up and saw that Kakashi had already come down from the other side of the slope.
"Chakra?" Shin-chan tilted his head, puzzled.
"Concentrate Chakra in your hands and feet, and you will be able to stick to the rock wall." After saying that, Kakashi began another round of training, not saying another word.
Shin-chan looked at his hands, thoughtful. Chakra. It was that hot thing that spun around in his stomach.
Shin-chan pressed his hand against the rock wall, trying hard to recall the feeling of refining Chakra that day. Soon, something hot surged from his stomach and flowed into his palms. Then he pressed his hand against the rock wall.
It stuck.
Shin-chan was stunned for a moment, then tried to put his other hand on it. It also stuck. Shin-chan hesitated for a few seconds and then started to climb up.
It was very slow and clumsy; he had to think for a long time for every step, not knowing where to grab with his hands or where to step with his feet. But he was definitely climbing up.
"Father!" Might Guy shouted excitedly. "Shin-chan is climbing up!"
Might Duy stood under the rock wall, looking up and watching that small red figure inching upward bit by bit. The expression on his face became increasingly complex.
He climbed ten meters like this.
"So tired." Shin-chan stopped and looked down. "Uncle, can I come down now?"
Before Might Duy could answer, Shin-chan let go with his hands and feet and jumped down directly.
"Shin-chan!" Might Duy rushed over, wanting to catch him.
But Shin-chan landed steadily on the ground, then stood up and patted the dirt off his body, completely unharmed.
"It's too high; I don't want to climb anymore."
Might Guy rushed over and hugged him. "Shin-chan, you're amazing; you really climbed up!"
On the rock wall, Kakashi had actually been observing them the whole time. From the moment that red figure tried to climb and fell the first time, to the second time when he successfully climbed up, he had seen it all.
He had refined Chakra for the first time in just one lesson. He had only failed once when using Chakra to climb the rock wall for the first time.
That guy...
"Kakashi!" Shin-chan suddenly waved at him. "Thank you for teaching me!"
Kakashi withdrew his gaze and continued to climb up, but his voice drifted down: "No need."
Shin-chan didn't mind and turned to Might Duy. "Uncle, do I really have to climb to the top of the cliff?"
Might Duy was silent for a long time before putting his hand on Shin-chan's shoulder. "You are a true genius."
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought for three seconds. "What is a genius? Is it edible?"
Might Duy: "..."
Under the setting sun, the three of them stood in front of the rock wall. Might Guy looked at Shin-chan, his eyes full of admiration. Might Duy looked at Shin-chan, his eyes full of complexity.