But at this moment, the hole in Rengoku's upper abdomen was still there.
Orochimaru directly reached his hand inside and began using Mystical Palm Technique.
His expression was rather grim, 'Based on Rengoku's body, how could he possibly have been pierced straight through like this?'
Not only were Rengoku's ribs shattered through, even his lungs and liver were missing pieces, and the inside was still bleeding heavily.
At this point, Rengoku's mind was hazy from blood loss.
"Quick, use Sage Mode."
Orochimaru immediately channeled his own Sage Chakra into Rengoku's body.
Rengoku didn't understand why, but still entered Sage Mode.
In this condition, he only managed to activate it for a few seconds.
But in those few seconds, Orochimaru grabbed a clump of white matter and shoved it directly into Rengoku's body.
That thing was taken from Jugo, used for Sage research.
Jugo was born with a Sage Body. When this piece of his tissue sensed the Sage energy inside Rengoku's body, it automatically absorbed the energy.
That mass of tissue sealed up all of Rengoku's missing organs.
The internal bleeding disappeared instantly.
Sweat was starting to bead across Orochimaru's forehead.
By now, Rengoku had completely lost consciousness.
No one nearby even dared to breathe too loudly.
At that moment, a figure flickered, Minato had already brought Kasui and Karin over.
Seeing Rengoku unconscious and wounded, both of them were startled.
Kasui rushed forward, "Quick, Lord Orochimaru—"
But a pair of hands suddenly pushed her aside, "Mom, let me do it."
Karin was so panicked she was on the verge of tears. She directly pulled open the collar on her shoulder.
Orochimaru's gaze shifted between Karin and Kasui, "Just Karin, her body is more suitable."
Kasui immediately stepped aside.
Orochimaru pried open Rengoku's mouth and pressed his head against Karin's collarbone. A massive surge of life force flowed into Rengoku.
As that life force poured into his body, Karin began to feel dizzy.
Nearby, Kasui handed Orochimaru a bottle of Water of Life. Orochimaru quickly administered it.
Only then did Karin recover.
At this time, Minato appeared again, already bringing Tsunade along.
Minato had clearly explained the situation on the way. Without a word, Tsunade immediately stepped forward to help treat him.
Orochimaru quickly said, "I used Jugo's cellular tissue to plug up Rengoku's missing organs."
"Tsunade, you need to peel it away while stimulating his cells to regenerate. With Karin's ability, that'll speed up recovery."
"Got it!"
As Tsunade listened, she also examined the wound. She placed her hand directly into the hole in Rengoku's abdomen.
Orochimaru assisted from the side, monitoring Rengoku's vital signs.
When he saw Karin's life force being continuously drawn into Rengoku's body, he extracted a vial of Karin's blood to compare with Rengoku's. His eyes flickered with a thoughtful light.
With the Water of Life as a base, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Karin worked together for two straight hours before finally repairing Rengoku's body.
Under the intense focus, Tsunade's forehead was slick with sweat.
Karin's whole body looked like she'd just been pulled out of water.
That's how fragile shinobi were, one wrong move, and death came easily.
Jugo's cells weren't fully compatible with Rengoku's body; plugging the gap was only a temporary fix.
Luckily, Orochimaru had plenty of backup materials. Otherwise, Rengoku might not have survived.
Rengoku had now fallen into deep sleep, having lost too much blood.
His bed was wheeled into a bright hospital ward. Karin, still in the same clothes, stayed by his side without leaving even a step.
Kasui followed along too.
She watched Karin staring blankly at the sleeping Rengoku.
Her heart gave a small jolt, a flicker of surprise and unease crossing her face.
But she forced herself to hold it in and simply said, "Karin, go wash up a bit. The clan leader will wake soon."
"Ah!", Karin snapped back to her senses, a hint of reluctance on her face.
Kasui urged, "Go on, you'll catch a cold like this. If you do, you might pass it to the clan leader."
"Alright then. I'll go change, I'll be back soon!"
Hearing that she might pass a cold to Rengoku, Karin bolted out in a rush, clumsy and panicked.
In truth, with Karin's constitution, she couldn't catch a cold at all.
She simply didn't think about it.
Kasui rubbed her temples.
'Hopefully I am just overthinking, Karin is still so young.'
———
After Rengoku's condition stabilized, Orochimaru asked seriously, "What happened? Why was Rengoku hurt so badly?"
Kakashi, Kushina, and Rin weren't entirely sure, but they knew Rengoku had fought with Black Zetsu and learned something about him.
Minato first explained how Black Zetsu broke the seal and launched his sneak attack, then got to the main point.
"Kurama said the energy that pierced through Rengoku was higher-order energy."
"Higher-order energy?", Orochimaru looked slightly surprised.
Minato frowned and nodded, "Yes, to be precise, it's the power of Kekkei Mora."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed thoughtfully, "Rengoku should know. Let's wait until he wakes up."
———
In the Kamui dimension.
After entering together, Obito and Black Zetsu, Black Zetsu immediately reached out and pulled the kunai from Obito's chest.
He was still covering Obito's body; that pitch-black mud was slowly spreading over him.
He intended to take over Obito's body for himself. But just as the black sludge was about to engulf Obito's hea, it stopped.
Black Zetsu couldn't cover him.
"Not dead? How is that possible?"
Black Zetsu was shocked. He hadn't expected Obito, whose heart had been pierced, to still be alive.
Instead, Obito's brain was extremely active, a chilling aura pulsing through him.
In his mind, scenes of the past with Rin replayed over and over.
All those memories kept flashing by like a rolling scroll.
Every act of kindness Rin once showed him, all torn apart, until only that one scene of Rin forcefully kissing Kakashi remained.
Black smoke began seeping from Obito's body, especially from the wound where his heart had bled.
His heart had vanished, replaced by a deep, dark void, like a misty abyss.
The image in his mind tore apart again, and he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Staring at the black mud covering him, Obito said coldly, "Get lost."
Zzzzzz!
It was as if the chakra in his body began to boil, like acid.
Black Zetsu hissed in pain and immediately withdrew from him.
He stared at Obito, uncertain and suspicious, "Why do you know the techniques of the Moryo?"
Obito didn't answer. In truth, he didn't even know why he had become like this.
But his condition was clearly abnormal. He said nothing, expression calm, lying back down on the stone platform in the Kamui space, as if preparing for hibernation.
Zetsu circled him a few times. Seeing Obito unmoving and silent, he thought for a moment, then finally said, "Should we continue our cooperation?"
Obito: "..."
Black Zetsu hesitated for a while, then added, "Your whole life's tragedy was caused by Madara. Don't you want revenge?"
A glint of light flashed in Obito's eyes; a spark of emotion returned. He slowly sat up and looked at his right shoulder, when Zetsu entered Kamui, that arm had been shredded, leaving only a pale shoulder.
Obito gripped the shoulder with his left hand, tightening, and ripped it clean off.
At the torn joint, there was no flesh or bone, only violet-black smoke.
Obito looked at Black Zetsu, "Tell me your plan."
Black Zetsu stared at Obito's lifeless demeanor, a sense of danger creeping up his spine.
But he had no choice. Even the power Mother had left inside him was spent.
He had to find an ally.
"You know I'm doing all this to revive Mother, but Madara doesn't know that."
"His body is an excellent vessel. We can still follow the original plan, resurrect him, let him become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, and then sacrifice his body to Kaguya."
"Madara's lifelong dream destroyed, suffering as he becomes the offering. Isn't that the best revenge?"
Obito's eyes flickered slightly, "But without the Rinnegan, how will Madara become the Ten-Tails' host?"
Zetsu raised his gaze toward the sky, "I have… other ways."
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