Because We're Young

Lu Zeming didn't try to comfort Yuka and the others. Instead, he sent everyone away except Yuka and Haruki.

"You can read my mind now. See what I'm thinking."

Yuka didn't understand, but when she saw the seriousness in Lu Zeming's eyes, she did as he asked.

As the moments passed, her expression shifted from confusion to surprise, then to shock and excitement!

She was trembling.

"You want to..."

"Shh... Don't say it!"

Lu Zeming took out three flags—red, blue, and yellow—and placed them before Yuka.

"I'll give you a choice. Take the flags, and you can pass the Second Exam and chase that nearly impossible chance. That's as far as I can help you. Or join me, and we'll show this world what we can do!"

Yuka stared at him for a long moment before asking, "But can we really do it?"

"We can, because we're young!"

That was right. When you were young, anything was possible!

Haruki was utterly lost. What were they talking about? He couldn't understand a word of it, yet somehow he felt his blood stirring.

Yuka seemed to make up her mind.

"I choose—to follow you!"

Haruki was stunned. His cousin looked delicate, but she had always known her own mind. How had she decided to follow some little kid she'd known for less than two days?

He'd only been unconscious for one night. Had he missed something important?

Baffled, Haruki tried desperately to stop her. "Yuka, what are you doing? What about your father and your sister? What about the rest of the clan?"

Yuka didn't waver in the slightest.

"I know what I'm doing. I made this choice for the clan!"

Haruki was about to say more, but Lu Zeming cut him off.

"Your abilities aren't bad either. Interested in joining me? I have a village of my own. It's small, and there aren't many people yet, but I'm sure it'll grow quickly."

"No!"

"Don't turn me down so fast. My village really has potential. Your clan can come too!"

"No!"

"All right, I won't force you. But I believe you'll change your mind before long."

Recruiting Rofu was much simpler. He had only one question for Lu Zeming.

"Do I get fed?"

"All you can eat, for the rest of your life."

"Ha! Perfect! I finally won't have to wander around looking for food!"

After a short rest, they set off for Lakeheart Island.

They didn't run into another team along the way. Lu Zeming was getting bored!

"How about we do something big?"

Shinbu Kosuke was curious. "What do you have in mind?"

Lu Zeming pointed at the flags. "Flags are meant to fly. Who can see them tucked away in a bag?"

Shinbu Kosuke understood at once. "You want to lure people in to steal them?"

Lu Zeming grinned. "If I want to make a name for myself, I'd better start early. How can I do that without making a splash?"

"Make a name for yourself? What are you planning?"

Lu Zeming gave him a mysterious smile. "You'll know when the exam is over!"

They raised the red, yellow, and blue flags high. It was like lighting a bonfire in pitch-black night. Teams that had yet to collect all three colors came fluttering toward them like moths to a flame.

The teams came one after another to seize the flags. Wielding his sheathed blade, Lu Zeming knocked every ninja team flat.

Afterward, he asked each team about their family background.

If they were ninjas from prominent families, he took their flags and equipment. If they were commoner ninjas, he not only left their belongings alone but thoughtfully supplied whatever colored flags they lacked.

"Ah, I'm a kindhearted soul. I can't bear to see poor people like you suffer. You only need a red flag? Perfect! I might be short on everything else, but I've got flags to spare. Take your pick."

"What? You want my name so you can repay me? No need. Just remember that I'm an upstanding young man of the new era—with ideals, the courage to take responsibility, the grit to endure hardship, and the drive to work hard!"

"And remember, my name's Lu Zeming. Don't go telling everyone, okay? I like to keep a low profile!"

Everyone whose flags he stole hated Lu Zeming to the bone. Everyone who received flags from him was deeply grateful.

In the Kusakage's lounge at Kusakage Tower, an old man with white hair and beard smiled as he watched a screen of water held aloft by two blades of grass.

The screen showed Lu Zeming handing out colored flags to commoner ninjas.

"Hahaha! What an interesting little fellow!"

Lu Zeming's name spread rapidly, both inside and outside the exam grounds.

Lu Zeming spent the whole day robbing the rich to help the poor. Once he felt he'd done enough, he led the others to Lakeheart Island and passed the exam without trouble.

The Third Exam was scheduled for a week later. As soon as they left the exam grounds, Haruki hurried off to find their clanspeople and persuade Yuka to change her mind.

Lu Zeming said goodbye to Wuwei and Shinbu Kosuke, then took the newly recruited Yuka and Rofu back to the inn.

At the inn, he introduced them to Mayuko and the other two, and everyone sat down.

Mayuko spoke first. "Boss, you're not really going to take the Third Exam, are you?"

Yusuke picked up the thread. "I doubt they can even hold the Third Exam now. So many commoner ninjas passed the Second Exam, while a lot of the prominent-family kids who were supposed to get through failed. How are they going to hold it?"

Yuma wasn't concerned. "They made the rules. If they want those kids back in the exam, they've got plenty of options. They could hold a second-chance round, for instance. Or they could put all the commoner ninjas in one group and make them fight each other. Once the commoners knock one another out, the spots open right back up!"

"They wouldn't be that shameless, would they?"

"Heh. Don't give them too much credit."

Yuka listened carefully as Mayuko and the others discussed it, trying to learn. She felt that these children, who were about her age, knew far more and saw much further than she did.

To Rofu, it all sounded incomprehensible. He devoted his attention to the tea and pastries on the table instead.

Lu Zeming was glad to see them discussing it. This, too, was an essential part of developing talent.

When their discussion wound down, Lu Zeming finally spoke.

"I won't take the Third Exam. Whether we win or lose, there's nothing in it for us."

Mayuko looked puzzled. "Then what about our plan?"

"Don't worry. Someone else is even more anxious than we are! If I'm right, someone will be at our door with an invitation any moment now!"

To Lu Zeming's surprise, the invitations were beaten to the inn by the commoner ninjas who had passed the Second Exam with his help.

They all brought local specialties from their hometowns to thank him.

For a while, the little inn bustled with visitors.

Lu Zeming spent two straight days accepting gifts before the stream of visitors finally began to ease.

He had also gained some standing among the commoner ninjas.

On the third day, the invitations Lu Zeming had expected finally arrived.

They came from the most prominent families in Kusagakure.

Some were major families close to the Shinbu, including the Kazama, Fujimoto, and Inoue. Others, such as the Matsushita and Pingyuan, had deep ties to the Shinomiya.

Lu Zeming accepted every invitation and gladly attended each gathering.

Every family had invited him for the same reason: they wanted to recruit him.

At just seven years old, he had the strength to sweep through the entire exam grounds. His future was boundless, and whichever family recruited him would gain a powerful ally.

But the invitation Lu Zeming was truly waiting for was the one from the Shinbu family.