Chapter 223: The Reason I Survived

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"Because of Orochimaru..." Nanako nodded and continued, "After Uncle... Danzo decided to execute me, he handed me over to Orochimaru." A hint of sarcasm crept into her tone.

"Maybe he thought I still had some value left, so before killing me, he gave me to Orochimaru as a test subject."

"Orochimaru injected cells from both you and Hashirama into my arm."

As she spoke, Nanako removed her black cloak, revealing that she was wearing only a form-fitting, sleeveless black outfit underneath.

Ye Zi's gaze quickly swept over Nanako's mature figure, but it soon focused on her arm. Her arm was pale and lifeless, the same color as White Zetsu's body.

Nanako recalled the painful memory. The searing pain was still vivid in her mind, but her voice remained calm. "At the time, my arm couldn't handle the cells from you and Hashirama. It exploded into pieces, and the pain was so intense that I passed out. When I woke up, my arm had regrown, but my body was extremely weak."

"The people tasked with disposing of my body buried me. I barely managed to claw my way out of the dirt, escaping the body bag and realizing I was near a Root exit."

"I didn't have time to think about how my arm regrew. I was hungry, exhausted, and knew I couldn't stay there, so I decided to escape from Konoha first and figure out the rest later."

"But given my condition at the time, escaping Konoha seemed impossible, let alone making any future plans."

"To recover my strength a little..."

Nanako's expression shifted slightly, and she deliberately avoided Ye Zi's gaze, looking toward a corner of the room. Recalling the choice she made back then, her eyes filled with indifference and disgust.

"That place was where Root disposed of bodies. Normally, the bodies would be cremated and their ashes scattered near the Root base, but for some reason, they started burying them instead."

"I..."

Her expression turned cold.

"I found a recently disturbed burial site, dug it up, and found a freshly deceased body."

Nanako fell silent after saying this, but Ye Zi understood what she had to do to survive.

She averted her gaze, seemingly unwilling to face Ye Zi. Her decision, made in desperation, was something most people would find unbearable. Yet, she had clung to life because she didn't want to lose the chance to see that special person again—because she had promises to keep, tasks yet undone.

For that important person, she refused to give up on life, no matter how much she despised what she had to do.

"The process isn't important. The result is—you survived. That's what matters. Many things might be more important than life, but not the choice you made then." Ye Zi didn't think Nanako's decision was wrong. When people fight for survival, they'll do anything they can.

People kill to stay alive, so what she did was nothing in comparison.

"You did the right thing." Ye Zi looked at Nanako, reached out, and gently stroked her long, silky hair. What was once just a streak of silver at her temples was now mostly white.

"White hair..." A flash of regret passed through Ye Zi's eyes.

If it weren't for him, Nanako wouldn't have gone through all of this.

Everything had started because of him.

Feeling Ye Zi's touch, the coldness and disgust in Nanako's eyes faded. In the past, she had been so focused on her experiments that she neglected to take care of her hair, often letting it become oily and unkempt. Ye Zi had once casually mentioned it, and since then, she had taken better care of her hair.

"But he probably never thought about it," Nanako thought as she slowly turned her head, gazing at Ye Zi's face. She reached out with her pale, unappealing hand and gently touched his cheek. "I have never regretted the choices I made, not even until this moment."

Ye Zi didn't resist her touch, and as he heard her words, his expression wavered slightly before quickly returning to calm.

"And then?" he asked, changing the subject.

Nanako's thoughts paused for a moment. She lowered her hand and continued, "After I finally escaped Konoha, I wandered aimlessly, looking for a place to hide and a way to contact you. But when I found a place to rest, I heard the news that you had died in the Land of Earth."

"I didn't want to believe it, so I searched for the truth from every source I could, but in the end, I had to accept it."

Her eyes suddenly filled with a wild gleam.

"Back then, I had one thought—to change the fact that you were dead. I wanted... to bring you back to life!"

Ye Zi's body trembled slightly as he saw the madness in Nanako's eyes gradually subside, leaving his expression complicated.

Nanako, lost in her memories, didn't notice Ye Zi's reaction and continued, "That's when I sought out the daimyo of the Land of Grass. With the daimyo's support, I acquired the equipment I needed and began developing medicine, using the cells in my arms as the foundation."

She raised her pale, lifeless arm. "These are Hashirama's cells, but it's not easy to fuse them with the human body. Normally, I would have been torn apart by the cells, but I believe Orochimaru used some method to help me survive the fusion."

"By now, his research is likely nearing its final stage. Orochimaru's skills in this area are truly terrifying."

"I also had my own research direction, but now it's no longer necessary."

Nanako smiled softly as she looked earnestly at Ye Zi. "You're alive. That's all that matters."

Ye Zi silently picked up the black cloak and draped it over Nanako's shoulders. "That's what I wanted to say to you too."

Nanako hadn't shared many details of her experiences, but Ye Zi knew it must have been incredibly difficult for someone of her strength to survive to this point.

"I came here intending to find the person who developed the medicine. I didn't expect it to be you." Ye Zi stated plainly.

Before arriving, he had no idea that the person he sought would be Nanako. He had been wondering how to recruit them, but now that it was her, things were much simpler.

Nanako smiled quietly, watching him.

"Since it's you, this will be easy. I need your help."

"Alright," Nanako nodded without hesitation.

Just as he expected, she agreed without the slightest pause.

"First, improve the side effects of the medicine. If that's not possible, just make it take effect faster and last longer."

Ye Zi walked a few steps and picked up the syringe from the ground, turning back to face Nanako.

"You were responsible for the Land of Grass's army, weren't you?" Nanako immediately guessed that Ye Zi had wiped out the Land of Grass's military forces.

Ye Zi nodded, admitting it was his doing. He then said, "This medicine will be useful to me, but it takes too long to activate."

"Give me time, and I can improve it," Nanako said, her gaze lingering on Ye Zi's black hair.

Ye Zi took off his cloak, revealing an arm the same color as Nanako's, pale and lifeless. "If you need more resources, just tell me."

Nanako's eyes flickered with complex emotions as she looked at Ye Zi's arm. She couldn't stop herself from rushing into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, and silently resting her head on his chest.

She had always hated her grotesque arm, but now, she didn't care at all.

Ye Zi gently placed his hand on Nanako's back, holding her close in silence.

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Currently on Chapter 274 - The One Who Gives Their All