Chapter 73: Surgery
Su Xiao stood before the operating table, wearing disposable rubber gloves. Konan stood behind him, and on the table lay an unconscious Nagato.
What an incredible scene this was. Before entering Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao would never have imagined experiencing something like this.
The surgery was in its initial stages. From Konan’s tense cheeks, it was clear how nervous she was.
Neither Nagato nor Konan knew one thing: Su Xiao had no surgical skills whatsoever. He had only studied human anatomy and had a good understanding of the human body.
If judged by medical experience, this surgery was bound to fail, because the "attending physician" was far too unreliable. This "attending physician" only excelled at killing people, but when it came to saving lives...
However, that didn’t matter. With the effects of that potent medicine, as long as Su Xiao didn’t touch Nagato’s brain, even a rough surgery would be fine.
Su Xiao’s plan was simple: as long as he could ensure Nagato didn’t die, the rest was easy. It was nothing more than "dismembering" Nagato, removing the harmful things, correcting his body, and then letting him recover on his own.
As long as the debuff effects of that potent medicine weren’t triggered, Nagato wouldn’t die under the current circumstances.
Even if Su Xiao didn’t perform the surgery, Nagato was doomed anyway, so taking the risk was necessary.
Pfft, pfft...
Su Xiao pulled out the metal rods from Nagato’s back one by one, handing them to Konan, who placed them aside.
The number of metal rods was greater than expected—a full 87 rods. It was a wonder how Nagato had survived. These 87 rods weighed at least two hundred jin!
After clearing the metal rods from Nagato’s back, Su Xiao used a scalpel to cut into the muscles of Nagato’s spine. However, Nagato’s wounds healed quickly, making the surgery considerably more difficult.
Su Xiao first examined the damage the metal rods had caused to Nagato. The internal organs didn’t need attention; as long as the rods were removed, combined with the effects of that potent medicine, Nagato’s internal organs would heal quickly on their own. The main issue was the bones of Nagato’s spine.
Nagato’s spine was severely curved and deformed, with many nerves compressed. Under the effects of the potent medicine, the already deformed spinal bones were healing rapidly.
This was not a good thing. If the spine wasn’t corrected and left as is, even if Nagato survived, he would be paralyzed—and it would be high-level paraplegia.
Su Xiao reached his hand into the wound on Nagato’s back and grabbed Nagato’s spine with his bare hand!
Crack! Crack!
Su Xiao was correcting the spinal bones. Every time a crisp sound rang out, Konan’s brow twitched.
Five minutes later, Su Xiao had corrected Nagato’s spine to the most appropriate physiological shape. The recovery effects of the potent medicine allowed the spine to heal quickly. The compressed nerves gradually recovered, some withered blood vessels regained vitality, and Nagato’s spine returned to a healthy state.
Although it seemed absurd, with the help of Alchemy + Uzumaki bloodline + Hashirama Cells, this was not a fantasy.
Su Xiao flexed his fingers and began suturing the wound on Nagato’s back layer by layer.
For a wound that opened to the spine, suturing just the outer layer wasn’t enough; the inside also had to be stitched.
After each layer of suturing, Su Xiao waited a moment. He was waiting for the wound to heal before removing the stitches. This process was repeated five times.
After three hours of surgery, all the metal rods in Nagato’s back had been removed. These things that had plagued Nagato for over a decade finally left his body.
Looking at Nagato now, his graying hair had turned dark red, indicating that his vitality was rapidly recovering.
"Great."
Konan, who usually showed no emotion, clenched her fists and smiled.
Nagato was Konan’s close friend. They were the same age. Once, Nagato had taken care of Konan; now, Konan took care of Nagato. Although it wasn’t romantic love and they had no blood relation, their bond over so many years surpassed family ties. It was normal for Konan to have an emotional reaction.
"Don’t celebrate too early. This is just the beginning. The thing inside his chest is the real challenge."
Su Xiao removed the sutures from Nagato’s back. Now, only faint scars could be seen on Nagato’s back.
He pulled Nagato, who was lying on his side on the operating table, into a supine position and began cleaning the already decayed muscle tissue on Nagato’s chest.
Before opening the chest, these rotten muscle tissues had to be thoroughly cleaned to avoid the risk of bacterial infection. Su Xiao had at least this basic knowledge.
Konan acted as an assistant. Although Su Xiao wasn’t skilled in surgery, his Blade Master Lv.21 was no decoration. Even without a knife, he was precise. In less than ten minutes, all the rotten flesh on Nagato’s chest was removed, revealing fresh muscle tissue. A pit of flesh appeared on Nagato’s chest, but there was no bleeding, as if the nearby blood vessels had already necrotized.
"Can this wound heal?"
Seeing the pit on Nagato’s chest, Konan frowned deeply.
"Don’t talk."
Su Xiao was concentrating on sensing the situation inside Nagato’s body.
"Sorry..."
Konan stopped mid-sentence. Nagato’s life was at stake; she wouldn’t be careless in the slightest.
Of course, the pit on Nagato’s chest could heal. There was no need to worry about it now. The creature inside Nagato’s chest cavity was the real problem. That thing likely had simple intelligence. The fact that it hadn’t killed Nagato showed that it knew it was a parasite and couldn’t easily kill its host.
Moreover, Su Xiao could clearly feel that the thing inside Nagato wanted to struggle, but it survived by absorbing Nagato’s blood. While Nagato was anesthetized, the thing inside him was also anesthetized.
To anesthetize Nagato, Su Xiao had used enough anesthetic to knock out several buffalo. A larger dose would have stopped Nagato’s bodily functions, or he would have injected more anesthetic.
The scalpel cut open Nagato’s chest, and blood gushed out, revealing a black-shelled beetle.
After fully opening the chest, the beetle’s form came into view. It was flat-bodied, about the size of a soccer ball. Although it wasn’t small in volume, its thickness was only three centimeters, and its body was curled into a ball.
At this moment, the beetle was tightly wrapped around Nagato’s heart, covering it completely like a hard shell.
What kind of ability was this, so vicious? If Nagato’s vitality hadn’t been strong enough, he would have died within minutes of being hit.
Su Xiao didn’t like shelled insects, especially those that laid eggs. It was utterly disgusting. Various organs in Nagato’s body were covered with eggs.
When Konan saw the scene inside Nagato’s chest cavity, her pupils contracted. Despite her strong mental fortitude, her stomach churned.
Su Xiao remained calm. Although he also found it disgusting, Nagato’s life was in his hands.
Su Xiao spent two hours removing all the eggs. During this time, he also injected mana into Nagato’s body to ensure no stragglers remained.
After removing the eggs, Nagato’s various organs regained vitality under the effects of the potent medicine. The most obvious was his lungs, which were functioning smoothly.
Su Xiao examined the beetle from all angles, unsure where to start cutting. It wrapped around Nagato’s heart too tightly, leaving no gaps.
Grabbing the beetle with his hand, Su Xiao tried to pry it open by force.
Beep, beep, beep~
The equipment beside him sounded an alarm. Nagato’s heartbeat slowed, and Su Xiao quickly let go.
Simply pulling the beetle off wouldn’t work. This thing had already formed a symbiotic relationship with Nagato’s heart. Another method was needed.