Task

A week was an extremely short time, yet under Orochimaru's targeted instruction, all three of Ye Zi's team could feel their strength skyrocketing, and each had learned several very practical ninjutsu. Achieving such results in just one week was not only due to their solid foundations but also benefited from Orochimaru's teaching—this was the greatest value of a team leader, whose presence allowed students fresh out of the Ninja Academy to grow at the fastest possible pace.

Of course, this also came down to each person's talent.

Bei Xingye had a reserved personality, but deep down he possessed a drive. Over this week, his training volume was no less than Kushina's, yet his progress fell far short of hers, let alone Ye Zi, whose training load was even heavier than both of theirs.

The world was inherently unfair; most people were destined from the moment of birth. Talk of sweat and effort being able to match talent was ultimately empty words. Some people simply had extraordinary gifts, leaving others to envy and resent them, never able to surpass them.

Watching Ye Zi and Kushina leave him behind, Bei Xingye felt deeply disheartened. This gap had already existed at the Ninja Academy, but now, under Orochimaru's guidance, the disparity had widened even further, to the point where it filled him with sorrow.

Why did he train so desperately, yet the results were nowhere near Ye Zi and Kushina's?

Harboring this doubt, Bei Xingye was filled with unwillingness. Fortunately, he didn't slack off in his training and completed Orochimaru's tasks well; otherwise, Orochimaru might have directly excluded him before their first mission even began.

Kushina was a female ninja, yet she possessed talent no less than that of male ninjas. She had the delicacy of a woman, strong control over Chakra, and also the physique and strength of a man. Without a doubt, she was a genius. If nothing went wrong, she could clearly become a presence on par with the Sannin—this was something Orochimaru had seen very clearly over the week.

But...

Kushina's performance surprised Orochimaru, while Ye Zi's performance amazed him.

After Ye Zi demonstrated stable Chakra control, Orochimaru decisively began teaching him ninjutsu. Before that, he first tested Ye Zi's Chakra nature, which showed: Lightning, Wind, Fire.

Ye Zi having three Chakra natures wasn't enough to amaze Orochimaru. What amazed him was that Ye Zi, after watching his hand seal demonstration just once, could independently use a ninjutsu. Although the first use was very rough and the power extremely weak, using a ninjutsu on the first try meant that reinforcing it later would likely not be difficult.

After discovering Ye Zi's aptitude, Orochimaru still appeared indifferent on the surface, but inwardly he was satisfied with the decision he had made back then.

On that rainy day, he had seen a glimpse of that boy and judged that he would surely grow into a towering tree in the future.

On the final night of the special training.

Ye Zi was still engaged in high-intensity training. Due to his physical condition, the amount of training he did each day was far beyond what Kushina and Bei Xingye could imagine. Bei Xingye might have seen Ye Zi's brilliant strengths, but he also overlooked the effort Ye Zi put in that was no less than anyone else's.

The night was deep. In the courtyard where an old tree stood, a boy moved like a machine, lifting a huge and heavy stone barbell in repetitive mechanical motions. Under the bright moonlight, only heavy panting could be heard; aside from that, there was only silence.

"Tomorrow, your first mission begins. You'd better conserve your stamina and adjust your condition." A cold, hoarse voice suddenly came from the corridor connecting the house and the garden.

Ye Zi's upward-lifting barbell stopped abruptly. He sucked in his stomach, exhaled, squeezed the air from his lungs, then slowly set down the heavy barbell. Turning his head toward the corridor, he saw a tall, slender man standing there.

"I know my own physical state very well." Ye Zi hadn't put down the barbell because of Orochimaru's advice; he felt that setting it down to speak with Orochimaru was a sign of respect.

Orochimaru looked at Ye Zi, thinking about the peculiarity of his body, and couldn't suppress a glint of sharpness in his eyes. He said coldly, "That's best."

With that, he turned and walked toward the bedroom.

Watching Orochimaru disappear from sight, Ye Zi turned back and resumed his monotonous mechanical training.

Ever since he learned that the energy from consuming food could quickly eliminate physical fatigue, Ye Zi had been training like a madman, never worrying that high-intensity training might harm his body.

Fewer than ten people in Konoha knew about Ye Zi's physique, and the Akimichi Clan was not among them. Although the energy Ye Zi absorbed from food couldn't be converted into Chakra, he could rely on it to restore his physical state. This fact might give the Akimichi Clan many ideas, for better or worse, so the Third Hokage had no intention of letting them know.

Was the peculiarity of his body limited to recovering through food?

No.

Ye Zi didn't think it was only that. As time passed, he felt his control over his body's coordination growing stronger and stronger. Moreover, he vaguely sensed something. Though he couldn't get a direct answer, he had a premonition that the body he had occupied in this world possessed extraordinary advantages.

After finishing his monotonous training, Ye Zi washed up, swallowed a large amount of food, and then obediently went to bed.

In the early morning, Ye Zi opened his eyes, nimbly jumped out of bed, stretched his limbs, and twisted his neck with satisfaction.

Every day's high-intensity training hadn't caused any harm to his body. Each time he woke up, he was not only full of energy but also brimming with vitality in his limbs.

"What's the first mission?"

Having prepared himself, Ye Zi didn't wait for Orochimaru. Since it wasn't yet time, he headed straight out the door toward the meeting point.

Arriving at the original assembly spot, the morning mist hadn't yet dissipated. Ye Zi didn't mind the dew on the wooden pillar and leaned against it, pretending to nap as he waited for the others.

"Ye Zi, morning."

After a long while, the second to arrive was Bei Xingye. Seeing that Ye Zi was already there, he subconsciously greeted him.

"Morning."

Ye Zi lifted his eyelids slightly and gave a small nod.

Bei Xingye glanced around, knowing that Orochimaru-sama and Kushina hadn't arrived yet, so he walked over and crouched beside Ye Zi.

After a bit more time, they saw Kushina hurrying over, followed by Orochimaru.

Still sticking to his no-nonsense style, Orochimaru arrived at the training ground and saw that all three were present. He said directly, "This mission we've taken is C-rank. The objective is to eliminate bandits. I'll explain the details on the way. Follow me now."

Without waiting for their reactions, he turned and headed toward the village gate.

Eliminate bandits...

That meant this mission would involve killing.

Carrying a vague unease, Ye Zi followed behind Orochimaru. Under the watch of the gate guards, he walked out of Konoha's gates.

Having been in Konoha for over three years, this was Ye Zi's first time leaving the village. It might be hard to imagine someone staying cooped up in Konoha for three years without stepping out, but it was perfectly normal—the outside wasn't safe, and he had known that for a long time.

Leaving Konoha for the first time in years didn't bring Ye Zi much novelty. He listened carefully as Orochimaru explained the mission details.

Eliminate bandits—this was a commission from a village nestled by a mountain and a river.

Over two hundred li from Konoha, there was a river. There, a village had been built relying on the water, inhabited entirely by ordinary people. Since the Land of Fire wasn't a battlefield, enemy ninjas who infiltrated the country wouldn't bother targeting a village full of civilians. However, a small band of bandits had recently appeared, taking up residence in a large mountain not far from the village. Every so often, they would come to the village to plunder and kill at will, treating the villagers like livestock. The bandits hadn't wiped out the village all at once, but the villagers eventually couldn't take it anymore and sent a young man to Konoha to commission a mission.

Orochimaru had taken this mission. His reason was simple: as ninjas, killing was routine, but everything needed a beginning. For Ye Zi and his two teammates, this mission was that beginning—the first blood of their ninja careers.