Very soon, the two of them arrived at the entrance to a hidden underground archive.
A heavy stone door—reinforced with mechanical seals—slowly groaned open, revealing the space beyond. The moment it parted, a faint scent of aged parchment drifted out, carrying with it the quiet weight of forgotten knowledge.
Inside, towering bookshelves stretched all the way to the ceiling. Scrolls were stacked in neat, meticulous rows, each section marked with precise alphanumeric codes. The dim lighting gave the entire place an almost sacred atmosphere, as if even sound itself dared not linger too long.
Tsunade had already memorized the index locations beforehand.
Because of that, Ren didn't need to waste time searching. He quickly located the shelf containing the "Nerve Activation Technique" and pulled out the corresponding scroll.
He moved to a cold stone table, sat down, and began reading.
Tsunade stood beside him with her arms crossed, her expression clearly bored. This kind of dense research material wasn't something she had the patience for anymore.
Meanwhile, Ren focused completely.
The scroll was filled with complex theories, experimental records, and dense technical explanations. It wasn't something an average shinobi could even begin to understand—but Ren carefully sifted through it, trying to extract anything useful.
Then—
A faint sound echoed from afar.
Soft.
Subtle.
Almost like something slithering across the ground.
It crept closer.
And closer.
Until it reached the doorway.
In that instant, Ren's entire body tensed.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
Then a low, raspy voice broke the silence.
"A rare visitor indeed, Tsunade. I didn't expect you to step into a place like this again… are you reminiscing about the research days of the past?"
"…It's you."
Tsunade turned around slowly, her brows knitting together as she stared toward the entrance.
Standing there—silent, pale, and smiling—was a man who felt completely out of place in the world of the living.
Orochimaru.
He wore the standard Konoha Jonin vest, but nothing about him felt ordinary. His tall, slender figure gave off an unsettling presence, and his golden, snake-like pupils shimmered eerily in the dim light.
There was something fundamentally wrong about him.
Even without moving.
Even without speaking.
Just standing there was enough.
Ren could feel it clearly—
A cold, suffocating danger.
Like a venomous snake watching its prey from the shadows.
Instinctively, his body reacted.
For a brief moment, a thought crossed Ren's mind.
He had once considered becoming Orochimaru's disciple.
But that had been before team assignments.
Before he truly understood what kind of person Orochimaru was.
Cold.
Detached.
And utterly indifferent to human life.
Not to mention…
By now, Orochimaru had likely already begun researching Living Corpse Reincarnation—a forbidden technique that required a suitable vessel.
And Ren?
With his current talent, he was just barely qualified to become one.
That alone was enough reason to stay away.
Compared to Orochimaru, there were far better options—
Tsunade.
Minato Namikaze.
There was no need to walk into a snake's den.
Suppressing his thoughts, Ren stood slightly and gave a polite bow.
"Lord Orochimaru."
Then he returned his attention to the scroll, as if nothing had happened.
But Orochimaru's gaze had already settled on him.
Curious.
Interested.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's lips curled slightly. "This little one looks unfamiliar. A new disciple, perhaps?"
"Not at the moment," Tsunade replied coldly.
"'Not at the moment,' hmm…"
Orochimaru repeated the phrase softly, savoring it.
Then he let out a low chuckle.
"How surprising. I thought you had long since lost interest in teaching, buried as you were in grief. It seems this child must be… special."
Tsunade didn't respond.
Instead, she shifted her position slightly—subtly blocking Orochimaru's direct line of sight toward Ren.
The room fell silent.
After a moment, Orochimaru stepped further inside.
His movements were slow, deliberate, almost graceful.
He stopped a short distance away and glanced at the scroll in Ren's hands.
"Nerve Activation Technique?" he said lightly. "Heh… that's already a discarded research result."
Ren paused.
Orochimaru continued, his tone casual, yet precise:
"From the very beginning, the research direction was flawed. It focused solely on using chakra to forcibly stimulate nerve fibers… while completely ignoring cellular capacity and energy conversion efficiency."
He tilted his head slightly.
"A path like that leads nowhere but failure."
As he spoke, he walked toward another bookshelf.
His long, pale fingers slid across the scrolls before selecting one.
It was a dark green scroll—noticeably newer than the others.
He brought it over and casually placed it on the stone table, pushing it toward Ren.
"If you're interested in this field," Orochimaru said, "you might as well look at this."
"A recent result from the past year."
"Still incomplete… but at least the direction is correct."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"It has already undergone two iterations."
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"Though… whether you can understand it at your level is another matter entirely."
Ren didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he glanced at Tsunade.
She said nothing.
Taking that as silent permission, Ren picked up the dark green scroll and unrolled it.
At first, he skimmed through it.
Then his expression shifted.
And he began reading carefully.
---
[Ding! High-quality potential capture target fragment detected: "Nerve Activation Technique (Incomplete)"!]
[Initiate Encounter: Yes / No]
---
Ren blinked.
Fragment?
So this wasn't a complete technique?
Did that mean…
He had to complete it himself?
A flood of questions filled his mind.
Still, after confirming that neither Tsunade nor Orochimaru were paying him special attention—
He made his choice.
Yes.
---
The world shifted.
---
He found himself standing inside an underground laboratory.
The air was cold.
Sterile.
Lifeless.
In front of him—
A glass pod filled with nutrient solution.
Inside it…
Was a girl.
Her skin was pale as paper.
Her body—
Broken.
Her arms were gone from the shoulders.
Her legs severed from the thighs.
She floated silently in the liquid, eyes closed.
No breath.
No movement.
Like a corpse.
Or perhaps…
Something worse.
---
[Dialogue]
[A: Wake up! No sleeping allowed here!]
[B: Hello, can you hear me? I am Ren. It's a pleasure to meet you.]
[C: (Remain silent and observe)]
---
Ren hesitated.
This was the first time he had encountered an incomplete technique.
Even something like the Rasengan or Chidori in this era would technically fall into the same category.
But how did the system handle something unfinished?
He wasn't sure.
After a moment, he chose B.
No response.
The dialogue box reappeared.
This time, he selected A.
Still nothing.
Then—
C.
Silence.
"…Wait."
Ren frowned.
"Why isn't anything happening?"
He scratched his head, confused.
Could it be…
That the technique needed to be fully completed before the interaction could proceed?
If so—
That would make things significantly harder.
---
"Hmm?"
Orochimaru's voice suddenly sounded beside him again.
Ren snapped back to reality.
"How is it, kid?" Orochimaru asked with a faint smile. "How much of it can you understand?"
Ren paused briefly, then glanced back at the scroll.
"…A little, I suppose."
He hesitated.
Then decided to speak.
"Human nerve conduction relies on electrical signals. The essence of 'activation' is enhancing biological performance by increasing the transmission speed of those signals."
He pointed lightly at the scroll.
"The previous version used chakra impact to forcibly achieve this. While effective, it damages neuron sensitivity and even disrupts the structural integrity of nerve fibers."
Ren's tone grew steadier as he continued.
"But this version…"
"…tries to guide cells into generating a form of resonance."
For a moment—
Silence filled the room.
Then—
"Oh?"
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.
Like he had just discovered something fascinating.
"To grasp the core difference so quickly…"
His smile deepened.
"How interesting."
He leaned forward slightly.
"And what are your thoughts…"
"…on the 'capture and directional reinforcement of resonance frequency'?"
--------------------------------
"Free readers are still behind… but Patreon members are already ahead 😏
Catch up now [patreon.com/Samurai492 ]"
__________________________________