Aya

Lying on the cold operating table, Ranmaru grew uneasy.

He glanced toward the deformed failures locked in cages in the distance, and his heart clenched.

"Will I end up like them?"

The thought took root in his mind and refused to go away.

But soon he looked away, his eyes growing resolute. "The worst that can happen is I die!"

Having lived this long despite his disability, he was already lucky.

If he could avenge Raiga Kurosuki, that would be wonderful. But if he couldn't, leaving this cruel Shinobi World early might not be such a bad thing.

Just then, Hiruko, now dressed in surgical scrubs, came to the operating table. "Don't worry. You're different from them!"

Ranmaru knew Hiruko meant the failed test subjects locked in the cages, so he asked, "How am I different from them?"

"They're filled with fear, but you're filled with hatred!" Hiruko paused, his expression turning sly. "The Demon Seed won't submit to a fragile soul, so your chances of a successful transplant are much higher than theirs!"

"I see!"

Ranmaru nodded thoughtfully.

Hiruko continued, "If you can successfully accept the Demon Seed, I'm confident I can help you complete the ritual. Then, not only will that minor disability of yours be gone, but everything about you will be elevated. You'll become an existence just like me!"

Suppressing his excitement, Ranmaru asked, "Why are you helping me like this?"

His suspicions hadn't come out of nowhere.

Having always stayed by Raiga Kurosuki's side, he knew very well that the members of the Akatsuki Organization felt little affection for one another.

Raiga and Hiruko might have been partners, but they weren't close. Hiruko couldn't possibly be helping him just because of Raiga. The scale of the setup in the laboratory alone made it clear that