Age Sixteen (continued)
The plan took shape over the following weeks.
First, we needed information. Was my father still alive? Where was he being held? What was Kiri's plan for Uzushio's survivors? The refugees who had escaped the fall had scattered across the continent, and some of them had heard rumors.
I sent out messenger seals to every Uzumaki contact I had. The replies trickled in slowly—most were dead or in hiding—but a few provided useful intelligence.
One of them, a former intelligence officer named Akio, had been working undercover in Kiri when the invasion happened. His message was brief and chilling:
"Your father is alive. He's being held in the Kiri prison complex, in the same cellblock as the jinchuriki. They're torturing him for information about Uzushio's sealing techniques. He hasn't broken yet. But he will."
I read the message three times, my right eye straining to make out the words.
"He's alive," I said.
"For now," Tsunade said. "But if they're torturing him—"
"Then we don't have much time."
"How do you plan to break into the most heavily guarded prison in Kiri?"
"I don't know yet."
"You're making this up as you go?"
"Basically."
She rubbed her temples. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"Probably. But I'm going to try anyway."
---
The second part of the plan was the Eternal Mangekyo.
If I was going to break into a Kiri prison, I needed my full vision. The half-blindness I was currently dealing with would get me killed in seconds. So I needed the surgery. And I needed it soon.
Orochimaru was the obvious choice. He had the medical knowledge, the surgical skill, and the lack of moral qualms that the procedure required. But he was also dangerous, untrustworthy, and probably insane.
"He's the best," Tsunade admitted. "But he'll want something in return."
"Everyone wants something."
"Orochimaru wants things that normal people don't want. Bodies. Experiments. Forbidden knowledge."
"I'll deal with that later."
"Ren—"
"I said I'll deal with it."
She sighed. "Fine. I'll arrange a meeting."
---
The meeting took place in Orochimaru's laboratory, a subterranean complex beneath Konoha's hospital.
The room smelled of formaldehyde and old blood. Jars lined the walls, containing organs and fetuses and things I couldn't identify. Orochimaru stood at a steel table, dissecting something that might have been a human heart.
"Ren Uzumaki-Uchiha," he said, not looking up. "The heir of the fallen Whirlpool. I've been expecting you."
"Then you know why I'm here."
"Tsunade explained. You want me to transplant your father's eyes into your skull. To create the Eternal Mangekyo."
"Yes."
"And what do I get in return?"
"What do you want?"
He looked up. His pale eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Access to the Uzumaki sealing archives. The ones that were saved from the fall. I want to study them. Learn your secrets."
"The sealing archives are Uzumaki property. I can't just give them to you."
"You can. You're the heir. The last heir, really. Kushina is young, untrained. The archives are yours to do with as you please."
I hesitated. The sealing archives contained centuries of knowledge—techniques that could bind demons, heal wounds, even extend life. Giving Orochimaru access to them was dangerous.
But what choice did I have?
"Fine," I said. "But I set the terms. You get supervised access, one hour per week. You don't remove anything from the archives. And you don't share what you learn with anyone else."
Orochimaru smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Agreed."
"When can you do the surgery?"
"As soon as you retrieve your father's eyes."
"I haven't retrieved them yet."
"Then retrieve them." He turned back to his dissection. "I'll prepare the operating room. Don't take too long. Your father won't last forever."