Su Zheng's Weakness

When Su Zheng returned home, Konan was practicing origami. She had specifically asked to buy paper flowers before, and it seemed she had an inseparable bond with them. Haruna, on the other hand, was quietly reading a book.

"Brother Zheng, look at the paper crane I folded, is it nice?" Konan held out the folded paper crane for Su Zheng to admire.

"Very nice. You two play here, I'm going to train for a bit. We'll go for barbecue at 11:00, okay?" Su Zheng gently ruffled Konan's hair.

"Okay!" Konan beamed happily.

"Brother Zheng, I'll pour you a glass of water. You can drink it when you're thirsty," Haruna said softly.

"Okay!" Su Zheng gently ruffled her hair too.

Konan was optimistic and strong. After more than a day, she had become cheerful and was slowly emerging from the shadow of war.

Haruna was a little different. She possessed a unique maturity. Just like when she shielded Konan behind her that time, Su Zheng could see that she had deep emotional defenses, was very sensitive, and somewhat fearful, afraid that all of this was a lie. Perhaps she had seen too much ugliness during the war and needed time to heal!

In the small courtyard, Su Zheng took out the Ninjutsu Scroll he had just borrowed. After thinking for a moment, he decided to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu that Teacher Maki had taught him, as it would speed up his ninjutsu training.

Poof! A puff of smoke rose, and Su Zheng created six Shadow Clones.

"Ah! So many Brother Zheng," Konan exclaimed in surprise.

"Konan, Brother Zheng is training, don't be noisy!"

Konan quickly covered her mouth.

"It's fine!"

Su Zheng smiled. This little disturbance wouldn't affect his training.

His first priority was to train the nature and shape transformation of his Chakra. The Chidori, his current "ultimate weapon," was not yet stable.

As for other Earth Style and Water Style ninjutsu, they would be quick to master with just practice in hand seals. He was quite confident about this, after all, he was a "little genius"!

"Sizzle, sizzle!"

Blue and white electricity crackled and danced in the hands of all seven Su Zhengs.

When the electricity dissipated and the clones were released, the insights from the Lightning Style nature transformation returned to the main body, which he began to carefully ponder.

A gentle breeze blew. Watching Su Zheng train diligently and Haruna quietly read, Konan felt a wave of sweetness wash over her.

Amegakure, Leader's Office.

"Hanzo's Amegakure has defeated Sunagakure, and Sunagakure has retreated to the Land of Wind!" Kaiyu Rui looked at the intelligence report delivered by his trusted subordinate, a sense of dread filling him.

Since Hanzo came of age and gradually gained immense power, he had progressively stripped away the Amegakure ninja's reliance on the Gray Rain Clan. Once Hanzo gained complete control, he even began to suppress the clan's influence.

Although Kaiyu Rui could manage the affairs of Amegakure in Hanzo's absence, for a small village like this, strength was the foundation of everything. He didn't dare to defy Hanzo's wishes and could only secretly implement his plans. The Demigod of the Ninja World was like a destructive weapon, a nuclear bomb, to a small village like Amegakure!

"No, there's still a chance. As long as I can get rid of Hanzo, the rest are nothing to worry about. And I'll take care of Su Zheng too. So what if he's a genius? If he chooses the wrong side, he'll still die!"

Kaiyu Rui schemed in his mind. He couldn't afford to fail this time.

Su Zheng was unaware of the undercurrents brewing in the seemingly peaceful Amegakure. Even if he knew, it wouldn't matter. His cheat had arrived!

"Come on, tell me, what are your dreams?"

After training, Su Zheng took the two girls for barbecue, as he had promised Shota and the others yesterday.

"My dream is for us to be together forever, never to be separated!" Konan spoke first.

"Konan, that's not a dream. A dream is about what you want to do or who you want to become when you grow up," Haruna corrected her.

"Oh, I see!" Konan bit her tongue, thinking hard. She didn't know what her future held. She felt that she was already very happy now. Wouldn't it be good for the three of them to always be together!

Hmm! Konan suddenly remembered what Haruna had said last night about "repaying Brother Zheng in the future." She secretly glanced at Brother Zheng, her face flushing, and fell silent.

Haruna asked casually, "Brother Zheng, what's your dream?"

"Mine? My dream is to end the wars between ninja, so that people from all countries and villages can live together in peace."

Su Zheng had thought about this question more than once, so he blurted it out without hesitation.

Konan was still lost in her own thoughts and didn't hear him.

Haruna, however, heard every word. She was stunned by his words, her beautiful eyes shining.

"Haruna, you haven't told us your dream yet?" Su Zheng asked.

Haruna turned her head away, no longer looking at him. No one knew that at this moment, Haruna's heart had been captured.

"Mine? My dream is to stand behind you and help you achieve that dream!"

Haruna came from a wealthy family, but because of this damned war, her family was destroyed. Her father, mother, and brother, all her relatives were gone. This was also why she cherished Konan so much. She treasured her bond with Konan and didn't want it to disappear.

Until one day, a person named Su Zheng found them and brought them salvation.

They arrived at the riverbank where they usually had barbecue. Maki and Shota were already there.

"You're so slow! Konan, Haruna, come over here, sis!" Maki waved.

"Sister Maki, I brought you a flower." Konan happily presented a flower she had folded.

"Thank you for the flower, Konan!" Maki took out a scroll and gave them some snacks.

Three girls sat together, eating snacks, basking in the sun, and watching Su Zheng and the others work.

Konan felt a little embarrassed, "Maki-nee, don't we need to help with the work?"

"Don't worry about it, let them be busy. Your Brother Zheng is amazing at barbecuing!"

"It's fine, there will be plenty of opportunities later!" Haruna smiled, stopping Konan from offering her help.

Maki was slightly surprised. Usually, Haruna was the most polite, always carefully observing and gauging the mood, but today was different.

After Haruna opened up, she found her own direction and no longer needed to cater to others. Naturally, her timid and cautious personality was replaced by a cheerful one.

With the persuasion of the two, Konan no longer stood on ceremony. She comfortably basked in the sun, watching the two work.

Before long, the grill, firewood, seasonings, and everything else were ready. Su Zheng and the two had caught two small wild boars in the forest; this amount should be enough.

Su Zheng skillfully prepared the prey with a kunai. In a short while, the fragrant aroma of roasted meat filled the air.

Konan and the others also perked up, gathering around to wait for the roasted meat.

"It smells so good!"

As soon as they tasted it, Konan and Haruna praised Su Zheng's cooking skills, which made him feel immensely honored.

"But we're eating way too fast!"

Two small wild boars should have been enough, but perhaps it was because the two youngsters had ignited their fighting spirit, Shota and Maki had also put in a lot of effort today.

Looking at the dwindling food, Su Zheng didn't want to fight them for it and shared his own food with everyone.

Su Zheng had to use Water Style to fry fish for himself.

After a long while, by the time Su Zheng's fish was grilled, everyone else had already finished the food and was comfortably digesting it.

After eating their fill and resting for a while, Su Zheng called Shota to go into the forest for training, leaving Maki to accompany Konan and Haruna.

"Maki-nee, why aren't you going for training?" Konan asked curiously.

Maki leaned lazily against a tree trunk and explained, "I'm different from them. My ability relies heavily on talent, and doesn't emphasize training as much."

Konan's imagination ran wild, "Is it that ability to retrieve things? It's so amazing!"

Just as Maki was about to show off, Haruna interjected, "That's called Scroll Summoning, it's a Space-Time Ninjutsu!"

Both of them were stunned. Maki didn't know where Haruna had learned about this ninjutsu, while Konan wondered, Did my good sister secretly get extra lessons from Brother Zheng behind my back?

Seeing their strange expressions, Haruna confessed, "I read about it in a book."

Maki didn't dare to be arrogant anymore, lest she be exposed when trying to show off, which would be a huge embarrassment!

Konan, on the other hand, patted her chest with relief: Looks like my good sister hasn't been hiding anything from me. That's good.

At this moment, Maki asked curiously, "Maki-nee, do you know... what Brother Zheng's weakness is?"

This was Maki's area of expertise. She knew these inside stories best. She narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment, "Weakness? Afraid of women, does that count?"

Konan tilted her head, confused, "What does that mean?"

Maki chuckled mischievously, "This happened when we were in the Ninja Academy. Ah Zheng was very handsome and considered a genius, so he was very popular with girls, but he didn't interact much with them."

"Until one day, he was cornered by a group of girls and they forcibly kissed him. After that day, he skipped grades consecutively and avoided people even more."

Seeing their blushing faces, Maki smiled proudly.

Su Zheng didn't know that Maki had spilled all his embarrassing past secrets, practically stripping him bare.