An Impossible Challenge

Hanzo was delighted to see his three disciples as well. They had become Lower Ninja at the age of seven. Though they were a little inferior to Sarutobi's three disciples, they had graduated from a school specializing in assassination, so their killing ability would not be weaker than those three. Moreover, they were the sons of his trusted subordinates, so their loyalty could be guaranteed.

After finishing their greetings, the three of them turned to size up the little brat. Why had their teacher imposed martial law because of this kid, even forbidding them from entering? But after looking him over, they found nothing special about him. He was merely a little sturdier than usual and had rather heavy dark circles under his eyes.

At that moment, Hanzo asked his subordinates whether they carried any basic chakra refinement scrolls with them. The others shook their heads and explained. They were at least Middle Ninja—who would still carry something like that around?

Then his three disciples spoke up, saying that they had one. One of them took a scroll from the bag on his back and tossed it to Zhou Yang. They wanted to see what kind of talent this kid possessed as well.

Though Zhou Yang's expression remained unchanged as he caught the scroll, he was actually extremely excited. This was a chakra refinement scroll! It could turn him from an ordinary person into a ninja. A surge of heroic ambition rose within him. He wanted to become a ninja like Madara Uchiha, one who looked down upon all living things! He set a goal for himself. Though it was far beyond reach, that did not mean he could not achieve it.

After opening it, he read the introduction to chakra: Chakra was an energy produced through the perfect fusion of the various components of energy controlled by the human body. It was the source of energy used to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, or to form threads that bound opponents or cut through substances likewise composed of chakra.

After reading the opening, Zhou Yang suddenly felt his scalp tingle. Th-this... this is chakra? Thinking about the condition of his own body, no matter how he looked at it, it did not seem like a perfect fusion. But he had no choice but to keep reading through gritted teeth. Before long, he began refining chakra.

Five minutes later, he opened his eyes. Seeing this, Hanzo thought he had already refined it.

This speed isn't bad. He has hope of becoming an Upper Ninja in the future. Thinking so, Hanzo took out a chakra test paper, placed it in his hand, and said, "Channel chakra into this paper." To his surprise, Zhou Yang shook his head.

The three kids beside him began to laugh. "We thought this brat had something special. So this is all there is to him?"

They had all refined chakra within three minutes. In other words, as long as they did not slack off or die young, they were guaranteed to become Elite Upper Ninja. Someone who could not even gather chakra in five minutes would only ever become a Middle Ninja at most.

Hanzo, however, sighed as though he found it regrettable. He also wanted a disciple who possessed both wisdom and courage, but reality was simply this cruel. Perhaps his intelligence was the window God had opened for him.

Having thought this through, Hanzo announced Zhou Yang's status to everyone: he would be treated as Hanzo's disciple.

But everyone understood that this kid was merely Hanzo's strategist.

Then Hanzo seemed to think of something and said to Zhou Yang, "You said 'we' earlier, right? That should include your wife. How about this—your wife will have the same status as you. Is that acceptable?"

Anyone with eyes could tell that Zhou Yang had meant for Hanzo to take both of them as disciples. Yet Hanzo only offered this, clearly showing that a strategist was worth only this much.

But Zhou Yang could not accept that. The entire reason for this plan was to make Nan happier and stronger. Yet Hanzo was treating Nan as an afterthought. How could that be acceptable? Was this not wasting Nan's talent?

One had to know that, after Jiraiya taught her for only three years, Nan became a Shadow Level powerhouse, and one who ranked among the best at that. How many Shadow Level powerhouses were there in the entire Naruto world? Zhou Yang doubted there were even a hundred. That meant Nan's talent ranked among the top hundred throughout the entire history of Naruto. Someone like that was supposed to be an afterthought? In terms of talent, perhaps no one present could compare to her.

This would not do, Zhou Yang thought. If Hanzo took him as a disciple, then he could accept being his strategist. At worst, he could live off a woman in the future. Wasn't it great to cling to Sister Nan's thigh?

But now he was not even allowed to cling to her thigh. How could he possibly agree?

He calmly stood up. Just as the others thought he was about to leave things at that, he asked, "Then what would it take for me to become your disciple?"

The question made the three kids beside him laugh. "No, do you have a comprehension problem or something? Teacher already showed you enough respect by not bringing up your talent. Why are you still asking? We've already told you—this is all you'll ever amount to in your life. Just be a strategist properly!"

For some reason, Hanzo did not stop his disciples from exposing the matter so bluntly. Perhaps he even welcomed it, wanting Zhou Yang to understand his place.

Yet Zhou Yang acted as though he had not heard their mockery. He kept staring at Hanzo and asked once more, "What would it take to become your disciple?"

"Hahaha, it seems you really won't give up! I'm starting to appreciate you more and more. Fine, don't say I, Hanzo, don't give young people chances. As long as you can last ten minutes against them, you can become my disciple!" As he spoke, he pointed at his three disciples.

This was an impossible task. Everyone present thought so.

The three of them even felt insulted. They were supposed to fight an ordinary person younger than themselves, someone without a shred of chakra in his body—and it would be three against one? But since it was their teacher's order, what could they do? They could only vent their anger on someone else.

And who else was there to target? Naturally, only Zhou Yang, this little brat.

"Hey, kid, honestly, as your big brother, I'll give you some advice. Forget it. Why take this so seriously? Why ruin yourself over a moment of pride? Besides, the three of us brothers don't know how to hold back. If something happens to you... sigh."

The person beside him pretended to rebuke him, smacking him on the head. "Bass, what are you thinking? You dare lay hands on this person? Aren't you afraid Teacher will punish you? Teacher still needs his brain, you know?" As he spoke, he glanced at Hanzo. When he saw no reaction, he relaxed.

Bass suddenly came to a realization. "Right, right, right." He then dropped to one knee and apologized to Hanzo, as though his earlier words had been meaningless. Yet their intentions were hidden within them: even if they killed Zhou Yang, they would only be punished by their teacher, and judging by their tone, the punishment would not be severe. They were telling Zhou Yang that even if his status was equal to theirs, the gap between them was still enormous!

Hanzo remained silent, clearly agreeing with that assessment. After all, he already knew most of Zhou Yang's plans. Though he did not know the latter half, that did not matter. This alone would allow Rain Ninja Village to catch its breath. And with that breathing room, he could squeeze out plenty of resources while joining the other two countries in declaring war on Hidden Leaf Village.

Seeing that Zhou Yang had gone quiet, everyone assumed he had given up. Hanzo said nothing either. After all, it truly sounded like an impossible task. Still, if the kid accepted, Hanzo would not mind thinking a little more highly of him.

Just as everyone prepared to leave, Zhou Yang's voice suddenly reached their ears. He yawned first, then said in a listless tone that matched his dark circles, "Sorry, I was too sleepy, so I fell asleep just now. I accept your challenge."

Everyone abruptly turned back, their gazes focusing on the five-year-old boy with dark circles beneath his eyes.