Tree Climbing Training

Qiushui walked to the canopy, leaped lightly, performed a backflip in mid-air, and landed steadily without even kicking up any dust.

He walked up to the two of them, pointed at the tree behind him, and said, "Just like I did, focus your chakra into the soles of your feet. Release it steadily and continuously to form a film of chakra between your soles and the bark. You two give it a try."

Naruto had been eager to try; the moment he heard the instructions, he let out a "Hey!" and charged at the tree. He lifted his foot to step on it, but after only two steps, the chakra in his soles surged violently. With a dull thud, a piece of bark exploded outward, and he lost his balance, landing squarely on his backside.

"Ouch..." Naruto rubbed his rear, grimacing as he scrambled up from the ground. He wasn't discouraged in the slightest; he brushed the wood chips off his clothes and prepared to charge again.

"Naruto, wait a moment." Qiushui reached out to stop him. "What you just did won't work. While it's true that performing ninjutsu requires a sudden burst of chakra, tree climbing is different. Imagine the chakra flowing from your soles like glue—thin, continuous, and steady. You aren't trying to blast it open; you are trying to adhere to it."

Naruto scratched his head, looking thoughtful as he muttered, "Glue... adhere..." before walking toward the tree once more.

This time, he was clearly much more restrained.

The first time, he slid down after just one step.

The second time, he managed two steps before the chakra in his soles began to fluctuate uncontrollably again.

The third time, he barely made it to three steps, but as he stepped up for the fourth, the chakra beneath his foot vanished, and he fell again.

However, Qiushui noticed that with every failure, the speed at which Naruto climbed back to his feet increased.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of Hinata.

Hinata took a deep breath and walked to a different tree. She closed her eyes, seemingly sensing something, and a moment later, she opened them with a focused gaze.

She lifted her right foot and pressed it gently against the trunk—it stuck firmly. Then came her left foot, then her right again. She climbed upward step by step; though her movements were a bit stiff and slow, every step was placed with great stability.

One meter, two meters, three meters... she climbed all the way to a height of five meters.

Suddenly, Hinata's chakra output flickered, her foot slipped, and her body tilted backward.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed upon seeing this, immediately running over to catch her.

Almost at the same instant, a figure flashed by.

Qiushui had appeared beneath the tree, leaped up, and caught the falling Hinata steadily in mid-air.

He set her down gently, his eyes filled with approval. "Hinata, that was excellent. Have you practiced similar control exercises before?"

Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly—whether from the accident or the praise, she lowered her head and whispered, "No, I haven't. I've only practiced the Gentle Fist at home."

As she spoke, a complex emotion welled up in her heart. At home, no matter how hard she tried, her father's gaze was always stern; he rarely praised her like this.

Qiushui nodded, lost in thought.

The Gentle Fist required extremely precise control over chakra. By using the Byakugan to observe the flow of chakra within an opponent and striking their acupuncture points with precision to cut off their flow, Hinata's ability to grasp the trick of tree climbing so quickly was likely due to the foundation she had built from practicing the Gentle Fist since childhood.

"A very good foundation," Qiushui said with an encouraging smile. "Keep up the hard work."

Hinata looked up, her eyes sparkling, and nodded vigorously.

Naruto hadn't expected that Hinata, who usually blushed and stuttered whenever she saw him, could be so impressive. A sense of competitiveness flared up within him.

He turned sharply toward his tree, took a deep breath, and his gaze became more serious than ever before.

"Glue, continuous output, adhere."

He whispered Qiushui's words to himself and lifted his foot again.

This time, he didn't rush to climb. He first pressed his right foot against the trunk, feeling the flow of chakra in his sole and adjusting the intensity of the output. Only when his sole was firmly stuck to the bark did he slowly lift his left foot.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Although he was still stiff and wobbling, he had made more progress this time than before.

For the rest of the time, Hinata and Naruto climbed, slid, and climbed again on the thick trunks, one on each side.

Naruto had fully entered the zone. He shattered the bark and fell time and time again, only to grit his teeth and climb back up. With every fall, he rose faster than the last. His clothes and face were covered in wood chips and dirt, and sweat beaded on his forehead, but there wasn't a hint of retreat on his face.

Hinata, on the other hand, was a different story. Her movements were gentle and restrained. Though she occasionally slipped due to chakra fluctuations, she would simply adjust her breathing and step back onto the trunk.

Her progress was visible to the naked eye; from the initial five meters, she was now reaching six or seven, and her movements were becoming increasingly fluid and natural.

Qiushui stood under the trees with his arms crossed, his gaze shifting between the two. Whenever someone lost their balance at a height and fell, he would flash over, catch them steadily, and set them down without a word, merely nodding to signal them to continue. If they fell from a lower height, he ignored them, letting them learn the hard way.

This rhythm of catching them never ceased. At first, it was mostly Naruto, then occasionally Hinata, but eventually, the frequency of both falling dropped significantly.

After a long while, Naruto climbed to about four meters when his foot slipped. But this time, he didn't plummet; he instinctively adjusted his chakra the moment he slipped, managing to stabilize himself in mid-air before sliding down the trunk and landing on his feet.

He stared blankly at his feet, then looked up at the tree, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

Qiushui watched this scene, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips.

Naruto actually had quite good talent. With this unyielding spirit, he should be able to reach the top of the tree in less than half a month.

He looked at the two, who were clearly exhausted.

Naruto's knees were trembling slightly, and Hinata's breathing had become rapid, her bangs damp with sweat and plastered to her cheeks.

"Alright, take a break," Qiushui said. "In a while, we'll move on to the final training: ninja tool throwing."

Naruto, who had been about to charge at the tree again, slammed on the brakes at these words and turned back, looking unsatisfied. "Huh? We're resting already? I can still keep going!"

Qiushui glanced at Naruto with a playful look. "You can keep going? Then why are your legs shaking?"

Naruto looked down and saw that his legs were indeed trembling uncontrollably.