"Alright, let's begin today's Youth special training!"
Might Duy took the two little sprouts to an open space on the edge of Konoha Village, where there were several thick wooden stakes, a few boulders, and a small stream flowing by.
Shin-chan looked around: "Uncle, isn't there a swing in the training place?"
"A swing?" Might Duy paused, then laughed heartily, "Today's Youth doesn't need a swing; what it needs is to challenge the limits."
Dai flipped over and stood on his hands on the ground.
"First is the basic of basics, the handstand. Hold it until you can't anymore. Guy, you go first."
"Yes, Father." Guy immediately got down and did a handstand, his small body wobbling.
"Shin-chan, you too." Dai gave him a thumbs up.
Shin-chan tilted his head, looking at Guy like that: "Why do a handstand?"
"To train the muscles of the whole body and the sense of balance."
"But," Shin-chan thought for a moment, "when doing a handstand, won't the blood flow into the brain?"
Might Duy's movement paused.
"Well, a little bit will."
"Then won't the brain break?"
"No, the hot blood of Youth will make the brain clearer."
Shin-chan was skeptical but followed Guy's example, propping his hands on the ground and lifting his feet.
Thud.
Butt hit the ground.
Try again.
Thud.
Hit the ground again.
Guy had already stabilized nearby. Seeing Shin-chan fall time and again, he couldn't help but laugh: "Shin-chan, you have to use the power of your core."
"Core?" Shin-chan lay on the ground. "My core says it doesn't want to move."
"Youth does not allow laziness." Might Duy grabbed Shin-chan's legs and helped him stand up. "Hold on!"
Shin-chan was upside down, his face turning bright red.
"Uncle... I feel... the blood really is flowing into my brain..."
"Persist!"
"But... I seem to see many stars..."
"That is the light of Youth!"
Shin-chan was suddenly speechless.
After some time.
Guy was the first to give out. His hands went soft, and he fell to the ground, panting heavily.
"Father, I've reached my limit."
"Good." Might Duy's eyes filled with tears. "Break through it, let your Youth burn."
Guy gritted his teeth and propped himself up again.
Shin-chan was still doing the handstand, swaying back and forth, but he just didn't fall.
Dai looked at him, somewhat surprised.
This child, doing a handstand for the first time, could actually last this long?
"Shin-chan, are you okay?"
"Uncle." Shin-chan's voice was muffled. "I think I see the First Hokage."
"What?"
"He's waving at me, saying 'Shin-chan, come down and play'..."
Dai was startled and quickly helped him upright.
Shin-chan sat on the ground, his eyes vacant for two seconds before returning to normal.
"Huh? The First Hokage is gone."
Guy crawled over, concerned: "Shin-chan, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Shin-chan blinked. "It's just that I felt like I went to heaven for a moment."
Dai wiped his sweat, feeling that this child's constitution was a bit different.
"Alright, next item: Push-ups, one hundred."
"One hundred?" Shin-chan's eyes widened. "Uncle, I'm only five."
"Youth knows no age. Come, I'll count for you."
Guy immediately got down and started doing them one by one.
"One, two, three, four..."
Shin-chan lay beside him and did the first one.
"One... whew... so tired..."
Halfway through the second one, he collapsed directly onto the ground.
"Uncle, I think I've reached my limit."
Dai walked over and looked at Shin-chan: "Really at your limit?"
Shin-chan buried his face in the dirt and gave a muffled "Mm."
Dai was silent for two seconds.
This child was fine after doing a handstand for so long just now, and now he's at his limit after two Push-ups?
"Shin-chan, you try again."
"No."
"Youth..."
"Youth can't make me do a hundred Push-ups either." Shin-chan rolled over and looked at the sky. "Uncle, you're just like my mom, always saying 'try again,' but you adults have no idea how tired we kids really are."
Might Duy was stunned.
Guy also stopped his movements and looked at Shin-chan.
Shin-chan continued: "Besides, I clearly don't want to do Push-ups, so why do I have to?"
"Don't you want to be a Ninja?" Guy asked in surprise; in his eyes, these were all preparations for becoming a Ninja.
Shin-chan thought for a bit: "Being a Ninja is fine, but I want to be Teacher Asagi's boyfriend first."
Dai: "..."
Guy: "..."
"Um, Shin-chan." Dai knelt down and looked at him seriously. "Do you know? The most important thing for a Ninja isn't strength, but will. That is the drive that makes you strong."
Shin-chan blinked.
"Just like how you promised to come train, so you came. That is will."
Shin-chan thought about it; it seemed to be the case.
"Then if I give up now, does that mean I have no will?"
"Youth does not allow giving up!" Dai gave a thumbs up.
Shin-chan sighed and slowly crawled up.
"Alright, then I'll do a few more and burn some Youth, though I don't even know what Youth is..."
Next, Might Duy led them through Squats, Leapfrogs, and Tree climbing.
In every exercise, Guy gave his all, reached his limit, and then broke through it with Dai's encouragement.
While Shin-chan did every exercise, he always gave the feeling that "he could still do more."
Dai watched all this, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
Does this child actually have a limit?
The sunset had completely sunk.
"Alright, today's training ends here!" Dai announced.
Guy lay directly on the ground, covered in sweat, panting heavily.
Shin-chan also sat on the ground, but his breathing was much steadier; his clothes were just a bit dirty.
"Father, I broke through my limit six times today." Guy's voice was a bit weak.
"Good job, Guy." Dai gave a thumbs up.
Then he turned to look at Shin-chan.
"Shin-chan, what about you? Did you break through your limit?"
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought: "What is a limit?"
"It's when you feel like you can't hold on anymore, but you grit your teeth and persist."
Shin-chan recalled carefully.
"Uncle, I don't quite understand." Shin-chan said honestly. "Every time I felt like I could move a bit more, I didn't want to, because moving is so tiring."
Might Duy fell silent.
This child's limit was much deeper than Guy's; he might not have even touched his limit at all.
"Shin-chan." Dai knelt down and looked at him seriously. "Will you come back tomorrow?"
Before Shin-chan could answer, Guy had already scrambled up.
He looked at Shin-chan with teary eyes, his gaze full of expectation and unease.
"Shin-chan, you... will you still come?"
Shin-chan opened his mouth to say "I'm not coming, it's too tiring."
But seeing Guy's teary eyes and that pitiful expression.
It was even more pitiful than Shiro back then.
Shin-chan kept his mouth open, and the word "no" circled in his mouth before being swallowed back down.
"Uh... well..."
Tears were already welling up in Guy's eyes.
Shin-chan sighed: "Alright, alright, I really can't do anything with you."
Guy's eyes instantly lit up: "Really?"
"Yeah, really." Shin-chan nodded. "But we can't do this much every day, I'll die of exhaustion."
"Okay, we'll do a little less tomorrow." Guy jumped up happily, even though his legs were shaking.
Might Duy watched this scene, tears streaming down his face.
"Youth! This is the Youth of friendship!"
Dai hugged the two children, crying and laughing at the same time.