Chereads / Naruto: The Scourge / Chapter 18 - Ignorance

Chapter 18 - Ignorance

This night, Yuji tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He could not fall asleep, so he put on his clothes and came to the old tree in the yard, bathing in the pale moonlight. He looked up at the round moon in the night sky, staring in silence.

He couldn't distinguish any difference between this bright moon and the one seen on Earth. He only felt that the two were remarkably similar; it seemed like the exact same moon, yet the worlds they were in were vastly different.

Yuji was never the type to get easily discouraged. He would always look ahead, never stop, nor look back. Even if the path ahead seemed endless, he would grit his teeth and keep moving forward. If his legs broke, he would crawl with his hands, and if both his hands and feet were broken, he would drag himself forward. That was how, in the endless, hopeless slum, he survived as a child, taking his sister with him, and eventually left the slum.

However… this time, with both his hands and feet intact, he found himself stopping on this endless road. Numerous doubts sprang up like mushrooms after rain, making him feel like his head could explode from the pressure.

Not until the morning, when the mist spread, did he finally manage to keep his eyes open the entire night. The night was not long enough to help him think things through. He did not know what the chances were of returning to Earth, nor could he imagine how to get back. Maybe only by reaching a certain height could he see an opportunity.

Unable to make sense of it, Yuji set a goal for himself at this moment—gain the kind of power that Orochimaru has, then surpass him. Perhaps, at that point, he would touch something...

Unless he died... he would never give up.

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

Orochimaru looked at the three youthful students before him and said indifferently, "The village is short of manpower and there are many accumulated tasks, but not many are suitable for you, so I will only give you ten days. During these ten days, I will personally train you."

At this time, Konoha was in the process of rebuilding, and nearly all available ninjas had to perform tasks every day. The tasks suitable for the lower-ranked ninjas were only trivial jobs, which Orochimaru looked down upon. So, he requested a ten-day break from the Hokage to use this time to make Yuji and the others stronger, so they could take on more difficult tasks later.

As for whether there would be casualties during the tasks, Orochimaru did not take it seriously. In his value system, tasks were taken according to one's strength. If someone died, it could only be blamed on their weakness.

Because of this value system, since Orochimaru started leading teams, the casualty rate of his students had reached a terrifying 100%. If he had taken in more students, no one in the village would have wanted their children to become Orochimaru's students.

The three were unaware of Orochimaru's plan, but when they heard they would receive his personal guidance, they were overjoyed.

Yuji thought about what he lacked: the ninjutsu he had learned was too little. He immediately said, "I want to learn ninjutsu!"

His eyes were sharp, expressing his desire directly and bluntly.

Kushina and Hokusei were startled by Yuji's sudden request. They cautiously glanced at the cold-faced Orochimaru, remaining silent. However, their thoughts were no different from Yuji's.

Orochimaru gave him a cold glance but did not show any favoritism despite their three years of acquaintance. In a cold tone, he said, "I make the decisions."

Yuji, who somewhat understood Orochimaru's nature, wisely kept his mouth shut. His sudden request was because he was frustrated by his lack of ninjutsu. He only knew the basic Transformation Jutsu, and he considered his chakra control and chakra volume to be at a decent level. If the next ten days were to be spent training these basic things, he would be devastated.

"Follow me."

Orochimaru turned and walked toward the forest. Ten days wasn't long, and he didn't have a clear plan. He just planned to follow the usual steps: first climb trees, then master the technique of standing on water.

To master ninjutsu, one must first have control over chakra.

Orochimaru selected a location with three large trees in a row and explained the theoretical knowledge to Yuji and the others. Afterward, he had them train on their own.

Yuji, upon hearing that the training was about climbing trees, frowned. He wanted Orochimaru to teach him ninjutsu directly, but recalling Orochimaru's indifferent words earlier, he refrained from speaking and obediently began climbing the tree.

Yuji was confident in his chakra control. After gathering a small amount of chakra at his feet, he placed his foot on the tree trunk, walking as if on flat ground. It didn't take long before he easily reached the top, twice as fast as Kushina. On the other hand, Hokusei fell halfway up due to chakra loss, which caused the bark to peel off.

Orochimaru watched the three of them carefully. It seemed that Yuji had the best control over his chakra, but the truth was not as simple.

Kushina had never trained climbing trees before. She was a bit slow at first, but after a few attempts, her speed quickly surpassed Yuji's.

Hokusei, seeing the other two so effortlessly climbing, gritted his teeth and silently continued practicing.

Yuji, seeing Kushina surpass him in speed, became dissatisfied and sped up.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, Yuji's foot slipped, causing him to stumble and fall, landing flat on his back.

This sudden fall caught the attention of Kushina and Hokusei.

Yuji ignored their gazes, staring at the small pit in the tree bark made by his foot, silent.

At this moment, he realized that his chakra control was not as strong as he had thought.

Taijutsu, chakra volume, chakra control, and ninjutsu—these were all stage-by-stage progressions. No matter which one, it required continuous refinement and strengthening. No one could guarantee they would reach perfection.

Upon realizing this, Yuji's desire to learn ninjutsu quickly faded. He turned to look at Orochimaru, who still wore a cold expression.

"I was too hasty." Yuji gritted his teeth. He had thought climbing trees would be simple, but after speeding up, his overconfident chakra control turned out to be nothing.

For the past three years, he had only thought about using his body to attract objects but never considered using tree climbing as a way to train his chakra control.

However, because of this, he had developed a solid and strong foundation.

At this moment, he completely abandoned the idea of learning ninjutsu and focused on practicing tree climbing.

Unlike Hokusei, whose goal was to climb to the top steadily, Yuji's goal was to quickly move along the tree trunk without causing any fluctuation in his chakra.

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