Reunited with the Three

Looking at the sleeping Nan, Zhou Yang pinched her nose.

Seemingly bothered by the discomfort in her nose, Nan wriggled it, then, finding that the discomfort persisted, reached up to touch it. To her surprise, she caught hold of a hand. That hand was so familiar, and so warm. Feeling that familiar touch, Nan happily opened her eyes.

That was right. There was no mistake. It was him. He had returned.

Nan had wanted to throw her arms around Zhou Yang, but when she saw him covered in bandages, she hesitated before choosing to hug his hand instead and burst into tears. Her somewhat haggard face showed that, even while lying in a hospital bed, she had still been deeply worried during this time.

After crying for a while, Nan seemed to realize that this should have been a happy moment. She immediately wiped her eyes and asked, "How is your body now?"

"My body has mostly recovered. I just can't get out of bed for the time being." Zhou Yang patted his chest to show that he was doing perfectly well.

"Then your legs—"

"It's fine. It's only temporary. Don't you know my body well enough?"

Those words nearly made Rain, who was standing outside guarding Zhou Yang, choke on his own saliva. Why did that suddenly sound so suggestive? I want a wife who cares about me like that too! Rain looked up at a forty-five-degree angle, crying enviously. Of course, that was only in his heart. If actual tears had fallen, then his mental fortitude as a ninja would have been far too lacking.

The two then began openly flirting, making Rain, who had already had enough, slip away to find his friend Mu. After hearing Rain's account, the two single men embraced each other and comforted their wounded hearts.

For the next while, the village secretly arranged for Nan and Zhou Yang to live together. Since both of them were patients who needed rest, they lived quite comfortably during that time. With enough sleep, the dark circles around Zhou Yang's eyes had faded considerably. Of course, his nightly "homework" still continued.

During that time, Hanzo brought over two more Chakra test papers and a scroll for refining Chakra. The reason was naturally the matter of Nan they had discussed before. He had brought two sheets so that Zhou Yang's Chakra nature could be tested as well, allowing him to prescribe the right remedy.

Zhou Yang naturally wanted to know his own Chakra nature too, but when he gathered the energy within his body onto the paper, he found that it did not change at all.

Hanzo was stunned by the sight as well. What was going on? This energy did not belong to any Chakra nature. This question was beyond even him. Even someone as experienced as Hanzo did not know how to explain it. He had originally planned to search for Zhou Yang's clansmen according to his Chakra nature, in order to treat the Bloodline Disease afflicting him. Yet the result was no reaction at all. Unwilling to accept it, Hanzo had Zhou Yang inject energy into the paper once more, but the result remained the same. Nothing changed.

Zhou Yang stared blankly at the unchanged test paper, but an idea arose in his heart. Perhaps this could explain why that energy could not affect the paper.

Leaving aside Zhou Yang's strange situation, Nan's talent was as astonishing as Zhou Yang had expected. If Zhou Yang had not come first, Hanzo would probably have chosen her as his successor by now. Even so, the joy in his heart could not be hidden behind his stern expression. This was wonderful. He had found one successor, only to discover that he had been given another as well. Even if Zhou Yang were to die from a Bloodline Disease flare-up, someone would still inherit his position. But he had not considered Nan's feelings at all. How could he know that if Zhou Yang died for no clear reason, then unless Zhou Yang's final wish was for her to develop this place well, she would follow him in death? Perhaps after being a ninja for too long, one's understanding of feelings gradually faded.

About a month later, the fully recovered trio arrived at Hanzo's residence. This time, they were preparing to begin taking missions. After all, their resources had not fallen from the sky, and Hanzo would not support them for free. Once their bodies had recovered after a period of rest, they had been eager to take on missions. They had come this time to visit their teacher and tell him about their plans.

The household servants did not stop them, since they were familiar faces and everyone knew they were Hanzo's disciples.

They arrived at the rear courtyard, where Hanzo often stayed when he was home and where he frequently met with them. As soon as they approached, they sensed a ripple of Chakra, followed by a girl's sharp cry.

Water Release—Water Shock Wave

"That voice belongs to that girl, doesn't it?" Bass asked in his deep voice.

"Yes. I heard that after Teacher accepted Zhou Yang, he kept his promise and accepted the girl who was with him as well." Qianbai generously shared what he knew.

"Tch, she's just a lucky girl. In this ninja world, talent is what matters. With talent like his, even if Teacher accepted him as a disciple, he'll only be a little stronger at most in the future." Taunt Bro naturally said this about Zhou Yang, the person who had knocked him unconscious.

Qianbai did not respond this time. He knew Zhou Yang's strength extremely well. Looking at Taunt Bro, he thought, You probably don't even know how the word 'death' is written.

Although Qianbai did not take the bait, Taunt Bro was talkative. He directly asked in confusion, "Oh, right, Qianbai, what exactly happened afterward? Did you really lose to him?"

If anyone else had asked that, Qianbai would probably have greeted them with a Lightning Release technique. But he knew what kind of person his teammate was. Taunt Bro was not deliberately bringing up a painful subject; he was genuinely curious. Bass was also looking at him now. Having lost consciousness from the beginning, he clearly wanted to know what had happened afterward too.

Although Qianbai knew, he also knew that he could not say it outright. Just as he was considering how to make something up and brush the matter aside, Hanzo's voice rang out.

"What are you three brats muttering about outside the door? Get in here and meet your junior brother and junior sister already."

Feeling as though he had been saved, Qianbai immediately answered and opened the door to enter the rear courtyard. Since he had gone in, the other two could not keep pressing him and could only follow.

Once inside, they saw their teacher sitting on the ground, watching the girl standing by the pond with a deeply gratified expression. The three of them had rarely seen that expression. Even when they had learned ninjutsu, their teacher had never looked like that.

The three of them turned their attention to the girl as well. She was sitting on the ground, her expression resolute, but judging from how heavily she was breathing, she was exhausted. Wait, why did this girl seem younger than them? She had just used ninjutsu, hadn't she?

"Teacher, this is our junior sister, right?"

Hanzo nodded. Nan also noticed the arrival of three strangers and instinctively walked over, intending to introduce herself. But after hearing Taunt Bro's question, she immediately realized that they were the people who had caused Zhou Yang's injuries, and she stopped in her tracks.