"Kaede?" Curiosity stirred in Konan's eyes. "Why call him Kaede?"
A faint smile rested on Nagato's lips as he said bluntly, "Because this lifeform will carry my ambitions and convictions, blooming with fiery colors like maple leaves. In the end, he will wither away and become my strength."
"I see." Looking at the tiny life inside the vessel, Konan's gaze grew somewhat complicated. Only now did she fully understand why Nagato had insisted that Kaede, like Pain, be completely synchronized with his consciousness.
It was both cruelty and mercy.
Kaede, huh? As the second body that carries the fruits of my current pursuit of truth, as well as Nagato's future potential, it really is a name with a fitting meaning.
Orochimaru reflected inwardly, then said seriously, "Next, Kabuto will use medical ninjutsu to connect the artificial placenta cultivated from Hashirama Cells to Kaede through an umbilical cord. To ensure nothing goes wrong, the procedure will be carried out in a sterile chamber."
He pressed the remote in his hand, switching the incubator's power source to "battery power." Its base slowly rose, revealing wheels beneath it.
Kabuto stepped forward, unplugged the incubator's cables, and carefully pushed it toward the sterile chamber.
As he passed in front of her, Konan asked with some concern, "Kabuto, can your left hand perform such high-precision medical ninjutsu?"
"Please rest assured," Kabuto said. "I've fully adapted to the Asura Path prosthetic arm Lord Nagato bestowed upon me. It absolutely will not affect the precision of my medical ninjutsu."
"That's good. I'll leave it to you."
The sterile chamber's door slowly closed.
The three of them went to the lounge area and sat down.
After returning with tea, Konan asked Orochimaru anxiously, "Now that Kaede has a placenta, Nagato really won't need to provide him with blood