After arriving in the Land of Waterfalls, Ruri finally recovered completely. That attack, which had drained all his chakra, had left him weak for a full day and night, slowing his travel considerably.
"Come out." Ruri casually fired a Wind Style attack into the forest behind him. A towering tree was instantly split in two. He had not attacked the person directly, because he could sense that whoever was following them was not strong and possessed extremely weak chakra.
"My lord..." A filthy child emerged from behind the broken tree. He wore a tattered mask that tightly covered his mouth, and an unusual stench wafted from his entire body.
"A child?" Kakuzu said in surprise. He truly had little sensory ability, but failing to notice a child under ten was far too pathetic. It seemed he still needed to train harder.
[Name: Hattori Masanari] [Overall Strength: Genin] [Talent: Kage] [Attribute: Fire] [Special Ability: Salamander Poison] [Evaluation: A boy with a miserable past, unwavering convictions, and outstanding talent, sporting half a protagonist's template!]
Salamander Poison? Ruri was somewhat puzzled. In the original story, the only person with Salamander Poison was the leader of Amegakure known as the "Demigod," Hanzo of the Salamander. Why did this child have it too?
And he possessed Kage-level talent. That was not the sort of talent one could casually pick up off the roadside!
Could this person be Hanzo? Ruri walked toward Masanari. With such exceptional talent, he had to bring him back to Takigakure whether he was Hanzo or not.
However, he did not succeed. Each time he took one step closer, Masanari took two steps back.
"Brat, aren't you afraid of dying?" Kakuzu asked. This child must have had some reason for following them, yet he would not let Ruri approach. Could he be playing hard to get in preparation for an assassination? Kakuzu immediately shook his head. Assassinating Ruri was like assassinating Hashirama—simply impossible. At most, someone could throw a shuriken from eight hundred miles away. Their senses were fully capable of dealing with trouble before an assassin could get close.
"I... don't come near me. I have poison on me..." Masanari took another step back. His childish voice was muffled beneath the mask, as though he had barely opened his mouth.
Poison? It was said that Hanzo wore a mask because even his breath carried poison. Judging by his age as well, Hattori Masanari was almost certainly Hanzo.
"It's fine. This little bit of poison won't affect me." Ruri took several steps forward until he stood before Masanari. The Seven-Tails' poisonous scales might not have been as potent as the Six-Tails' strong acid, but Salamander Poison could not compare to them either. As a result, Ruri had a certain resistance to toxins.
Ruri reached out and removed Masanari's mask. The skin on his lower face contrasted sharply with the rest of his body, smooth and spotless.
"I... poison..." The moment Masanari spoke, he realized he was no longer wearing his mask and instinctively covered his mouth.
"You don't need to wear it around me." Was he afraid of poisoning me? Ruri felt a little heartbroken as he looked at Masanari. This child was only six or seven, yet he had to endure such suffering.
Masanari watched Ruri and saw no sign of poisoning. After a moment of confusion, he sucked in a deep breath as though his life depended on it. Being able to breathe freely like this felt unbelievably wonderful!
"Can you tell me now why you were following us?" Ruri affectionately patted Masanari's head, not caring in the slightest that the tangled hair might dirty his hand.
"I... I want to become your disciple, my lord!" Masanari abruptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed.
"You want to become my disciple? Are you from the Land of Iron?" Though Masanari's clothes were ragged and covered in dust, they were clearly samurai attire.
Hearing that, Masanari bit his lip as though making some sort of decision. "Yes, but not anymore."
"Fine, then I'll accept you as my disciple." Masanari did not seem to want to speak of his past, so Ruri did not ask. In any case, he was not worried about what trouble a child could cause. This was a genius with Kage-level talent; he would bring him home first and worry about the rest later.
That was it? Masanari thought as he continued kowtowing. He had followed them all the way from the Land of Iron and thought it would be a long battle. How could such a powerful man, one who seemed to bring down miracles, so easily accept someone of unknown origins as his disciple? He had even prepared himself to cling to Ruri relentlessly. Yet it had been this easy?
Looking at Masanari's expression, Ruri thought, If you didn't have this kind of talent, I wouldn't have accepted you so easily! The system had said that nurturing talent for the village would earn rewards too!
Naturally, Ruri would not tell Masanari to his face that he had a system.
"There is something in your eyes that differs from ordinary people. I can see it—you are a person with conviction. So from now on, you are my disciple." Ruri casually made up an excuse and helped Masanari to his feet. Conviction? What even was that? Words like that were only useful for fooling children.
"My lord..." It all felt like a dream, and Masanari could scarcely believe it.
"Call me Teacher. We'll head to the capital of the Land of Waterfalls first and get you cleaned up, then return to Takigakure." Ruri smiled. It felt great to so easily lure in a Kage-level genius with his reputation.
Masanari remained where he was, staring at the mask in Ruri's hand. "Um... Teacher..."
Ruri froze. How had he forgotten about that? He could resist Salamander Poison, but others could not. Even Kakuzu would be affected to some extent.
"Put this mask back on for now. Once we return to the village, I'll definitely help you solve the poison problem." Salamander Poison was not particularly deadly; the Evil-Sealing Method should be enough to deal with it. Though the poison gave Hanzo considerable advantages in battle, it also prevented him from breathing fresh air normally.
Besides, Masanari already possessed Kage-level talent. Even without Salamander Poison, his achievements would not be low. Ruri did not want his first disciple to spend his entire life wearing a mask. Kakashi and Kakuzu wore masks as a hobby; Hanzo did not do so by choice.
"Big brother, you're actually taking a little brat like this as your disciple." Kakuzu did not have a system, so he could not see Masanari's talent. He only felt that the child was utterly ordinary. Other than wearing a mask like himself, perhaps the only noteworthy thing about him was his kindness.
That was right—kindness. In the Shinobi World, only a few years removed from the Warring States Period, it seemed somewhat unusual.
Kakuzu could tell that, because of the poison on his body, the child did not dare interact with people. Even when he wanted to take Ruri as his teacher, he had kept retreating out of fear that getting too close would poison Ruri. Moreover, the Land of Iron bordered the sea and had countless streams and rivers. Someone living on the streets would not let himself reek of such a strange stench. That smell had clearly been deliberate, meant to keep people away. The crude mask could not guarantee that poisonous gas would not escape; only keeping his distance could prevent others from being poisoned.
"Perhaps his talent is no worse than yours?" Ruri teased.
Kakuzu dismissed that with disdain. His talent was much worse than Ruri's, but it was still exceptional. This brat was merely a destitute beggar from the Land of Iron. Did wearing the same kind of mask mean he had the same kind of talent?
"Let's go. We'll buy some things in the capital, and while we're at it, visit Linglong." Ruri took Masanari, who had been following behind him, by the hand and brought him to his side. A master and disciple were not subordinates; he preferred the feeling of walking side by side.
"Go see that woman..." Kakuzu seemed to recall something terrifying, and his entire body shuddered.
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