Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

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The night was pitch black, with the sky and earth shrouded in darkness. Ominous clouds gathered, obscuring the moonlight. Occasionally, a gust of wind howled by, stirring the branches and creating a shrill sound like that of an owl.

At the base of the mountain, Ye Zi looked up at the sky and felt the biting cold of the wind on his face. He muttered, "It looks like it's going to rain."

The bandits' base was at the mountain's summit. There was only one way up, and they held the advantage of the terrain, making the stronghold difficult to attack. But for ninjas, taking such a stronghold wasn't too difficult.

Orochimaru led the three of them straight up the steep mountain face, entering the stronghold unnoticed.

Hiding behind a simple building, Orochimaru didn't give Ye Zi and the others time to observe the guards' distribution. He made a hand gesture, signaling them to act immediately.

The purpose of infiltrating the stronghold was just to reduce the threat. The main objective of the mission was to shed blood and face the clashing of swords and blades directly. Therefore, Orochimaru did not allow Ye Zi and the others to use an assassination approach to gradually eliminate the bandits.

When Kushina and Yoru saw Orochimaru's gesture, they didn't act immediately, their faces showing a trace of hesitation.

Seeing the two still standing in place, Orochimaru furrowed his brow slightly but did not urge them. He knew this was a process that everyone who graduated from the ninja academy had to go through. It wasn't about being cold-blooded but required the capability to remain indifferent to bloodshed.

In contrast to the hesitation of Kushina and Yoru, Ye Zi was decisive. As soon as Orochimaru's gesture was given, he locked onto a man who had come to a corner to relieve himself, and with kunai in hand, he charged at him directly.

The muted sound of his footsteps on the sandy ground startled the man who was relieving himself. Turning around, he saw a kunai thrusting towards his throat in the dim firelight.

"Enemy—!"

The man's eyes widened, and before he could finish the word, the sharp kunai easily pierced his throat, and the warm blood sprayed onto his face.

The warmth of the blood on his face and the nauseating smell of it hit his nose, causing a slight discomfort in his stomach. He kept his arm straight and stared blankly at the man's eyes filled with despair and hatred.

"Gurgle…"

The dying man made a series of meaningless sounds, his eyes gradually losing their light.

Ye Zi's gaze remained fixed on the man's eyes until the light faded. Only then did he slowly pull out the kunai and wipe the blood from his face. This was his first time killing someone, and seeing a living life snuffed out by his own hands didn't bring much guilt, almost as if he was indifferent to slaughtering a chicken for a meal.

In fact, he had witnessed many brutal scenes in his youth. Some people could be so ruthless over a piece of bread that they would ruin another's life. He once thought that if conditions allowed, people eating people might even happen.

Thud.

The lifeless body fell to the ground with a soft sound. He glanced at the corpse briefly before silently moving on to the next target.

Orochimaru, hiding in the shadows, showed a hint of satisfaction on his face. Meanwhile, Kushina and Yoru stood stunned, watching him bathed in blood.

Yoru trembled slightly. As the first time he had seen such a bloody scene, despite having mentally prepared beforehand, witnessing it firsthand was overwhelming.

Kushina looked at the corpse on the ground. Its head was turned toward her, and in the firelight, the dim eyes seemed to still hold resentment.

She gritted her teeth slightly, taking a step forward. Yet, she remained frozen as if turned into a statue.

After a few minutes, Ye Zi had killed several people, finally drawing the attention of the bandits. With a fierce shout, the bandits in the stronghold poured out. Upon seeing the forehead protector on his head, they were momentarily startled. However, their fear quickly subsided as they realized he was just a child.

"Just a little brat, what's there to be afraid of!" A burly man wielding a spiked club shouted angrily. Before he could finish, a kunai flew through the air and pierced his throat. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down at the kunai's handle, and he soon fell lifelessly.

After killing the man with the spiked club, he remained vigorous. He took another kunai from his ninja tools bag and charged into the crowd of bandits, slaughtering them.

After slashing a bandit's throat with a kunai, Ye Zi leaped back, narrowly avoiding a swinging iron rod.

The number of enemies was too great, and they possessed considerable strength. Getting injured could easily lead to a reversal of the situation.

Notcing himself gradually sinking into the frenzy of killing, he made it an aim to mindfully maintained his rationality. After killing a dozen or so bandits, he noticed his strength waning. He decisively leaped out of the encirclement, looked at the remaining nearly a hundred bandits, and then glanced at where Kushina and Yoru were hiding. His brow furrowed.

In terms of individual skill, he was confident he could outmatch any one of the bandits. However, with so many opponents, their sheer numbers could counter his quality, and this mission was not meant for him alone to complete.

Seemingly sensing Ye Zi's gaze, Kushina and Yoru realized they were here to carry out a mission. Kushina stepped forward without hesitation, revealing herself. Yoru, after a moment of hesitation, also slowly walked out from behind the building.

The ground was littered with corpses, sprawled haphazardly, and blood had formed small rivers on the sandy ground, slowly seeping into the soil. The air was filled with the stench of blood.

Seeing Ye Zi, who had been so formidable despite being just a child, the bandits had grown fearful. Now, with two more ninjas appearing, everyone's spirits sank.

"Even if we die, we'll take down a few with us!" A bandit shouted, and the others erupted in anger.

Dehumanized, they walked on the edge of a knife every day, each having taken numerous lives. Just as he killed them with indifference, they, too, were without psychological burden when killing their own kind.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a series of lightning flashes crossed the gloomy sky, briefly illuminating the bandits' fearsome faces.

He looked at the aggressive hundred or so bandits, ignoring the newly appeared Kushina and Yoru, and formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A scorching fireball shot from his mouth, flying into the crowd.

As the fireball approached, the bandits' previously fierce attitude quickly dissipated, replaced by terror.

Boom!

The fireball exploded, and with the echoes of screaming, the high-temperature flames instantly incinerated a dozen or so bandits, filling the air with the unpleasant smell of burnt flesh.

Seeing the bandits turned to char in such a short time, Kushina and Yoru turned pale. The other bandits, even more terrified, had their earlier confidence shattered by the fireball. They immediately began to scream and scatter.

"Why are you still dawdling?"

Ye Zi shouted coldly at the two, brandishing his kunai and rushing after the fleeing bandits.

Kushina and Yoru exchanged glances, forcing themselves to overcome their discomfort, and joined the slaughter.

If they couldn't even bear to kill, how could they claim the title of ninja?

The sky thundered and lightning flashed. After a long while, heavy rain began to fall, extinguishing the flames ignited by the fireball.

The mingled stench of burnt flesh, blood, and excrement was overwhelming. He ignored it, slightly tilting his head, and closed his eyes expressionlessly, letting the cold rain wash over his face, rinsing away the fresh blood. Near his feet, cold corpses lay scattered.

Kushina looked down at the kunai in her hand. By the light of the flashing lightning, she could see blood dripping from the tip. Not long ago, when she killed her first person, she even felt a churn in her stomach. Now… she felt no discomfort at all.

She turned her head to look at Ye Zi, who was closing his eyes. All she saw was an indifference as cold as the rain. A chill inexplicably surged from the depths of her heart, spreading through her limbs, making her shiver, though she couldn't tell if it was from the icy wind and rain or something else.

"This is what it means to be a ninja."

Yoru looked at the corpses scattered across the ground, his body still trembling.

"The mission is complete."

Orochimaru emerged from the darkness, his raspy voice announcing the end of the mission.