Chakra

Kushina was being chased by a Genin, but Ye Zi remained expressionless. He had never intended to step in. The first time he had done so, it had merely stirred up memories of the past, and he had acted on an impulse. After that, he had turned a blind eye to his classmates bullying Kushina. In fact, the male students who went looking for trouble with Kushina had been humiliated every time, which was why they had even found a helper who had become a Genin this time.

But none of this had anything to do with him... In the end, if people wanted to protect themselves, they could only rely on themselves.

After glancing in the direction of those people, Ye Zi continued forward. He was walking in the opposite direction from the one Kushina had chosen to flee.

Hidden in a tree, Minato watched Ye Zi leave, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Over the past six months, he seemed to have gained some understanding of Ye Zi, despite the fact that they had spoken only a few words to each other.

"What kind of person are you...?"

Minato withdrew his gaze, pushed off with his foot, and leaped onto the trunk of another tree. He continued jumping from tree to tree toward the direction Kushina had fled. When he arrived, he happened to see Kushina's hair being pulled by Matsushita, while Kushina endured the pain and walked forward as if crazed, completely ignoring her bright-red hair stretching and tearing in Matsushita's hand.

"I... hate this hair too, but it's still a part of my body!"

Kushina turned around, gritted her teeth, and glared furiously at Matsushita. The latter stared blankly at the broken strands of hair in his hand.

Hidden in the tree, Minato silently watched this scene. This was the girl's strength, and it was different from Ye Zi's strength...

Then... what does my strength come from?

After returning to the house, Ye Zi still saw no sign of Orochimaru. He had been in the village for seven or eight months, yet he had seen Orochimaru fewer than twenty times. Every time he wanted to ask Orochimaru about Chakra, Orochimaru's weary expression always drove the words back down his throat.

The greater one's ability, the greater one's responsibility, and the more one had to shoulder. As the Hokage's disciple and one of the Sannin, Orochimaru seemed to have been constantly carrying out missions during the period after the end of the Second War.

The man had set his sights on the position known as Hokage and was working hard toward it.

The house was huge, and precisely because it was so large, it seemed empty and desolate. Yet it was also the only place where Orochimaru could truly rest. Given how exhausted he was, how could Ye Zi bring himself to speak?

After returning to the house, Ye Zi first changed into casual clothes. He then prepared a simple table of food and ate alone.

The dishes were simple, but the portions were generous.

Before long, Ye Zi quickly devoured everything. After cleaning up, he picked up his ninja tools and went into the courtyard. The old tree was still there, but it had become a target stand.

Thwack!

With a casual throw, he hit the bull's-eye.

One, two, three...

He practiced for over an hour, without missing the bull's-eye even once. This was the result of six months of desperate training, and his consistency was excellent. The only thing lacking was strength; he was not yet as powerful as an adult. The resulting drawback was his speed, but this was not a major problem. As his body matured, his strength would naturally increase.

After finishing his Shuriken-throwing practice, Ye Zi began his usual physical training.

Push-ups, sit-ups, lifting stone dumbbells...

Any exercise that helped improve his physical fitness, he forced himself to do. After every workout, he had to eat another meal to restore his exhausted body. However, mental fatigue could not be recovered through food.

After completing his regular physical training, Ye Zi took a shower and washed away the sweat covering his body. He then went back into the kitchen to prepare food. Every day was like this, an endless cycle, with no idea when anything would change.

Half a year was neither long nor short...

Yet during this half-year alone, Ye Zi had thought constantly about the world on the other side. He had also constantly forced himself to deliberately forget the significance of time, repeatedly reminding himself that while half a year had passed here, only a few minutes could possibly have passed on the other side.

He understood very well that haste made waste.

After preparing a table of food, Ye Zi raised his sore and powerless arms and wolfed down his meal. After eating more than half of it, the soreness throughout his body gradually eased.

Ye Zi could not understand the special nature of his body, but that did not stop him from making use of it. It was precisely this trait that had allowed him to persevere step by step.

At most... the energy brought by the food was still insufficient. It could not make all the soreness disappear, but it reduced it by sixty or seventy percent, allowing Ye Zi to sleep peacefully later.

Snap...

Just as Ye Zi was eating, a faint sound suddenly came from the entryway.

"Hm?"

Ye Zi stopped his chopsticks on their way to the food and slightly raised his head. "Has Orochimaru returned?"

He put down his chopsticks and walked toward the entryway. When he arrived, he saw Orochimaru changing his shoes.

"You're back." Ye Zi looked at Orochimaru's back.

Orochimaru nodded. After changing his shoes, he raised his head and paused, as if he had smelled the aroma drifting from the dining room. He suddenly asked, "Is there any food left?"

"There's a little. If it isn't enough, I can make some more for you," Ye Zi said.

Orochimaru glanced at him and said flatly, "No need."

With that, he walked straight toward the dining room.

Ye Zi did not follow Orochimaru to the dining room. Instead, he turned toward the kitchen to get a bowl and chopsticks for him. When he reached the dining room, Orochimaru had not changed his clothes and was sitting quietly at the table.

Ye Zi filled a bowl with rice and handed it to Orochimaru. The latter naturally accepted the bowl and chopsticks and began eating unhurriedly.

Since there was not much food left, Ye Zi finished the rice in his own bowl and did not pick up his chopsticks again.

Orochimaru glanced at Ye Zi without making it obvious and silently continued eating.

A few minutes later, not even scraps remained on the table. Everything had been eaten clean, clearly showing that Orochimaru's stomach was not as calm as it appeared.

He had never imagined what it would be like to add another person to this vast, lonely home. Now that he saw it, though, it was not bad.

Orochimaru put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at Ye Zi. Ye Zi had already turned his gaze toward Orochimaru when the latter ate the final grain of rice.

"Orochimaru, teach me how to condense Chakra."

Tonight, Ye Zi could no longer hold himself back. He took the initiative and asked Orochimaru to teach him how to condense Chakra.

"The school will teach you." Orochimaru's tone was flat, his voice as hoarse as ever.

"I want to learn now." Ye Zi's voice was firm.

A flicker of surprise passed through Orochimaru's eyes. He knew everything about Ye Zi's performance at the Ninja Academy and his grueling daily training. He could also sense Ye Zi's intense desire to control Chakra. Ye Zi had restrained himself every time before, so there had to be a reason he had suddenly brought it up now.

As for what that reason was, he did not want to know.

"You've already condensed Chakra inside your body." Orochimaru looked at Ye Zi and spoke calmly.