Wind Release Ninjutsu

From then on, Hui not only practiced combat skills with Kimimaro but also spent her remaining time training in Wind Release. Orochimaru personally taught her ninjutsu.

Only then did Hui realize how familiar Wind Release Ninjutsu felt to her. She finally had a talent for it.

Though he had said those things, Orochimaru still started her off with the simplest Wind Release Ninjutsu. She kept practicing as if completing assigned homework. Once she learned one, she received another Wind Release scroll. The faster she learned, the more scrolls she got.

Her ninjutsu weren't very powerful yet, but Hui vaguely felt that the more she learned, the more her constantly anxious, fearful heart could relax. Only by training nonstop could she keep her mind from wandering.

She never wanted to experience that life of constant fear again.

Every night, she went to bed with her heart pounding. Scenes from the day's training kept replaying in her mind, and she often woke with a start in the middle of the night. Once awake, her memories seemed to go blank, and she had to think for a long time before she could remember where she was.

By now, she could hardly tell what she was feeling—fear, nervousness, or excitement.

As long as she could see her progress and become much stronger than she had been the day before, the panic in her heart would ease.

Here with Orochimaru, strength was everything.

It was a choice with only a way forward and no way back. Once she made it, retreat was impossible.

Today's training was another sparring session as usual. Looking at the training ground she knew so well by now, Hui let out a long breath, pretending she really felt at ease.

Although the training ground was in the woods, it had a viewing platform and a large open space in the middle. It was meant for training, but Hui had always thought it looked more like an arena, perfect for watching a match and passing the time.

When she entered, Kimimaro was already waiting for her.

He calmly watched the trees in the distance. His unruffled eyes revealed no emotion, and his expression was as cool as ever.

When he saw Hui walk in, he turned to her and said slowly, "You're late."

Kimimaro had vaguely guessed that Hui Youling would be Orochimaru's next vessel, but even now, Orochimaru had never mentioned anything of the sort to him. He had only told him to train Hui Youling, as if she were simply a student.

Even if he didn't know what Orochimaru intended, he would carry out any order from him and do his best.

Hearing Kimimaro's reproach, Hui wasn't even as afraid as she had been at first. She answered calmly, "Orochimaru-sensei asked me to get a new scroll, so I took a little longer."

Kimimaro withdrew his gaze from Hui and said, "Let's begin."

Hui nodded, then let out another quiet sigh of relief before taking up her stance.

As she learned more Wind Release Ninjutsu, she had more techniques she could use against Kimimaro. During their combat training, Kimimaro couldn't teach her how to use ninjutsu, so Hui had to figure it out on her own.

She also seemed to have a faintly heightened sense that occasionally let her anticipate his attacks. She still couldn't land a hit on Kimimaro, but at least she wasn't getting completely crushed or knocked away after only a few blows.

But Hui never expected to meet someone like Qingsi.

She couldn't imagine when Orochimaru had found him, or how he had become so skilled at medical ninjutsu.

This was a real surprise to her, because Qingsi had left no trace in the fragments of memory she had of the future.

What had happened to him in the future, and why had he disappeared? Hui was curious, but she didn't know. Still, there seemed little point in wondering about it now.

Orochimaru sometimes assigned him experiments, and it seemed he was involved in research as well.

Orochimaru was also the one who introduced Hui to Qingsi. The first time they met, he was conducting a research experiment. Wearing a mask, he worked his instruments like some kind of medical monster.

Qingsi didn't react at all when Orochimaru walked over to him. Orochimaru told him to stop. "Qingsi, that's enough for today."

Hui followed Orochimaru a few steps, then stopped some distance away from them instead of going closer. An ordinary person would have felt afraid just looking over there.

There were all kinds of instruments—not only scalpels but even chainsaws and sickles. It looked less like an operating table and more like a torture chamber.

The one thing that made the place a little less repulsive was how clean it was, though the smell of blood still lingered in the air.

Qingsi stopped using the scalpel and took off his mask, turning to look at Orochimaru. Only then did Hui get a clear look at him. His blue-green hair was tied in a ponytail, but he didn't look feminine at all; his brows were strong and defined.

His face looked upright, yet there was a frosty air about him. When he looked at Orochimaru, something flickered in his eyes that Hui couldn't understand. She only felt that someone with his appearance looked even more out of place here than she did.

After a moment, he smiled and asked in an even tone, "Lord Orochimaru, what do you need me for?"

Orochimaru fixed his snake-like eyes on Qingsi and smiled faintly. In his hoarse voice, he ordered, "From now on, you won't need to conduct experiments here."

Hui noticed Qingsi's brow furrow when Orochimaru said this, though his eyes shifted to her. He looked a little surprised as he asked, "Is it because of her?"

Orochimaru smiled. "That's right. I'm entrusting her care to you."

Qingsi narrowed his eyes at Hui, taking in her childish face and the traces of Orochimaru in it, especially her pitch-black eyes. He was slightly surprised, but didn't object to Orochimaru. He simply said, "All right."

Orochimaru smiled faintly, then turned to Hui and walked over. "Hui, he'll be responsible for your treatment from now on."

Hui tilted her head to look past Orochimaru at Qingsi. Neither of them spoke. She saw Qingsi watching her, and they simply gazed at each other.

Both their expressions were calm, though there was a coldness beneath the surface. Each had different thoughts.

Hui thought that having someone assigned to treat her meant she wouldn't need as long to recover from her injuries. It really was an efficient way to train.

Qingsi, meanwhile, wondered if such a young child had earned Orochimaru's favor because she possessed a Kekkei Genkai.

After Qingsi was assigned to treat her, Hui finally stopped worrying about getting hurt. She no longer held back in her fights with Kimimaro.

Qingsi usually watched her fight from the sidelines. Gradually, his eyes filled with astonishment.

It wasn't because Hui was exceptionally strong, but because she fought as if she couldn't feel pain. She held nothing back and gave it everything she had.

His past test subjects would panic and scream when they suffered too many wounds, sometimes losing their composure and half their strength. Such test subjects inevitably ended up dead.

Even when injured, Hui Youling remained calm and adaptable. Her opponent might not notice, but as a bystander, Qingsi had seen her grimace in pain several times.

As the fight went on, she really did grow weaker from her injuries. No wonder he had been asked to treat her.

And was this girl really a girl?

Her resilience surpassed that of many boys, much like Orochimaru's other student.

Kimimaro saw that Hui had accumulated quite a few wounds and was exhausted. There was no point in continuing, so he stopped attacking and said calmly, "That's enough for today. Go get your injuries treated."

Hui wiped the sweat from her forehead and noticed the blood on her hand. Only then did she realize she had a cut on her forehead. The wound stung where it mixed with sweat. Hui furrowed her brow slightly but didn't try to push herself any further.

"Okay," she said.

Kimimaro put away his bone spikes, tidied himself up, and turned to leave. Qingsi glanced at them both, remembered his duty, and walked over to Hui Youling, green chakra covering his hand.

Hui watched Kimimaro leave and sighed helplessly inwardly. Just how strong was Kimimaro? It felt like she could never catch up. Before she could react, a hand covered her forehead, easing the pain she had only just begun to notice.

Coming back to herself, Hui looked at Qingsi, who was standing beside her, and quickly thanked him. "Thank you."

At Hui Youling's thanks, Qingsi paused, though he kept treating her. He curled his lips into a smile and said, "You're the first person I've seen here who's as innocent as you are."

Hui looked up at Qingsi. It was the first time anyone had described her that way. Calmly, she repeated his word as a question. "Innocent?"

Looking at Hui's cold eyes, Qingsi thought she was becoming more and more like Orochimaru. He scoffed inwardly. How could a student of Orochimaru really be harmless? He changed the subject and asked, "Why did you come here?"

"To get stronger," Hui answered honestly.

"Is that so?" Qingsi asked.

But Hui felt he wasn't really asking her. She looked at Qingsi, puzzled. "What about you?"

Qingsi looked away. After a while, he said, "I suppose I'm here for the same reason as you."

Hui smiled and replied, "Is that so?"

Qingsi gave a helpless smile but said nothing more, continuing to treat the other wounds on Hui's body.