Root's operational style was incredibly efficient.
After Ryoma Aburame briefed him on the mission, a bird-masked operative standing outside the door led Ren Uchiha to his assigned tent. From there, Ren was guided to the standard Konoha camp to collect essentials—bedding, food, and supplies. Once that was done, the Root ninja vanished without a word.
Ren was left alone in the shadow of his tent, watching other silent operatives flicker through the rain like ghosts, moving between Orochimaru's command post and Ryoma's station.
Clearly, both of his superiors were swamped. On the Land of Rain front, these silent men carried out most of the deep-cover intelligence work. No one paid Ren any mind, and certainly, no one offered him any formal Root orientation.
As a clan ninja who only knew how to throw kunai, fight, and eat, Ren didn't understand their work anyway. He was useless to them for now. Finding himself suddenly idle, he retreated into his tent and, with immense reluctance, unfurled the scroll Orochimaru had given him.
"Orochimaru Style: Substitution Jutsu."
Ren's brow soon furrowed in confusion. This version was clearly not the standard one. It wasn't the simplified version Sasuke Uchiha would eventually use—the one that merely consumed a large amount of chakra.
Instead, this was the "Plus Version" that Orochimaru himself used—the one where "I spit out a snake, and the snake spits out me." It required both high-speed regeneration and a massive chakra pool.
At this point in time, the technique was still in its infancy. It wasn't even a complete jutsu yet; it was more like a research project. The scroll was densely packed with Orochimaru's theories, analyses, and technical jargon that Ren couldn't begin to fathom. There were sections on body modification, limb softening, and black-market genetic engineering.
The scroll looked ordinary, but when unfurled, it stretched from one end of the tent to the other, containing no fewer than a hundred thousand words.
Ren stared at it with the expression of an old man trying to read a smartphone. He recognized every individual character, but when they were strung together, they became an alien language. His scalp tingled, feeling like he was back in the final 100-day sprint before the college entrance exams.
"To hell with this. You want me to memorize this in one day?"
While the Sharingan granted him heightened perception, it didn't grant him a photographic memory for complex scientific papers. Ren took a deep breath, closed his eyes in pain, and began to record from the very beginning. If he didn't memorize it, Orochimaru would cancel his mission.
During the first hour, Ren's eyes were bright and spirited. He felt his brain growing under the baptism of science.
"By homologous sequence exchange, exogenous DNA fragments replace genes at the original locus, thereby achieving the goal of inactivating specific genes or repairing defective ones..."
His clear voice drifted from the tent. Passing Root ninjas thought to themselves that Lord Orochimaru's disciple was remarkably humble and studious, able to immerse himself in books even in the middle of a war. A true role model.
During the second hour, however, the sounds from the tent became:
"Aba... aba... gaba..."
The passing ninjas shook their heads. This is why specialized training exists, they thought. To make a kid who only knows how to hack people with kunai read scientific papers... it was a tragedy. He was losing his mind.
By the fourth hour:
"Zzzzz... snort... zzz..."
The ninjas outside listened to the snoring—which was louder than a pig's—and shared a silent look of mutual understanding.
The night deepened. The Land of Rain's sky cleared for a rare moment, revealing a dreamlike band of starlight and a quiet, silver moon.
Inside the tent, under the flickering yellow candlelight, a boy lay slumped over the desk. Drool leaked from his mouth, running down the desk and onto the priceless scroll like a waterfall. He smacked his lips, letting out a sweet, pig-like snore.
Suddenly, the candle flame flickered violently.
A man in a pitch-black kimono appeared soundlessly. The jade earrings and purple eye markings identified him instantly: Orochimaru.
Orochimaru stared at his disciple's posture and the precious, hand-written scroll soaked in drool. He fell silent. Fortunately, because he himself enjoyed spitting out swords and scrolls from his mouth, he had made the scroll out of waterproof material.
Even so, the thunderous snoring made Orochimaru's face twitch. A vein throbbed in his temple. He narrowed his golden snake eyes and released a sliver of killing intent.
The effect was instantaneous.
Ren, who had been sleeping like a baby, vaulted upward. His right hand clamped onto the sealing brace on his left wrist, instantly summoning the Kusanagi sword. Simultaneously, his left hand blurred toward his tool pouch.
Between his fingers, he flicked out four shuriken, which were immediately lashed together by the Earth Grudge Fear threads emerging from his wrist.
By the time his body had settled into a combat-ready stance, Ren finally snapped awake. His eyes flew open.
"Who's there?!"
Orochimaru's eyes flashed with surprise. This physical reaction... it surpasses consciousness. It's carved into his instincts. Interesting.
"Ngh? Orochimaru?" Ren's brow furrowed. "What are you—"
Before he could finish, Orochimaru shook his head coldly. "You have some defenses, but you are still too weak."
He flicked his wrist.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
The ground beneath the tent burst open. Four massive pythons lunged forward, coiling toward Ren's limbs. Ren didn't have time to wonder why his master was attacking; he swung the Kusanagi.
"Uchiha Style: Momentary Void Slash!"
A crescent arc of light flashed, severing the pythons in an instant. Ren then whipped his arm, sending the four shuriken screaming toward Orochimaru's head, eyes, throat, and heart.
Ren slid off the bed, his feet kicking up a spray of water. His Sharingan ignited. A flash of fire erupted from his heart, surging into his arm and through the Kusanagi. A six-foot blade of fire extended from the tip, lunging at Orochimaru.
But in the next heartbeat—
"Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu," Orochimaru's raspy voice rang out.
A thick, absolute darkness swallowed Ren. He was blinded instantly. However, he had already memorized Orochimaru's position. He closed his eyes and swung the blade by instinct.
The fire flared, lighting up the tent! But the strike felt like hitting mud. His senses told him it was a clone—likely an Earth Clone.
Ren's heart hammered. He sank into a defensive stance, trying to feel the danger from the unknown. But whether his eyes were open or closed, there was only darkness. Orochimaru had clearly realized his combat intuition.
"Temple of Nirvana Jutsu."
In the darkness, Ren felt dreamlike feathers drifting down. His eyelids became impossibly heavy. A profound sleepiness washed over him. He instinctively tried to disrupt his chakra to break the Genjutsu, but a hand-strike hit the back of his neck first.
Thump!
Ren's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor.
Orochimaru looked down at his defeated disciple and sighed. "Your strengths are obvious, but your weaknesses are equally glaring. A ninja cannot always play a winning hand. Genjutsu, toxins, seals, or extreme speed like Minato's—any of these can take you down easily."
Orochimaru vomited a scroll and took out a brush, circling the words "Genjutsu" and "Ninjutsu Knowledge" with emphasis. He then wove a set of hand signs.
"Ninjutsu: Snake Mouth Bind!"
The ground surged. A giant snake with a maw the size of a house rose up and swallowed both Ren and Orochimaru. The snake then dived back into the earth, swimming through the soil toward a quiet, secluded battlefield.
Ren didn't know how long he was out. He was startled awake by a warm, slimy glob hitting his face. He opened his eyes to see a massive purple head peering down at him.
It was Manda, Orochimaru's strongest summon.
"Hahaha! This brat woke up after I spat a glob of phlegm on him!" Manda roared. "Orochimaru, this counts as my contribution. Don't forget my ten sacrifices!"
The earth shook with the giant snake's laughter. Under the cold moonlight, a rasping voice echoed from nearby.
"In the next battle, you can eat as many as you want."
Ren whirled around. Under the starlight, Orochimaru stood at the edge of a silent valley. He was holding two scalpels, skillfully operating on a Sand ninja tied to an outdoor surgical table. The lack of anesthesia made the victim's screams spine-chilling.
Orochimaru turned his head 180 degrees, his face splattered with steaming blood. His golden eyes locked onto Ren.
"Awake? Good. I'm almost finished here. Now, answer one question—"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes dangerously. "How much of that scroll did you memorize?"
Cold sweat broke out across Ren's forehead. He felt like a student caught in class who hadn't studied for the exam.
"Uh... I actually remembered quite a lot," Ren stammered, trying to bluff.
"Is that so?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Then, describe the principles of Base Editing Technology."
Ren's mind went blank. The only thing he remembered was a dream where he was shopping with Mei Terumi.
Base Editing? What the hell is that? Why do I need to know science to use a Substitution Jutsu?!
"Hahahaha! Orochimaru, this kid is a complete idiot!" Manda roared with laughter. "You actually tried to teach him your technology? Hahaha! You're killing me!"
As Manda's laughter shook the valley, Orochimaru's hand slipped. The Sand ninja beneath him gave one last gasp and died.
Orochimaru frowned and turned his body to match his head. He looked at the two fools in the valley. He tossed aside the bloody scalpel and sneered.
"Since books won't teach you, we'll try another way."
"My disciple... didn't you want to die?"
"I have found an opponent for you. Now... fight to the death!"
Ren blinked. "Opponent? Where?" He looked around, seeing only Manda.
Orochimaru looked at the giant snake and grinned.
"Heh heh heh... Manda, kill this boy, and I'll give you a hundred sacrifices!"
Manda's eyes widened. He lowered his massive head, staring at the boy he had just spat on. His pupils constricted into slits.
A line of text appeared before Ren's eyes:
[Manda has developed killing intent toward you!]
An explosion of terror hit Ren's scalp. The world blurred as a massive purple tail, like a collapsing skyscraper, whipped toward him with the force of a sandstorm.
The air itself was crushed. The ground shrieked and shattered!