With that, Orochimaru turned and went back into the laboratory. The girl scrambled to her feet, trembling, and followed him inside.
The girl knew who Orochimaru was. In fact, she knew all the members of the Akatsuki quite well.
Even so, this was her first time getting so close to Orochimaru, and her first time seeing his laboratory. She was stunned.
She stood frozen in the doorway, looking at the various corpses preserved in glass tanks. Her scalp prickled.
She did not dare take another step. Her gaze darted around the laboratory.
When her eyes landed on Yahiko's corpse on the operating table, she shuddered from head to toe and looked at Orochimaru in terror.
Orochimaru understood how the young girl felt. Even he thought Yahiko hardly looked like a corpse right now.
"Nagato cleaned Yahiko up. He'll be back soon, so wait here with me."
The girl shuffled over to Orochimaru and sat down, trembling. She hugged her shoulders and buried her face between her knees.
She did not dare look at her surroundings.
"What's your name?" Orochimaru soon lost patience with the dull wait.
"Saro." Her voice was so faint that Orochimaru might not have heard it if his hearing had been any worse.
Just as Orochimaru was about to say something else, the door made a sound. They both looked up.
Nagato walked in, wreathed in a cold, damp air. At that moment, he looked like a messenger from the underworld come to claim a soul.
Nagato held a bundle of black rods of various kinds.
Orochimaru looked puzzled, but he knew this was not the time to ask questions.
Nagato walked to Yahiko's side and dropped the metal rods onto the floor with a clatter. Looking at Yahiko's face, he spoke softly.
"Yahiko, I won't let