Yūhi Shinku finally looked at Shin-chan.
"Nohara Shinnosuke."
Shin-chan raised his hand. "Here."
"You're fast, and your movements are very agile." Yūhi Shinku paused. "But what I saw last night was still too little."
Shin-chan blinked.
"So before formal training begins, we'll play a little game." Yūhi Shinku raised a hand and gestured toward the woods.
The leaves rustled.
Genin wearing green flak jackets walked out of the forest one after another, spreading out along the edge of the training ground.
Shin-chan spun around and tried to count them, then gave up. "So many."
"Fifteen," Yūhi Shinku said. "They're all genin who have carried out missions with me. They're experienced."
Kakashi's gaze swept over the circle of people.
"The rules are simple. Starting from here, if you reach the Hokage Rock, you win." Yūhi Shinku paused. "If they catch you, you lose."
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "Isn't this just tag?"
"What?" Yūhi Shinku froze for a second.
"Tag," Shin-chan said. "One person is 'it,' everyone else runs, and if 'it' catches you, you lose."
Yūhi Shinku was silent for two seconds. "You could put it that way."
"Then am I the person, or am I 'it'?"
"You're the runner," Yūhi Shinku said. "They're 'it.'"
Shin-chan looked at the fifteen genin. "That's a lot of 'its.' Is there a punishment if I get caught?"
"No."
"Is there a reward if I win?"
Yūhi Shinku looked at him. "What reward do you want?"
"Chocolate sticks."
Yūhi Shinku ignored that. "The rules are simple. You cannot leave the village. In residential areas, you cannot use ninjutsu or throw weapons. At the village outskirts, there are no restrictions."
Then he paused. "A friendly reminder—there are more people waiting for you along the way."
"In other words, if we run through the village, it's safer but crowded. If we head toward the edge of the village, there are fewer people but it's more dangerous," Kakashi analyzed.
"You may choose your own route," Yūhi Shinku nodded. "Begin."
The fifteen genin moved at the same time. Some closed in from the front. Others leaped onto branches, cutting off escape routes from above.
Uchiha Toru's hands moved quickly through seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
A fireball swept forward with a wave of heat. The three genin in front instinctively dodged to either side.
A gap opened in the encirclement.
"Go."
Kakashi and Uchiha Toru moved at the same time.
Shin-chan stood where he was and waved at Shiro. "Shiro, let's go too."
Several genin were already lunging at him from behind.
"The 'its' are coming!" Shin-chan's little legs pumped furiously, and he somehow forced his way through their attempts to block him and ran out.
Yūhi Shinku stood where he was, watching the three small figures disappear toward the street.
"You're the geniuses Lord Third personally acknowledged. Don't disappoint me."
Shin-chan ran and ran until he ended up near the barbecue restaurant. Unfortunately, it wasn't open yet.
A genin jumped down from a rooftop and landed five meters in front of him, stretching out an arm to block his way.
"Kid, you're pretty fast—"
Before he finished speaking, Shin-chan turned straight into a side alley, his body tilting as he almost tripped.
The genin froze for a second, then hurried after him.
At the end of the alley was a crossroads.
The moment Shin-chan burst out, one genin came from the left and another from the right, both cutting him off.
Every direction was blocked.
Shin-chan stopped, looked left, looked right, then looked behind him.
"So many 'its.'"
The genin behind him walked over with a smile. "Give up."
Shin-chan was just about to raise his hand and surrender when he suddenly saw, across the street, a pretty big sister walking over from a distance.
His hand froze halfway up, then dropped.
His whole body shot out of the encirclement and ran straight toward the woman.
"Pretty big sister!" Shin-chan waved his arms, running even faster than he had when he was being chased.
The three genin froze at the same time. By the time they reacted, Shin-chan had already run up to the woman and started flirting.
"Pretty big sister, what's your name?"
The woman looked down at this child who had suddenly appeared and froze for a second. "Little boy, are you lost?"
"No, I'm playing tag." Shin-chan turned back and pointed at the three genin. "They're 'it.'"
The woman looked at the three green-vested ninja, then back at Shin-chan, and reminded him, "Then you'd better run. They're catching up."
"Big sister, do you live nearby? Can I come play with you next time?"
One of the genin had already rushed over and reached for the back of his collar.
Shin-chan ducked behind the woman, circled around her once, and ran out from the other side. He even remembered to wave back. "Bye, big sister. I'll come find you next time."
The three genin chased past her, their faces darker than the next.
"That brat—he really is fast."
"Shut up and chase him."
Shin-chan ran into a shopping street. The shops on both sides still weren't open.
The footsteps behind him grew closer and closer.
He glanced around, then dived into a stack of cardboard boxes nearby.
The footsteps passed outside and ran farther away.
Shin-chan waited a while, then poked his head out and looked around.
No one.
He climbed out of the boxes with Shiro in his arms, then turned into another alley.
After running for who knew how long, Shin-chan couldn't tell east from west anymore.
"Shiro, are we lost?"
"Woof." Shiro panted with his tongue out and pointed in a direction.
Shin-chan turned his head and could vaguely see the outline of Hokage Rock not far ahead.
"Oh, so we're almost there."
After finally climbing all the way up, Shin-chan dropped onto the ground, panting hard.
The wind blew down from the mountain, cool against his face.
After resting for a bit, he simply lay flat and looked up at the blue sky overhead.
"I made it—"
Shiro flopped down beside him too, completely exhausted.
Just then, a voice came from nearby.
"You finally got here."
Shin-chan turned his head.
Kakashi was leaning against the railing of Hokage Rock.
His hair was a little messy, and a few leaves were stuck to his clothes, but he looked much better off than Shin-chan.
"When did you get here?" Shin-chan asked.
"A while ago."
"Where's Toru?"
"Uchiha Toru hasn't arrived yet."
Shin-chan nodded, lying on the ground, not wanting to move.
"How did you get here?" Kakashi glanced at him.
"I ran here."
"I know." A black line appeared on Kakashi's forehead. "I'm asking how you managed to run away from that many genin."
Shin-chan thought about it. "Pretty big sisters helped."
Kakashi fell silent.
"Pretty big sisters?"
"Yeah. Several of them." Shin-chan started counting on his fingers. "One was walking down the street—"
"Enough." Kakashi cut him off. "I don't want to know anymore."
"Why?"
"Because listening to this will give me a headache."
Shin-chan tilted his head and looked at Kakashi, not understanding what he meant.
~~~
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