Climbing Trees and Water Walking

Tianqi, who had been sleeping on a rock, finally woke up.

"Hey, you're done already? Not bad—you were pretty fast." Looking at the three of them sitting on the ground, exhausted, Tianqi spoke up.

The three ignored him and continued resting. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be this tired.

Seeing that none of them paid him any attention, he went on, "Since you're done, let's go turn in the mission. Once we've handed it in, you can take a break."

Hearing that they could rest, the three immediately got up and ran to the mission hall to turn in the mission.

Outside the mission hall, Tianqi counted the bills in his hand. "I take a nap and get paid for it. This is a pretty good mission, even if the pay's a little low."

Jiraiya and the others gave Tianqi contemptuous looks. We did all the work, while you slept on the side. Of course you think it was great.

"Come on, I'll take you to the Back Mountain to relax." With that, he led them to a stream in the Back Mountain.

The three looked around curiously. "Big Brother Tianqi, how are we supposed to relax here?" Tsunade asked, an uncommon question from her.

"Oh, you don't know? Today, I'll teach you how to climb trees." Before Tianqi could finish speaking, Orochimaru had already climbed up a tree using his feet.

"Is this how you do it?" Orochimaru called down from the tree.

"Uh... yes, that's how." Seeing how easily Orochimaru had done it, Tianqi felt awkward.

"Big Brother Tianqi, that was so easy!" While Tianqi was still feeling awkward, Tsunade completed it just as effortlessly.

Awkward sweat ran down Tianqi's forehead. I haven't even explained the rules, and you've already done it. Are you doing this just to make me look bad?

It wasn't until he saw Jiraiya that Tianqi's embarrassment eased.

Jiraiya was copying Orochimaru and climbing the tree with his feet, but as soon as he got up, he fell straight back down.

"Ow! What happened? I just climbed up, and then I fell. Tsunade, Orochimaru, how did you do it?" Jiraiya asked the two of them in confusion.

"Idiot Jiraiya, you don't even know the basic technique of climbing trees with Chakra?" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with contempt.

"Use Chakra? How?" Jiraiya shouted.

"Enough, Jiraiya. Practice here on your own for a bit. I'll take the two of them over to the river." With that, he led them to the water.

"Do you know why I brought you two to the river?" Tianqi asked them.

"We're probably going to practice walking on water," Orochimaru said.

"That's right. We're going to practice Water Walking."

Tianqi had barely finished speaking when Orochimaru calmly stood on the surface of the water by himself. Damn! Is he doing this just to make me look bad?

"Orochimaru, well done. You're very talented at this." Tianqi held back his urge to swear and praised Orochimaru instead.

Some people needed encouragement and recognition before they could do better. Tianqi believed that, and he acted accordingly.

"Your turn, Tsunade. Give it a try." Tianqi looked at Tsunade. She would become a famous Medical Ninja someday, so her Chakra control had to be excellent.

Sure enough, Tsunade stepped onto the water. She wobbled for a moment, but quickly steadied herself and began walking across the surface.

"This is amazing! It's my first time standing on water. This is so much fun!" Like a child, Tsunade ran around on the water.

"Since you've both got it, wait for me in that clearing over there. I'll go teach Jiraiya." With that, he headed straight back to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was still trying over and over: climb a little, thump, fall down; climb again, fall again...

Seeing Jiraiya still trying, Tianqi called out to him.

"Jiraiya, stop for a moment. Come here."

"Big Brother Tianqi, am I really not as good as those two? I can't even climb a simple tree." Jiraiya spoke to Tianqi, dejected.

"Jiraiya, why would you think that? Everyone has their own strengths. You can't compare your weaknesses to someone else's strengths. Besides, climbing a tree is simple. You just don't understand the principle yet. Once I explain it, I'm sure you'll be able to do it easily." Tianqi encouraged Jiraiya as he began explaining how it worked.

"Climbing a tree is simple. You just need to gather Chakra in your feet, then use it to stick firmly to the tree. Understand, Jiraiya?" As he spoke, Tianqi demonstrated in front of him.

"I'll give it a try." Following Tianqi's method, Jiraiya slowly approached the tree and used Chakra to climb it step by step.

"Hahaha! Big Brother Tianqi, I did it! I did it!" Jiraiya called out happily from the top of the tree.

Watching Jiraiya reach the top on his first try, Tianqi couldn't help praising him. As expected of the future hero Jiraiya. He'd learned after hearing the principle just once. Even Uchiha Sasuke had taken a long time to master it, so clearly Jiraiya wasn't lacking in talent.

"Excellent, Jiraiya. You did great. I knew you could do it." Tianqi praised him without holding back.

"It's because you taught me so well, Big Brother Tianqi." Hearing Tianqi praise him made Jiraiya feel embarrassed.

"Don't be modest. You did this all by yourself. I didn't help you at all. Come on, I'll take you to the next place." With that, he took Jiraiya to the river.

"Jiraiya, next you're going to learn to walk on water. Like before, I'll explain the principle and demonstrate it first. Then you can follow my method."

"Mm-hmm." Jiraiya was curious about how anyone could walk on water.

"Water Walking is different from climbing a tree. To climb a tree, you just need to gather Chakra in the right place and maintain a certain amount. Since the tree doesn't move, all you have to do is stick to it."

"Water Walking is different. To stay on the surface, you need to continuously release an appropriate amount of Chakra beneath your feet, and that amount has to be just enough to support your body."

"The difficult part is maintaining a steady amount of Chakra. This practice teaches you to release and control a specific amount of Chakra according to the actual need."

"I'll demonstrate." With that, Tianqi walked onto the water.

"Now gather Chakra beneath your feet, then release an amount suited to your body weight."

"Jiraiya, give it a try. I've explained it so clearly that I'm sure you'll get it easily," Tianqi told him.

Jiraiya followed Tianqi's instructions and gave it his first try. He placed one foot on the water and stayed there without sinking, but as soon as he put his second foot down, he fell straight in.

Tianqi didn't guide Jiraiya anymore. He'd explained everything there was to explain; now it was up to Jiraiya to figure it out.

After falling into the water more than ten times, Jiraiya finally mastered Water Walking. Tianqi then took him to the clearing where Orochimaru and the others were waiting.

"Jiraiya, why are you soaked? Hahaha!" Tsunade laughed at Jiraiya, who was drenched from head to toe.

"You flat-chested woman! So what if I'm soaked? I like swimming, and I don't care. Got a problem with that?" Jiraiya fired back when Tsunade laughed at him.

"Jiraiya! I guess it's been too long since I beat you up. You're itching for another one, huh?" Tsunade clapped her hands together and threatened him.

"Big Brother Tianqi, help me!" Seeing that Tsunade was about to beat him up, Jiraiya knew he couldn't win against her. Even if he could, he wouldn't hit a woman, so he immediately hid behind Tianqi.