The eerie blue glow inside the cage gradually dimmed, and the constant humming and energy fluctuations subsided.
"Mr. Kakuzu, how was your rest?" Uchiha Makoto's voice rang out in the silent room, carrying a hint of mockery.
Kakuzu's body stirred almost imperceptibly. A wheezing rasp escaped his throat, like a broken bellows. He did not even have the strength to answer.
Uchiha Makoto was in no hurry. He simply sat in the chair before the control console, took out a set of experimental notes, and began reading.
Time ticked by. After roughly two or three hours, the cage's suppressive effects were temporarily lifted. Kakuzu's body and mind, tortured to the brink of collapse, finally recovered a sliver of vitality.
He struggled to turn his eyes toward Uchiha Makoto and rasped, "What... do you want... to ask this time..."
There was no anger in his voice, no resentment, only profound exhaustion and an almost numb submission.
These past few months of "humane care" had completely worn away his defiance and his will to resist.
All he wanted now was to suffer a little less. Dignity, secrets-none of that mattered anymore.
"Today, I won't ask you about ninjutsu or the Akatsuki."
Uchiha Makoto closed his notes and looked at Kakuzu.
"I want to ask you about something much older. You've lived for seventy years, traveled to many places, and heard plenty of legends, haven't you? How much do you know about the Sage of Six Paths and his descendants?"
Kakuzu's gaze flickered slightly.
The Sage of Six Paths? That figure from myth and legend?
Although he wondered why Uchiha Makoto was asking about this, he had no intention of holding anything back.
He only wanted to finish answering the questions quickly so this devil would leave and let him rest a little