"Wow, Eren, the last time I saw you, you were still a child. The last child carrying the pure blood of the Uzumaki clan. But look at you now," Orochimaru continued as he approached and began touching my hair. "Your hair has become even redder than it was when you were a child. I heard that in the Uzumaki clan, hair color corresponds to physical quality. I guess they weren't wrong."
My heartbeat had accelerated so much since the moment I saw Orochimaru that I couldn't move, as if I were paralyzed.
He had always been the person I feared most since the day I gained consciousness in this world. Because I was the one who knew best the darkness that lay within him.
Even when the darkness was still buried in Orochimaru's heart, he would occasionally come and ask me for a blood sample. Of course, he was acting logically in his own way at the time. He was willing to pay me handsomely in exchange for a little blood.
But I was aware. I was always aware of what would happen next if something in my blood sample attracted him. I continued to refuse him every time. If I saw him at the beginning of the street, I would change my route.
Because of Orochimaru's existence alone, I could never even properly approach the three great sins.
When I was new to this world, the first time I saw Orochimaru and realized what could happen, I had nightmares for days.
Fortunately, Kushina was with me at the time, and noticing my abnormality, she invited me to sleep with her.
It took me almost a month to get over this period of fear.
If they had as much information as I did, many people might have hesitated about whether Orochimaru was a good or bad person, but for me, it was never a multiple-choice question.
He was a monster.
If I had possessed the system earlier, my first goal would undoubtedly have been to kill Orochimaru before he turned into a game bug.
Without realizing it, I had closed my eyes in fear, but when I felt a sting on my cheek, I immediately opened my eyes and saw Orochimaru take a drop of blood from my cheek and place it between two thin pieces of glass.
I felt a strange familiarity with this scene, but before I had a chance to think about it, Orochimaru continued talking.
"It's a shame that you have an Uzumaki body and use it as a merchant rather than a ninja. But I won't deny you credit—you're so good at making money that when you were in Konoha, Sarutobi-sensei wouldn't let me near you."
Orochimaru continued his one-sided conversation, glancing at the blood sample he had taken and licking his lips. As if he had finally acquired an expensive steak he had been trying to buy for a long time. Then, without looking at me again, he walked back the way he had come.
Thanks to the light seeping through the open door where he had come from, I realized for the first time where I was. I had been inside a huge cave all this time.
Just before exiting the door, Orochimaru placed the blood sample he had taken into the pocket of his white lab coat and returned a few seconds later, this time dragging a stretcher behind him.
[You received a hint from Arataka Reigen: Don't let fear take hold of you. Letting fear take hold means giving up, and giving up always walks hand in hand with death. Stay calm and gather as much data as you can.]
Who would have thought that Reigen's self-important tone of voice would one day wake me up from the terrible situation I was in.
Reigen's voice appeared in my ear like a voice message, and the content of his words woke me up.
I didn't put in all that effort in this cursed world just to be taken over by a body. I need to pull myself together and see the clues that will get me out of this situation.
First, I need to find out how much time I have left so I can make plans to continue.
Orochimaru brought the stretcher he was carrying over to me and easily lifted me onto it. I think he noticed my calmness and smiled. I, on the other hand, was paying attention to his hands.
I remember that Orochimaru's body was unusable before he used the Fushi Tensei technique.
His hands didn't tremble even for a moment while holding me or taking my blood sample. His skin has a healthy red tone. In fact, his skin looks quite clean overall.
The sick bastard must have stolen the body of a healthy young girl most recently, and probably not too long ago. That's good...
He won't need to change bodies anytime soon. Since I'm the first Uzumaki clan member he's acquired, I don't think he'll immediately carve the cursed seal into me. After all, if you're going to experiment on a living being, you want your test subject to be as healthy and pure as possible.
Talking about myself like a lab rat gives me the creeps...
After I finished examining Orochimaru, we locked eyes for a moment. I was so focused on looking at his skin that I didn't even notice him watching me with a smile.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything, Eren? I can tell you noticed how young my skin looks. Tsss..."
Did he just say tss? The sick bastard really thinks he's some kind of disgusting snake.
Anyway, I have to keep up with him. "I thought you'd be older since the last time I saw you. I've never seen skin care products like the ones you use. If they're produced directly by you, would you be interested in a business deal? I can tell you right now that you could make a lot of money."
Orochimaru didn't react to my slightly sarcastic tone, but he slowly leaned in and brought his lips almost obsessively close to mine.