It was another afternoon for physical training class.
The sun warmed the training field, and the children were lined up in rows, waiting for Teacher Ibuki to announce the day's lesson.
Teacher Ibuki stood at the front with a faintly mysterious smile on his face.
"Today, I've invited a few special guests to help guide everyone."
He paused, trying to build a little suspense.
The result was complete silence. No one took the bait.
Teacher Ibuki gave an awkward laugh. "They're excellent upperclassmen and upperclasswomen. They've studied several years longer than you and have more experience. Today, they'll give you a demonstration first, then split you into groups for guidance."
As soon as he said that, the line of students erupted into muttering.
"Just upperclassmen?"
"I thought he invited jōnin."
"At least bring a genin. What's there to look at with upperclassmen..."
Teacher Ibuki's smile stiffened. He raised his voice. "Quiet. Those upperclassmen have trained hard too. They've studied for several years longer than you, so they're more than qualified to guide you."
The class went quiet for a second.
Then someone whispered, "But the last exam was way more exciting when Uchiha Toru and the others fought..."
"Yeah, that Fire Style was awesome."
"Can the upperclassmen do that?"
A vein popped on Teacher Ibuki's temple. He took a deep breath, forced a smile back onto his face, and waved toward the edge of the field.
"Alright, let's welcome our upperclassmen!"
Four figures walked over from the other side of the training ground.
Leading them was a jōnin in a green flak jacket, wearing a gentle smile.
Behind him were two boys and one girl, around eleven or twelve years old, all with Konoha forehead protectors.
The boy on the left wore dark sunglasses, with his collar pulled up so high it covered most of his face. He was bundled up so tightly that barely anything showed.
The girl in the middle had two red markings on her cheeks, and perched on her shoulder was a small white dog looking around curiously.
The boy on the right looked the most ordinary of the three, dressed in a standard ninja outfit. He had a shy little smile and the kind of face you'd lose in a crowd.
"Wow!!!"
The children burst into excited cries.
"They're real ninja!"
"They've all got forehead protectors! That's so cool!"
"That big sister has a dog on her shoulder! It's so cute!"
Shin-chan stood near the back of the line, up on his tiptoes, staring at the three of them.
"Toru."
"Yeah?"
"That big sister has a dog on her shoulder."
Uchiha Toru glanced over. "That's a ninja hound."
"What's a ninja hound?"
"A dog that can use ninjutsu."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up.
A dog that could use ninjutsu?
Did that mean the dog could form hand seals by itself?
Its paws were so short, though. Could it even do seals?
Shin-chan's thoughts drifted farther and farther away.
The four of them stopped in front of Teacher Ibuki.
The jōnin nodded at him. "You must be Teacher Ibuki. I'm Shun Araki, the jōnin leading this team."
Teacher Ibuki quickly nodded. "Thank you for coming."
"No trouble at all." Araki smiled. "These kids wanted to come out and move around anyway."
Then he turned to the three genin.
"Alright, go ahead and show them." Araki gestured. "Let these little ones see what real ninja look like."
Inuzuka Kanon stepped forward first, crossed the field in a few quick strides, took a deep breath, and formed hand seals.
"Shiro-maru, let's go!"
The little white dog leaped from her shoulder and landed beside her. The two of them started spinning at the same time.
"Fang Passing Fang!"
Two whirlwinds tore across the field, spinning faster and faster until they became a roaring tornado, kicking up dust everywhere.
"Whoa!!!"
The children of Class A gasped in unison.
When the whirlwind stopped, Kanon landed neatly on her feet, and Shiro-maru sprang back up onto her shoulder, barking proudly twice.
"So cool!"
"Do another one!"
Kanon grinned smugly and stepped back.
Next came Aburame Kōji.
He walked to the center of the field and raised a hand.
Nothing happened.
The children looked at each other.
"What's he doing?"
"Nothing's happening."
The words had barely left their mouths when a swarm of black insects burst out from Kōji's sleeves and gathered densely around him.
"Kikaichū," Kōji said in his usual low, emotionless voice. "They can attack, defend, and gather information."
The bugs crawled across his hand, looking more than a little creepy.
A few kids instinctively shrank back.
Last came Kobayashi Kenta.
He scratched his head and walked forward a little awkwardly.
"I don't have some amazing family secret technique or anything. I only know a few basic jutsu."
Then he formed hand seals.
"Clone Technique."
With a puff of smoke, three identical Kobayashi Kentas appeared on the field.
The children gasped again.
"Three of them!"
"Which one is the real one?"
"They're all fake, right?!"
Kenta dispelled the clones and smiled.
"Kobayashi Kenta. Nice to meet you."
Applause broke out from the line.
Once the demonstrations were finished, Araki stepped forward.
"Alright, now we'll divide you into groups. The three of them will each take one team and lead you through some basic physical training."
Then he started calling names.
"Inuzuka Kanon will take Team One."
"Aburame Kōji will take Team Two."
"Kobayashi Kenta will take Team Three."
The children excitedly split into three groups and ran over to their assigned genin, chattering the whole way.
Shin-chan ended up in Team One. Standing there, he kept staring at Shiro-maru.
The little white dog stared back at him too, tilting its head with its tongue hanging out.
Shin-chan squatted down and locked eyes with it.
"Hi."
Shiro-maru: "Woof."
"Can you talk?"
Shiro-maru: "Woof woof."
"My name is Nohara Shinnosuke. I'm five years old. What about you?"
Shiro-maru: "Woof woof woof."
Shin-chan nodded, stood up, and looked at Kanon.
"Big Sister, what did she say?"
Kanon froze for a second, then laughed. "She said her name is Shiro-maru, she's four years old, and she's a girl."
Shin-chan's eyes got even brighter.
"She really can talk!"
"It's not talking. It's that I understand what she wants to say." Kanon explained. "We've grown up together, so our hearts are connected."
Shin-chan thought about that, then suddenly asked, "Can I learn that too?"
Kanon blinked. "Learn... what?"
"How to talk to dogs." Shin-chan said seriously. "I've got a Shiro at home too, and I want to talk to him."
A few kids nearby burst into laughter.
"Shin-chan, that only works if you raise them together from when they're little!"
"Yeah, they understand each other because they grew up together."
"It's too late for you to start now."
Shin-chan ignored them and kept looking at Kanon hopefully.
Kanon thought for a moment, then smiled. "You don't need to learn it."
"I don't?"
"No." She nodded. "Just play with him more. Talk to him more. Little by little, he'll understand you, and you'll understand him too."
Shin-chan blinked. "It's that simple?"
"It's that simple."
Shin-chan nodded thoughtfully, then looked down at Shiro-maru.
Shiro-maru tilted her head and stared up at him, tongue lolling.
Then Shin-chan suddenly asked, "Can dogs learn ninjutsu too?"
"They can." Kanon patted Shiro-maru on the head. "That Fang Passing Fang from earlier was a technique we used together."
"Then can my Shiro learn too?"
At this point Shin-chan was fully lost in his imagination—Shiro wearing a forehead protector, standing on his hind legs, fumbling awkwardly through hand seals with his front paws.
Then Shiro becoming a majestic "Big Shiro," carrying him around so he could flirt with pretty older girls...
"Hehehe..." Shin-chan grinned to himself.
Kanon looked at his goofy smile in confusion.
"What are you thinking about?"
Shin-chan snapped out of it, eyes shining.
"Big Sister, teach Shiro too. Let him learn ninjutsu from you."
"Huh?" Kanon froze.
"My Shiro is really smart." Shin-chan said earnestly. "He can definitely learn."
Kanon opened her mouth, but for a moment didn't know how to answer.
Someone nearby reminded him quietly,
"Shin-chan, that's an Inuzuka clan secret technique!"
"An outsider can't learn it, so an outside dog probably can't either, right?"
"Your dog isn't even a ninja hound!"
Shin-chan ignored all of them and kept staring at Kanon with those pleading eyes.
Kanon scratched her head, looking troubled.
"Um... that really won't work."
"Why not?"
"Because it's one of our clan's secret techniques." She explained. "It's been passed down through the generations, so I can't teach it to outsiders."
Shin-chan's face fell. "Another secret technique."
"And even if I taught you, your Shiro still wouldn't be able to learn it." Kanon added. "He hasn't been trained, and he doesn't have chakra, so he can't use ninjutsu."
Shin-chan lowered his head and looked at Shiro-maru.
Shiro-maru tilted her head and stared back.
Shin-chan sighed.
"Shiro-maru, you're amazing."
Shiro-maru: "Woof!"
Seeing how disappointed he looked, Kanon tried to comfort him. "But you can teach him simple commands first. And when he gets a little older, maybe he'll be able to refine chakra."
"Okay." Shin-chan's eyes lit up again. "I'm going to start training Shiro as soon as I get home."
Watching all this, Teacher Ibuki let out a reflexive sigh.
Beside him, Araki asked, "By the way, what made you decide to invite us?"
"I just wanted the kids to see what real ninja are like. Usually class is all theory, and it's too boring."
Araki nodded and didn't ask any more.
Sunlight spilled over the training field, shining down on the noisy, chattering children.
~~~
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