"An artificial heart… only you could come up with something like that." Tsunade almost wanted to roll her eyes at him. The heart was the most vital organ in the human body. Even she wouldn't dare to tamper with it lightly—let alone… Her expression dimmed slightly. Both Nawaki and Dan had died because of internal organ injuries that couldn't be healed. That sort of trauma was an area current medical ninjutsu still struggled with. Even with White Zetsu cells available now, pulling off something like that was still far too difficult. She thought for a moment. "Maybe we don't have to replace the whole thing—just a part of it. But that would first require us to locate exactly where Uchiha Madara planted his seal." "Let's wait and see. We don't even know if it's really there. And even if it is, we've got no clue how the seal actually exists. Making blind guesses without any intel won't do us any good." Kyoichi was only voicing the thought aloud. After all, when it came to medical ninjutsu in Konoha, none surpassed Tsunade— Like in the anime, Naruto's arm was ultimately regrown and reattached using Hashirama's cells. For Tsunade, as long as the materials were there and the science made sense, the technique wasn't beyond reach. Her success rate would be much higher than Kyoichi's. If the time really came to remove Madara's seal from Nagato, it would definitely be Tsunade's hands at work. Kyoichi could only play support. Tsunade gave a light nod, then paused for a few seconds. "You've asked Nagato about this, haven't you? No matter how heated our discussion gets here, if he's not on board, it'll just be a headache later." Kyoichi shook his head. Nagato's biggest strength and weakness right now was the same— He had no real will of his own. As long as Kyoichi's reasoning was sound, and it was for his benefit, Nagato would hardly ever refuse. And besides—Kyoichi wasn't lying to him. At this stage, there was no way Madara had left Nagato unguarded. In the anime, he'd even left Black Zetsu to monitor both Obito and Nagato. Clearly, he had backup plans. What kind of fool would leave the Rinnegan out in the open? Nagato definitely had a seal. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 Of that there was no doubt. Leaving Tsunade's study, Kyoichi went straight to Nagato and shared the gist of their discussion. Nagato had no reason to refuse. Just as Kyoichi said—the Rinnegan was far too important. Did anyone really think Madara, of all people, was naïve enough to believe that Nagato would someday "gratefully return" the eyes he'd given him? That he'd obediently follow the script Madara had written out? Anyone with half a brain wouldn't be that naïve. And Madara was a relic of the Warring States Period—unless someone had literally stolen his brain, there was no way he'd make such an amateur mistake. If he had, Tobirama Senju would probably have died laughing. "How dangerous would a heart operation be? If it's too risky… we could always destroy the eyes instead." Nagato hesitated but voiced his thoughts. He knew full well that if Kyoichi had ever wanted to take the eyes for himself, he could have done so long ago. No one could have stopped him. Even if all of Amegakure banded together, it still wouldn't have been enough to challenge Kyoichi. Kyoichi had done the opposite, working hard to protect him, time and time again. There was, of course, an easier path: Without the Rinnegan, Madara's schemes would amount to nothing. Any seal or backup plan would be worthless. Kyoichi sighed and had to explain again. But the explanation he gave Nagato was different from the one he'd given Tsunade. Nagato already understood the Rinnegan far better, and had even been experimenting with Yin–Yang Release. His comprehension went far deeper than Tsunade's, who only had a surface-level grasp. "The Rinnegan is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. It holds countless secrets. And as for why the Sage created the moon in the first place—that mystery still hasn't been solved…" "That's why, whether we like it or not, the shinobi world needs these eyes." Kyoichi's words left Nagato silent. He let out a quiet sigh. No one understood better than him just how powerful the Rinnegan was. His entire fighting style revolved around them. Without them… He'd have to start over from scratch. "How's your progress with the Yin Seal?" "There's been some progress. I've started building up chakra for it," Nagato replied. "No need to go through all that trouble. We'll just use the tailed beasts' chakra directly." Kyoichi stood and headed outside. The Nine-Tails was basking in the sun. It hadn't properly felt sunlight in years, and now it wanted to soak in every drop of warmth it had missed. It couldn't leave the compound. Or rather—Kyoichi hadn't forbidden it, but the Nine-Tails didn't dare wander off, because… A pair of eyes was locked on it without pause. "Hey, I wasn't even planning to run. Why are you staring at me like that?" "Uh…" Oriri said nothing, just sat by the window, staring. The Nine-Tails was speechless. What was wrong with this girl? Was her brain stuck on one track or something? Maybe that's just how the Uzumaki were. It flopped back into its chair, about to nap, when it suddenly felt a much bigger problem incoming. It shot up immediately. In the next instant, Kyoichi appeared with the Body Flicker Technique. The Nine-Tails was dumbfounded. Couldn't it make a little complaint without being dragged into something? "Oh, not that. I just need to borrow some chakra." Kyoichi said this as he grabbed the beast and hauled it inside. The Nine-Tails gave up struggling. Dumped inside the room, it looked at Nagato, who was still blinking in confusion. So high-difficulty right from the start? "You're the kid with the Rinnegan, right? Don't worry. As long as I cooperate, tailed beast chakra won't overwhelm you. You'll be able to use it easily enough." The Nine-Tails sighed softly, as though lamenting its pitiful fate… After a moment of moping, it added, "Of course, that only works if I'm close by. Otherwise, you'd better keep it sealed." Kyoichi didn't elaborate, but Nagato understood. Tailed beast chakra was far stronger—far wilder—than his own. If he could borrow it smoothly, then the price of using Summoning Jutsu might be drastically reduced. The massive toll the technique took was only because his own chakra wasn't enough. If his chakra reserves were vast enough, it might counteract the strain his eyes endured. Nagato stopped hesitating. He raised his hand and touched it to the Nine-Tails' paw. A vast, powerful yet strangely gentle chakra poured from the beast into him. Tailed beast chakra… could feel ? His heart leapt in surprise. But he didn't forget the main goal. He quickly transferred the Nine-Tails' chakra into the Yin Seal, storing it until it overflowed, then sealed it off as Kyoichi had instructed. Afterward—Nagato tested it. "It works! I can already feel the cost has dropped significantly." "Good. For now, we won't use Summoning. That'll stay our last-resort plan. Instead, try using the contract to sense Madara's position." "I'll try… I can faintly feel it—it's like some kind of strange, enormous statue." *************************** Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.