The aroma of miso soup and grilled fish filled the kitchen as Miyuki hummed softly while preparing dinner. The rhythmic sound of her knife against the cutting board was interrupted by the familiar creak of the front door.
"I'm home!" Kenji's voice called out, followed by the sound of his sandals being placed neatly by the entrance.
Miyuki wiped her hands on her apron and turned to greet her husband with a warm smile. "Welcome back," she said, stepping into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
"Orochimaru!" Kenji called out enthusiastically, reaching into his equipment pouch. "I'm home, and I brought you something special!"
In his hand was a beautifully crafted silver kunai, smaller than a standard weapon but perfectly proportioned for small hands. Engraved along the handle in elegant script was the name 'Orochimaru.'
Miyuki glanced at the empty living room and chuckled, shaking her head. "You should know by now that he's outside in the forests behind our house, exploring and playing by himself."
Kenji's shoulders sagged slightly as he sighed. "I wish the boy was more social. He's so much more mature than his peers, which makes it harder for him to make friends his own age."
Miyuki moved behind her husband and began rubbing his tense shoulders comfortingly. "Kenji, he's only three years old. And at least he has Tsunade—they've grown much closer over the years," she added with a knowing wink.
Kenji laughed, some of the tension leaving his frame. "I hope nothing changes between those two when they're older. They seem to understand each other in a way that's rare. What time will he be back?"
"I strictly told him no staying out past dark, so he should be home around seven," Miyuki replied, returning to the kitchen to resume her cooking.
Kenji changed out of his chunin uniform and settled onto the sofa with a mission report, though his eyes occasionally drifted toward the back door.
Deep in the secluded forests behind their house, Orochimaru sat in perfect lotus position with his middle and index fingers pressed together on each hand. A single leaf clung to his forehead, held there by precise chakra control that he'd been maintaining for fifty minutes.
'Just a few more seconds,' Takeshi thought, mentally counting down the final moments until he reached his goal of one full hour.
The mental countdown finally ended, and he immediately exhaled as the leaf fluttered to the ground and he ceased controlling his chakra. This marked the eighth week he had ventured into the forest to secretly train away from the prying eyes of the village and leaf shinobi.
He had chosen the most secluded spot in the woods—an area entirely covered by dense trees and thick undergrowth where only animals ventured. The canopy above was so thick that even during midday, the area remained shadowed and hidden.
Slowly rising from his position, Takeshi stretched his small limbs and reflected on the past few days. He could feel his chakra growing exponentially, expanding beyond what should be normal for a three-year-old.
Holding out his arm, he closed his eyes and willed the chakra around his stretched limb to surge. In his mind, he pictured a small green snake where his arm should be. When he opened his eyes, his arm had transformed to match a small python—though it remained still, without the ability to blink or move independently.
He yanked his arm to the right and mentally commanded the snake to open its mouth and strike the nearest tree. It responded perfectly, taking a small chunk of wood with its bite before his arm retracted and returned to its normal pale human form.
This was one of many experiments he'd been conducting while practicing chakra control. His witch factor had awakened the moment he willed it to, and since then he could transform or mold any part of his body to his desire—as long as he had sufficient chakra.
'If I wanted to mold my face into one of my parents', that would take about one-fourth of my current chakra reserves,' he analyzed. 'But transforming my entire body would require chunin to jonin levels of chakra. That's still impossible for now.'
Currently, the only abilities he could use was just the powers of Lust from Re:Zero as he hadn't gotten the chance to learn any actual Yin or yang style jutsu or even test out his chakra natures, neither was he able to conjure up Mahoraga's adaptability wheel.
He hypothesized that in order for the adaption ability to work, he needed to have something to adapt to like fighting somebody.
Clenching his fist, he sprinted toward the nearest tree. Concentrating chakra onto the soles of his feet, he attempted to run up the trunk, but the energy rapidly dissipated. Rather than let himself fall, he leaped to another tree and began jumping from branch to branch, performing aerial flips and parkour movements.
This was partially how he trained his body—through constant ninja movements.
After reaching the tallest tree in the area, he climbed through the leaves until he reached the very top. Poking his head out of the canopy, he surveyed the sky and forest from the highest point, taking in the scenery as he inhaled deeply.
'I really do like this world,' he thought with genuine appreciation.
Refocusing on his training, he jumped out of the tree and let himself free-fall from 200 feet in the air. Some birds flew past him during his descent, and he smiled and waved gently at them before performing a backflip to face the approaching ground.
'This shouldn't hurt too much,' he told himself.
He was wrong.
Landing feet-first, he attempted to make his legs absorb the impact like jelly and melt perfectly onto the ground, but mistimed the technique. He felt bones shatter in both legs, the fractures extending up to his thighs. Suppressing the scream that built in his throat, he bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood.
His vision blurred as he collapsed backward, panting heavily. This training was designed to help him learn to contort and morph his body with perfect timing for battle, while also developing his regenerative abilities.
Closing his eyes, he circulated chakra throughout his entire body and willed himself to heal. Within minutes, his body was good as new, with no lingering pain.
He remembered the first time he'd attempted this exercise—accidentally landing on his tailbone. The pain had knocked him unconscious, and he'd awakened to find himself needing immediate healing. However, if he were to die instantly, his healing properties wouldn't activate in time.
'I need to train my body to heal automatically, even when I'm unconscious,' he realized.
Looking at the sky, he estimated twenty minutes remained before he needed to return home—perfect timing for his physical conditioning.
He performed one hundred jumping jacks, one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred squats. Although his powers from the witch factor helped maintain his body in top condition, building actual muscle was still challenging for his three-year-old frame.
The only thing that kept him from quitting midway was the constant reminder of this cruel shinobi world, where power determined everything—including survival.
Finally finishing his routine, he took a knee, heavily sweating and panting. The sun had nearly set, leaving only minutes before his curfew. He'd broken it once before and received a harsh punishment—his mother had bent him over her knee and spanked him ten times.
A shiver went up his spine as he could still vividly remember the sting.
Readying himself for one final exercise, he sprinted from his hidden training spot all the way back to his house—a distance of over six acres through dense forest terrain.
As the sun set and painted the sky in shades of orange and purple, Kenji and Miyuki walked out to their backyard. There they found their son collapsed on the ground, heavily breathing and covered in dirt and sweat.
They exchanged knowing smiles. Kenji approached and gently lifted Orochimaru onto his shoulders while Miyuki went inside to prepare the dinner plates.
When Takeshi felt himself being picked up, he didn't resist—instead, he allowed himself a small, contented smile. Despite everything, this felt like home.