When Hiroshi pushed open the door, he froze completely.
The floor was covered in scrolls.
"What is this?" Hiroshi rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
Shin-chan was sitting in the middle of the scrolls. When he looked up and saw him, his eyes immediately lit up.
"Dad, hurry and teach me this."
Hiroshi changed his shoes, carefully stepped around the scrolls scattered across the floor, and crouched down beside Shin-chan.
The scroll on the floor had several large words written on it:
Earth Style: Moving Earth Core — Detailed Explanation
Below that were dense rows of hand-seal diagrams and chakra-flow routes.
Hiroshi swallowed. "What is this?"
"Earth Style," Shin-chan said. "I want to learn how to dig ditches, so Grandpa Third had someone send all these over."
"Dig ditches?" Hiroshi's voice rose slightly. "Lord Hokage did?"
"Yeah."
Hiroshi looked down at the scrolls covering the floor again. From the most basic Earth-Style Wall to the advanced Swamp of the Underworld, and even several he didn't recognize.
The selection was extremely complete.
Hiroshi swallowed again and turned toward the kitchen. "Misae, were all of these sent by Lord Hokage?"
Misae came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. "They were delivered this afternoon. They said Shin-chan wanted to learn Earth Style, and these things were useless sitting with him, so he gave them to Shin-chan."
"Useless?" Hiroshi's voice rose again. "Do you know how many people want to learn these Earth Style techniques but never get the chance?"
"I don't remember the exact words." Misae thought about it. "But that was probably the meaning."
Hiroshi opened his mouth, his eyes full of disbelief.
Shin-chan held up the scroll. "Dad, teach me Earth Style."
Hiroshi took a deep breath, crouched down, picked up the scroll, and flipped through it.
"Moving Earth Core..." Hiroshi read the words on the scroll. "By vibrating the ground with chakra, one can make the soil rise or sink. It can be used to alter terrain, create cover..."
He looked down. The scroll showed the sequence of hand seals: Tiger, Ram, Rat...
Hiroshi went through the seals in his head and felt the order seemed fine, then continued reading. Below that was an explanation about chakra flow.
It said something like, "Gather chakra at the soles of the feet and inject it into the ground in a spiral form. The vibration frequency must match the soil..."
Hiroshi stared at that explanation for five seconds.
Then his gaze began to drift.
"Dad?" Shin-chan tilted his head and looked at him.
"Wait." Hiroshi snapped back to himself. "Let me read it again."
He looked for another ten seconds, his lips moving slightly as if he were silently reciting something.
Then his expression changed from focused to confused, from confused to blank, and from blank to a subtle look of I feel like I should understand this, but I really don't.
"Dad?" Shin-chan called again.
"Mm." Hiroshi put down the scroll and rubbed his eyes. "Well, this..."
"Did you learn it?"
"I learned it." Hiroshi cleared his throat. "The sequence of seals is Tiger, Ram, Rat..."
"And then?"
"And then." Hiroshi picked up the scroll again and glanced at it. "Gather chakra at the soles of your feet, in a spiral form..."
He spoke very smoothly, but Shin-chan noticed that while Hiroshi said this part, his eyes never left the scroll.
"Dad."
"Mm?"
"Are you reading it?"
"I'm teaching you."
"You're saying exactly what's written on the scroll." Shin-chan leaned over and looked at the scroll. "Not a single word different."
Hiroshi put the scroll down and was silent for one second. "Because I'm afraid of saying it wrong. Reading it directly is more accurate."
Shin-chan tilted his head and looked at him, but didn't ask further. Then he stood up, walked to a more open spot in the living room, and began forming hand seals.
"Wait." Hiroshi suddenly stood up and grabbed Shin-chan's hands. "Don't rush into practicing ninjutsu."
Shin-chan's hands were caught, still holding the final seal. "What's wrong?"
"This house." Hiroshi's voice was very serious. "Still has thirty-two years of mortgage payments left."
Shin-chan blinked.
"So." Hiroshi crouched down and placed both hands on Shin-chan's shoulders. "This house cannot withstand Earth Style. Do you understand?"
Shin-chan nodded. "I understand."
"Do you really understand?"
"I really understand," Shin-chan said. "It means I can't use ninjutsu at home, or I'll break the house."
"Right." Hiroshi let out a breath of relief. "If it breaks, it'll cost a lot of money to repair."
"If we spend money, we can't buy chocolate sticks."
Hiroshi froze for a moment, then smiled. "Right. If we spend money, we can't buy chocolate sticks."
"Then where do we practice?" Shin-chan lowered his hands.
Hiroshi thought about it. "There's an open space near the back mountain. Not many people go there. I'll take you there later."
"After dinner?"
"After dinner." Hiroshi nodded, then looked at the scrolls on the floor. "Put these away first. It's time to eat."
Shin-chan gave an "oh," crouched down, and started putting away the scrolls.
Misae placed the dishes on the table, glanced at Hiroshi, and lowered her voice. "Do you know how to teach him?"
Hiroshi also lowered his voice. "I'll take him outside and let him try first. If it doesn't work, we'll find someone else tomorrow."
"Didn't you just say you learned it?"
"That was an act," Hiroshi said. "As a father, I can't let my child think his dad is useless."
Misae looked at him but said nothing, then turned to serve the rice.
Shin-chan finished putting away the scrolls and sat at the dining table.
"Let's eat."
While Hiroshi was eating, he suddenly sighed as he chewed.
Misae looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Hiroshi shook his head. "I just feel like my son is much more impressive than I am."
Shin-chan lifted his head. "Why?"
"Because at five, you already want to learn Earth Style." Hiroshi's smile was a little bitter. "When Dad was five, I was still playing with mud."
"Isn't Earth Style just mud?"
Hiroshi froze for a second, then smiled and said, "Right. Playing with mud is Earth Style too."
After dinner, Hiroshi gathered a few scrolls and took Shin-chan outside.
"Dad."
"Mm?"
"Is Earth Style hard?"
"Not hard."
"Then why don't you know it?"
Hiroshi was silent for a moment. "Because Dad didn't study properly."
"Why didn't you study properly?"
"Because I thought what I knew was enough."
"What about now?"
Hiroshi sighed. "Now I feel like it isn't enough."
"Then I'll learn more and teach Dad later."
Hiroshi's steps paused.
"Okay."
The open space near the back mountain was large, and the moonlight shone across the ground, making everything bright.
Hiroshi took out the scroll, spread it on the ground, and pointed to the hand seals on it.
"First form the seals, then send chakra down to your feet and think, 'sink down.'"
Shin-chan nodded, recalled the sequence of hand seals, followed Hiroshi's instructions step by step, then pressed both hands to the ground.
"Earth Style: Moving Earth Core."
The ground trembled.
The soil beneath his feet began to sink.
Hiroshi swallowed. "You learned it that fast?"
"Does this count as learning it?" Shin-chan scratched his head.
~~~
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