"Thanks for this surgery. I owe you one."
Konan looked at 'Yakushi Kabuto'. Her usual coldness eased a little, replaced by some kindness.
Before, when she wasn't sure about Yakushi Kabuto's intentions, she had to be on guard. But now that he had proven he wasn't hostile, Konan naturally expressed her thanks.
"No need for thanks."
Orochimaru looked Nagato up and down, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I'm curious about something. Would you mind satisfying my curiosity?"
"Go ahead," Nagato said with a slight nod. He was in a good mood, and as long as it wasn't too secret, he didn't mind answering Orochimaru's questions.
"The fusion liquid injected during the second surgery was highly corrosive. When I did it, I was almost killed..."
Orochimaru stared at Nagato on the wooden bed, and said slowly, "But for you, it seemed like nothing. You quickly recovered and completely controlled the situation."
"I want to know why."
Orochimaru was very confused by this question. He had a feeling it was related to the Rinnegan. But if the Rinnegan's power was that amazing, Nagato wouldn't have had a chance to break down. He should have resisted the First Hokage's cells from the start.
"This..."
Nagato looked hesitant, but after a moment of silence, he said,
"Actually, it's simple. I've been fighting this level of corrosion for years."
He spoke vaguely, since it involved his body's biggest secret. Revealing this much was already a great kindness.
"I see. That must have been hard."
Orochimaru didn't press further, just saying, "Two surgeries have taken a lot out of you. I won't disturb your rest."
Nagato nodded slightly and turned to Konan. "Please see Yakushi Kabuto out."
It wasn't just the person on the operating table who was exhausted, but also the person performing the surgery.
Konan waved her hand forward, said "Please," and began to float forward. Orochimaru put his experimental equipment into a scroll and left the black tower.
Just as they reached the door, before they had completely crossed the threshold, a ghostly figure appeared out of thin air.
Obito's eyes flashed red, and he looked deeply at 'Yakushi Kabuto', saying softly,
"I'm surprised Konan is seeing you out. I thought you would be fighting."
Before Orochimaru could say anything, Konan glared and stared coldly at Obito. "'Madara', Yakushi Kabuto has completed the surgery perfectly. It's not your place to make sarcastic remarks."
"Completed the surgery? Ha..." Obito scoffed. "I think we should have the other doctors in the group check it out, to make sure he didn't do anything sneaky."
"It's none of your business."
Konan knew this, and would do it later. But she wouldn't do it in front of Yakushi Kabuto.
It wasn't that she trusted Yakushi Kabuto so much, but that Konan believed in Nagato's abilities.
Since Nagato hadn't mentioned any other side effects, Yakushi Kabuto wasn't very suspicious. Even if they had someone check later, they could do it more smoothly.
The masked man's provocation made her angry. Konan looked at him coldly. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to do something again?"
Although Nagato was the leader of Akatsuki, and it was reasonable for a member to check on the results of his life-or-death surgery, with the masked man, it felt like he had ulterior motives.
Obito narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Just helping you guard against others with bad intentions."
From the beginning, he didn't trust Yakushi Kabuto, suspecting he was Orochimaru's spy. When he heard Yakushi Kabuto was going to perform surgery on Nagato, he became even more alert.
The Rinnegan, Uchiha Madara's legacy, was now being used by the ignorant Nagato. Obito suspected Yakushi Kabuto's purpose in joining the group was this treasure.
It was crucial to the success of the 'Moon's Eye' plan, so he couldn't be careless.
But Yakushi Kabuto had really just done surgery on Nagato, which confused Obito.
Were Konan and Nagato flawless during the surgery? Or was his goal never the Rinnegan? If that was the case, what was his goal?
Obito realized he couldn't see through him. So even at the risk of angering Konan, he had to come and probe him.
"Bad intentions? I wonder who has bad intentions?"
Konan looked at the man coldly, almost saying it directly.
Just as Obito suspected Yakushi Kabuto, Konan suspected Obito. She would be wary of anyone who had the chance to get close to Nagato's body.
"..."
Orochimaru found the exchange between the two amusing.
He thought Konan was particularly wary of Yakushi Kabuto because of his identity, but she was like that with everyone else.
"If you two aren't done, you can continue arguing somewhere else. I'm going back to rest."
Orochimaru said with a smile and walked past them.
Seeing this, Konan and Obito looked at each other and both snorted.
...
After returning to his residence and confirming no one was watching, Orochimaru separated from Yakushi Kabuto and canceled the Summoning Technique.
Back in his underground laboratory in Konoha, Orochimaru took out the experimental data. Looking at the part about Nagato's body, he took a deep breath.
Although Nagato's explanation was vague, Orochimaru knew his body almost better than anyone else. He instantly guessed the reason.
"Divine Tree..."
Orochimaru frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly. "The corrosiveness of the First Hokage's cells is related to the Divine Tree."
Perhaps due to mutation, or perhaps due to atavism, Senju Hashirama was different from everyone else in the ninja world. He even surpassed the two direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, miraculously gaining this ability.
"Interesting. Maybe I can improve my bloodline after this surgery."
Orochimaru looked forward to the next surgery even more.
Besides this unexpected discovery, the data on Nagato was a good addition.
"What about Roran? Have you figured out how to deal with it?"
The Genie Lamp floated in the air, rubbing its hands like a blue fly. "We can't use violence directly this time. It's easy to end up with nothing."
"A piece of cake. The people of Roran don't have any power themselves."
Orochimaru's lips twisted. "It's easy to deal with people like that."
...
In the blink of an eye, a week passed. The Konoha reconstruction project was halfway done. Orochimaru finished setting up the boundary that fools people, and spent his time in the lab preparing for the surgery. It was almost finished.
Bang!
Suddenly, a puff of white smoke rose, and a viper appeared in the room.
It carried a small scroll in its mouth, slowly swimming to Orochimaru's feet. It respectfully spat it out and disappeared.
Orochimaru picked up the scroll and read it, smiling slightly. "They came so quickly? It seems there's something to it."
...
Konoha Village was bustling today. The lively atmosphere swept away the sorrow of the memorial service a few days ago.
Naruto pulled Karin and jumped onto the roof, looking at the crowded streets. He exclaimed,
"What's going on? Is the old Third finally stepping down and giving the Hokage position to Orochimaru-sama?"
"Naruto, don't say things like that." Karin pinched Naruto's cheek. "If Mom hears you, she'll scold you and make you drink that awful tomato juice at night."
"That..." Naruto shrank back, but was still unconvinced. "If it wasn't something big, why would so many people be gathered?"
"I... I don't know." Karin rolled her eyes. "But I know who knows. Come with me..."
Now Karin led the way, pulling Naruto across two houses and jumping into a narrow alley.
Karin looked at the surprised boy and called out, "Uncle Yamato... do you know what's going on?"
"Uncle?"
Yamato's dead fish eyes twitched for a moment, and he began to look the girl up and down. "How do you know I'm here?"
If he hadn't heard rumors from his teammates, he would wonder if he was a qualified ninja.
"Tell me why the village is so lively, and I'll tell you," Karin said with a sly look.
"...Fine, it's not a secret."
Yamato shook his head, not minding the little guy's manipulation. He said directly, "The priestess of the Land of Demons has arrived in the village. She will perform a purification ritual on the Kappa monster this afternoon."
"I see." Naruto exclaimed, "They're going to get rid of that monster! We have to go see it!"
Saying that, he pulled Karin to jump onto the roof.
Karin turned back to say, 'Uncle Yamato, I can see far...' and disappeared.
"That kid..."
Yamato shook his head, a trace of thought flashing in his eyes. "Karin really has some kind of talent for reconnaissance, like that Ms. Aoi."
"I'll report this to Orochimaru-sama later."
Yamato jumped onto the roof, chasing after the two children.
He was in charge of protecting the Nine Tails Jinchuriki. He would naturally stay by their side at this time.
...
On the roof, two small figures jumped quickly, like agile monkeys.
Although Karin and Naruto were young and hadn't undergone complete ninja training, their natural talent already put them ahead of their peers. That difference would only grow over time.
"...We're here. It's right in front."
Naruto pulled Karin and stopped suddenly, pointing to a strange figure on a high platform. "Look, that's the monster."
In the center of the square wooden platform, a humanoid monster, entirely dark green, with a tortoise shell on its back, was bound by stone shackles, kneeling on the ground.
Facing the pointing and comments of the Konoha villagers, the creature showed no fear. Instead, it glared at them with round eyes, making a whimpering sound.
"That's the monster..." Karin exclaimed, but Naruto was silent beside her.
Looking at the monster's miserable appearance, even knowing it was a monster, Naruto felt a little pity.
He was also different from others, not just in appearance, but also in his special abilities. He also had a monster inside his body.
Although Karin was young, her senses were sharp. She instantly noticed the change in Naruto's mood.
"What should I do?"
Karin thought for a moment, and suddenly tugged on Naruto's sleeve, pointing into the distance. "Look, there's a pretty girl over there!"
"Huh? Where? Where?"
Naruto instantly forgot his sadness and looked around.
"It worked." Karin thought, seeing Naruto like that. "I wonder who he learned to be like that from."
...
On a nearby street, a carriage drove slowly.
Shion, the daughter of the priestess Miroku of the Land of Demons, was wearing red and white clothes, sitting neatly in the center of the carriage. Her long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. Rather than a priestess who could purify Moryo, she looked more like a princess, receiving the attention of her subjects.
"Lady Shion, you can relax a little."
Her bodyguard, Zuho, was also kneeling neatly. He reminded her, "Don't worry. Miroku-sama said that with your ability, dealing with a bound little monster will be easy."
"But... but..."
Shion's small face was tense, and she said in a trembling voice, "There are so many people here."
The village of the Land of Demons wasn't this big. The total number of people there wasn't as much as there was on this one street.
The guard Zuho was startled, and realized the reason for her stress. He said, "It's okay. Just think of them as the dense branches of trees, or sweet potatoes buried under Daichi... That way, it's okay."
"Leaves, sweet potatoes..."
Shion took a deep breath, trying to hypnotize herself.
The carriage drove slowly. Even the longest road has an end. Before long, it arrived at the high platform.
In front of everyone, the little girl, dressed as a priestess, came before the Kappa.
"Would you like to rest before we start the ritual?"
Kakashi, who was guarding the Kappa, saw that the little girl was nervous and said, "With us here, this monster won't have a chance to break free. We can wait a little longer."
For this ritual, the Land of Demons and Konoha each had their own role. The priestess was responsible for purification and exorcism. Konoha was responsible for ensuring the Kappa couldn't use any offensive means.
"It's okay, Let's do it now."
Shion didn't want to stay in front of so many people for another second.
She took off the red string on her hand, forcefully breaking the transparent container on it. Holding the small red stone inside with one hand, she began to make hand signs.
In that moment, a soft light emerged from her palm.
---
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