Perception

"Cough!" Hui couldn't stop herself from spitting out another mouthful of blood. Her eyes were cold and clear, no longer playful or excited.

Her body wouldn't stop trembling, and her back felt alternately hot and cold.

Leaning against the wall, she began to shake uncontrollably and sank to her knees, retching. Nothing came up, but it felt as if something were churning in her stomach, slimy and foul-smelling.

If there had been a mirror, she knew she would have seen how wretched she looked. She hurriedly pulled another pill from her pocket.

"Cough, cough!"

She started coughing again. The nausea just wouldn't go away, and tears and mucus mingled on her face.

"Isn't that the thing you hate eating most?" a friendly voice said, though its words were still laced with mockery.

Then a uniquely hoarse voice said, "Well done, Hui, but it still isn't enough."

Hui's pupils contracted. She hastily wiped the grime from her face and stiffly looked up at the two approaching figures: Qingsi and Orochimaru.

Hui had come to find Qingsi, but she hadn't expected to run into Orochimaru too. And hadn't Kimimaro gone to find him?

She didn't know how she felt now that she was looking at Orochimaru. Of all times, he had to see her at her most pathetic. She didn't want him to see her looking like a stray dog.

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes fixed intently on Hui. "Your perception still hasn't fully kicked in, has it? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been injured. Heh..."

Seeing that Hui Youling was in bad shape, Qingsi noticed the cold sweat covering her forehead. The smell of blood in the air was strongest around her; she had lost so much blood that she was completely drained.

He silently stepped forward to support Hui Youling, and saw the wounds on her back. Surprise flickered in his eyes.

What kind of weapon had done this? She had so many bloody holes. Had Hui Youling pushed herself too far again?

Qingsi sighed inwardly, then used Medical Ninjutsu to heal the wounds on Hui's back. The warm chakra helped her relax a little.

At last, the pain eased. Hui looked up at Orochimaru and asked, "Do you have something planned, sensei?"

She no longer wanted to guess what Orochimaru was up to. She might as well just follow his plans; he probably didn't want a disobedient student, anyway.

Orochimaru's lips curved into a smile. Hui Youling was willing to obey, and smart enough to do so. He liked that. "You know you're from the Uzumaki Clan, and you know about the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, right?"

Hui nodded and answered honestly, "I do, but I don't know much about it."

"It senses all chakra, ignoring physical objects and barriers," Orochimaru explained.

Hui was startled. She had a vague feeling there was more to it. "So the attacks I've been vaguely sensing all this time were actually chakra?"

She hadn't anticipated Tayuya's attacks at all. She'd only sensed something approaching from behind when she dodged the first puppet, and her hands had started forming Hand Seals. But she hadn't been quick enough and had still been knocked down. At least she'd managed to complete the Substitution Technique in the end.

If she hadn't sensed it at that instant, she might not even have had time to form Hand Seals. She probably would have been left lying there unconscious today.

"Heh, that's right. But your current skill is far from enough," Orochimaru said with a quiet laugh. "Kimimaro's attacks come from every direction, which is perfect for awakening your ability. It seems to be working, at least a little."

Hui fell silent and lowered her head, quietly thinking over what had happened that day. Then she looked at Orochimaru solemnly and asked, "Sensei, can you help me fully awaken the Mind's Eye of the Kagura?"

"Of course..." Orochimaru's snake-like eyes seemed to glow as he gazed coldly at his prey.

Hui sat blankly on the medical bed. Qingsi finished checking all her readings and turned to look at her. "You're still as reckless as ever. You're lucky your constitution is special."

"But coming to me for treatment every few days—no, every few hours—is pretty pathetic." Qingsi didn't hold back as he mocked Hui.

Hui looked at Qingsi helplessly. "Sigh... What can I do? You're the best at Medical Ninjutsu."

In this rather oppressive base, Qingsi was the one who made her feel most at ease. Her mood seemed less heavy around him, and even the way she spoke changed.

"Knowing you has been nothing but trouble!" Qingsi snorted.

"When you say that, it makes me feel so hopeless. I don't want to die either!" Hui looked at Qingsi in anguish. Fortunately, Orochimaru had assigned Qingsi to treat her. With the rate she was getting injured, she'd otherwise have to suffer a lot more.

Though Qingsi schemed plenty, they got along fairly well now, and that made Hui feel reassured. As for whether his friendliness was only skin-deep, she didn't want to dwell on it.

"Take this. Once a day. If you die, don't blame me!" Qingsi handed Hui a bottle containing several strange red pills.

Hui's brows knitted tightly. "Seriously? Is this medicine bitter? Does it taste awful?"

Hui didn't think she was being unreasonable. These things were almost as bad as the Military Ration Pills Sakura made—so disgusting they were explosive.

"What do you think?" Qingsi asked, then chuckled at the conflicted, pained look on Hui's face.

"Qingsi, are you doing this on purpose? I swear these pills didn't used to taste so bad. Now they're getting more and more like shit!"

Hui swallowed a pill with her eyes closed, her body trembling. That was proof enough of how awful it tasted.

"Heh, who knows?" Qingsi said with a cold laugh, looking all the more pleased at Hui's expression.

A hundred thousand mud horses stampeded through Hui's mind. Qingsi was such a scheming bastard. He'd definitely done something underhanded. The fact that the pills kept getting worse was proof!

Hui glared at Qingsi angrily. "I'm leaving. Today's training isn't over yet."

Qingsi ignored her and continued his experiments. Hui rolled her eyes, hopped off the bed, and left. In front of the computer, Qingsi stared intently at the test report.

"Uzumaki Eiyuling... What strange recovery and vitality. No wonder Orochimaru is preparing that experiment."

After returning from Orochimaru's, Hui's training became even more grueling. Fortunately, she was still making good progress and could feel herself growing stronger. The heaviness in her heart seemed to be fading, too.

If things kept going this way, she would grow stronger and stronger. As long as she kept learning, she would be able to use more and more Ninjutsu.

Kimimaro's attacks grew increasingly merciless. Hui could only rely on her vague perception to dodge them. Luckily, her Wind Release had improved a lot. Even when she failed to sense an attack, she could still use Wind Release to block some of them.

Today, she was called in again to learn a new Wind Release Ninjutsu. She was already used to Orochimaru's forceful teaching style, but the dangerous look on his face made her feel like a little white mouse.

These techniques all seemed to hurt the enemy a thousand times while harming the user eight hundred times!

They were probably another of Orochimaru's own inventions, and she had become the test subject. If her will to survive weren't so strong, she had no idea how many times she would have died by now.

But she couldn't deny that these techniques were really powerful. Though she was too weak to show their full potential, she could still fight Kimimaro for a while.

Looking at the bizarre Hand Seals for today's Ninjutsu, Hui tilted her head in confusion and looked at Orochimaru. For once, he explained, "This is a secret technique of the Demon Wind Clan. You can give it a try."

"Demon Wind?" A question mark appeared in Hui's mind. The name sounded so familiar, but what was it? She shook her head, not wanting to dwell on it, and followed the sequence to try it out. Nothing happened, which only made her more confused.

Hui turned to Orochimaru and said, "This isn't Ninjutsu, is it?"

The next moment, her heart began to race. She vaguely sensed chakra coming at her and instinctively darted away from where she stood.

A great many leaves flew in from nowhere, carried by the wind, and slammed into the ground. The earth caved in, riddled with cuts. There was no doubt that being hit by them would have left her gravely injured.

Hui watched as her red hair was sliced off and drifted slowly through the air. The shock still lingered, and her face twisted into a grimace. Was Orochimaru trying to kill her again?

"Heh, it really is different. I didn't expect you to be able to use it, though you can't control its target," Orochimaru said lazily.

"I almost died again!" Hui jumped up and shouted at Orochimaru. After being set up so many times, she was furious.

"Looks like it still needs some adjustments." Orochimaru completely ignored her and walked away, talking to himself.

Hui watched him leave angrily, but there was nothing she could do.

This sort of thing happened too often to count. No matter how much Hui resisted, the next time she was still treated like a lab rat and made to practice his baffling Ninjutsu again.

As a skittish bird, Hui really had to be grateful for her weak chakra perception. Otherwise, she couldn't imagine how horribly she would have died.