When Hardy was summoned to the Kazekage building, he was completely bewildered.
Chiyo and Ebizō sat upright, staring at her, while Kazekami Chiran stood to the side, his expression serious.
he hadn't defected from the village, so why did it feel like he was facing a tribunal?
"Ahem, Hardy, no need to be nervous. We just wanted to talk to you," Chiyo said, her smile gentle.
Kazekami Chiran stood behind Ebizō, nodded at Hardy, and even winked, signaling her not to worry.
Seeing this, Hardy relaxed a little.
"Elder Chiyo, what would you like to know?"
"I'd like to know what your ideals are, and what your ninja way is. You can choose not to answer the latter—at your age, you're just starting to form your own ninja way, so it's normal if you don't have a clear idea yet."
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged glances, then asked.
"My ideals… For now, I guess it's to become Kazekage?"
If he could become the leader of one of the five most powerful forces in the world, he'd probably gain a lot of luck, right?
As for 'ninja way', the concept was pretty vague. Naruto said his ninja way was to always keep his word; Orochimaru's was to learn all jutsu and master all truths, becoming the ultimate being; Jiraiya's was to achieve peace through mutual understanding; Hashirama and Madara's could be seen as seeking peace in their own ways.
Sasori's ninja way was the pursuit of eternal puppet art; Deidara's was the pursuit of the ultimate beauty in the moment of explosion.
Overall, they could be summed up in two ways: one, the reason a ninja learns ninjutsu; two, a kind of personal declaration.
It sounded a bit chūnibyō, but in this world, it really did inspire countless ninja and became their motivation to persevere.
It was more like a personal motto, almost a kind of faith.
"As for my ninja way, it's to keep on living, and do everything I want to do—like creating the strongest, most perfect puppet."
After thinking it over, Hardy chose an answer that fit the traditional values of the ninja world.
Ebizō nodded in satisfaction, giving Chiyo a smug look, then said to Hardy:
"Then in your view, what kind of puppet would be the strongest and most perfect?"
"One with impenetrable defense, that provides flawless protection for its puppeteer, and has the power to destroy anything."
"So that formentor puppet is your prototype?"
Ebizō chuckled.
"Indeed."
"Very well. If someone else had said this, I would have thought it unrealistic, but at least you have already proven the feasibility of your ideas through your work. Now, I have one final question for you."
Ebizō straightened his collar, his expression solemn, and said:
"Chūnin Hardy of Sunagakure, are you willing to become the disciple of me, Ebizō, and my elder sister Chiyo?"
"Huh? ...Oh, yes, I'm willing! I'm willing!"
Hardy was momentarily stunned, but upon seeing Kazekage Chiran's persistent eye signals, he hurriedly agreed.
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged a smile.
Taking Hardy as their disciple was not just Chiyo's way of assuring Ebizō that she would protect Hardy, Ye Cang, and Maki—the three most promising new-generation ninjas of Sunagakure—in this war. More importantly, the two of them had long set their sights on Hardy.
Both were nearly fifty years old, and it was time to cultivate successors.
Originally, this successor was supposed to be Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, but both were killed by White Fang. Fortunately, the new generation's Hardy and Sasori had shown the potential to become top-tier puppet masters.
Sasori was already Chiyo's grandson.
Now, with Hardy also forming a master-disciple bond with them…
As long as these two could grow up before Chiyo and Ebizō became too old to fight, the legacy of Sunagakure's puppet masters would be secured for another fifty years, continuing to provide protection for the village.
…
…
For Hardy, the most immediate benefit of becoming the disciple of Ebizō and Chiyo was the change in the "Fortune" progress bar on his panel.
These two were the most powerful elders in Sunagakure, second only to the Third Kazekage.
If we compare Sunagakure to a sect in a xianxia novel, then when Hardy first joined the Puppet Brigade, it was like going from an outer disciple to an inner disciple. Now, he had become a true core disciple with even higher status.
Over in the DC world, ever since the deal with Two-Face, the Hogge Union's power had grown steadily and rapidly. The gang now had over a hundred members, and as a result, the Fortune progress bar had risen to 57.3%.
But after becoming the direct disciple of Chiyo and Ebizō, the progress bar soared even faster than when Hardy was promoted to chūnin.
In just a short while, it had already leaped to 91%.
The next world was not far off.
But it wasn't all good news.
Because in three days, his team would be assigned to the front-line forces and set out again to attack the Land of Rain.
These three days were for consolidating logistical resources.
"Tonight, bring Sasori over to my house for dinner," Chiyo invited Hardy before they left the Kazekage building.
"So, how do we address each other now? Does this mean you're a generation above me?"
In the puppet base, Sasori, who was about to challenge Hardy to another match, immediately raised this question upon hearing the news.
"Oh, that's easy! We each go by our own titles. You can keep calling me whatever you did before, and I'll just call you 'junior nephew' from now on, how about that?"
Hardy slung his arm around Sasori's shoulders, laughing.
Sasori responded with a roll of his eyes.
Compared to before, Sasori's expressions had become much more varied.
Although he still looked like a cool and aloof boy, at least his personality was no longer so extreme.
"Hardy, I thought a lot about what you said to me before. Yesterday, I even asked Grandma about it," Sasori said seriously after their banter.
"What did I say?"
Hardy couldn't remember—he'd said a lot to Sasori.
"About why the Third Kazekage started the war, and the issue of unequal resource distribution."
Sasori continued, "I asked Grandma the same questions I asked you, and I repeated your answers to her. Maybe it was because of this that she made up her mind to take you as her disciple."
"She said you're the first young person she's ever met who could think like a Kazekage at the age of eleven."
That…
Was probably a compliment, right?
Hardy couldn't help but think of a certain someone who was praised for "thinking like a Hokage at the age of five."