Naruto: The Scourge

A week may seem very short, but under Orochimaru's targeted teachings, Yuji and the others could feel their strength growing rapidly. Each of them also learned a few practical ninjutsu. Achieving such results in just one week wasn't just because of their solid foundations, but also thanks to Orochimaru's guidance. This is the greatest value of a team leader; his presence enables freshly graduated students to grow at the fastest speed possible.

Of course, this also involves the issue of individual talent.

Hokusei's personality is more introverted, but deep down, he has a drive to push forward. During this week, his training load was no less than Kushina's, but his progress was far behind hers, let alone Yuji, who had a much heavier training load than them both.

The world isn't fair. Most people are destined from the moment they are born. Saying that hard work can compensate for talent is just empty talk; some people are simply born with extraordinary gifts. One can only envy and be jealous, but will never surpass them.

Seeing Yuji and Kushina leave him behind, Hokusei was extremely discouraged. This gap was already present at the Ninja Academy, but under Orochimaru's teaching, the gap became even more apparent, so much so that it made him feel pitiful.

Why is it that despite training so hard, the results are still nowhere near Yuji and Kushina's?

With this question in mind, Hokusei was unwilling to accept it. Fortunately, he didn't fall behind in training and completed all of Orochimaru's tasks. Otherwise, Orochimaru might have excluded him before the first mission even began.

Kushina, though a female ninja, possessed talent that rivaled male ninjas. She had the delicacy typical of women, with excellent chakra control, and she also had the physique and strength of a man. Undoubtedly, she was a genius. If nothing went wrong, she would clearly become a presence on par with the legendary Sannin. Orochimaru clearly saw this during the week.

However...

Kushina's performance surprised Orochimaru, but Yuji's performance astonished him.

When Yuji demonstrated stable chakra control, Orochimaru immediately started teaching him ninjutsu, but first, he tested his chakra attributes, which showed: Lightning, Wind, and Fire.

The fact that Yuji had three chakra attributes didn't surprise Orochimaru; what truly amazed him was that after watching Orochimaru's hand-seal demonstration once, Yuji was able to use the ninjutsu by himself. Although his first attempt was awkward and weak, just using the ninjutsu after seeing it once made it clear that reinforcing his skills would not be difficult.

After recognizing Yuji's potential, Orochimaru still appeared indifferent on the surface, but inwardly, he was satisfied with the decision he had made earlier.

On that rainy day, he had seen a glimpse of the boy and concluded that the boy would one day become a towering figure.

The last night of the special training.

Yuji was in the middle of high-intensity training. Due to his physical condition, his daily training load was unimaginable for Kushina and Hokusei. Perhaps Hokusei saw Yuji's shining points, but he also overlooked Yuji's effort, which was no less than anyone else's.

Late into the night, in the courtyard beneath the old tree, a boy moved like a machine, holding up a large and heavy stone barbell, repeating mechanical motions. In the pure moonlight, only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard, followed by silence.

"Tomorrow is the first mission. You'd better conserve your strength and adjust your condition," a cold and hoarse voice suddenly came from the corridor connecting the house and the yard.

Yuji abruptly stopped lifting the barbell, inhaled and exhaled deeply, then slowly lowered the heavy barbell. Turning his head, he looked toward the corridor, where a tall and slender man was standing.

"I am fully aware of my body's condition," Yuji said, not because he heeded Orochimaru's advice, but because he thought it respectful to put down the barbell before talking to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru looked at Yuji, contemplating Yuji's unique physique. A gleam of light passed through his eyes, and he said coldly, "That's best."

After speaking, he turned and walked toward his bedroom.

Yuji watched Orochimaru disappear from view before turning his head back and resuming his monotonous, mechanical training.

Since realizing that the energy from consuming food could quickly eliminate his physical fatigue, Yuji trained his body like a madman, never worrying about potential injuries from high-intensity training.

In Konoha, there were fewer than ten people who knew about Yuji's physical condition. The Akimichi clan wasn't included among them, though. While Yuji's energy intake from food couldn't be converted into chakra, it did allow him to recover his physical condition, which might give the Akimichi clan many ideas, neither good nor bad. For this reason, the Third Hokage did not intend to let the Akimichi clan learn about this.

Was Yuji's unique physique only about recovering from food intake?

No.

Yuji didn't believe that was the full extent of it. As time passed, he became more skilled at coordinating his body, and he vaguely sensed something. Although he couldn't directly confirm it, he had a premonition that the body he occupied in this world possessed extraordinary advantages.

After completing his monotonous training, Yuji cleaned up, then ate a large amount of food and obediently went to bed.

In the morning, Yuji swiftly jumped out of bed, stretched his limbs, and happily cracked his neck.

The high-intensity training hadn't caused any harm to his body. Every time he woke up from a good night's rest, he felt full of energy, and his limbs were brimming with vitality.

"What will the first mission be?"

Yuji, fully prepared, didn't wait for Orochimaru. Before it was time, he headed straight for the designated meeting place.

Upon arriving at the original meeting location, the morning mist had not yet dispersed. Yuji didn't mind the dew on the wooden posts and casually leaned against one, pretending to rest, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Yuji, good morning."

After a long while, the second person to arrive was Hokusei. Seeing that Yuji had already arrived, he instinctively greeted him.

"Morning."

Yuji raised his eyelids and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Hokusei looked around, noticing that Orochimaru and Kushina hadn't arrived yet, so he walked over and squatted down beside Yuji.

After a while, Kushina arrived in a hurry, followed by Orochimaru.

As usual, with no unnecessary words, Orochimaru immediately spoke once he saw the three had gathered, "The mission we're taking on is a C-rank mission. The objective is to eliminate bandits. The specifics will be discussed on the way. Follow me."

Without waiting for a response, he immediately turned and headed toward the village gate.

Eliminate bandits…

This meant the mission would involve killing.

With mixed thoughts, Yuji followed Orochimaru, walking out of Konoha's gate under the watch of the gate guards.

It had been more than three years since Yuji arrived in Konoha, and this was his first time leaving the village. It might be hard to imagine someone staying in Konoha for three years without stepping outside, but that was completely normal because the outside world wasn't safe, and he had known that for a long time.

Leaving Konoha after many years didn't bring Yuji any great sense of novelty. He listened carefully to the details of the mission that Orochimaru explained.

The task of eliminating bandits came from a village located by a river, two hundred miles away from Konoha. The village was surrounded by mountains and water, and it was inhabited by ordinary people. Since the Fire Country wasn't a battlefield, enemy ninjas had no reason to target a village full of civilians. However, recently, a small group of bandits had emerged from the nearby mountains. Every now and then, they would come to the village to raid, kill, and treat the villagers like livestock. The villagers could no longer endure this, so they sent a young man to Konoha to request help.

This mission was taken up by Orochimaru, and the reason was simple: as ninjas, killing was a part of everyday life. But every beginning has its start, and for Yuji and the others, this mission was their first step and the first blood of their ninja careers.

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