Killer Bee looked up at the towering figure of A—his sworn brother from the original story. He looked pretty impressive!
A glanced down at Killer Bee, who was staring at him with a face full of curiosity. He's only five years old, right? Just now, he had used a fifth of his strength in that strike, and with great speed too. A was truly surprised—by Bee's strength, the massive amount of chakra he possessed, and his astonishing control and speed.
Suddenly, A burst out laughing. He had come here thinking it was just a formality, but unexpectedly, he had actually found a child who could match him.
"What a little monster."
"Yo!"
Activating his auxiliary ability to read the other's thoughts, Killer Bee suddenly extended his fist toward A and said, "I know what you're thinking!"
Haha! A also extended his fist to bump it against Bee's. The moment their fists touched, they both said at the same time:
"From now on, we're brothers! Let's get along, Bee (Big Bro)!"
Bee smiled calmly, while A looked surprised—their lines had matched almost perfectly from beginning to end.
"Hearts in sync."Somehow, everyone present had this exact phrase flash through their minds. If they hadn't known that A had no biological siblings, even the Third Raikage might've believed it. It was their first meeting, yet they already had such perfect rapport. This next generation really was something to look forward to!
"Dodai, we're leaving. Everyone else, dismiss." After saying this, the Third Raikage walked off, choosing to leave the two brothers alone to bond.
"Yes, Lord Raikage," everyone replied. The remaining kids left reluctantly.
"Bee, you live alone, right? Starting today, come stay with me—we'll live together," A said to Bee.
"Sure!" Bee replied cheerfully. He had lived alone for a year, and even though his good friend Motoi would occasionally visit, he still felt lonely.
"That guy—your friend?" A asked, pointing to Motoi who was still standing nearby, waiting.
"Yeah, Big Bro, let me introduce you!" Bee pointed to Motoi and said:
"This is Motoi, my good friend."
"Motoi, this is my big brother, A," Bee introduced them to each other.
Seeing the excitement on his friend's face, Motoi smiled and said, "Congratulations, Bee. You're with family again."
"What do you mean, again? Aren't you my family too? We're best friends! How could you say that? I'm gonna smack you for that." Bee knocked on Motoi's head.
Motoi gave in with a smile, "Alright, alright, you're right."
"Okay, I've decided. As punishment for saying something dumb, you have to help me pack. And you too, Big Bro! I have a lot of stuff!"
Hearing Bee's words, Motoi felt overjoyed. See? Even though Bee has become A-sama's younger brother, he's not ignoring me. This was the Bee he knew. He silently promised himself to work hard to catch up to Bee someday.
Motoi smiled and said, "Of course! Let's go help you pack right now!"
"Ha, that's what I was hoping for!"
Despite Bee saying he had a lot of things, it actually didn't take much. The three of them made a single trip and had everything packed. After saying goodbye to Motoi, only the two brothers were left. Along the way, A asked most of the questions while Bee answered. The atmosphere was pleasant.
Evening had not yet fallen, and the sky was still bright. Looking up at the sky, A said while walking, "Bee, is there anything you want? Big Bro will buy it for you as a gift."
"A sword," Bee replied simply. He had long wanted a good blade. The one he'd bought last year for over a thousand ryo had broken recently, and he hadn't planned to buy another. Cheap ones broke too easily, and the good ones were too expensive.
In truth, Bee had already started practicing swordsmanship. After watching martial arts dramas, he too had dreamed of becoming a hero.
A seemed used to Bee's few-worded responses and nodded. "Alright, Big Bro will take you to buy one."
Weapon Shop Break
"Welcome, welcome! Lord A, are you here to buy weapons or custom ninja tools?" The shop owner greeted them with a smile as they entered.
"Owner, bring out your best sword—preferably one made from top-tier chakra-conductive materials," A declared loudly.
"Ah, um…"
"What, you think I can't pay?" A asked, seeing the shop owner hesitate.
"No, no, not at all," the owner quickly replied. "You misunderstand, sir. It's just that I'm currently out of swords made with chakra-conductive materials."
"I see," A paused to think, then said, "Then bring me your best sword regardless."
"Yes, right away." The owner responded.
After a while, the owner brought out a long box and opened it.
"This sword is called Autumn Water (Shūsui). Its blade is black, 89 cm in length, 1.9 cm wide, and the handle is 22 cm long."
Although the material used in Shūsui wasn't particularly good at absorbing chakra, its hardness was more than three times that of normal steel. Unlike most blades, this one had a more pronounced curve, making it better suited for slashing. It also had a longer tip, making it decent for thrusting as well.
"Big Bro, I want this one," Bee said joyfully, picking up the blade from the box.
"Alright, we'll take it." A nodded and asked the owner, "How much?"
"Since it's for Lord A, I'll give you a 20% discount—120,000 ryo."
"Here's 120,000." A immediately handed over a check, without even trying to haggle.
As A walked away, the shop owner beamed, "Please come again!"
"Thanks, Big Bro, but that sword was expensive! I could've bought several with that money. Last year, I got one for a thousand ryo, but it broke…"
"No need to thank me. As long as you like it, that's what matters," A said. "If it doesn't work out, let me know. I'll get you one made with chakra-conductive material."
"No need, I love this one." Bee smiled confidently and added, "With my chakra control, even a regular sword is easy to infuse with chakra. I'm pretty amazing, y'know."
"I believe you," A said, looking at Bee.
"Oh yeah, Bee. You haven't graduated from the academy yet, but starting tomorrow, you won't need to attend anymore." A turned to him and said, "From now on, you're on my team. I can teach you everything they do at school. Plus, my old partner is a swordsmanship expert—I'll introduce you tomorrow."
"Alright!" Bee replied, excitement in his heart. This is awesome! I can finally get out of the village! Hanging around with those bratty kids all the time was getting so boring!