Buttocks-High Push-Up Style

Break time always seemed to fly by.

Teacher Ibuki led a group of children to the playground. "Today, we're going to learn one of the most basic physical conditioning exercises: push-ups."

The smile on Shin-chan's face immediately froze. "P-push-ups?"

"That's right." Teacher Ibuki nodded. "Push-ups train your arms, chest, and core. They're an important part of basic Ninja training."

Shin-chan sighed, his whole body going limp.

Teacher Ibuki found a spot and began demonstrating.

"Watch carefully. Keep your body straight, with your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Breathe in as you lower yourself and breathe out as you push up. Now, watch me do a few with proper form."

He briskly did ten, his form as perfect as a textbook example.

"All right, now you try. Pair up and keep an eye on each other."

The children scattered, each finding a place to get down on the ground.

Shin-chan got down too.

But his position was a little different from everyone else's.

The others kept their bodies straight and braced their hands against the ground, ready to start.

Shin-chan lay flat on the ground, his face against the grass and his arms at his sides, like a sloth sunbathing.

"Shin-chan." Teacher Ibuki's voice came from a distance. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready," Shin-chan mumbled.

"Getting ready for what? Get up and do your push-ups."

Shin-chan slowly pushed himself up, but his posture was strange. His butt stuck way up in the air, his body forming an upside-down V, with his head lowered and his rear pointing skyward.

Teacher Ibuki froze.

The children nearby froze too.

Uchiha Toru was warming up nearby. When he saw the pose, his whole body stiffened. "Shin-chan, what are you doing?"

"Push-ups, obviously," Shin-chan replied matter-of-factly.

"No, that's not a push-up at all!"

"Really?" Shin-chan tilted his head and raised his butt even higher. "But I think this position is more comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

"Yeah. This way, the sun can shine on my butt."

Uchiha Toru's mouth twitched. He said nothing more.

Teacher Ibuki walked over and stared at Shin-chan's bizarre pose. His temple started throbbing again. "Shin Nohara, is that a push-up?"

"Yup." Shin-chan nodded. "The Buttocks-High Push-Up."

"What?"

"When I was training with Thick-Eyebrow Uncle yesterday, I realized there are lots of ways to do push-ups. This one's specifically for training your butt muscles." Shin-chan explained with complete seriousness.

Teacher Ibuki opened his mouth, but for a moment, he had no idea what to say.

Nearby, Might Guy was diligently doing proper push-ups, one after another, counting as he went.

"Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight..."

When he reached his twenty-ninth push-up, he looked up and saw Shin-chan's pose.

He stopped moving.

His mouth fell open.

His eyes widened.

"Shin-chan!" he cried. "What kind of exercise is that?"

Shin-chan turned to look at Might Guy, still holding his rear-high pose.

"The Buttocks-High Push-Up. It's a new style for training your butt muscles."

Might Guy froze.

Buttocks high? Training butt muscles? A new style of push-up?

"Shin-chan!"

Might Guy rushed over, tears in his eyes and his whole body trembling with excitement.

"You've created a new style, a style of youth!"

Might Guy's reaction startled Shin-chan. "I did?"

"You did." Might Guy nodded emphatically. "I never imagined push-ups could be done like this. You've shattered my preconceptions and shown me a new possibility of youth."

Might Guy gave a thumbs-up, flashing his pearly white teeth. "The Shin Style: Buttocks-High Push-Ups. This is proof of youth!"

Shin-chan blinked, then gave a thumbs-up too. "Right? I think it's really youthful too."

"Of course it's youthful." Might Guy's eyes brimmed with tears. "We'll make this style famous!"

"Okay."

One boy was on the ground with his butt in the air. The other stood beside him, tears streaming down his face. Both gave a thumbs-up.

The scene was bizarre, yet full of fiery spirit.

The children nearby stared, dumbfounded.

Obito's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground. "What... what are they doing?"

Rin covered her mouth and giggled. "That's so funny."

Kakashi glanced over without changing his expression, then continued doing his own push-ups. But the eye peeking out above his mask seemed to curve slightly.

Uchiha Toru stood nearby, completely numb. He wanted to say something, but had no idea what.

In the end, he silently turned away and continued doing proper push-ups, pretending he didn't know either of them.

Standing on the playground, Teacher Ibuki watched the scene and rubbed his temples.

"Shin Nohara!"

"Here!"

"Could you do a normal push-up?"

"A normal one?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "Teacher, what does 'normal' mean?"

"It means doing it like everyone else!"

"But doing it like everyone else only trains one kind of muscle. Mine trains different muscles." Shin-chan spoke earnestly. "My mom says you have to train your whole body. You can't just work on one part."

Teacher Ibuki took a deep breath. "Your mom said that?"

"Yeah. She also said your butt is important, and you must never get constipated."

Teacher Ibuki closed his eyes, seeming to shrink a little. "Then keep training."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Shin-chan stuck his butt up again and began moving up and down.

The movement looked incredibly strange.

Might Guy watched for a moment, then suddenly got down on the ground and took the exact same pose as Shin-chan.

"Guy, what are you doing?" Shin-chan asked, turning his head.

"I'm going to train with the Buttocks-High Push-Up too." Might Guy's eyes brimmed with tears. "I can't let you be the only one to burn with the fire of youth!"

Two little boys with their butts in the air lay side by side, moving up and down together.

The scene was twice as bizarre.

Obito watched them and suddenly found himself tempted.

"Um... that actually looks kind of fun?"

But when he saw the classmates around him trying to stifle their laughter, he reluctantly gave up. He kept doing push-ups, though his eyes kept drifting over to them.

Rin couldn't help laughing out loud, then quickly covered her mouth.

Uchiha Toru kept his head down the whole time, pretending he hadn't seen a thing. The corners of his mouth were the only giveaway, lifting slightly the entire time.

Standing at the edge of the playground, Teacher Ibuki watched the two tiny figures with their butts in the air. He sighed, then smiled, a trace of helplessness in his expression.

That kid really was a handful.

But with him around, the class never seemed to get boring.

In the distance, Kakashi finished a set of push-ups and stood up. He glanced over casually and muttered, "Idiots."

But there seemed to be a hint of envy in his one visible eye, though it was hard to say what he envied.

Maybe it was the ability to be silly and happy without caring what anyone else thought.

On the playground, the push-ups of youth continued.