A dim underground palace.
"Ah!"
"Damn it, I'll kill you!"
"Please, let me go!"
Wails, cries of pain, curses, and pleas for mercy mingled together, echoing endlessly through the dim underground palace and adding a little life to the gloomy place.
In a laboratory deep within the palace, Kabuto Yakushi smiled at the person lying on the operating table. "Don't worry. It'll be over soon."
The person on the operating table begged, "P-please, let me go!"
Kabuto was unmoved and continued the surgery.
When pleading proved futile, the person strapped to the operating table changed his tune. "You'll regret laying a hand on me! Kumogakure won't let you get away with this!"
"Heh!"
Kabuto chuckled softly.
Just then, footsteps sounded. A moment later, Orochimaru appeared in the laboratory.
Kabuto stopped the surgery and bowed to him. "Lord Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru waved a hand casually, signaling that Kabuto didn't need to bow. Then he walked over to the operating table, glanced at the test subject strapped to it, and looked over the data on the equipment. Only then did he ask, "How's the progress?"
"Everything's going smoothly!" Kabuto replied with a smile.
The test subject strapped to the operating table roared, "Orochimaru, you'll die a horrible death!"
Orochimaru glanced sidelong at the test subject. He looked less like he was looking at a living person and more like he was looking at some object.
Kabuto soon finished the cell-transplant surgery, then moved the unconscious test subject to the examination room.
After taking care of that, Kabuto led Orochimaru to the cells deep in the underground palace and pointed to the test subjects held inside. "The subjects in Cells 1 and 2 all survived the surgery. The subjects in the remaining cells are still under observation!"
Orochimaru's lips curled slightly. "Excellent!"
Kabuto said,