Yakushi Kabuto paused slightly, then smiled and replied, "Yes."
This wasn't the first time their bodies had merged. During the previous First Hokage cell transplant, their bodies briefly intertwined to transmit Senjutsu Chakra, so they could be said to be familiar with it.
As Yakushi Kabuto entered Sage Mode, the two auras gradually became indistinguishable. From an outsider's perspective, even a ninja skilled in sensing would never be able to detect a second will within.
"Well done."
Orochimaru nodded slightly, saying telepathically, "The rest doesn't matter. During the surgery, give me temporary control of your body."
"I understand."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded. After confirming that all preparations were complete, he opened the door, walked out slowly, and headed straight for Nagato's hidden residence.
Having decided to have him perform the surgery, Nagato had granted him permission to freely enter and leave this place. Now that he was ready, he could simply come here to find him.
Of course, this permission was very limited.
Almost as soon as Yakushi Kabuto arrived at the entrance of the black tower, a ghostly figure floated out from the shadows.
Konan stared coldly at Yakushi Kabuto, as if trying to see through him completely. But no matter how she observed, she could only see a mask with a fake smile, just like the expressionless coldness on her own face.
"You're here, does that mean you're ready?" Konan asked coldly.
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses and smiled, "Of course. After all, this is surgery for the man behind that 'god,' so how could I not be careful?"
"You better not make any small moves."
Konan stared at Yakushi Kabuto. Suddenly, her arms shattered inch by inch, turning into pieces of white paper that floated into the air.
A spark flashed, and these pieces of paper ignited in the rain, exploding violently.
The blast of air pushed the mist, creating a cloud of dust in front of Yakushi Kabuto. A stern warning suddenly rang in his ears.
"This tower, these buildings, are all made of explosive tags. If you dare to do anything, you can just wait to be buried with him!"
Yakushi Kabuto looked around. The strange feeling in his mind finally became clear. A disdainful smile appeared on his lips. "Oh my, I didn't expect things to go this far. That's really generous."
Konan's arrangement was a sure kill, but in his eyes, it was no different from a little girl throwing a tantrum.
The point of a threat is to make the enemy afraid to act in a way that is not good for them.
Threatening him with death? Hadn't she considered that he wasn't afraid of death at all?
The leader of the Akatsuki organization was lucky that Orochimaru-sama didn't plan to let him trade one life for another. Otherwise, once he poisoned Nagato, wouldn't these arrangements be a joke?
Seeing Yakushi Kabuto's attitude, Konan's eyes flashed with anger. She wanted to say something, but he waved his hand,
"Let's talk about the other things later. If I waste my energy on fighting with you, the success of this surgery can't be guaranteed."
"Humph!"
Konan heard the threat in his words and felt even more dissatisfied. But this wasn't the time to lose her temper.
The doors of the black tower opened with a rumble. Konan floated away, leading the way. Yakushi Kabuto followed leisurely, appearing calm and composed, not paying any attention to the danger around him.
After walking through the passage for a moment, the two arrived in front of the patient.
On the wooden bed, Nagato was still as thin and haggard as before, but he was much cleaner, obviously having been cleaned inside and out as Yakushi Kabuto had suggested.
"You've done well, but unfortunately, every effort must be made."
A strange light flashed in Yakushi Kabuto's eyes. It was only a momentary change. Control of his body had already changed hands to Orochimaru.
He slowly took a bottle of liquid from a scroll and handed it to Konan, saying, "Give him this to drink."
"What is this stuff?"
Konan glanced at it, and her face showed wariness. She said in a deep voice, "Why wasn't this item on the previously submitted list?"
Konan was just a ninja and knew very little about scientific medical knowledge, but as the Akatsuki organization's housekeeper, she knew many people. Among them, Shinno and the Lord of Horoquan were experts who could at least help check things and identify anything dangerous.
The entire surgery process that Yakushi Kabuto would perform had long been given to Konan. She divided it into several parts and asked different people about the problems in the process, striving to ensure that there were no dangers in it.
After Yahiko's death, Nagato's safety was almost everything to Konan. She wouldn't let Nagato have any problems, no matter how much effort it took.
Now, Yakushi Kabuto suddenly took out an unknown solution. If he didn't explain it clearly, even if he was forcing it, Konan would stop the surgery.
"This?"
Orochimaru showed a strange smile. "It's a bottle of poison."
"What are you talking about?" Konan's expression changed drastically. She was about to attack when Nagato, who was more calm, stopped her.
"Yakushi Kabuto, don't make jokes like that." Nagato stared at the white-haired youth in front of him and said in a deep voice, "Perhaps Konan is too wary of you, which makes you dissatisfied, but jokes like this go too far."
"Joke? You've misunderstood."
Orochimaru smiled and said lightly, "This is indeed a bottle of poison."
Nagato frowned. "What do you mean by this?"
If he wanted to harm him, this was too open. But if he didn't have any bad intentions, why would he want him to drink a bottle of poison?
"As far as I know, you've been paralyzed in bed for at least seven or eight years, right?"
Orochimaru looked Nagato up and down, his eyes slightly narrowed. "You have the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline. In theory, those injuries would have healed long ago, but you've ended up like this. Obviously, there's some other reason."
According to Genie Lamp, Nagato had fallen into this state because of the burden of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Ever since he summoned that monster to fight, he seemed to be burdened with a curse, his life force constantly being drained by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's natural instincts.
After examining him closely, Orochimaru found that it wasn't just the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Perhaps the Rinnegan itself was a considerable burden. The combination of the two had caused Nagato to fall into this state.
The eyes of a ninja with eye techniques were a powerful weapon, but such treasures needed to be constantly nurtured.
So many people in the history of the Uchiha Clan had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, so why hasn't it been passed down from generation to generation? It was because it was too difficult to care for the eyes.
If they were both holders of the Mangekyou Sharingan, they would have a slight chance, but ordinary Uchiha could only watch them rot.
If the Mangekyou Sharingan was like this, let alone the Rinnegan.
It was fortunate that Uchiha Madara was able to find Nagato in the vast sea of people.
But even so, Nagato couldn't fully utilize the Rinnegan's abilities. On the contrary, he bore a considerable burden.
Hearing 'Yakushi Kabuto' say this, both Konan and Nagato's expressions changed. The latter took a deep look at 'Yakushi Kabuto,'
"You have good eyes, but what does that have to do with me drinking this bottle of poison?"
Orochimaru said slowly: "You've been sick for too long, your injuries have long turned into chronic illnesses. If I don't use some strong medicine to stimulate you, there's no chance of recovery at all."
"I asked you to perform surgery, not to treat my illness." Nagato shook his head, not thinking much of it.
"If it wasn't because it would affect the surgery, I wouldn't bother myself with trouble."
Orochimaru shrugged and smiled, "White Zetsu cells have a life force that passively stimulates cell growth."
"If left unchecked, your lower body doesn't know what it will grow into… Well, anyway, it won't be a normal human form."
Hearing these words, even Konan hesitated.
Even if Nagato really turned into a strange shape, she wouldn't necessarily dislike him, but since she could avoid it in advance, why let the mistake grow?
"If that's the case."
Nagato's gaze fell on the bottle of liquid. "Then I'll drink it."
Once they made up their minds, both Nagato and Konan acted decisively.
The latter took the liquid from 'Yakushi Kabuto' and helped Nagato drink it in small sips.
Watching Nagato swallow all the liquid, Orochimaru suddenly showed a wicked smile. "Oops, you've been tricked. This bottle is really just poison."
Almost as soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, Nagato suddenly grabbed his throat with both hands and let out a groan-like scream.
"Nagato!"
Konan was anxious and called out a few times. Seeing that Nagato was just screaming and had no other reaction, her anxious expression suddenly turned fierce.
"Yakushi Kabuto, you bastard!"
Walls of stone slabs pressed over each other. There was no way to avoid such a large number of explosive tags. Even if Orochimaru's clone was here, he would be blown to death if he wasn't careful.
But under these circumstances, Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged. He smiled and said lightly, "Don't be so anxious. Do you want to save Nagato?"
The explosive tags stopped around Yakushi Kabuto. Konan reacted quickly and stared angrily at the culprit, shouting sharply, "You want to threaten me? I won't give you that chance. Either give me the antidote, or we'll all die together!"
"That's not what I mean."
Orochimaru pointed in the direction of the wooden bed and smiled. "In short, wait a moment. Anyway, I can't run away in this situation."
Konan was suspicious and stared at Orochimaru without blinking, ready to attack if he made any movement.
But she obviously didn't have this chance, because after a short while, Nagato stopped screaming and grabbed her hand.
"Nagato?" Konan's angry expression immediately disappeared, and she looked worriedly at Nagato. "Are you okay?"
"Although I still feel a little uncomfortable, I think I'm fine."
As Nagato said this, his gaze turned to 'Yakushi Kabuto,' who was heavily surrounded. "Why did you make a joke like that?"
If it wasn't that Konan was caring and confused and acted decisively, it would have been difficult to deal with the situation.
"This isn't a joke, but a warning."
Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes slightly narrowed, revealing a hint of danger.
"I just want to tell you that even if it's really poison, I can trick you into drinking it if I want to."
"You?!" Konan glared at Orochimaru, her face showing anger.
Now she had also realized that it was true that Nagato had been sick for a long time and had accumulated illnesses, and it was also true that he needed toxic drugs to stimulate him. The reaction just now was probably a normal stimulation reaction.
But whether he said that or not, seeing Nagato like that, she would probably be suspicious, and if Nagato hadn't recovered so quickly, she would probably have already attacked.
"The conditions you will experience and the pain you will endure during the surgery will be ten times or a hundred times more painful than just now."
Orochimaru glanced at the expressionless Konan and said lightly,
"Normal surgery has a certain risk. If there's a bomb next to you that could explode at any time, then this surgery doesn't need to continue."
Even if it was to obtain enough experimental data, Orochimaru would do his best to ensure that the surgery proceeded normally.
But Konan's connection with Nagato was too close. Looking at the arrangements around them, she also had a strong self-destructive tendency. If the situation was slightly dangerous, she might drag both sides to die together.
This was something Orochimaru couldn't accept.
Nagato was slightly silent after hearing Yakushi Kabuto's words.
To be fair, he knew that 'Yakushi Kabuto' was right, but in any case, everything Konan did was for his own good, and Nagato would never reproach her for it.
"I know that we lack some trust."
Orochimaru moved his slender fingers and smiled, "But since you're letting me perform the surgery, it's best to maintain some belief in each other, even if it's just pretending."
"Otherwise, a surgery that could have been successful may fail because of certain people..."
"There's no need to say anymore." Konan interrupted Orochimaru's sarcasm and said coldly, "Just do your surgery. I'll do my best to restrain myself."
"I won't attack you until I confirm Nagato's death."
"But if Nagato dies because of the surgery…" Konan stared coldly at 'Yakushi Kabuto,' "I will definitely get rid of you, no matter where you are."
"That's really scary." Orochimaru shrugged. "I'll try my best not to mess with a crazy woman."
Saying this, he ignored the anger rising on Konan's face and took out another bottle of solution from the scroll, handing it over with a smile.
"The poison has already stimulated the body. Drink this when I'm setting your bones and correcting the muscle misalignment later. It will be used to nourish the body and replenish its consumption."
Unlike the previous bottle, this was the slow-acting poison that Orochimaru had gotten rid of Tsunade to make.
It would slowly erode the drinker's bones, causing them to become fragile and require a considerable amount of time to recover.
Although the flesh and blood of the Uzumaki Clan contained surging vitality, ordinary sword wounds and even organic damage were harmless, but the bones inside were not included.
Moreover, whether this poison was strong or weak, it wouldn't affect his upcoming transplant surgery.
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