"Biwa Juzo, what are you doing?" Pain's voice was firm yet filled with concern as he carried Nagato on his back.
Biwa Juzo's eyes instantly filled with tears when he saw Pain approaching. His trembling voice barely managed to ask, "Chief… Chief… are you really here to save me?"
At that moment, Pain was like a god descending from the heavens in Biwa Juzo's eyes.
Pain, however, was confused. What had happened to this man? he wondered silently.
Biwa Juzo struggled to roll over and crawl toward Pain's feet. Clinging tightly to Pain's legs, he sobbed, "Wuwuwu… Chief, you finally came to save me! Scorpion was killed by that boss!"
The Red Sand Scorpion, perched on his instrument, sat up in surprise, confused. When was I killed? he thought.
Peter was also equally bewildered. When did I become a murderer?
Nagato, carried on Pain's back, instinctively glanced toward Peter and the Red Sand Scorpion. He caught the two men exchanging confused looks and sighed inwardly.
Nagato's eyes landed on Biwa Juzo, who was crying uncontrollably at his feet. The corner of Nagato's mouth twitched in exasperation. What in the world had provoked this man to such a state?
"Nagato, why don't you go inside?" Konan's voice cut through the tension as she approached.
Nagato said nothing, only keeping his gaze fixed on Biwa Juzo, who still knelt on the ground, overcome with emotion.
Following Nagato's eyes, Konan looked down and saw the normally calm Biwa Juzo weeping like a child.
"What happened to him?" Konan whispered, curious and concerned. The usually steady and reliable Biwa Juzo had never acted this way before.
Hearing Konan's voice, Biwa Juzo hastily raised his head, his face still pale and his voice trembling with fear, "We need to hurry. The owner of this shop isn't just incredibly strong—he's also a super pervert!"
Nagato and Konan exchanged baffled glances. Neither could understand what Biwa Juzo had experienced to make him say such things.
They then looked toward Peter and the Red Sand Scorpion with curious eyes.
Peter, meanwhile, felt a strange flutter in his chest, as if a thousand alpacas were racing wildly through it. He wanted to shout, I am powerful!
Peter thought, Biwa Juzo does have good judgment about strength... but why on earth does he call me a pervert? A super big pervert, no less?
"Do I really look like a pervert?" Peter asked, pulling a small mirror out of nowhere and examining his reflection.
"Well, with those sharp eyebrows and eyes, you are extremely handsome! Definitely one-tenth as handsome as you, dear reader!" Peter said with an exaggerated flair.
He genuinely couldn't understand how someone so handsome could be labeled a pervert.
Just then, the Red Sand Scorpion turned to Biwa Juzo, curious, "Juzo, what are you doing?"
Because of the recent chaos, one of Scorpion's mechanical legs was still detached, so he was sitting up with some difficulty.
Upon hearing the scorpion's voice, Biwa Juzo blinked in surprise and ran toward him. "You're not dead!"
Peter sighed and rubbed his forehead, "I finally understand. This guy really misunderstood me."
It wasn't his fault—Peter thought—seeing him holding the scorpion's leg just moments ago must have been terrifying. Anyone would be scared to death at such a sight.
Biwa Juzo scratched his head awkwardly, "Turns out I misunderstood…"
The entire situation had been a misunderstanding caused by the frightening scene of Peter holding Scorpion's leg.
"Boss, when can you heal Nagato's body?" Konan asked expectantly, breaking the silence.
"Right away. Give me two minutes," Peter replied, picking up the detached scorpion leg and carefully reattaching it.
"This is a professional disassembly tool. Without it, there's no way to dismantle your body properly," Peter explained quickly, fearing the scorpion would think the repair was shoddy.
Scorpion, who had been a little worried, breathed a sigh of relief. The thought of his limbs being randomly torn off in battle was terrifying.
Biwa Juzo watched curiously, "Scorpion, how do you feel now?"
"Nothing," the Red Sand Scorpion replied nonchalantly.
Biwa Juzo poked the scorpion's body in fascination, "It really is mechanical!"
Soon, the mechanical Red Sand Scorpion was fully restored. He clenched his fists tightly, feeling a surge of power unlike anything before, and excitement lit up his face.
Suddenly, blue flames burst from the soles of his feet, and Scorpion shot into the air like a rocket.
Biwa Juzo watched from below, stunned. He couldn't believe his eyes.
It turned out the mysterious shop owner had not deceived them. Instead, he had given Scorpion a brand-new, much more powerful body.
Scorpion adjusted to his new form midair and gave a satisfied smile. Nodding approvingly, he praised, "This is definitely stronger than my old puppet body!"
"Of course," Peter said with a smile. "Even though you have a new body, you can still use Chakra freely."
Hearing this, Scorpion immediately tested his new abilities. Several transparent Chakra lines appeared in his hands, thin yet tough like spider silk.
Biwa Juzo's eyes widened as he stared at the glowing Chakra threads in Scorpion's hands. "This is incredible…"
"Boss, can we start treating Nagato's body now?" Konan asked, eager to move forward as the repairs finished.
"Of course," Peter said, opening the door of the treatment cabin and motioning for Nagato to lie down inside.
Nagato controlled Pain's body and carefully carried him into the treatment cabin.
"F**k! Chief, where did you steal this skeleton from?" Biwa Juzo exclaimed.
Nagato's body was emaciated and covered in black rods piercing through his skin, making him look like a walking skeleton.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say he looked skeletal.
Nagato's mouth twitched in response, but he ignored Biwa Juzo and turned to Scorpion. "Scorpion, help me pull out the black rods from my body."
Scorpion nodded firmly. "Understood, Chief."
As the black rods were pulled out one by one, the puppet controlled by Nagato—Tendo Pain—lost power and collapsed to the ground.
Scorpion carefully laid Nagato inside the treatment cabin.
Peter promptly closed the cabin door, and as it shut, a green liquid began to fill the entire space inside.
Nagato lay still, feeling the warm liquid flow over his body. A sensation of unparalleled comfort spread through his heart.
For years, Nagato had carried the tremendous burden of the Gedo Statue and controlled the Six Paths of Pain, which had hollowed out his body.
Fortunately, as a member of the Uzumaki clan, he possessed immense Chakra reserves and a strong life force, allowing him to survive so long.
If it had been anyone else, they would have died long ago from Chakra depletion.
"Chief, what's wrong with you?" Biwa Juzo couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling as he looked down at Pain, who lay motionless on the ground.
His face was filled with anxiety, completely unaware of what was happening.
The Red Sand Scorpion snorted coldly beside him, clearly unimpressed by Biwa Juzo's reaction.
"Idiot," Scorpion muttered under his breath.
From the moment he first saw Nagato, Scorpion had known that Nagato was the true leader of the Akatsuki and that Pain was merely a puppet controlled by him.
With Biwa Juzo's intelligence, it wasn't long before he understood why the man had misunderstood Peter earlier.