Enkuu looked at the palm in front of him, and his mind was filled with the word 'strong'. He extended his trembling hand. But just before it could come in contact with Uchiha Tonan's hand, he retracted it and said with a gloomy expression, "But I... I'll hold you back."
He was aware of his strength and other monkeys also said he was useless. Although it sounded indignant, it was the truth. This little monkey was considerate of others. But the simpler he was, the easier he was to deceive.
Tonan looked directly into his eyes and said, "Even if living like ants, ambition should be lofty. Even if life is as thin as paper, the heart should be unyielding. The problem is with your training method, not you. As long as you accept my teaching, I believe you'll become strong. You have to have confidence in yourself. If you don't give it a shot, you won't know your potential. When I'm not afraid, why are you?"
This chicken soup for the soul never becomes outdated. Especially for losers who need to be supplemented with it the most. Sure enough, as soon as Tonan's thick chicken soup was poured, Enkuu cheered up as if injected with adrenaline. He placed his hand on Tonan's, "Thank you for your trust. I'll definitely live up to your expectations. I'll work hard to become strong."
Enkuu's eyes were burning and his heart was full of hope. He even fantasized about a stronger version of himself in the future. Looking at his appearance, Tonan smiled and nodded, 'Excellent, this monkey is beyond saving now.'
Tonan led Enkuu towards the Waterfall Cave. The closer they got, the more monkeys they encountered. On the cliffs on both sides of the stone steps, many monkeys sat on the branches scratching their ears. Seeing Tonan and Enkuu, they shouted with great interest, "Is that the new human that signed the contract?"
"I heard Enma-sama say that he is very strong. He might be even stronger than Sarutobi-sama in the future."
"Why is Enkuu following him?"
"I don't know... perhaps, he's pestering the human to take him to the Ninja World."
"I'm afraid he's dreaming."
"That's right, if he can go, I'll kiss your ass."
When Enkuu heard these taunts, he felt very uncomfortable. He clenched his fists tightly and lowered his head. Those words of doubt echoed in his heart, causing his newly rising hope to crash to the bottom. Tonan knew what his newest target was feeling without looking back.
He lightly commented, "When you don't have strength, try not to argue with others. Only the strong have the right to speak. When you are stronger, they'll care about your feelings on their own. Mount Huaguo is too small. When we see the wider world together, you'll find that the monkeys who are mocking you today were just ignorant."
Enkuu nodded but his mood didn't recover for a long time. Tonan was not impatient. People who had been ridiculed for a long time suffered from inferiority complexes. Their psyche couldn't be changed with just a few words. The most useful thing was strength.
After a while, the gentle boy and the skinny monkey walked into the Waterfall Cave. There was a huge hot spring with many herbs floating in the middle of the cave emanating a medicinal smell. Although it was strong, it was not unpleasant. Instead, the mellow smell was calming.
Enma sat on the stone chair, quietly observing little monkeys soaking in the hot spring. Seeing Tonan coming in with Enkuu, he raised his eyebrows, "Tonan, did you make your choice?"
Tonan bowed towards Enma, "Enma-sama, I want Enkuu to be my partner."
Enma didn't mock Enkuu like other monkeys. He just asked, "Are you sure?"
Tonan nodded firmly, "I believe Enkuu has immense potential, but it's just not developed yet. I believe he'll grow immeasurably strong in the future."
Hearing Tonan's praise in front of Enma, a warm current emerged in Enkuu's heart. Enma didn't say much about it, "Alright. Then, I'll add Enkuu's name to the contract. You'll have the priority to summon him. If you want to summon me, you just need to increase your chakra output. But I'm not your partner so every summon costs extra."
Tonan smiled, "No problem, Enma-sama." He then turned around and placed his hand on Enkuu's shoulder. He stared at him with a smile and said, "Enkuu, I'll return to the Ninja World and summon you."
Enkuu raised his head and seeing Tonan's trusting eyes, he couldn't help thinking, 'Is this a partner...'
"Thank you... Tonan."
It was evening by the time Tonan led Enkuu down the Konoha streets. The afterglow of the setting sun added warm hues to their bodies. Enkuu tried his best to restrain his curiosity but his eyes couldn't help wandering around, looking at this novel place. He was like a country bumpkin in town.
Tonan wasn't impatient at all. He explained everything in Konoha to him. He pointed here and there, describing different things. The passers-by didn't seem to be surprised when they saw Enkuu. Summoning and ninja beasts were very common in Konoha. At most, some people would stop and take a second look.
Tonan led Enkuu to the Uchiha clan. He planned to purchase a batch of herbs. Because the quantity was relatively large, he chose to come to the herb store in the clan's district because it was much cheaper than outside.
Enkuu curiously asked, "Tonan, where are we going now?" Tonan replied, "We're going to the herb store to purchase herbs and give them to you to pay your clan. Then, we'll go to my house to train."
A hint of gratitude flashed through Enkuu's eyes, "I haven't helped you yet, so wouldn't it be a loss for you if you paid now?"
Tonan smiled, "It doesn't matter. In any case, I needed to purchase some herbs for myself."
"Are you sick?" Enkuu asked. Tonan shook his head, "No, it's just that I want to practice a secret art and I need to use these herbs."
Enkuu nodded, "You are so powerful. The secret art you value should also be very powerful."
Tonan smiled, "You'll know it when you practice it."
Enkuu was astonished and asked in disbelief, "You want to teach me a secret art? Can I practise a secret art of humans?"
They had already reached the herb store's door. "How will you know without trying? Good things must be shared with partners." Saying this, Tonan walked into the store.