"Okay, let's begin today's Youth Training!"
Might Duy led the two five-year-old tykes to an open patch of land on the Konohagakure Outskirts. There were a few thick Wooden Stakes, several Giant Rocks, and a Small Stream running through it.
Shin-chan looked around. "Mister, isn't there a swing at the training place?"
"A swing?" Might Duy paused, then threw his head back and laughed. "Today's youth doesn't need swings. It needs to Challenge Limits."
Dai flipped over and stood on his hands.
"First, the most basic exercise of all: a handstand. Hold it until you can't anymore. Guy, you go first."
"Yes, Father." Guy immediately crouched down and kicked up into a handstand, his little body wobbling.
"Shin-chan, you try too." Dai gave him a thumbs-up.
Shin-chan tilted his head and watched Guy. "Why do we have to stand on our hands?"
"To work out your Whole Body Muscles and improve your balance."
"But..." Shin-chan thought it over. "When you're upside down, doesn't the blood flow to your brain?"
Might Duy's movements faltered.
"Well, a little."
"Won't that damage your brain?"
"No. The burning passion of youth will make your mind clearer."
Shin-chan was skeptical, but he copied Guy, bracing his hands on the ground and lifting his legs.
Thump.
He landed on his bottom.
He tried again.
Thump.
He landed again.
Guy had already steadied himself nearby. Watching Shin-chan fall over and over, he couldn't help laughing. "Shin-chan, you have to use your core strength."
"My core?" Shin-chan lay on the ground. "It says it doesn't want to move."
"Youth doesn't allow slacking off." Might Duy grabbed Shin-chan's legs and helped him into a handstand. "Hold on!"
Shin-chan stood upside down, his face turning red.
"Mister... I think... the blood really is flowing to my brain..."
"Hold on!"
"But... I think I'm seeing a lot of stars..."
"That's the radiance of youth!"
Shin-chan was at a loss for words.
A while later.
Guy was the first to give out. His arms buckled, and he fell to the ground, panting heavily.
"Father, I've reached my limit."
"Good." Might Duy's eyes brimmed with tears. "Break Through Limits and let your youth burn bright!"
Guy gritted his teeth and pushed himself back up.
Shin-chan was still upside down, swaying back and forth, but he just wouldn't fall.
Dai looked at him, somewhat surprised.
This kid was doing a handstand for the first time. How had he managed to hold it for so long?
"Shin-chan, are you okay?"
"Mister." Shin-chan's voice came out muffled. "I think I can see the First."
"What?"
"He's waving at me and saying, 'Come down and play, Shin-chan...'"
Dai jumped in alarm and hurriedly helped him upright.
Shin-chan sat on the ground, his eyes unfocused for a couple of seconds before returning to normal.
"Huh? The First's gone."
Guy crawled over on his hands, still upside down, and asked with concern, "Shin-chan, are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Shin-chan blinked. "I just think I went to heaven for a little while."
Dai wiped his sweat and figured there was something unusual about the kid's constitution.
"All right, next exercise: Push-ups. One hundred."
"One hundred?" Shin-chan's eyes widened. "Mister, I'm only five."
"Youth doesn't care about age. Come on, I'll count for you."
Guy immediately got down and started doing them one after another.
"One, two, three, four..."
Shin-chan got down beside him and did the first one.
"One... whew... I'm tired..."
Halfway through the second, he simply flopped onto the ground.
"Mister, I think I've reached my limit."
Dai walked over and looked at Shin-chan. "You really hit your limit?"
Shin-chan buried his face in the dirt and gave a muffled "Mm."
Dai fell silent for two seconds.
The kid had held a handstand for so long without trouble, but now two Push-ups had pushed him to his limit?
"Shin-chan, try again."
"No."
"Youth..."
"Youth can't make me do a hundred Push-ups either." Shin-chan rolled onto his back and looked at the sky. "Mister, you're just like my mom. You're always saying, 'Try again,' but you adults don't understand that kids really do get tired."
Might Duy froze.
Guy stopped exercising too and looked at Shin-chan.
Shin-chan continued, "Besides, I don't even want to do Push-ups. Why do I have to?"
"Don't you want to be a Ninja?" Guy asked in surprise. As far as he was concerned, these were all preparations for becoming a Ninja.
Shin-chan thought it over. "I guess being a Ninja would be okay, but first I want to be Asagi-sensei's Boyfriend."
Dai: "..."
Guy: "..."
"Um, Shin-chan." Dai crouched down and looked at him seriously. "You know, the most important thing for a Ninja isn't strength. It's willpower. That's what drives you to become stronger."
Shin-chan blinked.
"It's like how you promised to come train, and then you came. That's willpower."
Shin-chan thought about it. That did seem to make sense.
"So if I give up now, does that mean I don't have willpower?"
"Youth doesn't allow giving up!" Dai gave him a thumbs-up.
Shin-chan sighed and slowly got to his feet.
"All right, I'll do a few more and let my youth burn bright, even though I don't know what youth is..."
After that, Might Duy had them do Squats, Frog Jumps, and Tree Climbing.
For every exercise, Guy gave it everything he had, reached his limit, and then Break Through Limits with Dai cheering him on.
Shin-chan did every exercise too, but somehow always gave the impression that he could do more.
Watching all this, Dai's brow furrowed more and more.
Did this kid even have a limit?
The sun sank completely below the horizon.
"All right, that's it for today's training!" Dai announced.
Guy collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
Shin-chan sat on the ground too, but his breathing was much steadier. His clothes were just a little dirty.
"Father, I broke through my limit six times today." Guy's voice was weak.
"Well done, Guy." Dai gave him a thumbs-up.
Then he turned to Shin-chan.
"What about you, Shin-chan? Did you Break Through Limits?"
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "What's a limit?"
"It's when you feel like you can't keep going, but grit your teeth and push through."
Shin-chan thought it over carefully.
"Mister, I don't really understand," he said honestly. "Every time, I feel like I could move one more time, but I don't want to, because it'll make me really tired."
Might Duy fell silent.
This kid's limit was far beyond Guy's. He might not have even come close to reaching it.
"Shin-chan." Dai crouched down and looked at him seriously. "Will you come back tomorrow?"
Before Shin-chan could answer, Guy had already climbed to his feet.
With tears in his eyes, he looked at Shin-chan, full of hope and anxiety.
"Shin-chan, you... you'll come back, right?"
Shin-chan opened his mouth, ready to say, "I'm not coming back. It's too tiring."
But when he saw Guy's tear-filled eyes and his pitiful expression...
He looked even more pitiful than Shiro had back then.
Shin-chan kept his mouth open. The word "no" circled around inside it, then went back down.
"Uh... well..."
Tears were already welling up in Guy's eyes.
Shin-chan sighed. "All right, all right. I just can't say no to you."
Guy's eyes lit up at once. "Really?"
"Mm, really." Shin-chan nodded. "But we can't do this much every day. I'll work myself to death."
"Okay, we'll do a little less tomorrow." Guy jumped up happily, even though his legs were shaking.
Watching them, Might Duy burst into tears.
"Youth! This is the youth of friendship!"
Dai grabbed both children in a hug, laughing and crying.
Before you continue