"So it really is you—the orphan brat who was taken into Root back then?"
Orochimaru studied Ren's face for a moment, then let out an amused chuckle.
"If I remember correctly, your name is Ren, isn't it?"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Ren replied calmly, nodding. "Lord Danzō sent me to see you."
Being openly identified as someone from Root while standing in an ANBU squad was already absurd enough.
But Ren carried an even more outrageous secret.
He was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, he had been a seasoned office veteran—decent salary, minimal responsibilities. After work, a drink or two; during work hours, plenty of slacking. Life had been comfortable.
He still remembered the night before everything changed. At a karaoke bar, he had met a female college student who spoke of a poor family background—critically ill father, unemployed mother, a younger brother still in school, and her own tuition to worry about.
Moved by a vague sense of goodwill, he thought about getting to know her better.
Who could have imagined that while waiting for her to finish showering, he'd taken a short nap—
And woken up in another world.
Fortunately, the timing of his arrival wasn't terrible. He didn't have to worry about the Third Shinobi World War.
Unfortunately, Konoha's iron fist taught him very quickly how unforgiving this world could be.
After becoming an orphan, he had been taken in by Nono Yakushi. He personally witnessed Obito—the so-called paragon of filial devotion—send the Fourth Hokage and his wife to their deaths.
He also witnessed Danzō Shimura coming to the orphanage to take children away.
What Ren never expected was that while he only wanted to stay on the sidelines, he would be chosen by Danzō when Kabuto Yakushi volunteered himself.
Though Ren was never sent to infiltrate other villages, Root was never a place meant for human beings.
Danzō's methods of training Root members followed a single, time-tested philosophy:
Forget preaching—use fists.
Pain built understanding. Violence forged obedience. Physical suffering was the path to "spiritual elevation."
Under such brutal conditions—and with his eyes fixed firmly on the future—Ren's mindset slowly changed.
"If I don't crush that bastard to death, how am I supposed to survive in this world?"
For the sake of his own life, Ren made up his mind: Danzō had to die.
And it was right around then that his transmigrator's "benefit" finally arrived.
"Since you're from Root, then…"
Orochimaru watched Ren with thinly veiled amusement, though he never forgot the real reason for this meeting.
"Did you bring what I asked for?"
"I wouldn't dare neglect Lord Danzō's task."
Ren immediately took out a scroll and tossed it over.
Despite defecting from Konoha, Orochimaru had never lost Danzō's financial support. Ren's purpose here was simple—delivery.
Orochimaru caught the scroll effortlessly and began inspecting its contents.
While he did so, Ren glanced aside and silently opened his status panel.
[Ren]
[Overall Physical Attributes: LV6]
[Chakra: LV6]
[Abilities: Water Release LV5, Earth Release LV6, Taijutsu LV5, Sealing Techniques LV5, Unbound Cursed Seal, etc.]
[Free Points: 5]
Ren's system had no artificial intelligence. Its operating logic was brutally simple.
Tasks were systematized. Complete them, and you received rewards.
How you completed them didn't matter.
The rewards themselves were random—techniques, money, ninja tools.
But the most important reward was Free Points.
Free Points could be assigned directly to attributes. The higher the level, the greater the cost. Raising a Level 6 attribute required six Free Points.
This mission hadn't been particularly difficult, but the rewards thrilled Ren.
Not just Free Points—but also an Unbound Cursed Seal.
"If I remember correctly, cursed seals were developed by Orochimaru from Jūgo's clan—people born with the ability to absorb natural energy."
Natural energy meant senjutsu.
Even if it was an experimental byproduct of Orochimaru's research, Ren couldn't help feeling excited.
His system never offered things like bloodline limits or dōjutsu such as the Sharingan.
At first, he hadn't understood why.
Then he did—and nearly despaired.
Simply put, his body had no notable lineage whatsoever. No prestigious ancestry. No hidden bloodline.
Generation after generation—ordinary people.
Bloodlines were never part of his destiny, nor part of the system's reward pool.
What he could become was a pure "stat monster."
Overall Physical Attributes combined strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, and mental resilience. Every two levels corresponded to a major leap in shinobi rank.
At LV6, he was already firmly within the jōnin tier—without any glaring weaknesses.
Chakra determined production capacity and worked in tandem with physical attributes. After all, chakra was born from the union of physical and spiritual energy.
Ninjutsu levels represented raw technique power.
And most importantly—
From what Ren could tell, his growth had no upper limit.
All of that came later, of course.
Right now, he needed this system to free himself from Danzō's grasp.
Following Danzō meant only one thing—certain death.
"Not bad."
Orochimaru finished inspecting the scroll and looked at Ren with renewed interest.
"But I'm curious about something. You're in ANBU now—is that because of Shisui Uchiha?
And why did you enter my laboratory in such a… impolite manner?"
Orochimaru knew about Shisui's entry into ANBU, even after leaving Konoha. After all, he had once been a serious Hokage candidate.
"As for this operation—"
"It was Jiraiya, Lord Orochimaru."
Ren answered quietly.
Understanding dawned on Orochimaru's face. If Jiraiya had noticed something, then Ren's actions suddenly made perfect sense.
"As for me," Ren continued, "I am exactly as you described."
"Just as I thought."
Disdain surfaced on Orochimaru's pale face as he shook his head.
"Danzō wouldn't dare use those precious clan shinobi of his. You, an orphaned civilian, are the perfect expendable choice.
A Root agent embedded in ANBU, monitoring Shisui Uchiha—how very Danzō."
Ren pressed his lips together. In truth, he would have loved nothing more than to leave Root—but that was something he could never say aloud.
"That man is as stubborn as ever," Orochimaru sneered. "And my former teacher is still just as hypocritical.
Danzō is merely the glove he uses to handle the darkness. Do you really think he doesn't know what Danzō does?"
Orochimaru didn't care about Ren's silence.
"My teacher grows more cowardly by the day—so afraid of darkness that he won't even let it stain his hands."
Why are you telling me all this?
Brainwashing doesn't have to be this obvious, does it?
Ren couldn't help complaining inwardly.
Orochimaru was a master at temptation—casual grievances mixed with shocking revelations, easily sowing doubt in others.
At another time, Ren would have happily debated conspiracies with him all day. He'd read enough novels in his previous life to know exactly how this game was played.
Besides, with Level 5 Sealing Techniques, he wasn't bound by any cursed seal at all.
But right now, he was worried about Yugao returning with reinforcements.
If she came back to find him casually chatting with Orochimaru, things would go very badly.
"That's enough. You should leave."
Orochimaru clearly knew when to stop.
"One small suggestion—leave some marks on yourself. Otherwise, certain things will be hard to explain. Would you like my help?"
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Orochimaru, but I can handle it myself."
Ren shook his head immediately. He had no intention of letting Orochimaru lay a finger on him.
Orochimaru didn't insist. He turned and walked toward the exit.
Then, midway, he glanced back and smiled.
"You'd better hurry. Your teammates… won't last much longer."
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