Entering the Core

Half an hour later, Lin Chongshu had completely returned to normal.

He let go of Karin's arm. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine... I just need to rest for a while."

He paid her no further attention and hurriedly summoned the chunin outside to inspect the condition of the test subjects on the floor. These were all vital experimental data—important to Orochimaru, and important to him as well.

He worked with the other chunin to sort through materials, collect tissue fragments, and record causes of death, continuing until dawn the next day.

Once they were finally done, Lin Chongshu took off his blood-soaked coat, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it by the laboratory entrance. Yawning, he headed back to his quarters.

When he pushed open the door to his room, Lin Chongshu saw someone curled up on the bed and froze for a moment.

"Oh, you're here..."

Princess Toki sat on the bed with her knees hugged to her chest, staring wide-eyed at him.

After several seconds, she burst into tears. "You really weren't going to feed me... I'm hungry..."

"Sorry. I completely forgot about you."

Once the food was brought in, Princess Toki clutched a rice ball in one hand and took huge bites, her cheeks stuffed full while dried tear tracks still lingered at the corners of her eyes.

Lin Chongshu sat beside her and watched her eat. After she swallowed a mouthful, he said, "When you're done, fetch me a bucket of water. I want a bath, and then you can massage my shoulders."

Princess Toki looked at him pitifully. "Can you let me go?"

"Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Princess Toki shook her head.

"Exactly."

Seeing her eyes begin to redden again, Lin Chongshu suddenly changed his tune. "If you serve me well enough, I'll let you go after a year. Uh... and I'll give you some money too."

"Really?" Tears still clung to Princess Toki's eyelashes, but her mood immediately brightened.

Watching her return to that excited expression, Lin Chongshu had only one thought: Is she some kind of dumb goose? She's way too easy to fool. If you make me comfortable, I'll be even less likely to let you go.

He did not say it aloud, merely nodding. "Really. Go draw me a hot bath now, and I'll let you go a day early. I'll even add another ten thousand ryo."

"Okay! I'll go right away!" Princess Toki stuffed the remaining half of her rice ball into her mouth in one bite, ignored her discomfort, and jogged into the bathroom to draw the water.

Once the bath was ready, Lin Chongshu soaked in the tub, the hot water covering his shoulders.

Princess Toki stood behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders as she imitated the way the maids in her memories had served her, kneading his muscles.

Her fingers were soft, and she was so weak that he could barely feel anything. Through the steam, her face still wore a serious expression.

"Is this pressure okay?"

Lin Chongshu closed his eyes.

Honestly, her massage had about as much force as a cat kneading milk—no real effect at all. But having a princess of a nation stand here and massage his shoulders gave him a very satisfying feeling on a mental level.

"Massage my feet later, and I'll let you go another half day early."

"Thank you, you're so nice! I'll work hard!"

A week later, Orochimaru returned.

When Lin Chongshu arrived at the base entrance, the first thing he saw was not Orochimaru, but Sasori of the Red Sands' Hiruko—a hunched old man wrapped in a red-cloud cloak.

The relationship between Sasori and Orochimaru was not particularly good. Sasori's puppet face tilted slightly toward Lin Chongshu, as though giving him a glance, before turning and leaving.

Orochimaru did not seem bothered by Sasori's attitude in the slightest.

Then Lin Chongshu took the initiative and led Orochimaru toward the laboratory, describing the various Sage Body experiments and the assassination as they walked.

When Orochimaru heard that the Sage Body transplant had succeeded, the expression on his face grew increasingly excited. Lin Chongshu was more capable than he had imagined.

"This base is too small. We'll go somewhere more spacious and use stronger people for our experiments."

Orochimaru had finally laid his cards on the table.

He had a massive secret base in the Land of Rice Fields, one that was far beyond comparison with this temporary outpost near Sunagakure. It had better equipment and a steadier supply of test subjects.

Although Lin Chongshu already knew all of this, he still wore an appropriately excited expression.

So all that time I spent day and night in the laboratory wasn't wasted—sorting data, suppressing rampages, and even killing people for him. I was just short of carving "I'm your most useful subordinate" onto my forehead.

Now, the door to the core had finally opened.

Three days later, Orochimaru brought Lin Chongshu, Jugo, Karin and her mother, Princess Toki, and some of the base's test subjects to the Land of Rice Fields.

The Land of Rice Fields lay directly north of the Hidden Leaf Village. To its west was the small Land of Snow, while the sea lay to its north.

To the east stretched an ownerless wasteland. It had once been the main battlefield between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Cloud Village during the Third Shinobi World War. The two great nations had repeatedly fought over that land, reducing cities and villages to ruins, and the country that had once stood there had been destroyed as well.

Orochimaru's base in the Land of Rice Fields was buried deep underground, illuminated by chakra lamps carved into the walls.

The backbone of this place consisted of ninja who had defected from the Hidden Leaf Village, mostly chunin, with two or three jonin among them. They would also form the core force behind Orochimaru's future attack on the Hidden Leaf Village.

Here, Lin Chongshu finally saw several familiar faces.

Kimimaro. His terminal Shikotsumyaku illness had not yet progressed to its later stages, so he still looked fairly energetic.

Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Sakon and Ukon were all here as well.

However, these few had not yet clearly separated themselves from ordinary war orphans. Among the dozens of orphans on the training ground, they merely stood out slightly.

The supply of test subjects here was also far more abundant than at the previous outpost.

Aside from those less capable war orphans, the most important test subjects came from two clans.

One was the Fuma Clan, an old-established ninja force in the Land of Rice Fields.

The clan had declined during the Third Shinobi World War. Its surviving members had attempted to rely on Orochimaru's power to restore their family, only for Orochimaru to devour them cleanly in return, turning the entire clan into experimental subjects.

The other was the Phantom Nether Clan. This clan possessed no Kekkei Genkai, but their physical constitution was exceptional. Their innate muscle density and bone strength far surpassed those of ordinary people, and their chakra pathways were broader as well.

Orochimaru had wiped out the entire clan, imprisoning every man, woman, elder, and child in the detention area on the lowest level of the base, turning the whole clan into test subjects.

Standing before the observation window of the detention area, Lin Chongshu looked at the numbered and catalogued men and women inside. He had only one thought: As expected of the biggest boss in the early stages—what a grand display. It would be great if they could all hate me...