When Hardy was summoned to the Kazekage Tower, he was confused.
Chiyo and Ebizo were sitting upright, watching him seriously, while Kazekage Chiyo stood to the side, looking solemn.
I didn't betray the village, why are they treating me like I'm on trial by the three elders?
"Cough, Hardy, don't be nervous. We just wanted to talk to you," Chiyo said with a smile on her face, trying to reassure Hardy.
Kazekage Chiyo stood behind Ebizo and nodded slightly at Hardy, even winking to indicate that he shouldn't worry.
Seeing this, Hardy felt a bit relieved.
"Elder Chiyo, what would you like to know?"
"I want to know what your ideals are and what the Way of the Ninja means to you. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, considering your age, it's normal for the concept to be vague as you are just beginning to shape your own Ninja Way," Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged a glance and asked.
"Ideals... For now, it should be becoming the Kazekage, right? Being one of the top five strongest forces in the world must bring a lot of luck, right?"
As for the Ninja Way, the concept is quite vague. Naruto says his Ninja Way is to never go back on his word; Orochimaru's Ninja Way is to learn all Ninjutsu, master all truths in the world, and become the ultimate individual; Jiraiya's Ninja Way is to achieve peace through mutual understanding between people; the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara's Ninja Way can also be understood as winning peace in their own ways.
Sasori's Ninja Way is to pursue the eternal art of puppets, while Deidara pursues the ultimate beauty of explosions.
In general, it can be categorized into two types: the reason why a ninja learns Ninjutsu and a declaration of the ninja's own beliefs.
It may sound a bit juvenile, but it has inspired countless ninjas in this world and become the driving force for them to persevere.
It is more like a motto influenced by personal experiences.
"As for the Ninja Way, it is to keep living and do everything I want to do, such as creating the most powerful and perfect puppet."
After thinking for a while, Hardy chose a statement that was relatively in line with traditional ninja concepts.
Ebizo nodded in satisfaction, gave Chiyo a smug look, and then asked Hardy, "So, what kind of puppet do you think is the most powerful and perfect?"
"One that is so strong that it is indestructible in defense, provides perfect protection to the puppeteer, and has the power to destroy everything."
"So, the fat puppet is the prototype you envision?"
Ebizo chuckled.
"Right."
"Very well. If it were someone else saying this, I would think it unrealistic, but you have already proven the feasibility of your ideas through your own work. Next, I have one last question to ask you."
Kaiohmaru straightened his collar and solemnly said, "Shigure from the Hidden Sand Village, are you willing to become my disciple Kaiohmaru and my sister Chiyo's joint disciple?"
"Ah?... Oh, yes, I am willing!"
Shigure hesitated for a moment, then saw Kazekage Gaara signaling to him continuously with his eyes, and quickly agreed.
Chiyo and Kaiohmaru exchanged a smile.
Taking on Shigure as a disciple was not only a promise from Chiyo to Kaiohmaru to protect Shigure, Yekura, and Maki, the three most promising young talents of the Hidden Sand Village, in the upcoming war, but also because they had their eyes on Shigure for a while.
Both of them were nearing fifty and it was time for them to train their successors.
Originally, the successor was supposed to be Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, but they were killed by Sasori. Luckily, Shigure and Sasori from the younger generation showed potential to become top puppeteers.
Sasori was Chiyo's grandson.
Now, Shigure had formed a master-disciple relationship with them.
As long as these two could grow before Chiyo and Kaiohmaru became too weak to move, it would be enough to ensure the inheritance of puppeteers in the Hidden Sand Village for the next fifty years and provide protection for the village.
For Shigure, becoming a disciple of Kaiohmaru and Chiyo had a direct benefit in the form of changes in the luck progress bar on the panel.
These two were the real elders of the Hidden Sand Village, second only to the Third Kazekage.
If the Hidden Sand Village were compared to a sect in a xianxia novel, then Shigure's entry into the puppet brigade was like going from an outer disciple to an inner disciple, and now he was becoming a higher-ranking true disciple.
On the DC side, after the deal with Two-Face ended, the influence of the Hog Union developed steadily and rapidly, with over a hundred gang members, reflecting a rise in the luck progress bar to fifty-seven point three percent.
After becoming the disciples of Chiyo and Kaiohmaru, the progress bar soared much faster than when Shigure was promoted to Chunin.
In a short moment, it had already leaped to ninety-one percent.
The opening of the next world was not far off.
However, it was not all good news.
Because in three days, his squad would be integrated into the frontline forces and set off again to attack the Land of Rain.
These three days were for consolidating logistical resources.
"Tonight, invite Sasori to my place for dinner," Chiyo invited Shigure before leaving the Kazekage Tower.
"How should we address our seniority? Won't you be older than me?" Shigure asked, puzzled.
In the puppet base, Sasori, who was trying to challenge Shigure again, was the first to question upon hearing this news.
"Hey, it's simple! Let's just keep it as it was before. You can continue to address me as you did in the past, and I will call you nephew from now on, how about that?" Shigure put his arm around Sasori's shoulder, jokingly.
Sasori responded with a roll of his eyes.
Compared to the past, Sasori's expression had become much more expressive.
Although he still looked like a cool young man, his temperament had become less extreme.
"Shigure, I've been thinking about what you said to me before, and I asked my grandmother about it yesterday," Sasori suddenly became serious and said to Shigure.
"What did I say?" Shigure couldn't remember, as he had spoken to Sasori about many things.
"About why the Third Kazekage started the war and the issue of uneven resource distribution," Sasori continued, "I asked my grandmother the same questions I asked you, and repeated your answers to her. Perhaps it was because of this that she made up her mind to take you as her disciple."
"She said you were the first young person she had seen who could think like a Kazekage at the age of eleven."
This... was a compliment, right?
Shigure couldn't help but think of a certain fox praised for "thinking like a Hokage at the age of five."