"This is truly incredible!"
Nawaki was still sleeping quietly inside the enormous nutrient tank. Various monitoring devices were attached to his arms and chest, and a breathing tube rested in his mouth as he exhaled strings of bubbles at a steady rhythm.
The wound in his abdomen had already healed, though the skin remained bloodlessly pale. The wound on the left side of his chest was still half-open, with transparent artificial material replacing the ribs that supported his chest cavity. A white heart, clearly mismatched to Nawaki's build, beat powerfully inside.
Orochimaru stared at the sleeping Nawaki in the nutrient tank and could not help sighing in wonder. His eyes held the rapt fascination of someone admiring an exquisite work of art.
Keiko stood beside him, watching silently without speaking. He secretly rejoiced. Hooked, aren't you, kid?
"Are all these organs from this spore body you mentioned?"
Orochimaru finally tore his gaze away from Nawaki and looked toward a "White Zetsu" head specimen placed inside a large glass jar. His eyes still brimmed with obsession.
"That's right."
"Unbelievable..."
Orochimaru continued through Tsunade's "collection."
Kidneys, liver, spleen, lungs, stomach, intestines...
It was as though a door to a new world had opened before him, spilling dazzling multicolored light from within.
"Here. This is all the experimental data on the test subject."
Tsunade carried over a stack of documents half a person tall.
"May... may I... read it?"
Orochimaru asked tentatively.
Keiko smiled and nodded.
"I told you, everything here is open to you."
Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru swiftly took the documents, found a table at random, and began reading with ravenous hunger.
"If you get hungry, tell the duty room. They'll arrange lunch for you."
"Fine, fine."
Orochimaru answered perfunctorily, his eyes seemingly glued to the documents, utterly unwilling to