Shimura Residence.
Looking at his listless son for several days, Tanzō couldn't help getting angry.
"Kaze, I've told you that you're still young and should take care of your body. Why don't you listen!"
"(-_)? Ah, what's up, Dad?"
Kaze turned around with a confused look on his face and scratched his head, not knowing what the fuck his father was talking about.
He had been in a bad mood for several days because his cheat was blocked, and he couldn't get interested in anything.
"This damn boy!"
Seeing his son's absent-minded look, Tanzō's face grew darker and darker. He thought it was necessary for him to do something.
"I can't let Kaze stay with those two female team members all day long!"
Thinking of Orochimaru who had just returned to the village, Tanzō had an idea in mind.
"Kaze, you take Minato Namikaze with you tomorrow. I'll ask Orochimaru to continue guiding your and Minato's cultivation."
Hearing this, Kaze was slightly stunned: "But, Dad, what about Root?"
Tanzō raised his hand to interrupt Kaze and said earnestly, "Put the matter of Root aside for now. Let Yuto lead the team for you. There won't be any problem."
"As a ninja, your own strength is the guarantee and prerequisite for everything. I hope you can understand this."
Kaze nodded, thinking that Tanzō was right: "I understand, Dad."
In fact, Kaze wouldn't mind not going to work at Root.
You know, he was a total lazybones.
If he could lie down, he would never stand up. If he could slack off below, he would never work hard above.
Now that he had no cheat, it would be good to learn something from Orochimaru during this period.
Moreover, he could stay with Minato every day. How cool!
The next day.
Konoha Training Ground.
The morning breeze blew gently on their faces. Kaze and Minato were sitting on the ground, chatting away and laughing.
"I was about to go on a mission with the team when the captain told me I didn't have to come tomorrow." Minato said with a helpless smile.
"Haha, me too. I originally had a very tricky mission to deal with, but as soon as my dad spoke, I dumped it on Uncle Yuto in an entirely justifiable way."
"By the way, how's Kushina recently? I haven't seen her for a long time." Kaze yawned and asked Minato.
Mentioning Kushina, Minato said somewhat resentfully, "She's staying with Mikoto every day now and doesn't pay much attention to me."
"Minato, you look like a wronged little wife now."
"… Take back what you said, and we're still good friends."
While they were chatting, Orochimaru's tall figure appeared in front of them.
"Hehe, Minato-kun, Kaze-kun, long time no see."
The two quickly stood up from the ground and saluted Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
They had had a short teacher-student relationship with Orochimaru before, so they didn't seem unfamiliar when they met again.
Looking at their young faces.
Orochimaru thought of the lives that briefly blossomed on the battlefield and couldn't help but speak his mind.
"Before we start today's training, I want to ask you a question. What do you think 'life' is?"
What is life?
This is a very complex question. Minato frowned and fell into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Kaze showed a thoughtful look. This question... he seemed to have memorized the answer!
"Life refers to the activity ability that living organisms have for survival. It is a form in which proteins exist," Kaze replied.
"Oh?" Orochimaru looked at Kaze in surprise.
In the world of Naruto where science is not emphasized, it was really rare for a child to define life in such a way.
Orochimaru immediately became interested and continued to ask, "Then what are proteins?"
"They are substances formed by the coiling and folding of polypeptide chains composed of amino acids via dehydration condensation," Kaze answered without hesitation.
Orochimaru was shocked.
What are amino acids, what is dehydration condensation, and what are polypeptide chains? He had never heard of these things!
But somehow, his intuition told Orochimaru that Kaze was not talking nonsense.
These unheard - of things he mentioned might very well open a brand - new door for him.
"Kaze - kun..."
Orochimaru was breathing heavily and looking at Kaze with expectation, hoping that he would continue.
Orochimaru's eager look of seeking knowledge also surprised Minato.
Kaze often liked to say things that others couldn't understand. Minato used to think it was just Kaze's wild imagination, but now it seemed... maybe not?
"Why are you looking at me? Just because you ask me, I have to answer you? There's no such reason in the world," Kaze said gloomily.
He had been in this world for over a decade, and it was already remarkable that he still remembered these two concepts... And they still kept asking!
"Hehe, I was out of control," Orochimaru took a deep breath and regained his usual calm. "Then let's start."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" the two replied.
Originally, Orochimaru didn't plan to whole - heartedly guide the two. He would still focus more on his own experiments.
But now, after this encounter with Kaze, his attitude changed, and there was a newfound eagerness in his eyes when he looked at Kaze.
Seeing this, Kaze showed a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
"Just as I thought, you'd be into it. Watch me get you wrapped around my finger right away."
There was no System, no Mission, no specific goals, only training.
In this monotonous and repetitive life, time passed by quickly, like the fine sand slipping through the fingers.
Day after day and season after season passed. Before Kaze realized it, a year had passed in a flash.
During this time, he trained with Orochimaru during the day and taught what he had learned to three little guys at night. His life was really fulfilling.
"Soon, the System will go online again!" Kaze thought happily while training.
"Kaze, focus!"
Looking at Kaze, who was distracted yet again, Orochimaru scolded him irritably.
Previously, he considered himself an indifferent person with few people or things able to stir strong emotional waves within him.
But now, Kaze had managed to do just that!
The process of teaching Kaze made Orochimaru doubt his life!
It had been a whole year!
This kid couldn't learn [Ninjutsu] or master [Taijutsu], and there wasn't even the slightest improvement in his physical fitness! Orochimaru didn't know how he could report this situation to Tanzō.
He really couldn't figure out how Kaze, with such lousy aptitude, managed to have his current strength.
In contrast, Minato's comprehension ability was incredibly good.
No matter what was being taught, this kid grasped it right away, learned quickly, and could draw inferences from one instance to many others.
Orochimaru also developed a love for talent and taught Minato many of his most precious techniques.
"Hey, Orochimaru is so biased," Kaze thought jealously as he watched Orochimaru instructing Minato.
But there was nothing he could do. Who asked him to have such poor talent? If he had to blame someone... he should blame Tanzō!
Anyway, in this [Hokage] world, if there's a problem, just blame Tanzō. That's for sure.
[Ding! The [God - level Choice System] is online! This startup took a week and outperformed 47% of systems across all planes!]
"System, you're finally online. I've missed you so much!" Seeing the familiar interface, Kaze was so excited that he started to sob.
[Good grief, host. I really didn't expect that you could leave over seven thousand messages scolding me in 365 days a year.]
Kaze felt a bit embarrassed. "Well... Scolding is just a way of showing affection! I just love you so much, System. What's wrong with that?"
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