Repetitive and strenuous training is the most tedious and best reflects a person's willpower. Jōya believed that Ye Zi would not be able to complete the training within the limited time; it was an objective judgment, as he did not know how strong his determination was.
"Root does not need such a person." Jōya said to Danzo.
What is Root?
The dark side of Konoha.
The roots that draw nutrients from the great tree.
Those nutrients are absolutely loyal killing machines.
Danzo, sitting in a chair, looked at him calmly and said, "What I want is not his loyalty."
Jōya's face was expressionless, and he said nothing. He was someone who would squeeze out the maximum value from everyone, which was why Danzo had placed him in this position.
Danzo's gaze shifted from his face, unperturbed by his rudeness. He opened the scrolls on the table and said calmly "From the first time I saw him, I never expected his loyalty. I said he is a blade that will cut through the obstacles ahead for me. He will only be a blade, not a person."
"You're not worried that it could be a double-edged sword?" Jōya suddenly said.
Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly, and he replied coldly, "Of course I have concerns. But since I know what he wants, I have confidence in controlling him."
After a pause, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he coldly smiled, "I just didn't expect him to be so similar to Orochimaru. If even Orochimaru could be compromised, how could he refuse?"
"Understood." Jōya said. By now, he understood Danzo's plan and how Ye Zi was regarded in Danzo's eyes.
After taking his leave, he did not go to the training room to check on Ye Zi's progress. He never believed he could complete the triple training load. However, six hours later, a subordinate responsible for supervision reported that Ye Zi had completed the training. The subordinate left immediately after reporting, and Jōya stared at the empty air, silent.
From that day on, Ye Zi spent nearly all his time in Root, except for training, he was always reading scrolls filled with summaries of ninjutsu. He absorbed knowledge like a sponge and grew rapidly in both aspects.
At the same time, Minato and Kushina's presence among their peers grew increasingly prominent, making them the brightest new stars in Konoha.
Ye Zi grew in the darkness of Root, while Minato and Kushina thrived in the sunlight.
Time passed quickly, and another year went by.
The friction between the Iwa Shinobi and Konoha became increasingly intense, with casualties involved in both public and secret conflicts. The situation was visibly in turmoil.
One day, Ye Zi returned to Root from a secret mission in the Land of Earth, covered in injuries. As soon as he handed over the scroll containing confidential information, he collapsed from exhaustion and was immediately sent to Root's dedicated medical room for treatment.
Outside the room, Jōya, holding a scroll stained with large patches of blood, had a somewhat complex expression. Over the past year, Ye Zi's performance had drastically changed his attitude.
"Danzo-sama, you were right." His gaze shifted from the closed door, reflecting on how the boy he initially disliked had indeed become a blade or a terrifying sharp tooth. His mood became complex.
In one year, he had undertaken nearly a hundred missions, none of which had failed. He had repeatedly survived dangerous situations where it seemed he would die but opened his eyes again.
He was a formidable boy.
A formidable junior.
A formidable peer.
No one in Root could deny Ye Zi's fearsome nature.
Inside the medical room, several medical ninjas were fully focused on treating the heavily injured Ye Zi. Despite his weak breath making him seem as if he might die any moment, none of the medical ninjas showed any signs of urgency.
The tense emergency treatment seemed calm and effortless, making one believe that the rescue would end successfully.
Two hours later, the operation was over.
Ye Zi's weak breath gradually stabilized. Under the effects of a large dose of anesthesia, he irrationally opened his eyes, his brow furrowing deeply from the pain.
He looked at the closest medical ninja, a young woman whose face could be discerned from her large mask.
"Thank you." he said, as the pain reminded him he was still alive. He looked at her sincerely.
Hearing Ye Zi's familiar and hoarse thanks, the woman looked back at him in surprise and then turned to her colleague responsible for administering the sedatives and anesthesia. "I asked you to give him five times the dose."
The colleague seemed surprised as well, nodding. "Indeed, it was five times the dose."
The woman's delicate eyebrows slightly curved as she looked at Ye Zi, who was calm and said earnestly, "If possible, please don't get so badly injured next time."
Ye Zi looked at her and replied, "I'm afraid that won't be possible."
After speaking, he endured the pain, got off the operating table like an elderly man, and stubbornly walked toward the door, as if he were heading to a world unknown to anyone.
No one in the room helped him, as they knew he would coldly refuse assistance. They also did not remind him not to move around, as they knew his healing abilities were extraordinary.
After Ye Zi left, the person responsible for the anesthesia said worriedly, "Next time, even five times the dose might not work."
"Hmm." the woman replied, lowering her head to clean up the instruments.
...
Injured, Ye Zi naturally couldn't perform any more missions. However, even while injured, he spent his entire day in the library, examining the scrolls piled on the shelves.
His persistence and obsession were incomprehensible to others.
Danzo didn't want to know, and Jōya didn't want to know either. They only needed to know what he wanted and then make full use of his value.
He continued until near midnight. When his body's protests finally reached their limit, he persuaded himself to put down the scrolls. He tiredly rubbed his temples, and the pain that radiated when he stretched made him frown slightly.
He put on his large robe, which he had left beside him, and slowly stood up, extinguished the candles, and walked toward the door.
As he stepped outside, he instinctively looked at the ground to the right in front of the door. A square lunchbox wrapped in an orange cloth lay quietly there. He stood and looked at it for a while, then bent down and laboriously picked up the lunchbox. The food inside was made from blood-replenishing ingredients. Due to ingredient limitations, it was unappetizing and even said to be tasteless. However, for someone who had lost a lot of blood, it was the best nutritional supplement.
Ye Zi carried the lunchbox, like an old man in his twilight years, slowly leaving. He knew who had left the lunchbox and did not reject the unpleasant food. Perhaps it was due to his childhood experience of rarely having enough to eat, perhaps it was because the food was beneficial for his condition, or perhaps it was because it contained someone's care.
He would be grateful to the nameless girl in his heart, just as he had sincerely thanked her when he opened his eyes, but he would not seek to know her name.
He neither wanted nor could.
The night was dark, and the silver light fell upon the earth.
Konoha's streets were quiet, covered in silver light. Ye Zi, carrying the lunchbox and bathed in the silver glow, slowly walked toward his residence.
After passing a corner, he stopped, as a figure stood ahead, silently watching. His mood turned sour.
He had deliberately avoided the girl with the beautiful red hair. Though he walked away from her, she always seemed to inexplicably block his path.
By the bright moonlight, Kushina's gaze slowly drifted over the white bandaged parts of Ye Zi. She bit her lip, her eyes filled with complex emotions, as in the past.
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