Ninjutsu

When Naruto and Menma reached their front door and set down their boxes, they spotted a cloud of dust rising in the distance, with two figures flickering in and out of view within it. They raced toward them like the wind, tossing small objects now and then as they ran. The objects traced arcs through the air. In the blink of an eye, the two men arrived in front of Naruto and Menma almost simultaneously, their rush of wind lifting the boys' clothes.

"How did it go, Naruto, Menma? Who won?" Might Guy asked breathlessly, looking at them with eager anticipation.

"Uh, how should I put it? They got here almost at the same time." Menma shrugged.

"I don't think so. I feel like this big brother Kakashi got here first," Naruto said, disagreeing.

Menma found that strange. It was really strange. He was used to Naruto calling Kakashi "sensei," so hearing him suddenly call Kakashi "big brother" felt wrong in every way.

"I-is that right, Menma?" Might Guy asked, looking at him hopefully.

"Ah... well... I guess so..." Menma didn't know what to say, so he could only go along with Naruto.

When he learned the result of the contest, the eager light in Might Guy's eyes immediately faded. His shoulders slumped slightly, and the corners of his mouth drooped. He looked as if all the energy had been drained from him, clearly disappointed.

Meanwhile, Kakashi wore a faint smile, warmth and amusement in his eyes as he watched Might Guy. "Ah, I see. Looks like I won. Counting this one, that should make it 71 to 70. I'm just barely ahead." Kakashi chuckled and scratched his head.

Suddenly, Might Guy seemed to perk right back up. "Come on, Kakashi! I can keep going with our duels!"

"Yeah! I'll make you admit defeat!" Kakashi clenched his fist and raised it high.

Might Guy saw this and didn't waste a moment. He immediately raised his own fist and ran toward Kakashi, shouting, "Yeah! Kakashi!"

The two drew closer. Just as it seemed they were about to fight, they suddenly began, "Rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors..."

Neither would give in, and they kept throwing the same hand, ending in a draw every time. Menma was completely numb with disbelief. No wonder these two got along so well.

"Um... Guy-sensei, weren't you supposed to teach us... how to read and write this afternoon?" Menma spoke up, as if trying to interrupt their so-called duel.

"My, my, Guy, you've got something to do this afternoon? Well, go ahead and take care of it. Let's call this round a draw." With that, Kakashi stopped playing and picked up his box, preparing to leave.

"Big brother Kakashi, have you thought about becoming a team leader? Staying in Anbu for too long can still affect you." Seeing that Kakashi was about to leave, Menma called out to him.

"Ah... well... I'll think about it." Kakashi smiled, waved, and left.

Might Guy was glad to see that Kakashi seemed to have changed his mind. He couldn't help glancing at Menma, too. Although the boy was only three, his words and actions showed a maturity far beyond his age.

"So... Guy-sensei, what should we do now?" Menma asked, looking at Might Guy after Kakashi had left.

"Right, we really should get down to business. Let's go!" With that, he headed inside.

With the end of this unusual contest, the sunlight continued to bathe the land, and everything around them seemed to return to normal. Naruto and Menma's studies, however, went on.

Might Guy's teaching methods were strange, too. Along with regular lessons in reading and writing, he snuck in his own agenda, handing out push-ups and squats as rewards at the drop of a hat. This left Naruto and Menma suffering, but Menma didn't mind.

They studied like this for over a month, and both Naruto and Menma made some progress. At the very least, they could understand most of the contents of Minato's Ninja Book.

The days passed one by one. Under Might Guy's unique tutelage, Naruto and Menma gradually grew. However, a sudden knock at the door broke the calm. A new story was about to begin.

That day, Might Guy was teaching Naruto and Menma in his usual way when a knock came from outside.

"Strange. Who else would come over?" Menma said, puzzled, as he did push-ups. Naruto was puzzled, too, but he was busy doing push-ups and had no time to speak.

"Hey, Naruto, Menma, you two keep going. I'll get the door." Might Guy went to answer it. The moment he opened the door and saw who was there, his face lit up.

"Yeah! If it isn't my lifelong rival, Kakashi! What brings you here?" Might Guy asked curiously.

"Yo, Guy. Lord Hokage wants you. There's a mission for you, so I'm here to cover your shift for a few days." Kakashi looked at Might Guy with a broad smile.

Kakashi had been thinking about his future lately. He had started considering leaving Anbu, but was still undecided about whether to become a team leader.

"I see. No problem. I'll report to the Hokage Office right away. I'll leave Naruto and Menma to you. They're both working really hard!" Might Guy first looked behind him at Naruto and Menma doing push-ups, then turned to Kakashi and gave him a thumbs-up. His pearly white teeth gleamed.

"Got it. Don't worry." Kakashi smiled and headed inside. When he entered and saw Naruto and Menma, he froze for a moment.

"What are you two... doing?" Kakashi asked, perplexed, as he watched the brothers doing push-ups.

Menma looked at the newcomer and kept doing push-ups as he answered, "Big brother Kakashi, this is one of Guy-sensei's special teaching methods. He says it helps us learn to read and write better. By the way, where is Guy-sensei?"

At that, a few dark lines appeared over Kakashi's head. He grumbled to himself, So this is how Guy has been teaching these two kids for the past month? They're drenched in sweat, and they're actually enjoying it? What kind of bizarre new teaching method is this? Kakashi's eyes were full of confusion. He simply couldn't understand what Might Guy was doing.

As Kakashi was still thinking, Naruto suddenly stood up and announced, "Two hundred push-ups, done!" Then he sat in a chair, took a drink of water, and slumped over the table.

Kakashi walked over and saw that both boys were drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked through.

Menma stood up as well. He took a drink of water, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, then collapsed onto the sofa, panting.

Looking at the exhausted pair, Kakashi understood Might Guy's methods less and less. Was he trying to teach them to read and write, or teach them Taijutsu?

Kakashi didn't know what to do, so he looked at the two boys, coughed, and cleared his throat.

"Guy-sensei has gone on a mission. I'll be taking over for him for the next few days. Seeing you two like this, how about you take the day off?" Kakashi stood to one side and smiled at them.

At that, Naruto immediately looked up, unable to hide his excitement. Menma, on the other hand, didn't budge and stayed sprawled on the sofa.

"Then I'll teach you to read and write tomorrow. As for today..." Before Kakashi could finish, Menma suddenly sat up and asked, "Big brother Kakashi, are you going to teach us ninjutsu today?"

"Huh? Really? Big brother Kakashi is the best!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Kakashi was the only one who sat there in silence, looking completely exasperated as he glanced from Menma to Naruto.

"In your current condition, it's not really possible to teach you ninjutsu," Kakashi said after thinking it over.

"Then could you teach us some ninjutsu basics? Like Hand Seals and the basics of the five elements?" Menma asked, watching Kakashi expectantly.

"Ah, well... Lord Hokage only asked me to teach you to read and write. He didn't say anything about teaching you ninjutsu." Kakashi felt rather helpless. If they weren't Minato-sensei's children, he really wouldn't have wanted to take over for Might Guy.

At that, Naruto wrapped his arms around Kakashi's leg and gave him a pitiful look. "Kakashi-sensei, please teach us!" He'd even changed how he addressed Kakashi, calling him "sensei" now.

Menma finally felt that things were back to normal. This was how Naruto was supposed to address Kakashi.

Then Menma realized something. He thought Naruto's approach might work, so he hurried over, took Kakashi's hand, and pleaded, "Kakashi-sensei, please teach us ninjutsu!"

With the two of them by his side, Kakashi felt helpless. He had no choice but to agree. When they heard that he'd said yes, both boys brightened.

Kakashi sat down on the floor, and Naruto and Menma sat cross-legged as well, listening quietly to his explanation.

"There are twelve ninjutsu hand signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. These signs are formed by interlocking the fingers of both hands into different shapes. They're also known as the 'Nine-Hand Seals.' They're part of the process of extracting and controlling chakra..."

As he patiently explained, Kakashi demonstrated each hand sign in turn. Menma had been a Naruto fan in his previous life, so he already knew a little about them. He kept his eyes fixed on Kakashi's hands and quickly mastered all twelve signs.

Naruto, meanwhile, listened intently. He took longer to understand them than Menma did, but with Kakashi's careful guidance, he eventually mastered them, too.

"If you want to learn ninjutsu, you'll first have to learn how to gather chakra." With that, Kakashi stood up. "Come on. Let's do some training." He smiled at Naruto and Menma, then headed outside. The two boys were delighted. They quickly changed their shoes and followed him.

Before long, the three of them arrived at a very tall tree. Kakashi focused chakra into his feet, then walked straight up the trunk without using his hands.

Before long, Kakashi was hanging upside down between the tree's branches, but he didn't fall.

"Just like me, focus your chakra into your feet. If you can climb to about this height, you'll be doing well," Kakashi called down to the two boys at the base of the tree.

"That's amazing! I want to try, too!" Naruto said eagerly. He gathered chakra, copying Kakashi.

A layer of pale blue chakra gathered beneath Naruto's feet. Naruto took a deep breath, gathered himself, then charged toward the tree, relying on his momentum. But after only two steps, he fell with a thud!

Seeing this, Kakashi reminded him, "Naruto, you need to control the amount of chakra. Too little won't give you enough adhesion, but too much will make it hard to move."

"Huh? Kakashi-sensei, how much chakra should I use?" Naruto asked, looking puzzled.

Menma knew that climbing the tree required not only controlling the amount of chakra, but also maintaining the same amount continuously. Otherwise, he'd fall.

Thinking this, Menma gathered chakra and began climbing toward the branch where Kakashi was. He didn't get very far before falling, but he seemed to have found the knack of it. He gathered chakra again and continued climbing.

Seeing this, Naruto refused to be outdone. He backed away from the tree, gathered chakra, then charged toward the branch where Kakashi was.