Orochimaru's Research Base
Uchiha Gin threw the three dead bodies of his victims onto the examination table.
"Orochimaru-sama, why did you bring these people back?" he asked, a curious expression crossing Orochimaru's face as he watched Gin.
"If I use them as experimental materials, Danzo won't let this slide," Gin replied, his voice calm.
Although the ROOT organization had grown in size, not all the families accepted the leadership of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, so the influence of their choices still lingered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had trained these three individuals, gradually reclaiming influence over the various families, while Danzo's ROOT was still small, consisting mainly of civilian ninjas and those from families with poor talent.
Even within ROOT, these three were considered elite.
Danzo would never allow them to be lost so easily.
Orochimaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Sending three special jonin to deal with a mere chunin—it was clear that Danzo was a cautious individual.
Orochimaru had originally considered joining ROOT, but as his power grew, he had grown indifferent to the idea. Now, seeing ROOT's elite, he was even more resolute in rejecting the notion.
They were weak, individuals he could crush without effort.
Gin glanced at Orochimaru, unsure of his thoughts. Was he the reckless type?
"The jutsu I created can absorb chakra, but I can't absorb the chakra of these three. Let's see what's going on."
He had already tried using his absorption technique on the orange-haired man and the oily-haired ninja from the Oil Woman Clan, but the results were the same—no effect at all.
Without being able to absorb their chakra, not even the Chidori would work, let alone his Six Paths Sage Mode, which had lost much of its power.
Upon hearing Gin's words, Orochimaru looked surprised, as if he didn't understand why Gin was unaware of this.
Although Gin was puzzled by Orochimaru's reaction, the information within their bodies was more important.
Soon, as the data on their physical conditions was collected, Gin's eyes widened in realization.
"So this is how it is."
Now he understood what had been happening. No wonder Orochimaru had looked at him so strangely.
There were two seals within the bodies of these three: one was the "Tongue Curse Seal," which prevented the victim from revealing any secrets about the one who cast it.
This didn't affect chakra absorption.
The second seal, however, was more troublesome.
These three had actually cultivated his basic inner strength technique, but were still at the first stage.
In theory, this stage shouldn't allow the use of ninjutsu since chakra couldn't be expelled from the body, which explained why Gin couldn't absorb it.
But they were still able to use ninjutsu, a fact that had confused Gin.
Now, after seeing the information in the scroll, he understood.
"By engraving ninjutsu onto the surface of the body, chakra is forced to be absorbed and converted into ninjutsu when seals are formed," he read aloud.
This was the method used in the creation of ninja tools in the ninja world.
"This is truly a grim method."
Although it allowed the use of ninjutsu, each time the technique was used, it caused damage to the user's body.
Many ninja tools were damaged because of poor materials, and the same would happen if this method were applied to a human body.
If used too many times, the person would be ruined.
"Such a cruel method."
Sacrificing one's future for temporary power—this was something he could never do.
Orochimaru seemed to sense Gin's thoughts.
"There is no future hidden beneath Konoha's ROOT," he remarked cryptically.
A future? As for Konoha's ROOT and Danzo, Gin scoffed.
"Konoha's ROOT? I'd say it's more like a parasite feeding off Konoha."
Orochimaru didn't agree with Gin's view.
"The development of the village owes a lot to ROOT," he said. "ROOT is a group of emotionless tools, and many dangerous tasks are handled by them. They also provide crucial intelligence from outside the village."
While the information was primarily given to Danzo, ROOT had often prevented harm to Konoha.
Furthermore, Orochimaru knew that the brilliant image of Hiruzen Sarutobi was built on ROOT shouldering all of Sarutobi's darkness.
Even the experiments on the cells of Hashirama Senju, which were publicly credited to Sarutobi, had been carried out entirely by ROOT, with the Anbu remaining uninvolved.
Now the whole village believed that Danzo had manipulated Hiruzen Sarutobi, which was absurd.
"Perhaps," Gin said, choosing not to continue the conversation. He injected a sleeping toxin into the bodies of the people on the examination table.
He then turned to Orochimaru and asked, "Orochimaru-sama, how should we deal with these people?"
Orochimaru looked down at Gin, who was smiling innocently, like an ignorant child. His mood shifted, and he smiled gently.
He liked pragmatic kids.
"From now on, call me Orochimaru-sensei," he said, preparing to train Gin rigorously, at least enough to survive on the battlefield.
The taijutsu Gin had displayed earlier might not be of much use in the future.
"I will handle them," Orochimaru added.
Gin would be carefully trained too.
Four months passed quickly.
The snow on the ground turned to ice, becoming a tool for many children's games, though there were also plenty of unfortunate souls who slipped on the icy surface.
As the temperature rose, the ice began to melt.
The once-solid paths became muddy.
The trees, now sprouting new buds, gathered into a forest.
A young man dressed in black casual clothes, with half-length hair covering his ninja headband, and a long sword strapped to his waist, stood in the forest.
This man, of course, was Uchiha Gin.
He stood with a serious expression, eyes closed, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
In the next moment, countless shuriken flew from hidden corners in the forest.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
The shuriken collided mid-air, changing direction, and shot towards Gin at every possible angle.
Gin swiftly leapt into the air, weaving through the gaps in the shuriken.
But the shuriken changed direction mid-flight and came at him once again.
Gin, still airborne, unsheathed his sword in a flash. The blade created an impenetrable net, knocking all the shuriken away.
He fell towards the ground.
Just then, numerous kunai flew at him from all directions, their tips wrapped in burning paper.
The faint crackling sound of the burning paper told Gin what they were.
Explosive tags.
Gin's lips twitched.
Orochimaru truly had money to burn.
He quickly formed hand seals with one hand, taking a deep breath before forcefully exhaling.
"Wind Style! Great Breakthrough!"
The powerful gust of wind blew most of the kunai away, followed by the deafening sounds of explosions.
However, two kunai with tricky angles were still heading straight for Gin, about to explode.
"Swish!"
A flash of cold light cut through the air, severing the explosive tags.
Gin landed safely.
Throughout the entire fight, his eyes remained closed.
"Clap, clap, clap."
Orochimaru walked out from the woods, clapping his hands.
"Gin-kun has become even more outstanding. You can now be considered a special jonin."
Gin finally opened his eyes.
"Even so, I still can't be called a jonin?" he asked.
The ninja world often judged strength based on rank. A special jonin was one who could fight evenly with a jonin but still lacked the ability to win.
"Gin-kun underestimates the jonin rank," Orochimaru said, shaking his head with a smile.
"Every jonin has been through countless battles and possesses powerful techniques. If you understand their jutsu, you might have a chance to win."
"For ninjas, intelligence is a crucial factor in strength. In an unknown situation, the power a jonin can unleash is not to be underestimated."
Uchiha Gin's physical strength was not inferior to that of many jonin. His jutsu was also superior, but his chakra was limited due to his age.
However, the battle experience of a jonin could allow them to exploit Gin's weaknesses and defeat him with their strongest moves.
As long as the difference in raw power wasn't too great, Gin would always lose to a jonin.
"It looks like I still need to work harder."
Gin sheathed his sword, still unsure why this world preferred to call swords "blades."
The sword he carried was, after all, Orochimaru's Kusunagi.
Gin quickly made hand signs, pressing his hands to the ground.
Summoning Jutsu!
"Boom!"
A snow-white snake with a silly look and beady eyes appeared, slithering towards Gin, its tail wagging quickly.
"You're a cold-blooded animal! Don't act like a dog!" Gin exclaimed.
Orochimaru stared at the scene in silence.
He had already arranged for Gin to sign a contract in the Snake Cave, but Gin, for some reason, had chosen this completely useless white snake.
Though it could summon other snakes, Orochimaru had never seen Gin summon one before.
"Little White, the item," Gin said, extending his hand.
Little White tilted its head and placed its head in Gin's hand.
Gin's forehead twitched in frustration.
"I mean the item in your belly!" he snapped.
Little White blinked, then opened its mouth wide and spat out a scroll.
Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the white snake.
"Gin-kun, why not choose another one?" he suggested.
"It's fine. I'll train it," Gin replied with a smile, though he was clearly embarrassed. Most of the other snakes were too ugly to consider.
"I have a gift for you, Orochimaru-sensei," Gin said, handing the scroll to Orochimaru.
"Thank you for all your guidance during this time."
"You really are thoughtful, Gin-kun," Orochimaru said, a rare warmth returning to his smile.
"I just don't want to feel guilty when I take my revenge later," Gin replied with a cheerful grin.
"Ha-ha," Orochimaru chuckled, his smile reaching his eyes.
What a strange person.
"I'll be waiting for that," Orochimaru said, looking down at the scroll in his hand.
"Immortality Sealing Jutsu!"
(End of Chapter)