During the recent campaign in the Land of Grass, Yuzuru had caught a hurried glimpse of the fighting abilities of the trio—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. Though they were still young, inexperienced ninjas, their ability to turn the tide of battle was beyond what ordinary ninjas could match.
Looking at them, then looking at himself, Yuzuru felt as if they belonged to entirely different genres.
They were all ninjas, yet it was as if they lived in different worlds.
The future Sannin were on the same side as Yuzuru, so they wouldn't be enemies anytime soon. But as strong as the Sannin were, the other ninja villages had formidable fighters who could match them. Hanzō of Amegakure could even take on all three at once and gain the upper hand...
Fundamentally, Yuzuru wasn't jealous of their abilities. It was just that, considering their enemies had powerful fighters like them too, he couldn't help imagining what would happen if he ran into such people... That forced him to pursue greater means of protecting himself.
Acting in the real world was completely different from acting in a dungeon. Death in a dungeon was only temporary; after dying, he would wake up in the real world... Even so, when he was in a dungeon, Yuzuru was bold when he needed to be, but remained cautious when necessary. He wanted to make the most efficient use of his time there.
So when he arrived at the entrance to Orochimaru's underground laboratory, Yuzuru didn't hesitate. He walked straight in.
The dimly lit room felt cramped, packed with all kinds of equipment. The silence was terrifying, broken only by the regular beeping of a few machines. As the instruments cast their faint glow, Yuzuru's eyes gradually adjusted to the weak light.
As he slowly made out the scene inside the laboratory, Yuzuru felt his breathing grow involuntarily shallow... In truth, what he saw made him feel as if he were suffocating.
Bodies were everywhere in that not-so-spacious room—floating in tanks, hanging up, cut open and laid out.
Along with all kinds of lab equipment, haphazardly piled scrolls, and experimental data, the room was locally brutal and chaotic, yet somehow had an overall sense of orderly organization.
Anyone familiar with the stories of the Shinobi World knew that Orochimaru was a madman. In pursuit of the ultimate ninjutsu, he didn't hesitate to conduct all kinds of cruel human experiments. But a story was one thing; seeing it all with your own eyes was still extraordinarily hard on the nerves.
As expected of a mad scientist's laboratory. Yuzuru even felt as though his sanity were being stripped away.
Fortunately, Yuzuru hadn't come here for Orochimaru's experiments. He just wanted to take the opportunity to find some practical ninjutsu, preferably techniques that would improve his chances of surviving on the battlefield.
Would he find anything useful?
Yuzuru took a deep breath. He ignored the notebooks recording experimental data piled on the workbenches and headed straight for the shelves lined with scrolls against the wall. Then he began taking them down one by one and flipping through them quickly.
The first scroll was about research into souls and spirits. It was far too profound and complicated, and wouldn't help Yuzuru at his current stage, so he tossed it aside.
"These are some ninjutsu techniques used alongside summoning... I know the Summoning Technique, but I don't have a contract."
With a clear goal in mind, Yuzuru flipped through the scrolls quickly. Orochimaru's research materials were piled up in a mess. Maybe he treated completed projects like garbage and just threw them wherever.
As Yuzuru studied the materials intently, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Looking down, he saw a green snake biting him... Venom was flowing from its oral glands into his body.
Yuzuru only glanced at the snake. It wasn't that he didn't care; he simply ignored it completely. His eyes were fixed on Orochimaru's research materials.
He didn't have time to deal with a venomous snake. Every second counted.
He skipped the overly complicated research and only recorded techniques he could understand, focusing on their basic principles and the researchers' thinking rather than every last detail... That was the only way to make his studying more efficient.
Then another snake bit him, and Yuzuru's response was to switch scrolls and keep studying.
The venom took effect quickly. Yuzuru could only lean against the shelf. As his whole body began to go numb and cold, and his thoughts grew sluggish, he used the time he had left to spread a large number of scrolls out on the floor in front of him.
"I finally found something useful."
"Development notes for a special Substitution Technique..."
"Body Modification Technique..."
Most of Orochimaru's research was a little too high-level. Yuzuru needed these practical techniques instead.
He did his best to remember what he saw, but the venom soon left him paralyzed. Even when only his eyes could barely move, he still didn't stop memorizing... With that kind of dedication, no exam in his old world could have stopped him.
Just as he could barely hold on to consciousness, Yuzuru suddenly heard the sound of a snake's tongue flicking. Then a huge white snake descended from the ceiling, gazing at him with unmistakably human curiosity.
"You..."
The snake watched Yuzuru for a long while. Then it suddenly opened its mouth and swallowed him whole.
All right, so it's checking out a little snack...
As that last thought crossed his mind, Yuzuru's consciousness sank into darkness.
But the White Snake's intention wasn't to eat Yuzuru. It had only just swallowed him when, with a soft poof, the Summoning Technique on it was released.
The scene shifted. The summoned snake returned to where it had come from, then spat Yuzuru out, his body covered in mucus.
Yuzuru was completely unconscious. He was dumped into a place even darker and more humid, where a gentle breeze stirred... The venom had turned him into a little purple man.
A snake crawled over his back.
More snakes bit him, and then... the venom began to be purged, and Yuzuru slowly regained consciousness.
"Is the dungeon not over yet?"
"Right, I should leave the dungeon on my own. But what was the process again...?"
His frozen thoughts started to stir, but Yuzuru's mind felt as if it were rusted. It took quite a while before he gradually came around.
"Hmm, this isn't Konoha?"
Yuzuru slowly got to his feet and shook his head hard. Then he looked up and immediately saw a massive stone throne.
And coiled on the throne was a huge white snake, its long body disappearing completely into the darkness.
Above the giant white snake was a carved stone beast's head, holding an enormous scroll in its mouth. Written on the scroll were three characters...
"Ryūchi Cave."
This was Ryūchi Cave? One of the Three Great Sage Lands?
The White Snake Sage sat on the throne. Though she still had a serpent's form, her posture was unmistakably human. She looked down into Yuzuru's eyes, then, as if she had understood something, suddenly spoke in a human voice:
"I can't see your fate... I see. So this is a dream?"
The word "fate" sounded like mystical nonsense, but Yuzuru felt that she wasn't talking rubbish when she called it a dream... The so-called dungeon could indeed be considered a special kind of dream for Yuzuru.
"Interesting. This is truly interesting."
Yuzuru finally understood. Orochimaru's Summoning Beast had brought him to Ryūchi Cave. Whatever the White Snake Sage was talking about, there was only one thing he wanted to ask:
"White Snake Sage, can I learn Senjutsu?"
"No. Though you are the master of this dream, your chakra isn't sufficient to withstand Natural Energy..."
Yuzuru wasn't disappointed to learn that he lacked the aptitude to learn Senjutsu. People with that kind of aptitude were one in ten thousand. It wasn't just him—even Orochimaru hadn't had the aptitude at first.
The White Snake Sage continued looking down at Yuzuru. A dangerous glimmer flashed in her narrow, elongated pupils. Then, as if she had thought of something amusing, a strange smile appeared on her snake-like face.
"But... meeting in a dream is such a rare opportunity. I don't want to end this game so easily."
"Though you can't withstand Natural Energy directly, I can modify your body first."
"Modify it?"
The White Snake Sage had a very capricious temperament. She didn't give Yuzuru time to react after saying that. She suddenly lowered her head and lunged down, striking as fast as lightning.
Yuzuru couldn't have dodged an attack like that even if the snake venom had been completely purged from his body.
The next moment, the White Snake Sage's enormous fangs easily pierced his side.
PS: New book—please add it to your favorites, vote for it, and keep reading.
Before you continue