"Sasuke!"
Karin threw herself into Sasuke's arms, clutching his clothes as tears soaked his chest.
"I-I heard that you had already… Waaaahhh!! Thank goodness! Thank goodness you're alive! If something had happened to you, what would I even have left in this world!?"
Looking at his old teammate sobbing in his arms, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to push her away.
"Sorry for making you worry, Karin. To be honest, I never expected to survive either."
Suigetsu lounged on a nearby sofa, grinning.
"Orochimaru-sama had already prepared your biological samples and was just waiting to use Edo Tensei. Good thing you came back. Otherwise, there'd be one more death row inmate in the world who got sentenced ahead of schedule."
Standing beside the sofa, Jūgo maintained his usual upright posture, his expression solemn.
"Sasuke, what exactly happened between you and Naruto? Why did you ask Orochimaru to do something so roundabout?"
Sasuke sighed.
"It's a long story. Naruto and I had some differences of opinion. With the Sage of Six Paths involved, I couldn't openly oppose him, so this was the only option I had."
He glanced down.
"Karin… you're squeezing too hard. I'm having trouble breathing."
Only then did Karin reluctantly let go and retreat to wipe away her tears.
Sasuke sat down beside Suigetsu and accepted the glass of water Jūgo handed him.
"So it finally happened," Jūgo said quietly. "The day you and Naruto ended up on opposite sides."
"Maybe this is easy for me to say in hindsight, but you've compromised far too much for him over the years. At times, it hardly felt like you were being yourself."
Whoosh!
The unmistakable sound of Flying Thunder God echoed through the room, followed by a familiar raspy voice.
"Exactly~. An eagle meant to soar across the sky should never be trapped in a cage. Sasuke-kun, welcome back~."
The one who brought Orochimaru to this base was none other than the reanimated Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
During the night raid on the Leaf encampment, the reanimated First, Second, and Third Hokage had all been destroyed. Only Minato had survived, though Naruto had blasted away half his body.
That didn't stop Orochimaru from using him as a Flying Thunder God transport.
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly when he noticed Tsunade standing beside Orochimaru.
"Lady Fifth."
Time seemed to have left no mark on Tsunade. She was still the same beautiful, fair-skinned, heroic woman she had always been.
She strode forward with confidence, chest held high.
"It's been a while, Sasuke."
Sasuke rose from the sofa.
"I never expected to see you here."
Tsunade smiled.
"Well, Kabuto has already gone to report to Dark Hidden Village. For a rare case like yours, I'm the only one confident enough to perform the surgery."
Sensing the atmosphere shift, Suigetsu tactfully stood and vacated his seat.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
Kabuto has joined Dark Hidden… and Tsunade says it so openly.
I had assumed Orochimaru might have fallen under Jin's influence, but Tsunade too…?
Orochimaru smiled knowingly.
"Sasuke-kun, I imagine Kabuto already gave you some clues. Rather than letting you harbor doubts, we may as well tell you directly."
"Yes. You're correct."
"Tsunade and I are both on Jin-kun's side."
"Uchiha Jin… has placed a special version of Kotoamatsukami on us."
Sasuke's gaze sharpened.
"A special Kotoamatsukami?"
"Exactly," Orochimaru replied. "No signs of genjutsu can be detected through the chakra pathways in the brain."
"Of course, we only know this because Jin-kun told us himself."
"He said that this Kotoamatsukami does not alter our personalities."
"The only thing it guarantees is that we regard him as an ally."
Sasuke pressed further.
"And you're certain he was telling the truth?"
Orochimaru chuckled.
"Whether it's true is ultimately irrelevant. We will instinctively believe everything is perfectly reasonable."
"That is the terrifying nature of Kotoamatsukami."
Seeing the hesitation in Sasuke's eyes, Orochimaru's smile faded, replaced by unusual seriousness.
"Sasuke-kun, if you truly wish to understand Jin-kun, then you must first abandon conventional notions of good and evil."
"Jin-kun has never been an absolutely righteous figure."
"Remember this."
"He is neither a good man nor a bad man."
Sasuke asked, "Then what kind of person do you think he is?"
Orochimaru's answer was unexpectedly profound.
"A mirror."
"What you see reflected in Jin-kun is always yourself."
"What kind of person he appears to be depends entirely on what kind of person you are."
After a long silence, Sasuke nodded.
"Understood. I'll keep that in mind."
He turned to Tsunade.
"Lady Fifth, I'm counting on you."
The facility they were in had been built by Orochimaru specifically for medical research and treatment, equipped with cutting-edge scientific instruments.
Inside the CT scan room, Tsunade studied the imaging of Sasuke's head and kidney area.
She bit her thumb, astonished.
"His brain and left kidney really did swap places."
"And yet the nerves, blood vessels, and chakra pathways remain exactly where they originally were."
"Despite being in entirely different environments, neither organ shows signs of infection or structural damage."
Karin blinked.
"If the organs moved but the nerves and blood vessels stayed in place, then they shouldn't be connected at all."
"So how are they receiving blood supply and maintaining function?"
Tsunade folded her arms.
"It must be a special phenomenon caused by his dōjutsu."
"A CT scan alone can't show us what's actually happening."
Karin asked nervously, "Then what do we do?"
Tsunade answered bluntly.
"We'll have to open his skull."
Karin nearly jumped.
"O-open his skull!?"
"No matter what, we have to."
"The kidney inside his cranial cavity was destroyed."
"His skull is full of pooled blood."
"I don't know why it isn't compressing the blood vessels and nerves, but the dead kidney has to be removed."
Karin's face paled.
"Then Sasuke will only have one kidney!"
"Won't that affect his life?"
"If necessary, I'll give him one of mine!"
Seeing the conversation veering in a strange direction, Sasuke opened his eyes.
"Karin, it's not that serious."
"I simply don't understand what's happening, so I didn't dare make any rash moves."
"Let Lady Fifth perform the craniotomy first. We'll figure out exactly what's going on."
Ten minutes later, Sasuke lay inside the surgical chamber.
The entire room was sterile. Only Sasuke and Tsunade were present, both dressed in surgical gowns.
Tsunade spoke solemnly.
"Sasuke, a craniotomy is extremely painful and mentally exhausting."
"I strongly recommend anesthesia."
Sasuke shook his head.
"No."
"When Sakura gave birth to our child, she endured pain far greater than this."
"She didn't receive anesthesia."
A bright glint flashed in Tsunade's brown eyes behind her mask.
"Very well."
"Then let's begin."
Buzz.
Tsunade formed a hand seal.
Precise blue chakra scalpels enveloped both hands.
Following the anatomical lines marked along Sasuke's scalp, she began the incision.
Slice.
Using his brow ridge as the boundary, Sasuke's skullcap was lifted by a series of button-like suction devices, like removing a black felt hat.
Tsunade had prepared hemostatic jutsu in advance, expecting a torrent of blood.
But no blood came.
Inside Sasuke's skull, the destroyed kidney and all the blood leaking from it were perfectly isolated by a translucent membrane.
Tsunade stared in disbelief.
"What is this membrane?"
"It doesn't feel like chakra."
Since the kidney was nonfunctional and needed to be removed anyway, Tsunade carefully grasped the membrane and lifted the entire organ out of Sasuke's skull.
She looked down at it, stunned.
"I can't believe it came out this easily…"
Watching the entire process, Sasuke's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"So that's how it works."
"The mystery is solved."
"At the moment my head was pierced, my instinctive use of Amenotejikara wasn't perfect."
"In theory, even this kidney could have been preserved."
He slowly opened his sweat-soaked right hand, which had been gripping the armrest.
His left eye focused.
"Amenotejikara."
Whoosh!
A fresh, living brain enclosed within the same protective membrane appeared in Sasuke's palm.
He studied his own brain with calm fascination.
"I see now."
Then, under Tsunade's dumbfounded gaze, he placed his brain back into his open cranial cavity.
"Lady Fifth."
He looked up as if asking for a simple favor.
"Please put my skull back on."
Enjoyed these chapters? Access 60+ ahead avanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?