Chapter 16: Serpent's Legacy
Ren peered into the abyss of the cave, the darkness seeming to swallow the feeble light from his makeshift torch. A primal wariness settled over him. The unknown was always to be respected, and in the world of shinobi, it was often lethal.
He moved slowly, his senses on high alert. The tunnel was surprisingly uniform—about three meters high and wide enough for three people to walk abreast. The walls were smooth, too smooth to be natural. *This was definitely man-made. But for what purpose? A Konoha fallout shelter?* That didn't make sense; it was too far from the village and showed no signs of recent use.
After a long, cautious walk, he reached a dead end. Just a solid wall of earth and rock.
*No way. This can't be it.* The tunnel was too deliberately constructed to lead nowhere. *There has to be a hidden mechanism. A secret door.*
He thought of the countless stories from his past life—the heroes who found hidden doors by tapping on walls or stepping on specific stones. Feeling slightly foolish, he began rapping his knuckles against the tunnel walls, listening for a hollow echo. He found nothing. Frustrated, he gave the solid wall in front of him a hard kick.
"Open up, damn it!" he muttered in exasperation.
To his utter astonishment, a deep grinding sound answered him. A section of the wall, perfectly camouflaged, slid silently open to either side. Beyond it, a steep stone staircase descended into deeper darkness.
*You have got to be kidding me,* he thought, his jaw slack. *A voice-activated secret door? That's… ridiculously convenient. And totally illogical.* But he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Gripping his torch tighter, he began the descent.
The stairs weren't long. They opened into a vast, black space. Ren could just make out the silhouettes of large, cylindrical objects against the walls and shelves cluttered with glassware. His hand brushed against a cool, smooth protrusion on the wall. On instinct, he pressed it.
With a soft hum, panels on the ceiling flickered to life, flooding the chamber with a stark, white light. Ren blinked, his eyes adjusting to the sudden illumination.
He was standing in a laboratory.
It was a scene of organized chaos. Two massive, transparent tanks, large enough to hold a person, were set against one wall. Shelves were lined with jars containing unidentifiable, pale specimens floating in yellowish preservative. A central table was littered with beakers, test tubes, and scattered papers. The air smelled faintly of chemicals and dust.
*What is this place?* Ren moved to the main table, picking up a handful of loose notes. The pages were filled with complex chemical formulas, chakra flow diagrams, and anatomical sketches. The terminology was advanced, far beyond his understanding. He set them aside and picked up a thick, leather-bound journal.
He flipped it open. It was a log, detailing experiments. The early entries were relatively mundane—chakra conductivity, stamina enhancement. But as he turned the pages, the subject matter grew darker. *Immortality techniques… Forbidden Jutsu research…* His blood ran cold when he reached the later sections. *Human experimentation.*
A name clicked into place with terrifying certainty. *Orochimaru.*
This had to be one of the Sannin's early labs. The only one in Konoha twisted enough to conduct such research. Danzo was a possibility, but this place felt abandoned, a relic. The notes suggested a scientist just beginning his descent into madness, not the refined, monstrous research he would later become known for.
*This must be from before he partnered with Danzo to study Hashirama's cells,* Ren reasoned, his mind racing. *He must have moved his operations to a more secure, Danzo-funded location once his experiments escalated. He just… left this place here. Sealed it up and forgot about it. And Danzo wouldn't care about an empty, outdated lab.*
A thrill of macabre excitement shot through him. *Orochimaru's lab. There has to be something useful left behind!*
He began a frantic search, pulling open drawers and cabinets. Most contained only more useless notes, failed blueprints, and outdated data. Just as he was beginning to lose hope, his fingers brushed against a cylindrical object at the back of a drawer. He pulled it out. It was a sealed scroll, older than the others, the leather slightly cracked with age.
*What's this?* He untied the cord, his curiosity piqued.
***Ding! Discovered recyclable skills. Initiate recycling?*** the system's voice intoned.
*Recyclable skills? A jutsu scroll!* His heart leaped into his throat. He unrolled the scroll completely.
His eyes widened. It wasn't just one technique. It was a collection. A log of Orochimaru's early, personal creations and some standard jutsu he had likely been studying.
**Hidden Shadow Snake Hand.**
**Hidden Shadow Many Snakes Hand.**
**Twin Snakes Mutual Demise.**
**Soft Physique Modification.**
**Summoning: Rashomon.**
**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.**
**Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.**
**Snake Sword.**
To Orochimaru, these were probably insignificant, juvenile experiments— stepping stones to greater, more terrible things. But to Ren, they were a treasure trove. An absolute windfall.
"I'm rich! I'M RICH!" he yelled, his voice echoing in the empty lab. He was practically drooling, a wide, manic grin splitting his face.
***Reminder: Skills already mastered by the host are non-recyclable. Only unknown techniques can be recycled for points.***
*Yeah, yeah, I figured,* Ren thought, still ecstatic. *No free lunch. Now, let's see… what can I actually learn, and what should I cash in?*
His eyes scanned the list. *Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.* A powerful C-rank technique. But he didn't have a Wind chakra nature. The system could grant him one, but it cost a staggering 10,000 points. It wasn't a priority.
*System, what's the recycle value for Wind Style: Great Breakthrough?*
***Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. Type: Ninjutsu. Rank: C. Exchange Cost: 500 Points. System Recycle Value: 250 Points.***
*Two-fifty?!* Ren mentally groaned. *You take a 50% cut? That's highway robbery! You're a ruthless profiteer!*
But 250 points were 250 points. It was better than nothing. And the other techniques… especially Orochimaru's unique snake-based jutsu and the infamous Rashomon summoning… were priceless. They offered him a versatility and power boost he desperately needed.
He held the scroll tightly, a new arsenal at his fingertips. The forgotten lab of a monster had just become his greatest haven. The path to power had suddenly gotten a whole lot shorter.