Hokage, no one knows better than me how to cultivate talent.

Qiu Shui walked to the treetop, lightly leaped, did a somersault in the air, and landed steadily without even raising any dust.

He walked up to the two of them, pointed to the tree behind him, and said, "Just like I did, concentrate your chakra in the soles of your feet and release it steadily, so that a chakra membrane forms between your feet and the tree trunk. Try it."

Naruto had been eager to try it out for a long time. As soon as he heard the message, he shouted "Hey!" and rushed towards the tree. He stepped on it, and after taking two steps, the chakra under his feet suddenly exploded. There was a muffled "bang," a small piece of bark exploded, and he lost his balance, falling hard on his butt.

"Ouch..." Naruto rubbed his buttocks, grimaced as he got up from the ground, but he was not discouraged at all. He patted the tree debris off his body and was about to rush upwards again.

"Naruto, wait a minute." Shusui reached out to stop him and said, "What you did just now won't work. Releasing a ninjutsu does require a burst of a large amount of chakra in an instant, but climbing a tree is different. Imagine that the chakra needs to flow out from the soles of your feet like glue, thinly and continuously, sticking to the tree trunk little by little. It's not about exploding, it's about adhering."

Naruto scratched his head thoughtfully, muttering "glue... suck..." before walking back towards the tree.

This time, he was noticeably more restrained.

The first time, I slipped and fell after taking just one step.

The second time, after taking two steps, the chakra in the soles of his feet started to surge uncontrollably again.

The third time, he managed to take three steps, but when he stepped on the fourth step, his foot slipped and he fell down again.

But Shusui noticed that with each failure, Naruto got up faster.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of Hinata out of the corner of his eye.

Hinata took a deep breath and walked to another tree. She gently closed her eyes, as if sensing something. After a moment, she opened her eyes and her gaze became focused.

She lifted her right foot and gently stepped onto the tree trunk—it gripped her firmly. Then she put her left foot on it, and then her right. She walked up step by step, her movements a little clumsy and slow, but each step was very steady.

One meter, two meters, three meters... all the way to a height of five meters.

Hinata's chakra output fluctuated slightly, her foot slipped, and her body leaned backward.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed upon seeing this and immediately ran over to catch her.

Almost at the same instant, a figure flashed by.

Akisui had appeared under the tree at some point, leaped up, and caught Hinata steadily as she fell from mid-air.

He gently set Hinata down, his eyes filled with approval: "Hinata, you did very well. Have you practiced similar control exercises before?"

Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly, whether from the accident or from the praise, she lowered her head and whispered, "N-no, I just practiced Gentle Fist at home."

After she finished speaking, a complex emotion welled up inside her. At home, no matter how hard she tried, her father's gaze was always so stern, and he rarely praised her like this.

Qiu Shui nodded thoughtfully.

Gentle Fist requires extremely precise control over chakra. By observing the flow of chakra within the opponent's body through the Byakugan, one can then accurately strike each pressure point to cut off the opponent's chakra. Hinata's ability to quickly master the knack of climbing trees is likely related to the foundation she built from practicing Gentle Fist since childhood.

"A very good foundation," Qiu Shui said with a smile, encouragingly. "Keep up the good work."

Hinata looked up, her eyes sparkling, and nodded vigorously.

Naruto never expected that Hinata, who usually blushed and stuttered when she saw him, would be so amazing. A surge of competitive spirit suddenly welled up inside him.

He suddenly turned around, faced his tree, took a deep breath, and his eyes became more serious than ever before.

"Glue, continuous output, adsorption."

He repeated Qiu Shui's words in a low voice, and lifted his foot again.

This time, he didn't rush up. Instead, he first placed his right foot on the tree trunk, felt the flow of chakra under his feet, and adjusted the intensity of his output. Only after his foot was firmly stuck to the tree trunk did he slowly lift his left foot.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Although still clumsy and unsteady, this time, it was a bit of an improvement over the previous one.

For the next while, Hinata and Naruto, one on each side, repeatedly climbed, slid down, and climbed again on the thick tree trunk.

Naruto was fully engaged. He repeatedly stomped on tree bark and fell down, but gritted his teeth and got up again and again. Each time he fell, he got up faster than the last. His clothes and face were covered with tree debris and dirt, and his forehead was covered with sweat, but there was no sign of retreat on his face.

Hinata on the other side has a different style. Her movements are gentle and restrained. Although she occasionally slips due to chakra fluctuations, she steps back onto the tree trunk after adjusting her breathing.

Her progress is visible to the naked eye, from the initial five meters to the current six or seven meters, and her movements are becoming more and more fluid and natural.

Qiu Shui stood under the tree, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two. Whenever someone lost their balance and fell from a height, he would dart forward and catch them steadily, then gently set them down without saying a word, just nodding slightly to signal them to continue. If they fell from a lower position, he would leave them alone, letting them learn a lesson.

This rhythm of catching people never stopped from the beginning. At first, it was mostly Naruto who caught them, then Hinata occasionally needed to catch them too, and later, the frequency of both of them catching people decreased significantly.

After a long while, Naruto had just climbed to about four meters when his foot slipped. But this time he didn't fall directly. Instead, he instinctively adjusted his chakra the moment he slipped, managing to stabilize himself in mid-air. In the end, he simply slid down the tree trunk and landed on his feet.

He stared blankly at his feet, then looked up at the tree, and a smile gradually spread across his face.

Qiu Shui watched this scene unfold, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her lips.

Naruto's talent is actually quite good. With his indomitable spirit, he should be able to climb to the top of the tree in less than half a month.

He looked at the two men, who were clearly exhausted.

Naruto's knees were trembling slightly, and Hinata's breathing became somewhat rapid. The hair on her forehead was wet with sweat and stuck to her cheeks.

"Alright, let's take a break," Qiu Shui said. "In a bit, we'll do the last ninja tool throwing training."

Naruto, who was about to charge at the tree again, stopped abruptly upon hearing this, turned around, and said with a look of lingering satisfaction, "Huh? You're resting already? I can keep going!"

Qiu Shui glanced at Naruto, a half-smile playing on her lips: "Can you continue? Then why are your legs shaking?"

Naruto looked down and saw that his legs were indeed trembling slightly and uncontrollably.