For a while after that, Shin-chan's life became completely different from before.
Every day after school, instead of following Might Duy and Guy around "burning with youth," he would carry that wooden sword on his back and go train with Kakashi and the others.
Sakumo Hatake's teaching style was completely different from Duy's.
Duy's teaching was all about "burning with youth" and "breaking through your limits"—basically, train as hard as you can, and when you can't anymore, keep training.
Sakumo Hatake's teaching, on the other hand, was systematic and step-by-step.
"It's not about swinging the sword faster. It's about swinging it accurately." Sakumo held Kakashi's hand and corrected the angle. "Your wrist is too stiff. Relax."
"Shin-chan, your sword swing posture is fine, but your footwork is unstable." Sakumo walked behind him and lightly nudged his heel with his foot. "The sword and your body have to work together. It's not just your arms moving."
And it wasn't only swordsmanship. He also taught them how to use chakra.
"It's not enough just to be able to refine chakra." Sakumo stood in front of a large tree. "You have to learn to control it, to make it flow according to your will."
He demonstrated tree climbing, walking on water, and focusing chakra into the blade.
Shin-chan studied very seriously. These things were much easier to understand than "youth."
He had already learned how to refine chakra, and the last time he climbed the mountain wall, he had also figured out how to concentrate chakra in his hands and feet.
What Sakumo was teaching now was how to make chakra flow more precisely, how to use it together with swordsmanship, and how to keep it stable in real combat.
Shin-chan understood it as soon as it was explained.
"Try concentrating chakra into the blade." Sakumo handed him the wooden sword. "Then lightly cut through this leaf."
Shin-chan took the sword, closed his eyes, and felt the warm current rise from his stomach, flow down his arm into his hand, and then from his hand into the wooden sword.
Then he opened his eyes and gave a light swing.
The leaf split cleanly down the middle, the cut perfectly neat.
Sakumo Hatake's eyes widened slightly.
Kakashi, standing nearby, also had a complicated glint flash through his eyes.
Day after day passed.
Shin-chan's progress was astonishingly fast.
His swings grew steadier, his footwork more nimble, and his chakra control more precise.
Sometimes, Sakumo would demonstrate a new movement once, and Shin-chan could already imitate seventy or eighty percent of it after just one look.
As Sakumo watched this child in red, his feelings grew more and more complicated.
This child, like Kakashi, was a true genius.
A few more days passed. After teaching a new technique, Sakumo watched the two boys sparring beneath the setting sun.
The crisp sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the air.
Kakashi's attacks were fierce and precise, every strike aimed at a vital point.
Shin-chan's defense looked loose and relaxed, but he always managed to block at exactly the right moment.
No—not exactly the right moment.
He was predicting them.
Shin-chan seemed able to guess where Kakashi's next strike was going to land.
Sakumo narrowed his eyes.
This child didn't just have talent. He also had an instinctive natural intuition.
The two children stopped fighting, both drenched in sweat.
"Shin-chan." Kakashi suddenly spoke. "How did you know I was going to attack from the right just now?"
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "I don't know. I just felt it."
Kakashi fell silent.
That evening, Shin-chan finished training as usual and headed home with the wooden sword in his arms.
He pushed open the door.
A familiar smell of stinky feet hit him in the face.
Shin-chan's nose twitched, and his eyes instantly lit up.
"Dad!"
He kicked off his shoes and ran into the living room.
Sure enough, there was a man sitting on the sofa.
He was wearing a green shirt, his hair a little messy, with a tired smile on his face. He hadn't even taken off his socks yet and had both feet propped carelessly on the coffee table.
"I'm back." Hiroshi Nohara smiled and opened his arms.
Shin-chan crashed straight into his embrace.
"Dad."
"There, there. Miss me that much?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded hard. "You were gone for so long this time."
"The mission took a while." Hiroshi ruffled his hair. "Let me take a look at you. Hmm... doesn't seem like you've gotten thinner. If anything, you look more energetic."
Shin-chan wriggled out of his arms and said excitedly, "Dad, let me tell you, I've been learning swordsmanship lately."
"Swordsmanship?"
"Look." Shin-chan stood in place, raised the wooden sword, took a deep breath, and then swung it down.
The wooden blade flashed and stopped steadily in midair.
Hiroshi's eyes widened. "You learned that?"
"Yep." Shin-chan swayed his head proudly. "Kakashi's dad taught me. He's really amazing."
Hiroshi froze.
Kakashi?
That name sounded awfully familiar.
Wasn't Lord Sakumo's son named that too?
"Is his name Hatake Kakashi?" Hiroshi couldn't help asking.
Shin-chan looked at him with admiration. "Dad, you're amazing. You've never even met him, and you still knew."
"So... you've been training under Lord Sakumo?"
"Lord Sakumo?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "I don't know. He's just Kakashi's dad."
Hiroshi looked toward Misae, who was standing in the kitchen doorway.
Misae nodded. "Shin-chan's been going every day lately. He comes home drenched in sweat after practicing."
Hiroshi looked down at Shin-chan, and a trace of complicated emotion flashed through his eyes. "Shin-chan, come here."
Shin-chan walked over, and Hiroshi picked him up and set him on his lap.
"Let Dad get a good look at you."
Shin-chan blinked and sat there obediently.
Hiroshi looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"My son has grown up."
"I've always been growing up."
"Not that kind of growing up." Hiroshi patted his head. "A different kind. You've learned how to study, how to stick with something, how to make your dad proud."
Shin-chan tilted his head. "Dad's only proud now?"
Hiroshi froze for a second, then burst out laughing. "No, no, I've been proud for a long time. I'm just even prouder now."
Misae came out of the kitchen carrying dishes. "Enough talking. Go wash your hands and eat."
"Okay!" Shin-chan hopped off Hiroshi's lap and ran off to wash his hands.
At the dinner table, Hiroshi turned to Misae.
"Misae."
"Yeah?"
"Lord Sakumo... he's a legendary figure in Konoha." Hiroshi's expression was complicated as he asked again for confirmation, "He's really been teaching Shin-chan all this time?"
"Yep." Misae nodded. "Every day. He even gave him a wooden sword."
Hiroshi put down his chopsticks and sat in silence for a moment. "Then we need to go thank him properly."
"You're right. Shin-chan's been going there every day lately, so he must've caused them quite a bit of trouble."
"And there's also Might Duy," Hiroshi said. "Shin-chan started out training with him. Even though it was only for a few days, he was still sincerely teaching him."
Listening from the side, Shin-chan suddenly asked, "Dad, are you going to thank them?"
"Yeah." Hiroshi nodded. "They taught you something, so we need to thank them properly. That's basic manners."
Shin-chan blinked.
"Then do I have to go too?"
"Of course." Hiroshi rubbed his head. "It'll be more sincere if you come with us."
Shin-chan thought about it, then nodded. "Okay!"