"Eren-sama, you seem very interested in the red-haired ninja girl. Won't you tell us something? Even if we're not as handsome as you, we'd like to learn a tactic or two from you."
"I think that girl and you suit each other quite well. Your hair colors match too."
"Yes, yes, Eren-sama, gambare! Even though it saddens me to let a handsome man like you be taken by another village, it could be very good for everyone if you become a link between the two villages."
My my, I think they've spotted me.
"Tch! Didn't you threaten to gouge my eyes out just yesterday for calling a girl your daughter's age beautiful?"
"Oh my god, did you hear what he just said to his wife?"
"He's dead. Best we leave the couples alone."
"Hahaha, kids, I'm just joking. Ahhh...."
Alright, no need to force my antisocial ass to respond to them anymore. That's a good thing.
I slipped away from the ensuing commotion with a smile and left the other merchants, who were benefiting from my leadership, to enjoy themselves on their own, heading towards my carriage.
When I told the two ninjas chatting on top of my carriage that I wanted to sleep, they went to sit on a nearby branch. After all, keeping watch at night is their job, and they have plenty of time to sleep in the morning.
After getting into the wagon and laying my head on the pillow, I checked the system one more time before going to sleep. Maybe the template had been determined, but unfortunately not.
The system has been silent since it told me I would receive a new template in about two months.
------------------------------
Level: 1
Strength: 4
Durability: 4
Soul: 5
Intelligence: 4
Chakra: 15
Physical Skills: [Firearms: D]
Physical skill cards you have:
Soul Skills: []
Soul skill cards you have:
Godly Skills: []
Divine skill cards you have:
Expertness: [Farming: S]
Expertise cards you have: [Traps: B]
-----------------------------
After staring at it for a while, I was about to close the template out of boredom when an idea struck me, and I changed my expertise card.
Farming knowledge is almost useless to me during the journey, but maybe if I have knowledge about traps, I can discover a trap that even the ninjas traveling on the wagon don't notice.
After changing the card, I closed my eyes and started to fall asleep.
Waking up early and doing morning exercises has become my daily routine since the system started showing my stats, because I thought seeing how much stronger I was getting would be a good motivator.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to obtain any statistics other than those the system has started to integrate, and this is making the morning exercises increasingly tiring. Not physically intense, perhaps, but mentally...
------------
"Good morning, Eren."
"Good morning to you too. Uh, it's almost noon."
"You slept well for the first time today. We decided to let you sleep without waking you up. Here's your breakfast."
"Thank you."
Apparently, flirting is more exhausting than I thought. Although, deep down, I realize that an asocial person who hasn't been forced to change by the ninja world continues to sleep.
I miss that asocial person... Moving to a fantasy world isn't as fun as I imagined.
After eating the wood-fired fried eggs and bacon they sent for breakfast, I opened the curtains of the wagon and let the daylight in.
And so another ordinary day began.
Until I started to feel sleepy enough to think there might be a problem with the food I ate.
...
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained the 2-star character Arataka Reigen Template]
As my consciousness slowly awakened with the system's notifications ringing in my ears, I squinted my eyes because of the lights shining in front of me.
The light was irritating, and although it bothered me just like it would any normal person, I fought to open my eyes again when I remembered that I had last closed them right after breakfast, immediately after waking up.
The light was still there, and if I wasn't mistaken, it was suspended from the ceiling, dangling close to my face, held only by the length of its cord.
Just a light bulb, not attached to any chandelier, was hanging over my head.
I felt like I was lying on a table in one of those interrogation rooms from classic detective movies, but as far as I could tell, the room I was in was too big for an interrogation room.
As I tried to turn my head, I realized my entire body was tied down with ropes. Deep in my heart, the thick wall I had been hiding behind for years was showing signs of collapse.
I had been kidnapped. That was certain, but the question was: Why me?
The only thing that makes me special is that I am rich. Oh, and that I'm a Uzumaki. And that I own Konoha's largest store and have access to a lot of confidential information because of my close relationship with Konoha's top executives.
DAMN IT!
Huff... Huff...
Using a little more strength, I forced my neck to turn and looked around to see where I was. At that moment, the damn lamp above my head somehow felt brighter than before.
Even though the light is so strong, I can't see any walls. Either the walls are made of a material that doesn't reflect light, which is unlikely because those damn ninjas learned the meaning of the word "technology" just a few years ago. Or this is really a large room, maybe a cold storage room.
They wouldn't forget to turn off the damn air conditioning, would they?
What should I do, damn it!
[You have a new template task: Stay calm]
[Time limit: 5 minutes]
I can hear some notifications coming from the system, but the light is so irritating that I can't even open my eyes.
In a situation like this, I don't want to get some stupid penalty from the system. Damn it, I need to open my eyes right now.
Even though I suspect the ninjas who kidnapped me are probably standing in a corner, enjoying watching my movements, I'm not too worried because they can't see the system, and I forced myself once more, turned my neck to the side, and checked the system notifications.
I wish I hadn't bothered. The damn system is probably messing with me.
System, pray to the god who created you that my captors only kidnapped me for ransom.
[A hint from Arataka Reigen: Listen boy! It's not the strongest who survives, but the calmest...]
The moment I heard the voice of this guy named Arataka Reigen, coated in fake seriousness, I remembered who he was.
Of course, just another damn ordinary person! How could a fucking con artist help me survive? Even now, I can hear the tone of boasting and deception in his voice.
DID THIS FUCKING SYSTEM EVEN CONSIDER HELPING ME SURVIVE IN THIS WORLD FOR A SINGLE SECOND?
DAMN IT!
------------------------
- 4 minutes later
Although the system irritated me, the advice it gave was quite sound, and when I thought about it logically, I realized it immediately.
After taking a few more deep breaths, I closed my eyes and found myself completely calm.
Immediately afterwards, the system sent me a notification that I had successfully completed the task.
There were no surprises, and the only reward I got was a 10% increase in template similarity.
I spent the next few minutes checking to see if there was any weakness in the ropes tying me to the table.
I should curse my luck, because for some unknown reason, I've always struggled to untie even a simple knot since childhood.
I was never very skilled at tying or untying ropes, but I can't say I was very upset about it.
After all, considering that there was a Jonin among the ninjas I hired to protect me, the people who managed to kidnap me were definitely ninjas, and skilled ones at that.
I heard that ninja schools teach people how to tie up hostages, so even if I were good at this kind of thing, it wouldn't really make a difference.
And then came the minutes of helplessness, which gradually turned into hours.
I waited and waited and waited and kept waiting.
I don't know if the reason they made me wait so long was to make us give up mentally, but I was very close to giving up hope for my own life.
After all, if all this was part of a kidnapping-for-ransom scenario, which was the only scenario in which I could survive, they would at least come and ask me who to demand the ransom from, or they would make fun of me, right?
But for some reason, I still feel like I shouldn't give up. It's as if there is a way out of every situation.
[A hint from Arataka Reigen: If they had kidnapped you for ransom and truly planned to release you once they received it, they would avoid showing their faces to you.]
Unexpected...
Considering Arataka Reigen's personality, I thought he'd be of no use to me, but unexpectedly, he's speaking logically.
Actually, I should have thought of this myself. Apparently, I still haven't calmed down enough.
*sound of a door opening*
The moment I heard the sound I'd been expecting since I was brought here, I turned my head toward the source of the sound in fear. Because my expectation had completely reversed after Reigen's reminder.
As I slowly turned my head, I received no warning from the other side. Damn it, he really doesn't care if I look at him.
When I managed to turn my head as far as the knots allowed, what I saw, or rather the person I saw, made me forget all the fear I had felt since opening my eyes in a single second.
"Hehehe, Little Eren. It seems you still remember me."
Shit! Orochimaru!!!
...
"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.