Taking Disciples and the Mask

After arriving in the Land of Waterfalls, Ruri finally recovered to his peak state. That strike which had exhausted all his chakra left him weakened for a full day and night, significantly slowing their travel speed.

"Come out." Ruri casually unleashed a Wind Style technique toward the woods behind them. A towering tree was instantly severed in two. He did not aim at the person, as he sensed the follower was not strong; their chakra was extremely faint.

"My lord..." Emerging from behind the broken tree was a filthy child wearing a tattered mask that covered his mouth tightly, the entire person emitting a strange, foul odor.

"A kid?" Kakuzu asked, surprised. He truly lacked sensory abilities, but failing to notice even a ten-year-old child was pathetic; it seemed he still needed to work hard on his training.

[Name: Hattori Masanari]
[Overall Strength: Genin]
[Talent: Shadow]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Special Ability: Salamander Poison]
[Evaluation: Possesses a tragic history, firm conviction, and outstanding talent. A man (boy?) who has applied half of a protagonist template!]

Salamander Poison? Ruri was puzzled. In the original work, the only person possessing the Salamander Poison was the leader of Amegakure known as the "Demigod," Hanzo of the Salamander. How could this child have it?

Moreover, having a Shadow-level talent—this was not something one could just pick up by the side of the road!

Could this person be Hanzo? Ruri walked toward Masanari. With such outstanding talent, he would drag him back to Takigakure regardless of whether he was Hanzo or not.

However, he did not succeed; for every step he took, Masanari retreated two.

"Little brat, are you not afraid of death?" Kakuzu spoke up. This child must have had a reason for following them, yet he wouldn't let Ruri get close. Could it be a feint to attempt an assassination? He immediately shook his head. Assassinating Ruri was like trying to assassinate Hashirama—simply impossible. At most, they might throw a shuriken from eight hundred miles away, but their sensory abilities were more than enough to resolve the trouble before the assassin could get close.

"I... don't come near me. I have poison on me..." Masanari retreated another step. The childish voice beneath the mask was muffled, sounding as if he couldn't open his mouth very wide.

Poison? It was said that Hanzo wore a mask because his very breath was toxic. Judging by his age, Hattori Masanari was in all likelihood Hanzo.

"It doesn't matter. That poison is useless against me." Ruri walked forward several steps until he stood before Masanari. While the Seven-Tails' phosphorus poison was not as potent as the Six-Tails' strong acid, it was not something the Salamander's toxin could compare to, and Ruri had developed a certain resistance to toxins as a result.

Ruri snatched the mask off Masanari's face. The skin on the lower half of his face had a stark color contrast to the rest of him, appearing incredibly fair and smooth.

"I... poison..." Masanari started to speak, but realizing his mask was off, he instinctively covered his mouth.

"You don't need to wear it in front of me." Is he afraid of poisoning me? Ruri felt a pang of heartache looking at Masanari. The child was only six or seven years old, yet he had to endure such suffering.

Seeing that Ruri showed no signs of being poisoned, Masanari was confused for a moment before taking a desperate, deep breath. Being able to breathe so freely was simply too comfortable!

"Now, can you tell me why you were following us?" Ruri affectionately patted Masanari's head, not caring in the slightest that the messy hair might dirty his hand.

"I... I want to be your disciple, my lord!" Masanari suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"You want to be my disciple? Are you from the Land of Iron?" Although Masanari's clothes were tattered and covered in dust, they were clearly samurai attire.

Upon hearing this, Masanari bit his lip, seemingly having made a decision, and said, "Yes, but I am not anymore."

"Very well, I will take you as my disciple." Seeing Masanari's state, he seemed unwilling to talk about what happened before, and Ruri didn't press him. In any case, he wasn't worried about a child causing trouble. This was a genius with Shadow-level talent; he would kidnap him home first and ask questions later.

It worked just like that? Masanari thought while kowtowing. He had chased them all the way from the Land of Iron, expecting a long-term struggle. How could a powerhouse who descended like a god so easily accept a stranger as a disciple? He had been prepared to pester him relentlessly, but he hadn't expected it to be this easy.

Watching Masanari's expression, Ruri thought, If you didn't have this talent, I wouldn't have accepted you so easily! The system said that cultivating talent for the village would also yield rewards!

Of course, Ruri wouldn't tell Masanari that he had a system.

"There is something in your eyes that is different from ordinary people. I can tell you are a person of conviction, so you are my disciple now." Ruri spouted nonsense and helped Masanari up. As for conviction? What was that? Saying things like that was just to fool a kid.

"My lord..." Everything felt like a dream; Masanari could hardly believe it.

"Call me Teacher. We will go to the capital of the Land of Waterfalls to get you cleaned up before returning to Takigakure." Ruri smiled. It felt good to kidnap a Shadow-level genius so easily and have a reputation that preceded him.

Masanari remained standing in place, looking at the mask in Ruri's hand, and whispered, "Um... Teacher..."

Ruri paused. How could he have forgotten? He could be immune to the Salamander's poison, but others could not; even Kakuzu would be affected to some degree.

"Keep wearing this mask for now. When we return to the village, I will definitely solve your poison problem." The Salamander's poison wasn't an incurable toxin; the Sealing Technique should be able to handle it. Although this toxin gave Hanzo an advantage in battle, it also prevented him from breathing fresh air normally.

Furthermore, Masanari already possessed Shadow-level talent; even without the Salamander's poison, his achievements would not be low. Ruri didn't want his first disciple to spend his whole life wearing a mask. Kakashi and Kakuzu wore masks out of personal preference, but that was not the case for Hanzo.

"Big Brother, I can't believe you'd take a brat like this as a disciple." Kakuzu didn't have a system and couldn't see Masanari's talent. He only thought the little guy was unremarkable. Aside from wearing a mask like himself, the only thing worth noting was perhaps his kindness.

That's right, kindness. In an era where the Warring States period had only ended a few years ago, it seemed somewhat unusual.

Kakuzu could see that this child was afraid to make contact with others because of the poison on his body. Even when he wanted to apprentice under Ruri, he kept retreating for fear that being too close would poison Ruri. Moreover, the Land of Iron was coastal with plenty of streams and rivers; someone wandering the streets wouldn't naturally be covered in such a strange, foul odor. This smell was clearly intentional—deliberately kept to prevent people from getting close, because the crude mask couldn't guarantee the poison gas wouldn't leak out. Only by keeping his distance could he ensure others weren't poisoned.

"Perhaps he has talent that doesn't lose to yours?" Ruri teased.

Kakuzu was dismissive of this. His own talent was quite a bit lower than Ruri's, but it was still considered top-tier. This brat was nothing more than a destitute beggar from the Land of Iron. Could wearing the same mask mean having the same talent?

"Let's go. We'll buy some things in the capital and see Linglong while we're at it." Ruri took Masanari, who was following behind, and pulled him to his side. A master and disciple were not subordinates; he preferred this feeling of walking side by side.

"See that woman..." Kakuzu shuddered, as if thinking of something terrifying.