In truth, if Orochimaru's genjutsu ability was rated a perfect ten and he had seriously used it on Ren, Ren might not have been able to notice anything wrong.
That was why he could not fully trust the contract yet.
Even though he had carefully checked the wording, circulated his chakra, and confirmed there were no obvious signs of illusion, he still planned to show it to Tsunade the next time he met her.
No—
More accurately, he wanted Tsunade to keep one copy for him.
After all, when dealing with someone like Orochimaru, a contract was not just a contract.
It was personal accident insurance.
If something happened to him one day, at least there would be evidence.
After Ren signed his name, Orochimaru also signed his own with a faint smile. Then he handed one copy to Ren.
As for the other copy…
Orochimaru rolled it up.
Then, right in front of Ren's eyes, he calmly stuffed it into his mouth.
"…"
Ren's eyelids twitched.
No.
Seriously?
Did this man not have pockets?
Could a contract really be stored in a mouth like that?
But then Ren remembered that Orochimaru could even pull the Kusanagi Sword out of his throat. Compared to that, swallowing a scroll seemed almost normal.
Almost.
Orochimaru, completely unaware—or perhaps completely unconcerned—about Ren's strange gaze, stood up with a pleased smile.
"Pleasant cooperation, Mr. Ren."
His golden eyes curved slightly.
"Now, as your first lesson after joining the Research Institute, allow me to show you around."
Ren quietly put away his own copy of the contract and followed him.
---
The Konoha Research Institute was far larger than Ren had expected.
From the outside, it looked like a serious government building. Clean walls, sealed windows, quiet corridors, and guards posted near restricted areas.
But once Orochimaru led him deeper inside, the atmosphere changed.
The upper floors still looked normal enough.
Offices. Storage rooms. Archives.
But the underground area…
That was a different world.
The corridors twisted and turned like a maze. Cold white tiles covered the walls. Metal doors stood at intervals, some ordinary, some marked with warning signs, and others sealed with chakra locks.
Orochimaru walked slowly, introducing each section with the calm confidence of a host showing off his home.
"This is the sterile culture room."
Ren looked through the glass window.
Inside, shelves of containers were arranged neatly. Some held liquid culture mediums. Others held samples suspended in faintly colored solutions.
"This area is for blood culture and cellular reaction observation," Orochimaru explained. "Most of the work here is basic, but the smallest contamination can ruin an entire batch of samples."
Ren nodded silently.
They moved on.
"This is the instrument room."
A massive centrifuge stood in the center of the room.
Beside it were strange devices Ren could recognize only because of his memories from another world.
There were also microscopes, sealed jars, measuring tools, heating devices, and chakra-sensitive recording instruments.
The more he saw, the stranger his expression became.
The Naruto world's technology tree was truly ridiculous.
They had centrifuges.
They had cell culture rooms.
They had advanced medical techniques capable of reconnecting nerves and healing internal organs.
But in one corner, a researcher was observing a sample under a microscope using the light of a kerosene lamp.
Ren stared at it for two seconds.
Then he looked away.
What kind of cursed development path is this?
Centrifuges exist, but fluorescent lamps are not popular yet?
This world was too unreasonable.
Still, as a transmigrator, Ren had a decent understanding of basic scientific instruments. Even if he was not a specialist in his previous life, he had enough common sense to understand the principles behind many tools after seeing them once.
Orochimaru explained the operation steps.
Ren listened once.
Then he repeated them almost perfectly.
When Orochimaru demonstrated how to separate samples with the centrifuge, Ren watched carefully, adjusted the settings himself, and completed the process without any obvious mistakes.
This made Orochimaru pause.
His gaze lingered on Ren with clear interest.
"It seems Tsunade has given you a very solid foundation."
"Many people who come here for the first time need a week, sometimes even longer, just to understand the correct operation of these instruments."
Ren smiled modestly.
"I'm only average. Lady Tsunade teaches strictly, so I just try not to disappoint her."
Orochimaru smiled without commenting.
Ren's gaze, however, quietly swept toward the deeper end of the corridor.
There were several heavy metal doors there.
Unlike the rooms they had visited so far, those doors were thicker, sealed tighter, and protected by more complex locks.
When they passed by earlier, Ren had faintly caught a strange smell.
A sharp, fishy scent.
Mixed with something like blood.
And beneath that…
There had been a sound.
Very faint.
Almost swallowed by the walls.
A muffled whimper.
Ren's expression did not change.
But his heart tightened slightly.
So that's where the real research is.
The rooms Orochimaru had shown him were probably the legal, surface-level parts of the Research Institute.
The true core—
The dangerous part—
Was behind those sealed doors.
Since Orochimaru did not mention it, Ren naturally pretended not to notice.
Some things were better left unseen until he had enough strength.
---
After they finished touring the basic laboratory areas, Orochimaru suddenly stopped.
Then, as if it was perfectly normal, he opened his mouth.
A moment later—
He spat out a scroll covered in sticky liquid.
Ren stared at it.
His expression stiffened.
Orochimaru held the scroll toward him.
"According to our contract, your compensation should be settled at the end of the month. However, since today is your first day, I'll pay you in advance as a show of sincerity."
His smile deepened.
"This is a little technique I developed. You may find it interesting."
The moment Ren's fingers touched the scroll, a familiar notification appeared in his mind.
[Ding! Giftable item detected: Limited Skin — Transformation Technique: Snake Limb Hardening!]
Ren froze.
Huh?
Snake Limb Hardening was actually a skin for the Transformation Technique?
This was unexpected.
A genuine surprise.
But…
Ren looked down at the scroll.
It was covered in a layer of slimy, milky-white unknown liquid.
His hand trembled slightly.
For a moment, his soul almost left his body.
Can I refuse this gift?
Unfortunately, he could not.
This was a technique from Orochimaru. No matter how disgusting the delivery method was, the value was real.
So Ren braced himself, took the scroll with two fingers, and forced a polite smile.
"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru nodded, looking rather satisfied.
Ren silently decided that the first thing he would do after returning home was clean the scroll until it had no smell left.
No—
Clean it ten times.
---
That night, Ren sat in his room.
After wiping the scroll again and again until he was absolutely sure there was nothing suspicious left on it, he finally gave it to the Transformation Technique.
The response came instantly.
[Transformation Technique: Waaaah! Is this a new outfit Little Ren specially prepared for me? It's so beautiful! Even though it seems to be made of snake skin… as long as it's a gift from Little Ren, I love it!]
[Clone Technique: Haki Ren, you rascal! You finally remembered to buy clothes for your big sisters? Now our number of skins can finally compete with that guy's!]
[Great Fireball Technique: ?]
The ninjutsu began arguing again.
Ren leaned back and rubbed his chin.
Looking at it this way, Orochimaru probably had quite a few "limited skins" in his possession.
If Snake Limb Hardening counted as a skin for Transformation Technique, then techniques like Soft Physique Modification and Vanishing Facial Copy Technique should probably belong to the same category.
And Orochimaru's special substitution technique?
That was most likely a skin for the Substitution Technique.
Unfortunately, those techniques were not low-level. Orochimaru would not hand them over easily.
Still, Ren was not dissatisfied.
Getting Snake Limb Hardening on his first day of work was already beyond expectation.
As for future rewards?
He would take them slowly.
---
Ren soon tested Snake Limb Hardening.
The principle was simple.
By condensing chakra into the arms or other limbs, he could temporarily harden them for attack or defense.
The hardened part became as tough as an ordinary ninja tool.
It was not invincible.
It probably could not compare with a chakra-conductive blade like the White Fang's short sword.
But for close combat, surprise attacks, and emergency defense, it was extremely useful.
Especially when combined with Transformation Technique.
It gave Ren more options.
A fist could become hard as steel.
A forearm could block kunai.
A kick could land with far more impact than normal.
For a genin, this was already an excellent trump card.
After testing it several times, Ren became increasingly satisfied.
"Not bad."
He flexed his fingers.
"This job is dangerous, but the benefits are real."
Then he suddenly remembered something else.
His Inscribed Blade was still being modified.
He had no idea how that work was going.
And there was also Uchiha Fugaku.
He had promised to visit the Uchiha Clan when he had time. That connection needed to be maintained.
Maybe if he handled it well, he could obtain some useful Fire Release techniques in the future.
Free ninjutsu was always welcome.
---
The weekend arrived quickly.
Following his original plan, Ren bought two boxes of milk and headed to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The Uchiha district was quieter than the rest of Konoha.
The houses were neat, the roads were clean, and the atmosphere carried a certain disciplined pride unique to the clan.
Some Uchiha passing by glanced at Ren.
Their eyes were calm, but observant.
Ren pretended not to notice.
He soon reached Fugaku's house.
Coincidentally, Uchiha Fugaku was just stepping outside.
When he saw Ren, surprise flashed across his face. Then he smiled.
"Oh? It's Little Ren."
His gaze fell on the milk in Ren's hands, and his smile became more genuine.
"You child, coming to visit is already enough. Why bring gifts?"
He waved him closer.
"Come in and sit for a while."
Ren smiled politely and shook his head.
"No need, Uncle Fugaku. I just came to thank you for what happened with the Police Force last time. Since you seem to have plans, I won't disturb you today. I'll visit properly another time."
As he spoke, Ren's gaze naturally shifted behind Fugaku.
A graceful woman stepped out from the house.
Uchiha Mikoto.
In her arms was a small child.
Ren's eyes moved slightly.
That should be Itachi.
At this time, Itachi looked less than a year old.
He was not crying.
Not laughing either.
He simply looked around quietly, as if observing the world with an unusual calmness.
Fugaku noticed Ren's gaze and smiled proudly.
"This is my son, Itachi. Isn't he cute?"
Ren nodded.
"He looks very well-behaved."
Fugaku's expression softened at once.
"It's a pity he was born a little late. If he had been born two years earlier, perhaps he could already enter the Ninja Academy."
Then he laughed.
"But it doesn't matter. Two years later is fine too. Maybe he'll graduate at five years old like Kakashi."
Ren's smile almost froze.
Graduate at five?
Probably not.
But going to the battlefield at five?
That might actually happen.
Thinking about the original timeline, Ren could only sigh inwardly.
Itachi's later choices were indeed full of twisted logic.
But Fugaku also had to take half the blame.
The Warring States Period had already ended decades ago, yet he still thought bringing a four- or five-year-old child to a battlefield was acceptable.
What kind of divine parenting was that?
Of course, Ren did not say any of this out loud.
Seeing that Fugaku's family seemed ready to go out, he did not continue disturbing them. After exchanging a few polite words, he made an excuse and left.
His original plan was to head to the training ground and test Snake Limb Hardening again.
But just as he left the Uchiha district—
A figure appeared in front of him.
Silent.
Fast.
Wearing the uniform of Anbu.
A tanuki mask covered the person's face.
Ren immediately stopped.
The Anbu looked at him and spoke in a calm, official tone.
"Genin Ren."
"Jonin Kushina Uzumaki wants to see you."
Ren blinked.
Kushina?
Why was she looking for him?
A strange feeling rose in his heart.
The peaceful weekend…
Had suddenly become troublesome again.
-------------------------------------------------
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