Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

"Feel it, and then control it."

In the end, Orochimaru did not teach Ye Zi directly but offered only this brief instruction.

How to feel and control chakra, he had no idea of the steps involved, but that did not stop Ye Zi from trying to sense it.

For an entire night, he, like a fool, tried various methods to sense chakra. Perhaps due to his perseverance, by dawn, he finally felt a stream-like flow within him, starting from his abdomen and slowly moving throughout his body, like a thin stream.

"So, this is chakra…?"

As the first rays of the morning sun touched Ye Zi's face, the thin layer of sweat on his cheeks evaporated quickly, and his fatigue was swept away.

He lowered his head, tightly clenched his fists, and a suppressed smile appeared on his small face. The reason he could keep going was the signposts that appeared along the way.

He went to the ninja school with a new emotion. No one noticed the change in him. From this day forward, he no longer felt disdain for the ninja school. He attended classes diligently, absorbing the knowledge taught by Zekanaki, and used his free time to increase his chakra and practice how to control it.

He realized a simple truth: even though it took three years to graduate from ninja school, he did not need to follow the school's pace during these three years.

He would learn everything the school taught, and for what the school did not, he would find a way to teach himself.

As spring gave way to summer, and autumn turned to winter, the old tree gained more rings, the grass reemerged, and the once-barren flowerbeds began to bloom again.

Time, moving as people hoped, sometimes flowed like a rushing river and sometimes like an old man with a cane. For Ye Zi, he wished time would be like an old man during training and like a river while sleeping.

Day after day, year after year.

Under the silent gaze of many observers, Ye Zi grew rapidly from the moment he started sensing chakra.

In the past two years, Ye Zi's file on the Hokage's desk had been updated repeatedly, with Sarutobi witnessing his astonishing changes.

Delicate chakra control, diverse uses of chakra…

The first time he gathered chakra on the surface of his body, the first time he used a small amount of chakra in his palm to increase destructive power, the first time he concentrated chakra on his feet to adhere to objects, the first time he tried to attach chakra to kunai and failed, and the first time he attempted to manipulate chakra outside his body.

If Hiruzen hadn't been monitoring him, he might have suspected that Orochimaru was secretly instructing him. However, in reality, Orochimaru had only given Ye Zi a single sentence of guidance, but that sentence had led him to discover his own potential and soar.

"Orochimaru, you really brought back an extraordinary child."

Every time Hiruzen reviewed Ye Zi's updated file, he couldn't help but admire.

Swish…

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere at the desk, and Sarutobi was not surprised at all.

The newcomer was dressed in a black bodysuit and wore a white fox mask—an Anbu member.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama has returned." The Anbu member bowed slightly and then disappeared into a shadow.

Upon hearing that Jiraiya had returned, Hiruzen was momentarily taken aback, then smiled faintly, "He returned just in time."

...…

Today was the day of graduation for Ye Zi's class.

In the classroom, Zekanaki, with a stiff expression, hands on the podium, looked at the students who were now starting to shed their childishness. He said coldly, "After today, you will be ninjas."

Even at the final moment, this man refused to show a smile.

"This is the team assignment list. Someone will come to collect you later."

He didn't offer any congratulations, nor did he bother to read out the team assignment list. Zekanaki slapped the list onto the blackboard and, during the last moments of separation, glanced at the students in the classroom. He said nothing more and turned decisively to leave the classroom.

"Don't die too easily, you…"

As he walked out, a hint of a sigh appeared in Zekanaki's eyes.

Being a ninja meant living on the edge of life and death, and the greater the strength, the greater the danger. In this still turbulent period, even a genin was not absolutely safe.

In the classroom, after Zekanaki left, most students hurried to the team assignment list on the blackboard.

Graduated genins were assigned in groups of three, with one jōnin leading each team. The assignment list did not indicate the names of the leading teachers, so no one knew who their leader would be.

Ye Zi did not look at the team assignment list and instead rested his chin on his hand, gazing out at the playground.

Before long, the students in the classroom grouped together, except for Ye Zi, who continued to stare out the window.

Kushina looked at the list with her name on it and saw a particularly glaring name ahead of hers.

"Ye Zi."

Kushina rubbed her forehead and glanced at Ye Zi, who was staring blankly out the window, feeling quite speechless.

From the way the teams were assigned, there seemed to be a clear pattern: no team had two outstanding students. Her team was a complete exception, and she couldn't understand why she was in the same team as him.

"Kushina, from today, we are teammates."

Kushina, rubbing her forehead, suddenly heard a timid voice from beside her. She turned to see a boy with glasses and a watermelon-shaped hairstyle, with a few pimples on his cheeks and shorter than herself.

The boy, seeing Kushina looking over, shifted his gaze away nervously, as if he wanted to avoid eye contact.

"Um… please take care of me from now on," he said, trying to avoid eye contact with a quivering voice.

Kushina stared at the boy and asked, "What's your name?"

For a moment, the boy seemed to be struck by an arrow in his heart, frozen, his mind echoing with the question of his name.

After three years of being classmates, he didn't even know his own name.

The boy, feeling a sense of despair, almost started to cry.

Seeing her classmate's sad expression, Kushina awkwardly smiled and said, "You haven't told me your name either, so it's not surprising that I don't know it."

Thud-thud!

It was like an arrow piercing through the heart.

Holding his chest, the boy replied mournfully, "I'm Kitasei Yoru. Please remember it."

Kushina nodded repeatedly, realizing that her previous action might have been a bit hurtful. But it wasn't entirely her fault; after all, this classmate's presence was so minimal.

"That guy probably doesn't know Yoru's name either."

She thought with a hint of malice as she glanced at Ye Zi.

Yoru suddenly shivered, also looking at him, wondering if he hadn't remembered his name.

"Probably not…"

Yoru forced a weak smile and turned to Kushina, timidly asking, "Um, Kushina, aren't we going to find Ye Zi?"

"Of course."

With that, she headed straight for Ye Zi, and Yoru quickly followed.

Clap.

Kushina slapped the desk, successfully drawing his attention.

Ye Zi's gaze lingered on Kushina's face for a moment before moving to the groups of students in the classroom. He calmly said, "Uzumaki Kushina." After a pause, he looked at Yoru beside her. "Kitasei Yoru. So it seems we are a team of three."

Upon hearing Ye Zi say his name, Yoru's eyes filled with tears.

Kushina withdrew her arm and said, "You're not very attentive about the team assignments."

Ye Zi glanced at her and said "Please take care of me from now on."