Naruto: Power in Play

Chapter 14

The sun was steadily rising in the sky, nearing its mid-morning height, casting a warm, persistent light across the training yard as Hamada Yutaka pushed himself through another round of drills. His breathing was ragged, sweat dripping from his brow, but he kept going, determination etched across his young face.

The Yutaka clan's training yard, though not grand, was a well-maintained and thoughtfully designed space. The dirt ground was carefully leveled, providing a stable surface for practice, while sturdy wooden dummies stood aside for taijutsu training. Farther away, chipped targets were lined against a reinforced fence.

To one side of the yard, a small pond shimmered under the sunlight. And scattered around the yard were several tall trees, their branches offering patches of shade and their trunks serving as natural obstacles for agility drills.

This was where Hamada spent most of his time on weekend mornings, honing his skills under the watchful eyes of his father.

Keichi Yutaka stood a few paces away, arms crossed, his sharp gaze focused on his son. "Again," he commanded with a firm tone. Hamada didn't hesitate, launching into another sequence of punches and kicks, his small body moving with surprising speed and precision for an eight-year-old.

But he was tiring, and it showed.

After a few more minutes, Hamada stumbled, his foot catching the uneven ground, and he fell hard, face-first into the dirt. He lay there for a moment, the sting of the fall mingling with the frustration and guilt he had carried since the previous day. The memory of his loss to Ando weighed heavily on his mind.

Keichi walked over with deliberate steps. "Get up" he said, his voice still carrying an authoritative edge. Hamada pushed himself up, panting, dirt clinging to his clothes and skin. He looked up at his father, his eyes wide with a mixture of shame and frustration.

"Why did I lose?" Hamada asked, the question tumbling out before he could stop himself. "Why was he stronger than me?"

Keichi's expression softened; he understood all too well what his son was going through. As someone who had dedicated himself to rigorous training and excelled in taijutsu, Hamada was struggling to comprehend how a beginner, who had barely been training for a month, could have defeated him.

Keichi shared his son's confusion. Hamada wasn't weak—far from it. He had been training Hamada diligently for two years, and no ordinary orphan should have been able to best his son in a straight fight. It was unthinkable.

He might have been able to rationalize the situation if the boy had been the child of a wealthy civilian, someone whose parents could afford to hire skilled ninja mentors. But an orphan? The idea was almost laughable. The only plausible explanation was that the boy possessed a kekkei genkai that gave him a significant advantage in hand-to-hand combat, something akin to the abilities of the Inuzuka, Akimichi, or other major clans.

But Keichi kept these thoughts to himself. He wasn't about to suggest such a hypothesis to his son. It would only plant seeds of doubt in Hamada's mind, making him see the big clans as insurmountable opponents, a perception that could hinder his growth.

"Hamada, it's not about who has more resources or who trains harder. Sometimes, it's about who wants it more, who has more to fight for."

Hamada frowned, trying and failing to make sense of his father's words. "Who has more to fight for? I want to make you proud, to make the clan proud!" he insisted, his small fists clenching at his sides. "Isn't that enough reason?"

Keichi crouched down so that he was at eye level with his son. "You have made me proud, Hamada. You always have. But you cannot let your pride cloud your judgement and turn into resentment. Ando beat you, yes, but instead of hating him, you should learn from him."