The assassins stared in disbelief.
A three-year-old had passed something most adult trainees failed.
Physical Conditioning — "Make the body obey."
Every day after that, the training intensified.
Balance Training
Walking across narrow beams.
Standing on one foot for minutes.
Crawling under low bars without touching them.
Agility Training
Dodging swinging sandbags.
Catching falling sticks.
Jumping between soft mats.
Strength Training
Push-ups with assistance.
Pulling ropes.
Carrying small weighted pouches.
My tiny muscles developed quickly.
My reflexes even faster.
And still, I wanted more.
I wasn't impatient like Damian.
Nor soft-hearted like Bruce.
I was something else — something between.
Someone dangerous… if provoked.
Someone protective… if trusted.
Someone growing far too fast.
Mental Training — "A calm mind cuts deepest."
Talia taught me focus.
Meditation.
Stillness.
Controlling my breathing.
Recognizing lies.
Reading eyes and body language.
Identifying weakness.
Understanding intent.
Even at age four, I could sit still longer than grown trainees—eyes closed, hands on my knees, breath steady like a pond without ripples.
Ra's said:
"A calm child is more dangerous than an angry man."
I wasn't sure if that was meant to reassure me.
The League's Fear… and Respect
By the time I reached age four:
Whispers followed me everywhere.
"That child sees things."
"He predicts your movement."
"He doesn't act like a child."
"He might surpass the Demon's Head."
"He might surpass all of us."
Some respected me.
Some feared me.
Some hated me.
I saw it all.
Every glance.
Every twitch.
Every hidden hostility.
My instincts sharpened every day.
Something inside me was waiting.
Growing.
Awakening.
Something far older than this life.
The Age of Five Draws Near… and So Does the System
As I lay in my small room at the end of another brutal day of training, I felt something.
A presence.
Soft.
Hidden.
Waiting.
Deep inside my soul.
A spark.
A system.
Silent until now.
The Template System.
My body, my instincts, my progress — it had all been preparation.
Soon it would awaken.
Soon the power of Yoriichi Tsugikuni… the Transparent World… Sun Breathing… all of it—
Would finally be mine.
And the League of Assassins had no idea what was coming.
Alex's POV
My fifth birthday wasn't celebrated.
The League didn't care for birthdays, candles, or cakes.
But on that day…
Something inside me woke up.
Something ancient.
Something overwhelming.
Something that didn't belong to this world