Tree Climbing Training

Qiushui reached the treetop, gave a light leap, flipped once in the air, and landed steadily without even kicking up much dust.

He walked over to the two of them and pointed at the tree behind him. "Do what I just did. Gather chakra in the soles of your feet and release it continuously and steadily, forming a layer of chakra between your feet and the trunk. Give it a try."

Naruto had been raring to go. As soon as Qiushui finished speaking, he let out a "Hah!" and charged at the tree. He stepped onto the trunk and made it two steps before the chakra under his feet suddenly burst out. With a muffled bang, a patch of bark exploded, and he lost his balance, landing hard on his backside.

"Ow..." Naruto rubbed his bottom, grimacing as he got back to his feet. He wasn't discouraged at all. After brushing the bits of bark off himself, he was ready to charge up the tree again.

"Naruto, wait." Qiushui held out a hand to stop him. "That won't work. Ninjutsu does require you to release a large amount of chakra in a sudden burst, but tree climbing is different. Imagine the chakra flowing out from the soles of your feet like a thin, steady stream of glue, sticking to the trunk bit by bit. It's not supposed to explode. It's supposed to cling."

Naruto scratched his head thoughtfully, muttering, "Glue... cling..." Then he headed toward the tree again.

This time, he was clearly holding back more.

On his first try, he slipped after just one step.

On his second, he made it two steps before the chakra under his feet went haywire again.

On his third, he managed to take three steps, but when he put his foot down for the fourth, there was nothing beneath it, and he fell again.

But Qiushui noticed that with every failure, Naruto got back up a little faster.

Just then, he caught sight of Hinata out of the corner of his eye.

Hinata took a deep breath and walked over to another tree. She gently closed her eyes, as if sensing something. After a moment, she opened them, her gaze focused.

She raised her right foot and gently placed it against the trunk. It clung firmly. Then she brought up her left foot, followed by her right, and walked upward one step at a time. Her movements were a little awkward and slow, but every step landed firmly.

One meter, two meters, three... She kept going until she reached a height of five meters.

Hinata's chakra output wavered slightly. Her foot slipped, and she began to fall backward.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried when he saw what happened, immediately running over to catch her.

Almost at the same moment, a figure flashed past.

Qiushui had appeared beneath the tree without anyone noticing. He leaped up and caught Hinata steadily in midair.

He gently set her down, his eyes filled with approval. "Hinata, you did really well. Have you practiced similar chakra control exercises before?"

Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly. Whether from the mishap or the praise, she lowered her head and said softly, "N-no. I've only practiced Gentle Fist at home."

As soon as she said it, complicated feelings welled up inside her. At home, no matter how hard she tried, her father's gaze was always so stern. He had rarely praised her like this.

Qiushui nodded thoughtfully.

Gentle Fist required extremely precise chakra control. Using the Byakugan to observe the flow of chakra inside an opponent, then striking each tenketsu precisely to cut off their chakra—Hinata's ability to grasp the secret of tree climbing so quickly was probably thanks to the foundation she had built by practicing Gentle Fist since childhood.

"That's an excellent foundation," Qiushui said with an encouraging smile. "Keep it up."

Hinata raised her head, her eyes shining, and nodded firmly.

Naruto hadn't expected Hinata, who usually blushed whenever she saw him and could barely get a word out, to be so good at this. A fierce urge not to lose surged up inside him.

He spun around to face his own tree, took a deep breath, and focused more seriously than ever.

"Glue. Steady output. Cling."

He quietly repeated Qiushui's words and raised his foot again.

This time, he didn't rush to climb. First, he placed his right foot against the trunk and focused on the chakra flowing beneath it, adjusting the strength of his output. Only when his foot had stuck firmly to the tree did he slowly lift his left foot.

One step, two steps, three...

He was still awkward, still swaying, but this time he had made a little more progress than before.

For the rest of the session, Hinata and Naruto climbed up the thick trunks side by side, slipped down, and climbed again.

Naruto was completely absorbed in it now. He kept breaking the bark beneath his feet and tumbling down, only to grit his teeth and get back up again. Each time he fell, he got back up faster than before. His clothes and face were covered in bits of bark and dirt, and beads of sweat covered his forehead, but there wasn't the slightest hint of retreat in his expression.

Hinata, meanwhile, moved in an entirely different way. Her movements were gentle and controlled. Though she occasionally slipped when her chakra wavered, she would adjust her breathing and place her feet back against the trunk.

Her progress was plain to see. She had gone from five meters at first to six or seven, and her movements were becoming increasingly smooth and natural.

Qiushui stood beneath the trees with his arms folded, watching the two of them in turn. Whenever someone lost their balance high up and fell, he would flash into motion and catch them steadily, then set them down gently. He didn't waste words—just gave a slight nod to signal them to continue. If they fell from a lower height, he left them alone to learn their lesson.

The rhythm of catching them never let up from the start. At first, it was mostly Naruto who needed catching. Later, Hinata needed it now and then too. After that, both of them began falling noticeably less often.

After quite a while, Naruto had climbed about four meters when his foot slipped. But this time, he didn't plummet straight down. The instant he started to slide, he instinctively adjusted his chakra and managed to steady himself briefly in midair. In the end, he simply slid down the trunk and landed on his feet.

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

Qiushui had seen it all. A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Naruto actually had pretty good talent. With that determination not to give up, it probably wouldn't take him half a month to reach the top of the tree.

He looked at the two of them, who were clearly exhausted.

Naruto's knees were trembling slightly. Hinata's breathing had grown a little ragged, and damp strands of hair clung to her cheeks.

"All right, take a break," Qiushui said. "After that, we'll do the final exercise: throwing ninja tools."

Naruto had just been about to charge at the tree again, but he stopped himself short when he heard this. He turned around, looking reluctant to quit. "Huh? We're taking a break already? I can keep going!"

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

Naruto looked down. Sure enough, both his legs were trembling slightly despite his best efforts.