How Could a Five-Year-Old Climb a Cliff?

Over the next few days, Shin-chan obediently trained with Might Duy and Might Guy after school every day.

They called it training, but to Shin-chan, it was just running laps around the village every day, then occasionally being made to do all sorts of strange exercises by Duy: handstands, push-ups, and frog jumps.

Duy, however, was becoming more and more confused.

This child named Shin Nohara ran with them every day and did all those basic exercises. Though he was always complaining, "I'm so tired," "I'm gonna die," and "Can we take a break?"

But no matter how carefully Duy observed him, he couldn't figure out where Shin-chan's limit was.

He could hold a handstand until Guy gave out.

When they ran, he would run for a while, stop, then run again—but he covered more distance than Guy in the end.

How could he bring out the potential hidden inside this child?

Might Duy scratched his head in frustration.

"Father, what are you thinking about?" Guy asked, puzzled.

"Nothing." Duy shook his head, letting the matter go, then flashed his bright white teeth. "Today, we're going to train in the hills behind Konoha."

"The hills?" Guy's eyes lit up.

"There are cliffs there. We can practice climbing."

Shin-chan yawned beside them. "Climbing? You mean climbing a wall?"

"Something even more impressive. Climbing a cliff."

Shin-chan thought it over, then asked, "Are there any Pretty Big Sisters on the cliff?"

Duy's smile froze. "No."

"Then I don't want to go."

"You can't choose where to pursue your youth!"

"But youth can only be found where there are Pretty Big Sisters," Shin-chan said solemnly. "Even a fire needs fuel, and Pretty Big Sisters are the fuel for my youth."

Duy opened his mouth, only to realize he couldn't argue with that.

In the end, though, the three of them still set off for the hills.

The hills behind Konoha were a series of rolling slopes covered in dense trees.

Duy led them to a steep rock face.

"This is the place." Duy pointed at the nearly vertical cliff. "Today's training goal is to climb to the top."

Guy looked up at the high cliff top, a fire blazing in his eyes. "It's so high, but youth means challenging yourself to reach great heights!"

Shin-chan looked up too, then swallowed.

"Uncle, how high is it?"

"About thirty meters."

Shin-chan fell silent for a moment. "Uncle."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think this training is right for me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm still little. If I fall, I'll die."

Duy thumped his chest. "Don't worry. I'll catch you from below."

Shin-chan clasped his hands behind his back, still looking a little hesitant.

"Father, Shin-chan, look over there!" Guy shouted, pointing toward the cliff.

Duy and Shin-chan followed his finger.

On the rock face was a boy about the same age as Shin-chan, with silver hair and a mask over his face.

He clung to the rock with just one hand, the other tucked behind his back. His body pressed against the cliff like a gecko as he inched his way up.

Shin-chan blinked. "Isn't that Kakashi?"

"Kakashi? He's training too?" Guy was surprised.

Might Duy gave a thumbs-up. "That's amazing. A kid so young, climbing a cliff like that with one hand!"

Kakashi kept climbing smoothly, inch by inch, until he reached the top.

Then he slowly made his way down the other side.

Guy clenched his fists. "I can't lose. I'm going to climb too!"

With that, he rushed to the rock face, grabbed the rocks with both hands, and started climbing.

But after just two meters, his hand slipped.

Splat.

He hit the ground.

Guy got back up, brushed the dirt off himself, and charged at the cliff again.

He climbed three meters before his foot missed a foothold.

Splat.

He fell again.

"You must never give up on your youth!"

Guy charged up for the third time.

Shin-chan watched from the side, his mouth shaped like an O.

"Guy, doesn't it hurt?"

"It does." Tears welled in Guy's eyes. "But you must never let your youth admit defeat!"

Guy climbed up again.

This time he made it higher, and then—splat.

He fell even harder.

Shin-chan swallowed and looked up at the towering cliff. "Can a five-year-old really climb this?"

He hesitantly walked up to the rock face and looked up.

The rocks were hard, and the cracks were tiny. It looked like there was nowhere to get a grip.

Shin-chan tried reaching out and hooking his fingers into a small crack, then lifted a foot.

Thump.

He fell to the ground too.

"Ow." Shin-chan sat on the ground, rubbing his bottom.

Kakashi's voice came from above. "You have to use chakra."

Shin-chan looked up and saw Kakashi had already come down the other side of the hill.

"Chakra?" Shin-chan tilted his head, puzzled.

"Focus chakra in your hands and feet, and you can stick to the rock face." Once he had finished speaking, Kakashi began another round of training without saying another word.

Shin-chan stared at his hands, deep in thought.

Chakra.

It was that warm thing that swirled around in his belly.

Shin-chan pressed his hand against the rock face and tried to recall the feeling from the day he had first refined chakra. Soon, a warm sensation welled up from his belly and flowed into his palm.

Then he pressed his hand against the rock face.

It stuck.

Shin-chan froze, then tried putting his other hand up.

That stuck too.

Shin-chan hesitated for a few seconds, then began to climb.

He was slow and clumsy, taking ages with every step. He didn't know where to grab with his hands or where to place his feet.

But he was definitely climbing.

"Father!" Guy shouted excitedly. "Shin-chan's climbing up!"

Duy stood at the foot of the cliff, looking up at the small red figure inching its way higher and higher. The expression on his face grew more and more complicated.

He made it ten meters up.

"I'm tired." Shin-chan stopped and looked down. "Uncle, can I come down now?"

Before Duy could answer, Shin-chan let go and jumped straight down.

"Shin-chan!" Duy rushed over, trying to catch him.

But Shin-chan landed safely on the ground, then stood up and dusted himself off as if nothing had happened.

"It's too high. I don't want to climb anymore."

Guy ran over and hugged him. "You're amazing, Shin-chan! You really climbed up there!"

Kakashi had actually been watching them the whole time from the cliff.

He had seen everything, from the first time the red figure tried to climb and fell, to the second time he succeeded.

The first time he refined chakra, it had taken him just one lesson.

The first time he used chakra to climb a cliff, he'd failed only once.

That guy...

"Kakashi!" Shin-chan suddenly waved at him. "Thanks for teaching me!"

Kakashi turned his gaze away and continued climbing, but his voice drifted down. "You're welcome."

Shin-chan didn't mind. He turned to Duy and asked, "Uncle, do I really have to climb all the way to the top?"

Duy was silent for a long time before placing a hand on Shin-chan's shoulder. "You're a true genius."

Shin-chan tilted his head and thought for three seconds.

"What's a genius? Can you eat it?"

Duy: "..."

Under the setting sun, the three of them stood before the cliff.

Guy looked at Shin-chan, his eyes full of admiration.

Duy looked at Shin-chan, his eyes full of complicated feelings.