"Dad?" Kakashi looked a little surprised. "Didn't you say you had something to do today?"
Sakumo Hatake walked toward them. "The mission ended early, so I thought I'd come train with you."
Shin-chan looked up at him and asked, "Are you Kakashi's dad?"
"That's right."
"You're really tall. Taller than my dad Hiroshi."
Sakumo Hatake paused for a second. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. My name is Nohara Shinnosuke. I'm five years old."
"Nohara Shinnosuke." Sakumo repeated the name, sounding a little surprised.
Shin-chan blinked. "Do you know me, mister?"
"Kakashi mentioned you at home."
Kakashi suddenly froze, and his eyes opened a little wider than usual. "Father!"
Sakumo ignored him and continued speaking to Shin-chan. "He said there was a very interesting classmate in his class."
Guy looked shocked. "Kakashi actually talks about Shin-chan at home?"
Kakashi turned his face away, his voice muffled. "I just mentioned it casually."
Seeing his son's reaction, Sakumo's lips curved slightly. "Since we've run into each other, let's train together today. I was originally planning to teach Kakashi some basic sword techniques. Are you interested?"
Guy's eyes lit up instantly. "Yes! Very interested!"
Only Shin-chan's face fell. "Huh? More training?"
He had thought he might get to slack off today.
"Watch carefully."
Sakumo removed the short sword from his back, gripped the hilt in his right hand, and began demonstrating a set of basic sword techniques.
Slash. Chop. Upward cut. Thrust.
Every motion had an indescribable beauty to it.
The sound of the blade cutting through the air was like the whisper of wind, or the cry of a bird.
Shin-chan's eyes slowly began to shine.
So cool.
Sakumo sheathed the sword and looked at the three children.
"This is the most basic sword technique. Do you want to learn it?"
"Yes." Guy raised his hand first.
Shin-chan hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand too. "I want to try too."
Sakumo handed each of them a wooden sword.
"First, try the proper grip."
The three children began learning how to hold the sword.
Kakashi's movements were very precise. He had obviously practiced many times before—his hand placement, the angle of the sword, and his stance were all flawless.
Shin-chan held the wooden sword, looked left and right, and for a while held it like a fly swatter before copying Kakashi's posture.
Sakumo walked over and adjusted his grip.
"That's right. Just like that. Don't keep your wrist too tense. Relax a little."
"Mhm, mhm." Shin-chan nodded, then relaxed too much, and the wooden sword almost slipped from his hand.
Sakumo reacted quickly, caught it, and put it back into Shin-chan's hand. "But not too relaxed."
Shin-chan blinked. "So how exactly am I supposed to do it?"
"Moderately."
"How much is moderately?"
Sakumo fell silent.
Nearby, Guy was holding his sword with his whole body stiff, looking so tense it was like he was heading onto a battlefield.
"Relax." Sakumo patted his shoulder. "The sword is your partner, not your enemy."
Then Sakumo began teaching the basic movements one by one.
Slash.
Chop.
Upward cut.
Thrust.
Kakashi did the best. Every movement was accurate and clean—obviously not his first time practicing.
Guy did the slowest. His movements were stiff, and he kept losing control of the sword.
And Shin-chan…
As Sakumo watched Shin-chan's movements, his expression gradually became more focused.
The first time he held the sword, his posture needed correcting.
The second time he swung it, it was already starting to take shape.
The third slash had the right force and angle.
The fourth—
"Mister, is it like this?"
Shin-chan swung the wooden sword, and the motion was smooth, as if he had practiced for a long time.
Sakumo was silent for two seconds, then nodded. "Yes. That's exactly right."
"Then when will I be able to look as cool as you, mister?"
Sakumo smiled. "I practiced tens of thousands of times."
"Tens of thousands of times..." Shin-chan's face fell. "Then how long will that take?"
"That depends on your talent." Sakumo looked at him. "It could be very fast, or it could be very slow."
He paused, then added, "Those last few swings of yours were already better than what many people can do after practicing for a whole day."
Shin-chan blinked. "Really? Then can I take a break now?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because swordsmanship is all about consistency."
Shin-chan sighed and kept swinging.
Once, twice, three times...
Beside him, Kakashi was practicing too, but his eyes kept drifting toward that red figure. He had to admit that Shin-chan's rate of improvement was astonishing.
He himself had trained with his father since he was little to reach his current level of skill. But Shin-chan had only watched his father demonstrate once, then swung the sword a dozen or so times, and already had the basics taking shape.
That feeling gave Kakashi a strange kind of discomfort he couldn't quite explain.
An hour later, the sun had begun to set.
"Alright, that's enough for today." Sakumo clapped his hands.
Guy collapsed directly onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Kakashi wiped the sweat from his forehead, his expression still calm.
Shin-chan set down the wooden sword and rolled his wrist. "Mister, are we practicing again tomorrow?"
"You want to?"
"Yes." Shin-chan nodded. "I want to be as cool as you, mister."
"I just finished a mission, so I'll be free for the next few days." Sakumo said, "If you want to keep learning, you can come here at this same time every day."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Mhm." Sakumo nodded. "You can keep the wooden swords. If you come again tomorrow, bring them with you."
That evening, at the Nohara house—
"I'm back!"
Shin-chan pushed open the door and walked into the living room carrying the wooden sword.
Misae poked her head out from the kitchen. "How did training go today?"
"Today I trained with Kakashi's dad. His style is completely different from that thick-eyebrowed mister." Shin-chan plopped down at the table.
Misae froze for a second. "Kakashi? The silver-haired boy you mentioned a couple of days ago?"
"Mhm." Shin-chan nodded and placed the wooden sword on the table. "His dad is really amazing. He knows how to use a sword."
Misae wiped her hands and came over to look at the wooden sword.
"What's this?"
"Mister gave it to me. He taught us swordsmanship, and I'm going again tomorrow."
Misae looked at him in surprise. "You like swordsmanship?"
Shin-chan thought about it, then nodded seriously. "Yeah. The way mister used the sword looked really cool, so I want to learn too."
The corners of Misae's lips lifted slightly.
For once, this child was genuinely putting his heart into something.
"Then you're not training with Guy and them tomorrow?"
Shin-chan's movements stopped. He blinked and looked at Misae.
When Misae saw that expression, her heart skipped. "What is it?"
"Well..." Shin-chan's voice grew smaller and smaller. "I think I promised two people."
"You promised two people? At the same time?"
Shin-chan shrank his neck back a little. "Not at the same time. Just... the same after school."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
Shin-chan lowered his head and muttered softly, "I forgot."