Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

That night, Ye Zi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Unable to find rest, he put on his clothes and went outside to sit under the old tree in the courtyard. Bathed in the pale moonlight, he looked up at the round moon in the night sky, silently contemplating.

He could not distinguish any difference between this moon and the one seen on Earth; they both appeared to be the same moon. Yet, the world they inhabited was worlds apart from Earth.

Ye Zi was never one to be easily discouraged. He always looked forward, never pausing or looking back, even when the path ahead seemed endless. He would grit his teeth and press on, crawling if his legs broke, and dragging himself forward if both his arms and legs were injured. This perseverance had allowed him to survive and eventually escape the slums of his childhood, taking his younger sister along.

However, this time, despite having his limbs intact, he found himself standing still on this endless path, plagued by countless doubts and worries. It felt as though his head was throbbing with confusion.

As dawn approached with the morning mist, Ye Zi remained awake, unable to make sense of anything. He didn't know what his chances were of returning to Earth or how he might achieve it. Perhaps only by reaching a certain height could he glimpse an opportunity.

In this moment of uncertainty, he set a new goal for himself— to gain the same power as Orochimaru and then surpass him. Maybe then he could grasp something tangible…

Unless he was dead, he would never give up.

At the same time, at the same place, with the same people.

Orochimaru looked at his three youthful students and said indifferently, "The village is short-handed and has accumulated many tasks, but there are not many tasks suitable for you. Therefore, I am giving you ten days. During these ten days, I will personally instruct you."

Konoha Village was currently in a state of reconstruction, and almost every available ninja was busy with missions. The tasks suitable for genin were mostly menial jobs, which Orochimaru deemed beneath him. Thus, he requested a ten-day period of suspension from missions to strengthen Ye Zi and his teammates, preparing them for more challenging tasks afterward.

As for the possibility of casualties during this period, Orochimaru was not particularly concerned. In his view, missions were taken based on one's strength, and if someone was unfortunate enough to die, it was simply a result of their own weakness.

This perspective had led to a horrifyingly high fatality rate among students under Orochimaru's tutelage. If not for the small number of students he had trained, it was likely that no parent in the village would want their child to be a student of Orochimaru.

The three students were unaware of Orochimaru's plans and were thrilled to receive his personal instruction.

Ye Zi, realizing his major shortcoming was the limited number of jutsu he had learned, immediately said, "I want to learn jutsu!"

His eyes were bright and his request blunt and straightforward.

Kushina and Yoru were startled by his sudden outburst and cautiously glanced at the indifferent Orochimaru. They remained silent, but their thoughts were the same as his.

Orochimaru gave him a cold glance, showing no favoritism after three years of acquaintance, and replied in a cold tone, "I am the one in charge."

Understanding the situation, he wisely kept quiet. His previous abrupt request was driven by his limited knowledge of jutsu. With only the basic three techniques under his belt, and having achieved a decent level of chakra control and quantity, he would be devastated if the next ten days were spent only on further training these basics.

"Follow me."

Orochimaru turned and walked towards the forest. The ten-day period was short, and he had not made a detailed plan. He decided to follow the standard steps: first, tree climbing, and then learning to walk on water.

To master jutsu, he must first have the ability to control chakra.

Orochimaru chose a spot with three large trees standing side by side. After explaining the theoretical knowledge, he instructed Ye Zi and his teammates to begin their training.

Ye Zi's face fell when he learned that they would be training tree climbing. He had hoped that Orochimaru would teach him jutsu directly. However, recalling Orochimaru's indifferent words earlier, he refrained from voicing his dissatisfaction and obediently started climbing the tree.

He was confident in his chakra control. He gathered a small amount of chakra under his feet, pressed them against the tree trunk, and walked up the tree as if it were flat ground. He quickly reached the top, easily outpacing Kushina by twice as fast. Yoru fell halfway up due to losing control of his chakra and stripping off the tree bark.

Orochimaru observed their performance closely. At first glance, Ye Zi seemed to have the best control of chakra, but this was not entirely true.

Kushina had never trained in tree climbing before and was initially slow, but after a few tries, she quickly surpassed him in climbing speed.

Seeing how easily the others managed, Yoru gritted his teeth and practiced in silence, determined to improve.

Ye Zi, frustrated by Kushina's superior climbing speed, increased his pace.

Bang!

With a sharp crack, his foot missed the tree trunk, causing him to falter and crash to the ground, landing on his back.

The sudden fall drew the attention of Kushina and Yoru.

Ignoring their gazes, he stared at the small dent he had made in the tree bark, saying nothing.

In this moment, he realized that his chakra control was not as refined as he thought.

Taijutsu, chakra amount, chakra control, and jutsu—all these elements were in different stages of development. Each one needed continuous improvement, and no one could guarantee reaching perfection in any of them.

Realizing this, his desire to learn jutsu diminished significantly. He looked back at Orochimaru, who remained as indifferent as ever.

"I was too impatient." Ye Zi muttered through gritted teeth. He had thought tree climbing was simple, but increasing his speed revealed that his overconfident chakra control was inadequate.

Over the past three years, he had focused on using his body to cling to objects and had not considered using tree climbing to train his chakra control.

This realization also showed that he had a solid foundation.

At this moment, he set aside his desire to learn jutsu and concentrated on improving his tree climbing skills.

Unlike Yoru, who aimed to climb steadily to the top, His goal was to move quickly up the tree without causing chakra fluctuations.