Konoha, Root Base.
Hyuga Kaito lay on the bed, his limbs firmly restrained.
"Lord Kaito, we will now administer the anesthetic. Next, your entire body will be anesthetized and you will lose consciousness. Then we will treat your left leg."
The Root researcher spoke according to procedure.
Hyuga Kaito took a deep breath. Since he had decided to come, he had long prepared himself mentally.
"Do it."
As the cold liquid entered Hyuga Kaito's body, his eyelids immediately grew heavy.
Hyuga Kaito's eyes drooped, and he fell completely asleep.
From within the wall beside him, Zetsu's body slowly emerged.
The Root researcher hurriedly lowered his head. "My lord, Hyuga Kaito has been anesthetized."
Zetsu waved a hand. "Leave."
"Yes."
The two researchers exchanged a glance before leaving.
Zetsu circled Kaito once, then fixed his gaze on Hyuga Kaito's left leg.
A white humanoid shape slowly swelled from Zetsu's body, then gradually shrank until it became a tiny white dot.
Zetsu swiped his hand, and a bloody gash immediately appeared on Kaito's leg. The tiny white dot slipped into the wound.
Because Hyuga Kaito's leg had been unable to move for years, the muscles had atrophied, leaving it pale and thin.
After Zetsu implanted the Spore, it rapidly expanded and multiplied.
It was as though countless earthworms were writhing beneath Hyuga Kaito's leg. The skin bulged grotesquely again and again before sinking back down.
Hyuga Kaito's entire body began to convulse and tremble continuously, unconscious rasps escaping his mouth.
A moment later, the lumps on Hyuga Kaito's left leg gradually subsided. His left leg visibly thickened, becoming nearly the same as a normal leg.
Zetsu nodded. It should be about enough.
He pressed a hand against Hyuga Kaito's leg. "Don't rush it. If it happens too fast, they'll notice."
Hyuga Kaito's