"Curiosity is the sharpest blade — and the one that cuts its wielder first."
[Scene: The Outskirts of the Iron Temple]
A wind whispered through the mountain pass.Night had fallen over the valley — a pale moon hung in a sea of stars, reflected faintly on the metal veins that ran through the rock.
Taiki stood outside the temple gates, hammer at his side, eyes half-closed.He could feel it — that presence. It was faint but coiled, deliberate, and impossibly familiar.A predator's patience is hidden behind a scholar's calm.
[System Log:]Unknown Entity Approaching.Chakra Signature: Classified S-Rank — Serpentine Mutation Detected.Designation: "Orochimaru."
Taiki exhaled slowly. "So the snake crawls from his den after all…"
The wind stirred again — and from its edge, a voice replied, smooth and cold:
"My, my… You sensed me before I even reached your gate. I suppose the rumors didn't exaggerate."
From the darkness, Orochimaru emerged — pale, elegant, and unnervingly composed.His golden eyes gleamed like molten amber as he smiled faintly.
"Forgive the intrusion. I couldn't resist visiting the man who forges miracles."
[Scene: Inside the Forge – A Dangerous Conversation]
They walked side by side into the heart of the Iron Temple.The forge's fire burned low and deep — a steady violet glow that made even Orochimaru pause in interest.
"Remarkable," he murmured, examining the sigil-lined walls. "Runic inscriptions… but not of any shinobi origin. I've seen seals, curses, and contracts — but this…""This feels alive."
Taiki leaned on his hammer, eyes sharp. "Because it is. The forge breathes, as I do. It listens, learns, remembers."
Orochimaru smiled thinly. "Ah. A living forge. How poetic."He traced a symbol on the anvil — one that flared briefly, then faded. "And yet, it feels alien. Where did you learn this craft?"
Taiki's reply was calm, deliberate.
"Through pain, time, and loss. The world taught me what books couldn't."
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "A pity. I prefer shortcuts."
[System Log:]Warning — Subject probing dimensional energy signature.Host soul synchronization is stable.Suggested Response: Caution.
Taiki turned away, feeding a fragment of ore into the flames. "You're not here out of curiosity. You want something."
Orochimaru's smile widened. "Of course. I seek knowledge — as do you. But you've found something beyond chakra, haven't you? A force that bends life itself."
The fire crackled — and for a moment, the flame's reflection in Taiki's eyes looked almost like runes.
"And if I have?"
"Then I wish to study it. Together, perhaps."
[Scene: The Demonstration]
Without a word, Taiki picked up a raw ingot of steel — dull, lifeless.He placed it on the anvil and struck once.The rune on the hammer flared — and the metal screamed.
When the sound faded, the ingot shimmered, now etched with glowing sigils that pulsed in rhythm with Taiki's heartbeat.
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly — the closest he'd ever come to awe.
"You gave it… pulse."
"I gave it purpose," Taiki corrected. "Steel is like life — without purpose, it corrodes."
Orochimaru reached out, fascinated — but Taiki's hand caught his wrist, firm and unyielding.
"Touch it, and it will remember you."
Orochimaru's smirk returned, but there was a flicker of respect in his gaze now.
"Then perhaps I should tread carefully around your creations."
[Scene: Temptation in the Firelight]
Hours passed in uneasy conversation.The two men — one a scientist of flesh, the other a smith of souls — circled each other like twin predators testing the other's limits.
Orochimaru spoke of DNA, vessels, and transference of essence.Taiki countered with runes, resonance, and soul harmonics.
They were different, yet disturbingly similar — both obsessed with transcendence through creation.
At last, Orochimaru asked,
"Tell me, blacksmith — do you believe creation should be bound by morality?"
Taiki met his gaze. "Creation is morality. It gives meaning to destruction. Without one, the other's just madness."
A slow smile crept across Orochimaru's lips.
"Then perhaps you are the only man who can forge my immortality without binding me to sin."
The forge's flame flared violently, as if rejecting the very notion.
[System Alert:]Foreign spiritual intent detected — Corruption probability: 71%.Recommendation: Terminate interaction or purge influence.
Taiki's hammer struck the anvil once — the sound rippled through the room like thunder.The runes on the walls lit up, pushing Orochimaru back slightly with a pulse of repelling energy.
"You mistake me for a godsmith," Taiki said, voice like steel. "I don't forge eternity for those afraid of death."
For the first time, Orochimaru's smile faded.
"Then you're a fool. Death comes for all craftsmen, no matter their art."
Taiki's gaze sharpened.
"Maybe. But my work will outlive your skin."
[Scene: The Parting]
Orochimaru turned to leave, cloak brushing the ground like the hiss of a serpent.
"You and I are not so different, Taiki Akinatsu. You build to understand life; I dissect to understand it. We'll meet again — perhaps when you finally learn that even creation demands sacrifice."
As he vanished into the night, Taiki whispered to the forge,
"And some sacrifices are better melted than made."
The forge pulsed — faintly, protectively — as if agreeing.
[Scene: Aftermath — The System's Revelation]
[System Log:]Foreign analysis complete.User Soul Integrity: Stable.New Blueprint Acquired — Runic Purification Matrix.Effect: Nullifies corruption-based chakra influence.Cross-Realm Resonance: 0.032%.
Taiki smirked faintly.
"So even his greed had value… a snake's poison makes fine medicine if tempered right."
He walked to the forge, placing a single glowing rune into its heart.The fire roared, turning a brilliant white for the first time.
"Let them come — the ambitious, the curious, the damned.This forge will shape them all."
End of Chapter 17 — "The Snake and the Forge"