"Is this the strength of the Number One Taijutsu Master of the Ninja World?"
Zhengyi rubbed his chest.
Hearing Zhengyi say that, A's face couldn't help turning red.
Father... Father isn't dead yet. It's too soon to call me the Number One Taijutsu Master of the Ninja World.
You!
I like your style!!
A hated being asked to apologize. Even Zhengyi's demand that he apologize to him and Orochimaru had slipped his mind after that bit of flattery.
After all, people had either admired him or feared him like a plague, but no one had ever called him the Number One Taijutsu Master of the Ninja World.
"Come on!" A didn't mind showing off his muscles—and his strength as the Number One Taijutsu Master of the Ninja World—in front of all these people.
So he held out his little finger toward Zhengyi. "Sorry, I don't have a smaller finger than this."
"Arijia, isn't that the finger you usually use to pick your ears?" Killer B asked in puzzlement beside him. A's vanity immediately soared. "Can't help it. He's still just a kid."
"Oh!!!" The Cloud Ninja behind them cheered one after another.
Zhengyi: "?"
Everything he'd done just now had been to cover for his teacher.
But now he was genuinely angry.
Who did this guy think he was? What was he showing off for?
The Konoha people were furious. If you've got the guts, try that little-finger stunt against our strongest young-generation jonin, Minato Namikaze.
What kind of skill is there in bullying a kid?
Damn it.
There was a huge age gap between Zhengyi and A. Zhengyi's body hadn't even finished growing yet.
So A knocked him down again and again.
Then Zhengyi got up again and again, only to be knocked down again and again, like a war machine that never ran out of strength.
"Why don't you run?" In the end, even A was moved, marveling at Zhengyi's willpower.
"Apologize to my teacher."
"And what if I don't?"
"I can fight you all day!" The sun sank toward the horizon, casting its afterglow over Zhengyi. He shakily raised his fists, his eyes beaten so badly he could barely keep them open.
It was all for his teacher.
Teacher! Hurry up!
I really can't hold on much longer.
"Arijia, just apologize to his teacher." At some point, Killer B had started biting a handkerchief, tiny pearls of tears falling one by one. Oh! He'd write a song for Zhengyi when he got back. Zhengyi was the only Konoha person he truly admired.
Even Gyuki, the Eight-Tails inside him, was moved. What kind of creatures were humans? Could they really give their lives for their convictions?
"Lord A, waah..." The Cloud Ninja couldn't bear to watch, either.
"To protect his teacher, he's burning with the will of youth! What should I do? Should I step in?!" In a corner of the Konoha group stood a man in a tight green suit.
"Hey, Dai, you're only a Genin. This isn't a situation you can jump into. Don't make trouble." His companions stopped him, leaving the man named Dai with no choice but to watch Zhengyi burn with determination and sweat it out through his tears. This was youth...
At that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on A and Zhengyi.
After a long silence, A suddenly charged forward and punched Zhengyi, knocking him down. This time, Zhengyi really couldn't get back up.
If his companions hadn't held him back, Dai would truly have risked his life against A to protect this child's youth. Why? Why destroy a child's resolve?
Zhengyi lay on the ground, staring at the sky and gasping for air.
"Your name." A looked Zhengyi in the face. The handsome face that had made him the top heartthrob at Konoha Ninja Academy was now a complete mess.
"Zhengyi."
"My goal is to surpass you."
"Hmph." A gave a cold snort, but in his heart he acknowledged this future rival.
When Orochimaru hurried back, he saw Zhengyi covering his eyes and bawling. "Teacher, I'll never lose again."
"Did you hear that, Lord Fourth Hokage?"
Orochimaru was so embarrassed his toes nearly curled into the ground. Hadn't he just given Zhengyi one order—to keep the AB Brothers occupied?
Was it really that hard?
"Waaah." Yet, despite how awkward the scene was, plenty of people were touched by it. Kumogakure and Konoha were both deeply moved.
"Orochimaru, you have a fine student. It seems you're not a coward after all." After a hearty laugh, A took back what he'd said earlier, for Zhengyi's sake.
"Let's go, B."
A had enjoyed himself today. He'd just warmed up with Zhengyi, and once they got back, he'd have a proper spar with B.
As for Orochimaru, he'd rented a plot of land to start a ranch, planning to make a large supply of Protein Powder to strengthen Konoha's ninja.
But Konoha's cows didn't produce much milk.
So he set his sights on the dairy cows in the Land of Lightning.
In wartime, if he placed a large order for cows, they'd either take the chance to jack up the prices or shortchange him by selling him sick cows.
So why not just steal them?
That was why he'd given Zhengyi a strict order: casualties among Konoha's ranks didn't matter; all he needed was for Zhengyi to keep the AB Brothers occupied and stop them from discovering anything when they returned.
Just as expected!
Zhengyi had never let him down. Whenever he left a mission in Zhengyi's hands, he always completed it perfectly.
Orochimaru's trust in Zhengyi had soared.
He counted the cows his subordinates were driving back. After just a few more raids, Konoha would never run short of Protein Powder again.
Although Orochimaru loved conducting research, he understood one thing: if Konoha was strong, then his laboratory would be strong in the future, too. Whenever he needed materials, all he had to do was give the order, and Konoha's ninjas would help him seize whatever he wanted.
Strengthening Konoha's ninjas couldn't wait.
The first to be strengthened would be his most loyal student, Zhengyi.
Outsiders had no idea what Orochimaru and Zhengyi had been up to. They couldn't go around shouting about something so shady.
So, while the war raged and the people of Konoha were on edge, Hiruzen Sarutobi held Zhengyi up as a role model to inspire the children, putting him on the front page of the newspaper.
"What has become of the four-year-old child with the mind of a Hokage?"
The article clearly recorded what Zhengyi had done that day, with a little artistic embellishment.
"Minato, this Zhengyi reminds me a lot of you," the yellow-haired jonin said approvingly after returning to rest and report his mission to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Hokage's faction... Well, it really was full of talented people, every one of them respectful toward their teachers.
What a headache.
Maybe it was because they took after him at the root.
"It's such a shame that a good kid like that ended up with Orochimaru," Jiraiya said regretfully. He hadn't even had time to take off his armor.
Although Orochimaru was his good friend, Jiraiya never played favorites. Over the years, Orochimaru had grown increasingly twisted inside, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Maybe...
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya both thought of Young Orochimaru, and then of the Orochimaru of the present, shrouded in darkness.
One was smoking, while the other looked heartbroken.
"Old man, what about the Fourth Hokage's position?" Jiraiya waggled his eyebrows at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Ohhh, I think Orochimaru would be a fine choice." Hiruzen Sarutobi drew out the words, deliberately teasing Jiraiya.
"Come on, didn't we already agree?" Jiraiya plopped down on the Hokage's desk.
"Let's see how you do."
Minato looked completely baffled, with just a touch of childish confusion. What was his teacher saying about the Fourth Hokage?
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