Deep within the Forest of Death.
The trees blotted out the sky, and sunlight could barely penetrate the layers upon layers of canopy. Thick moss covered the ground, and the air was heavy with the damp, rotting scent of decay.
Few people ever came here. Even wild beasts rarely appeared.
Yet somewhere beneath the forest lay another world entirely.
A narrow passage extended downward from the roots of a dead tree. Several dim lamps were set into the walls on either side, barely illuminating the way ahead. At the end of the passage stood a metal door.
Beyond it was a sizable underground space, complete with corridors and rooms.
One of the rooms had somehow been transformed into a laboratory. It was not large, but it was fully equipped.
Shelves against the walls were packed with jars and bottles containing liquids of all colors. Several tables held microscopes, petri dishes, and other instruments whose names could not be identified.
The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, mixed with an indescribably fishy sweetness.
At the center of the laboratory stood an operating table, with a person lying on it.
All sorts of tubes were inserted into his body, their other ends connected to several machines. Dense strings of numbers and waveforms flickered across the screens.
Some of the tubes were inserted into his arms, others into his chest. Another extended from the side of his neck and connected to a transparent container filled with dark red fluid.
Orochimaru stood beside the operating table.
He wore a white sterile gown, his golden vertical pupils fixed on the changing readings of the machines. He looked utterly focused, as though observing the results of a precise experiment.
A moment later, he licked his lips.
"His vital signs have stabilized."
His voice was