"Damn it! Damn it!"
Kimimaro strained with all his might.
But he couldn't break free at all… he couldn't even make those gigantic Chakra hands budge.
Takumi watched him calmly.
At this moment, Kimimaro was like a fish out of water… his futile struggle only hastened his death.
Gradually, Kimimaro stopped struggling.
His ferocious expression also gradually calmed.
"As expected of the body Orochimaru-sama has his eye on."
Kimimaro's gaze was indifferent, seemingly devoid of emotion. "Pity... I ultimately couldn't... for the sake of the master... complete... this mission..."
As he spoke the last words, his head drooped, losing all signs of life.
Takumi slowly lowered him.
He couldn't help but sigh.
"Although he was an enemy, he was truly admirable."
Lee came up from behind, looking at Kimimaro with complex emotions. "Even though he had little life left, he was willing to sacrifice it for that Orochimaru."
"Even as an enemy, such loyalty is touching."
Lee lowered his head and closed his eyes, paying respects to Kimimaro's body.
"You're right, he is indeed admirable."
Takumi stepped forward and took out a scroll, unsealing it.
Poof!
A sealed corpse landed on the ground.
"What are you doing?"
Lee was startled.
He quickly took two steps back, his expression strange. "This is a corpse?"
"Correct."
Takumi said without turning his head. "Just in case it was needed, I specifically obtained a fresh corpse from the Torture and Interrogation Division."
From this, it was clear.
Takumi had planned this long ago.
To kill Kimimaro and then revive him.
"A corpse? You're planning to...?"
Lee's expression changed, thinking of Takumi's incredibly powerful Medical Ninjutsu that could revive the dead. "But he's our enemy..."
"You just said it yourself, it's a pity for him to die like this."
Takumi crouched down, took out surgical tools, and began operating. "I think so too. Someone with such loyalty, even as an enemy, is a pity to lose."
"After healing him, with his strength, he won't cause any trouble anyway. No need to worry."
Lee didn't speak further.
Not because he didn't want to, but because watching Takumi's surgery up close was unbearable for him.
Even though Takumi's surgical process was aesthetically pleasing, Lee had no mood to appreciate it.
Because he couldn't help but think of his own surgery experience.
'Was it like this during my surgery?'
'The bones are taken out! Can it still be healed?'
'Oh god! Too scary, ugh...'
Lee finally couldn't hold back and vomited.
A vein throbbed on Takumi's forehead during the surgery.
This guy Lee clearly couldn't take it but insisted on watching from behind.
Watching was fine, but he kept chattering.
Now he even vomited everywhere. That foul smell really affected Takumi's mood.
Thankfully, Takumi was a professional… a little disturbance wouldn't reduce his surgical effectiveness.
After his treatment, Kimimaro's heartbeat successfully resumed.
And his hereditary disease was completely cured by Takumi.
The entire surgery took over an hour.
For Takumi, this was a relatively long time.
If not for Lee's disturbance behind him, he could have finished sooner.
"Mmm..."
A soft moan.
Kimimaro slowly opened his eyes.
His bewildered eyes looked at the azure sky.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was the Pure Land or somewhere else.
"Am I... dead? The afterlife is so magnificent."
Kimimaro sighed and sat up.
Then, his eyes widened.
"You two?!"
Before him were Takumi, who was scolding Lee irritably, and Lee himself.
Hearing the noise behind him, Takumi turned, raising an eyebrow. "You're awake? How do you feel?"
Standing up from the ground, Kimimaro's eyes were filled with disbelief.
He looked down at his hands… full of strength, his body incredibly light, not feeling the slightest bit of illness or pain.
He had never felt so relaxed before.
"My body... Shouldn't I be dead? Why...?"
He suddenly remembered the information about Takumi's Medical Ninjutsu being said to be even stronger than Tsunade's.
He sharply looked up at Takumi.
"That's right, I saved you."
Takumi placed his hands on his hips, looking proud. "How about it? Feeling unprecedentedly light, aren't you?"
"...Why?"
Kimimaro was silent for a long time before asking.
"You ask why I saved you?"
Takumi raised an eyebrow. "Of course because I admire your loyalty. Even though the object of your loyalty isn't great, I still admire you."
"Being willing to give your life for someone like Orochimaru… your resolve impresses me. And saving you was just a simple task for me."
"In my view, it's a waste for you to die here. You deserve a bigger stage."
"But I am your enemy!"
Kimimaro shouted. "I was trying to kill you! And you actually revived me!"
"Can you kill me?"
Takumi said calmly. "Don't talk about unrealistic things. Even Orochimaru can't do it. What makes you think you can?"
"…"
Kimimaro was speechless.
He stared blankly at Takumi, unsure what to think.
"I roughly understand your thoughts. Orochimaru saved you, so you see his mission as more important than your life."
Takumi said quietly. "That's exactly the quality I admire in you. But remember this."
"Once you're dead, there's nothing left."
"The most precious thing a person has is their life. How many people trample their own dignity just to survive? And all they want is to live."
"Your will is noble, but to those people, you are just a hateful person trampling on life because they struggle with all their might just to live."
"Stop thinking about willingly giving your life for someone. Even if Orochimaru has an enormous favor over you, you've already repaid it before."
"Don't forget, you just died once. Your life has already been returned to Orochimaru."
"That's all I'll say. Whatever decision you make next, I won't interfere."
"If you still want to kill me, I'll oblige. But this time, I won't hold back."
After saying this, Takumi turned and left.
Lee looked at the dazed Kimimaro, then hurried to follow Takumi.
Kimimaro stood frozen in place for a long time. When he finally came to his senses, Takumi was long gone.
But his words lingered in his ears, unwilling to fade.
"What... should I do?"
He fell into confusion.
Carrying this confusion, he returned to Orochimaru's secret base in a daze.
"Huh? You're back?"
Kidomaru was very surprised to see Kimimaro return. He looked behind Kimimaro, and seeing no one else, his expression grew even stranger. "Where's Takumi? Weren't you going after him?"
Kimimaro didn't respond, walking past him like a corpse towards the interior.
"Hey!"
Kidomaru was immediately displeased.
He called out from behind, but Kimimaro still gave no reaction.
"Is this guy an idiot?"
Kidomaru snorted disdainfully.
"Kimimaro, what happened?"
Kabuto's eyes held a trace of surprise.
In his estimation, Kimimaro shouldn't have been able to return.
Yet Kimimaro had returned.
And his current state seemed like that of a walking corpse.
"Why aren't you dead?"
Tayuya, seeing Kimimaro ignoring everyone, said irritably. "Did you chicken out? Become a deserter?"
Kimimaro's body paused. He turned to look at Tayuya. "I never avoid battle."
His calm words made Tayuya involuntarily shiver and take two steps back.
Seeing Kimimaro finally react, Kabuto secretly sighed in relief, but greater doubts arose in his heart.
'Kimimaro... why was he still alive?'
According to his calculations, Kimimaro definitely shouldn't be alive.
Because Kimimaro's physical condition… he, as a doctor, knew it best.
"What exactly happened? What about Takumi? Did you see him?"
Kabuto stepped forward and asked softly, afraid that speaking too loudly might agitate Kimimaro.
He was treating Kimimaro completely like a severely ill patient.
"I saw him."
Kimimaro's eyes revealed confusion. "His power is immense. I am far from his match."
"I told you so."
Kidomaro spread all six of his hands. "That monster can't even be beaten by Orochimaru-sama. How could you possibly beat him?"
"Shut up, Kidomaru."
A hint of coldness flashed in Kabuto's eyes.
"You!"
Kidomaru was infuriated, but seeing Kabuto's gaze, he subconsciously shut his mouth.
The sense of danger emanating from Kabuto told him it was better not to push his luck verbally.
"So how did you come back?"
Seeing he had subdued Kidomaru, Kabuto turned back and asked, "You fought him. He shouldn't have let you go easily, right?"
"He killed me."
As Kimimaro said this, his eyes were blank.
To this moment, he couldn't understand why Takumi had brought him back.
But for some reason, Takumi's words kept echoing in his mind.
"Killed you? What nonsense are you talking?"
Sakon frowned. "You're standing here perfectly fine, aren't you?"
"I was helpless against his power and eventually died from my illness."
Kimimaro still remembered the moment of his death, but what happened next left him utterly bewildered. "Then he revived me."
"Who? Takumi?"
The Sound Four exclaimed in shock. Kabuto lowered his head slightly, hiding his astonished eyes behind his gleaming glasses.
Although he had heard of Takumi's Medical Ninjutsu before, this was the first time he saw the results of Takumi's treatment with his own eyes… well, not literally, but he couldn't be 100% sure yet.
But he knew Kimimaro's character, and Kimimaro wasn't one to lie.
That meant, what Kimimaro said was true.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Tayuya looked completely unbelieving. "How could anyone revive a dead person? He's not a genius like Orochimaru-sama!"