Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

A fingernail-sized green insect silently dropped from a tree and landed on Ye Zi's arm. The insect, as if it were lost, crawled slowly across his skin before settling on the back of his hand.

The moment Ye Zi felt the abnormality, the insect sensed his body heat and bit into his skin without hesitation. At that very instant, a crackling surge of lightning chakra erupted from Ye Zi's palm, blasting the insect into the air.

It disintegrated mid-flight, splattering into a small puddle of vile green liquid.

The Aoki Forest was infamous for its poisonous insects. Among the various species, the green ones were the most insidious and lethal.

What made them dangerous was their camouflage—the forest's environment was a sea of deep green, and over time, one's vision adapted to the color. This made spotting the tiny green insects nearly impossible.

After killing the insect, Ye Zi frowned slightly and raised his hand to inspect the bite. The wound was small, and within seconds, it healed on its own.

Typically, venom would cause swelling, discoloration that was black, purple, or even green but on Ye Zi's hand, there was no visible effect at all.

"Did you get bitten?" Orochimaru, who had witnessed the scene, approached with an unmistakable air of amusement. His pale face wore a look of morbid curiosity.

Ye Zi noticed his expression and narrowed his eyes. "You seem oddly pleased."

"I'm merely curious," Orochimaru replied with his usual raspy voice, his snake-like eyes glinting mischievously. "If the 'famous Ye Zi' were to die from a single bug bite, what a story that would be."

Ye Zi's expression darkened, but he ignored the remark. Instead, he continued to observe his hand. Surprisingly, there was still no reaction.

Orochimaru, too, studied Ye Zi's hand intently. As someone well-versed in poisons, Orochimaru knew that all toxins, when entering the human body, produced observable effects.

Yet Ye Zi's hand showed no reaction whatsoever.

"It's strange," Orochimaru muttered thoughtfully. "You were bitten, but the venom didn't affect you. There are only two possibilities: either the insect wasn't poisonous, or its venom is simply ineffective against you."

His tone was firm as he added, "And that insect most certainly was poisonous."

Ye Zi glanced at Orochimaru, unconvinced. "Are you sure the insect was poisonous?"

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "Oh, it was. That species is one of the most venomous in the Aoki Forest. An ordinary person would die within three seconds of being bitten. A shinobi with a strong constitution might last five minutes."

Pausing for dramatic effect, Orochimaru's smile turned sinister. "You, with your enhanced body and Hashirama cells, might endure for thirty minutes. The fact that there's no reaction yet is… curious."

His voice dripped with mockery, but Ye Zi ignored it.

Several minutes passed, and still, nothing happened.

Ye Zi looked up, skepticism evident in his expression. "You're sure it's venomous?"

Without answering, Orochimaru casually drew a kunai and flung it into the branches above.

Thunk!

The kunai pierced the head of a green snake roughly a meter long and as thick as a man's arm. The snake writhed briefly before falling limp, its body pinned to the tree.

Orochimaru retrieved the snake's gallbladder and venom sac.

"The snake gall can neutralize insect venom," he explained, holding it up. "Though I doubt you'll need it."

His gaze lingered on Ye Zi's hand, his curiosity deepening. "It's fascinating. Why don't you let a few more insects bite you? Let's see if the venom really is ineffective."

Ye Zi's expression twitched. Without saying a word, he held out his hand, silently demanding the snake gall.

Orochimaru chuckled and tossed it to him. Ye Zi pocketed it for safekeeping, just in case.

Seeing that Ye Zi was game, Orochimaru's interest intensified. He immediately began searching for more insects.

"One insect isn't enough. Let's try four or five at once," Orochimaru suggested with feigned innocence, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Ye Zi shot him a cold glare, his lips twitching in annoyance. "You're insane."

The Aoki Forest was known as the "Forest of Venomous Insects" for good reason. It was home to countless species of poisonous bugs, and most people avoided the area at all costs.

But today, the forest had welcomed two lunatics.

Where others would flee in terror, Ye Zi and Orochimaru were actively seeking out the very insects everyone else feared.

Orochimaru soon found what he was looking for, a swarm of insects battling each other on a nearby tree. He pointed it out with evident glee.

Ye Zi followed his gaze, his expression darkening. The tree was teeming with hundreds of insects crawling over one another.

"You don't need that many."

Still, since they had found a suitable spot, it would save them time.

He carefully controlled his chakra output and released a beam of lightning from his palm. The attack struck the swarm of poisonous insects, killing most of them instantly and leaving only ten or so alive.

Then, leaping into the air, Ye Zi directly grabbed two or three of the green poisonous bugs with his bare hand.

If anyone had witnessed this, their scalp would surely tingle in horror—these were highly venomous insects.

Landing back on the ground, Ye Zi felt a slight sting of pain as the insects bit into his palm multiple times mid-air.

Orochimaru approached and watched with interest as Ye Zi opened his palm and then casually flung the bugs away. With his expert control over strength, the bugs shattered in mid-air, splattering as they died.

Both of them turned their focus to Ye Zi's hand, where several tiny wounds were visible. However, the wounds healed almost instantly, closing before their eyes.

Five minutes passed, and still, no toxic reaction occurred.

"Orochimaru, how about you try letting the bugs bite you too?" Ye Zi looked up at Orochimaru and suggested this with a faint smile.

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes gleamed with curiosity. After observing Ye Zi's immunity to the venom, he was clearly intrigued. Hearing the suggestion, he nodded.

"Hand me the snake gall," Orochimaru said calmly.

One might think this entire scene resembled a contest of who could tempt fate more boldly—something even insect-controlling clans like the Aburame wouldn't dare attempt.

Ye Zi handed the snake gall to Orochimaru, who then went off to find his own bugs. Before long, he returned with two black insects and one green insect.

Just like Ye Zi, Orochimaru let the poisonous bugs crawl into his hand and bite him freely. He then effortlessly crushed them and displayed his poisoned hand to Ye Zi.

The bite wounds immediately began to swell and discolor. Within ten seconds, the surrounding skin turned a mix of black and sickly green, clear evidence of the poison spreading.

Orochimaru's face remained calm, but he could already feel a numbing sensation traveling up his arm. Confirming the venom's strength, he promptly swallowed the snake gall to suppress the poison's effects and prevent further spread.

"So it seems the venom really has no effect on me?" Ye Zi said, staring at Orochimaru's now swollen hand. The poison had proven to be highly potent, yet when the bugs bit him, he felt nothing at all.

Orochimaru glanced at him, his face filled with a mixture of intrigue and envy. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Let's test snake venom next."

"…" Ye Zi was speechless.

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