"I grew up in the Orphanage, was picked up by Orochimaru on a battlefield, and survived in Otogakure-not through strength, but by judging who would win faster than anyone else and joining their side.
But after Orochimaru died, I found there was no side left to join.
There was no place for me in the Shinobi World.
Konoha wouldn't accept me, the Akatsuki had disbanded, and Otogakure was gone.
My only possible endings were execution by the Konoha Anbu or death at the hands of some bounty hunter while on the run.
I don't want to die.
So I had to make something that would give me enough bargaining power with any side.
Something that would make any nation protect me at any cost."
Kabuto tapped his finger against the vessel on the operating table, which was still slowly absorbing the culture medium.
"This isn't a weapon.
It's worth more than a weapon.
It can offer the ruler of any nation an unlimited supply of organ transplants with no risk of rejection.
The daimyo would protect me for it.
The Kage would protect me for it.
Even you-" Kabuto looked up, meeting Guy's eyes. "Guy, the Blue Beast.
If one day the person you cherished most needed a heart transplant, a liver transplant, or a kidney transplant, and I was the only person in this world who could provide a perfectly compatible organ, would you still kill me?"
Guy didn't answer that question.
But his body did.
He took another step forward.
Kabuto pressed his finger against another switch on the culture tank.
That switch wasn't used to start the vessel-it was connected to an emergency activation electrode attached to the vessel's chest.
The moment he pressed it, the electrode would deliver a high-voltage shock to the vessel's heart, forcing