Who was Hatake Ziyan? Having him teach them was already an immense honor. What other justification could they possibly need?
Especially for a branch family member like him, simply catching Hatake Ziyan's attention was enough to move him to tears of gratitude. What more could he possibly have to say?
Hatake looked at Neji, who was watching him. He was the strongest of these twelve in the early stages!
But Neji had one fatal weakness. The Caged Bird Seal placed on him had left his Byakugan with a blind spot. Later, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, that blind spot had led to his death at the hands of the Ten-Tails' Tree-Binding Death!
"All right! You three, find yourselves seats too!" Hatake Ziyan said to Neji and the other two after everyone else had left.
Even the rebellious Neji hadn't kicked up a fuss, so well-behaved children like Tenten and Rock Lee naturally had no reason to disobey.
Hatake Ziyan looked at the twelve children seated before him and said, "Let me introduce myself again. My name is Hatake Ziyan, and I'm a swordsman. I believe quite a few of you know me and have guessed what might happen next!"
As Hatake Ziyan spoke, he looked at the pineapple-haired kid, who wore an impatient expression.
"Shikamaru, you don't want to receive my training?" Hatake Ziyan asked.
Hearing Hatake Ziyan suddenly call his name, Shikamaru hurriedly shook his head. He stood and said, "Of course not, Teacher. But I think the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans primarily train in our clan secret techniques. Even though you're powerful, wouldn't it be difficult for you to teach us anything?"
Hatake Ziyan nodded, then continued asking the children, "Does anyone else have any questions? I'll answer them all together!"
Apart from Shikamaru, none of the