Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

With a calm and steady tone, Ye Zi posed a question to Kotoe, neither forcing her, nor requesting, nor giving an order.

For the sake of that goal, he was asking Kotoha to take on the risk and become one of the building blocks in a tower reaching toward the sky.

But this was selfish because Ye Zi knew very well that the woman who followed him here would agree.

"I am willing."

Perhaps when faced with this man, Kotoe could never refuse whether it was a question, an order, or a request, it made no difference.

This man, always looking into the distance, his gaze never lingering on anything specific, was constantly running while others merely walked. Even when he occasionally frowned in difficulty, he never looked to others for help. It was as if he was always running forward alone, leaving his back to the world, refusing to fall behind or need anyone's assistance.

All along, like on that famous moonlit night, he had faced everything alone with a single blade, enduring all the wounds, standing firm amidst the bloody storm, never pausing, never falling, even though his entire body, down to his cells, was soaked in blood.

Now, he finally needed someone's help. How could Kotoe, who no longer wanted to just watch his back, possibly refuse?

"Come with me."

Once again, Ye Zi avoided Kotoe's sincere and unwavering gaze, turning and walking out of the room. His eyes, as he turned his back, carried a faint hint of guilt, barely detectable.

He wasn't oblivious—he clearly understood Kotoe's feelings for him. But he couldn't reciprocate her feelings. From the very beginning, it had been impossible.

"I… am selfish."

Walking down the dimly lit corridor, hearing the sound of their footsteps echoing in front and behind, Ye Zi judged himself with this thought.

From the beginning, whether for survival or for his own future, he had committed many selfish acts. He never felt wrong about this. After all, humans kill to satisfy their hunger, and they become accustomed to it. That is selfishness, but it's a selfishness society deems normal.

Ninjas kill for payment without hesitation, staining their hands with blood. This kind of selfishness has long been buried beneath the harsh realities of the shinobi world.

However, at this moment, Ye Zi deeply felt his own selfishness, as he was essentially demanding something one-sidedly from Kotoe.

He led Kotoe to Orochimaru and Nanako's lab.

Upon their arrival, both Orochimaru and Nanako looked at them inquiringly.

"I want Kotoe to acquire Wood Release," Ye Zi answered their questioning looks.

Nanako quickly glanced at Kotoe. The latter remained calm, though even if all the details were perfected, the success rate wouldn't be reasonable. Creating Wood Release users required a large pool of subjects, and perhaps only one in ten, or one in five, would succeed.

Such success rates were quite low, but once successful, it would create a ninja who could use Wood Release, which was already an accomplishment.

Nevertheless, the risks were substantial. As a jonin with already considerable strength, there was really no need for Kotoe to take such a risk.

Orochimaru paused his work and silently observed the group. Unlike Nanako, he didn't overthink the situation—if there was a willing test subject, his only reaction was satisfaction.

"The success rate is still unstable and very low. The risks are obvious. Are you sure you want to do this?" Nanako asked Kotoe, her voice calm.

Kotoe glanced at Ye Zi's profile before replying calmly, "I'm sure. But if possible, please do everything you can to increase the success rate."

Nanako fell silent at Kotoe's words. She could sense Kotoe's resolve, but she also understood that this determination didn't stem from a desire for power.

It was… for him, wasn't it?

Ye Zi looked at the two of them and asked, "Orochimaru, Nanako, how soon can you be ready to start under the best conditions?"

Nanako turned to Orochimaru. After all, he was the one leading this experiment; she was only assisting.

Orochimaru wiped his hands with a clean cloth and said casually, "If we put all other experiments on hold and focus solely on this, the earliest we can start is in about six months. That's just an estimate. It could be faster, or it might take longer."

"Six months...?" Ye Zi furrowed his brow. In six months, they would likely have recruited more members. He hadn't told Kotoe the real reason for wanting her to grow stronger, because if the experiment failed, that reason would become irrelevant.

"Ye Zi, can you wait?" Kotoe asked, pursing her lips. She knew that Ye Zi had proposed this idea because he needed her for something, but she was currently too weak to be of use.

"Of course." Hearing her question, Ye Zi's frown relaxed. At this point, he couldn't refuse anymore.

"With more time, we can improve the success rate, and the conditions necessary to increase that rate still aren't fully developed," Orochimaru said with a cold smile.

"Conditions? What do you mean?" Nanako tilted her head toward Orochimaru, clearly unaware of these so-called "conditions."

"The Curse Mark, of course," Orochimaru's snake-like eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

The Curse Mark was a technique he had been developing in recent years, designed to give power to its bearer through external means. Though the foundation was in place and some Curse Marks had already been applied, they were still imperfect, mere imitations of what Orochimaru ultimately sought.

Currently, he was experimenting with injecting Hashirama's chakra into the Curse Marks, and countless test subjects had fueled his research and ambitions.

"What exactly is that?" Nanako asked, frowning.

"Hehehe."

Orochimaru let out a raspy laugh, then looked at Ye Zi. The latter wasn't curious about the Curse Mark at all. Instead, his gaze shifted to Nanako as he said, "All you need to know is that it's something that can increase the success rate."

The Curse Mark wasn't something Nanako was involved with, and Ye Zi didn't want to waste time explaining it. Although the survival rate of Curse Mark implantation was low, and the success rate of Hashirama cell infusion was also low, if both were done simultaneously, it might trigger a fascinating chemical reaction and even push the success rate to 100%. It wasn't impossible.

Seeing that Orochimaru wasn't explaining further, Nanako's displeasure was obvious, but Orochimaru didn't care in the slightest.

"In that case, please proceed as quickly as possible," Ye Zi said. Then, turning to Kotoha, he added, "Let's go."

With those words, he turned and left, Kotoe following behind him.

"Ye Zi."

Suddenly, Orochimaru called out to him.

Ye Zi stopped in his tracks.

"If you need a ready-made Wood Release user, I know a good candidate," Orochimaru said, assuming Ye Zi needed someone with Wood Release abilities for assistance.

Ye Zi raised an eyebrow, still facing away, and asked, "Who?"

Orochimaru smiled faintly and said, "The subject you once tried to take from Root. It seems you realized his importance but didn't fully understand him."

"That boy, huh..."

Ye Zi's thoughts paused as he recalled the boy in question.

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