My Heart Will Open Only for You

"Give me three days to recover."

"No problem. We've had our eyes on this guy the whole time, so three days is fine. But listen carefully—only three days. After that, you have to set out."

"I need to spar with you during those three days."

"Fine."

"I need weights."

"No problem. How heavy?" For someone with Zhou Yang's freakish physique, weight training really was a way to increase his strength. Even if Zhou Yang had not brought it up, Hanzo would have, so he had already prepared the equipment.

"Fifty kilograms."

"Wait, how much?"

"Fifty kilograms."

"Kid, are you sure? You know fifty kilograms is heavier than you are right now!"

"I don't know how much my body can handle, so I'll start with something lighter."

"Fine. Since you said so, I'll wait and see. Hold on, I'll let them know first." With that, Hanzo left.

Only the two of them remained in the courtyard. Nan walked over and asked, "Are you really not going to Ninja Academy with me?" She seemed to be looking forward to attending school with Zhou Yang, but this time, he did not agree. He even told Nan that if she felt she had learned almost everything the academy had to offer, she had to apply to skip grades.

Although Nan did not understand why, she still nodded. "If I'm going to school alone, I would have done that even if you hadn't told me."

Zhou Yang looked at Nan and could only stroke her cheek. In truth, he did not want her to rush through the happy years of school either. But war was not far away, and there was not much time left. They had to arm themselves now. In an age of war, no one could guarantee they would survive. Hanzo would not keep them hidden forever just because they were his disciples. To inherit his position, they would need contributions others could accept before they could hold it securely. Strength was the only standard that determined whether they could survive.

Then Zhou Yang suddenly remembered something. He immediately said to Nan, "Nan, don't you really like paper folding? Have you ever considered incorporating ninjutsu into it?"

"Huh! How did you know I had that idea?"

"Nonsense. I'm the great Liu—ptui, Zhou Yang—who knows five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future." Zhou Yang stroked his nonexistent beard.

"Hehe, you know five hundred years into the future? You didn't even know how old I was until I told you!"

"Ahem, ahem. It's not appropriate for me to see things about the one I love."

"Alright, let me show you what I've made!" With that, Nan shook her left hand.

There was nothing there? Zhou Yang thought he had not looked carefully enough, so he rubbed his eyes and leaned closer. There was still nothing.

"Stop looking. It's this." Nan wiggled her ring finger, then said proudly, "This ring kept breaking. It broke several times, so I thought of a way to make it sturdier."

So that had been her original motivation?

Zhou Yang reached out and touched the ring. Sure enough, it was incredibly sturdy now. He took Nan's hand in his, then pulled her into an embrace and kissed her flushed cheek.

After the kiss, he leaned close to Nan's ear. "My wife, do you know? Our wedding still hasn't been completely finished! Usually, it's not only women who need men to give them rings as a promise. Men also need women to give them rings, to show that a man's heart has been locked away by a woman!"

With that, Zhou Yang held out his left hand before Nan. He knew that as a fanatical paper-folding enthusiast, she would definitely carry paper with her.

After hearing Zhou Yang's words, Nan hurriedly pulled out some paper from her pocket and made him a ring. Its appearance was much prettier than the one Zhou Yang had made. Then Nan wrote a character on it. It seemed that even at such a young age, she already had the habit of staking her claim.

She solemnly placed the ring on Zhou Yang's hand, locking up his heart at the same time. From then on, there would be only one owner of Zhou Yang's heart: her, Zhou Nan.

Every young man had a harem dream, especially someone who had suddenly transmigrated into a two-dimensional world. Zhou Yang was no exception. Once he learned that this was the world of Naruto, such thoughts had naturally arisen in his mind. Although this world was basically monogamous, its essence was still that strength reigned supreme.

So before, while eating from his bowl, he had still been eyeing the pot. But this conversation with Nan completely made him abandon that way of thinking. To hell with harems, and to hell with Tsunade too! Being able to trick—ptui, marry—such a wonderful wife meant his ancestors' graves were smoking with good fortune. What more could he possibly want?

After their brief warmth, the two slowly separated. Then Hanzo's voice came from inside the room. "You two about done? I didn't see anything!"

"Pfft, hahaha! I never thought you had a side like this, Teacher!" Zhou Nan laughed.

Hanzo came out of the room carrying several things. As he walked, he said, "What do you think I should be like, with a stiff face all day? I don't want that either, but when you're in a high position, you sometimes need that kind of authority!"

"Here, kid. The weights you wanted." Hanzo casually tossed the fifty-kilogram weight over as though it were nothing. Zhou Yang instinctively reached out and caught it, then immediately regretted it.

Of course, he did not regret it because the weight had crushed him. He regretted it because it was too light. He actually tossed it into the air one-handed. It did not go very high, but it still startled Hanzo.

He could only sigh. "I underestimated you." Then he left again, clearly to find heavier weights.

Zhou Yang did not sit idle either. He strapped the weights to his legs. Though the weight really was a little light for him, once tied to his legs, it still created some resistance.

Nan advised, "Your leg injury only healed a few days ago. Don't push yourself like this."

"It's fine. I can handle it." Zhou Yang took a few steps, bounced in place a few times, then slowly began to run. He started with a jog, then got faster and faster. Just as he felt himself getting used to the weight, a Shuriken suddenly flew toward him. It moved so quickly that by the time he noticed it, it was almost in front of him.

He could only force himself to lean backward, trying his best to avoid the Shuriken's lethal path. But he still failed to evade it completely. The Shuriken grazed his cheek, leaving a wound. Before he could think further, several more flew at him. This time, because he was already on guard, he had time to react. But when he rolled, the weight on his legs threw off his estimate, making his evasive movement slower. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and left himself plenty of room, narrowly escaping disaster.

After dodging them all, Zhou Yang immediately grabbed the Shuriken from the ground and launched a counterattack. Yet his target did not move at all, because his Shuriken had missed.