This was a small medical tent. Uchiha Kin wore a white medical suit, gloves, and a mask. Even his eyes were covered by goggles, completely isolating him from the environment.
A jonin lay unconscious on the operating table, covered with a white sheet. His shirt had been cut open, and a hole had been opened in his chest.
A nurse pressed both hands against the jonin. The pale green glow of Medical Ninjutsu covered his body, making him seem to give off light.
Another nurse walked up to a bound prisoner. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but for the sake of my comrade, I have to borrow your heart!" She knew it was immoral, a betrayal of her conscience.
But how could she stand by and watch her comrade die? Wasn't it right to trade a prisoner's life for her comrade's?
Kin was the one who was right! She couldn't help looking at Uchiha Kin.
This somewhat cold and ruthless man was the leader of their medical team. He possessed a unique Medical Ninjutsu, especially skilled in techniques involving the transplantation of limbs and internal organs. He was known as the "Man Who Steals Souls from Death"—even though he was only thirteen, and, as a Uchiha, was not well regarded by his clan!
He had made a name for himself on the medical battlefield with his skills, but not as a wielder of the "Sharingan."
To the Uchiha Clan, that was no honor. It was more like an insult!
She turned back, cut open the prisoner's chest, and removed his heart. Carefully cradling it, she handed it to the team leader.
"Good. Stay with Jasmine and keep him alive. Leave the rest to me." Uchiha Kin took the heart as he spoke. Then he reached out and roughly shoved it into the jonin's chest.
Inside the abdominal cavity, one yellowish nerve after another emerged from Uchiha Kin's palm. They grew and connected wildly, like the roots of a plant. The nerves attached to the heart spasmed, squeezing all the blood out of it.
Then those nerves reached for the nerves of the jonin's heart and joined with them, acting like a bridge.
"Scalpel!" he said curtly. His assistant handed him one, and with a light cut, he removed the old heart.
Blood suddenly surged into the new heart, which began beating with vigorous force. The pale green glow of Medical Ninjutsu continued to work, helping the new heart quickly heal into the body.
There was no rejection—this was one of the miracles of the Medical Ninjutsu Uchiha Kin had created!
"Captain, he's ready," Jasmine called. She stopped using her Mystical Palm Technique, too. Sustaining the technique consumed a lot of energy.
Uchiha Kin glanced around the tent. "Notify his teammates and have them take him away. Also, deal with the prisoner's body and clean the tent. We need to rest."
"I'll go." Another teammate lifted the tent flap and told the jonin's companions waiting outside, "Your comrade is ready. You can take him away. Also, deal with the prisoner's body inside and clean up."
"That's great!" "Thank you, doctor." "Thank you, Lord Kin." After thanking them, the group went into the tent.
Uchiha Kin and his two teammates left the rest to them. They strolled out of the operating area and wandered around an open space for a while.
Thanks to Uchiha Kin's medical skills, his team wasn't involved in routine medical treatment. They had to make sure their energy was saved for where it mattered most.
That was why they had this free time.
"Captain, your technique keeps getting better... This operation took even less time than the last one!" Jasmine said excitedly.
"The last operation was harder than this one," Uchiha Kin said. "The poison had already spread into three organs, all of which had to be replaced. Different organs have nerves in different places. Connecting them correctly is no easy task."
"That just proves how amazing you are, Captain! Even Princess Tsunade couldn't handle poison that had entered all five organs. Only you could come up with the idea of removing the organs, getting rid of the poison, and replacing them."
"Who else could do it? You're the only one with this technique, Captain."
Uchiha Kin gave a noncommittal "Mm" and looked up at the sky. The sky over the Land of Grass was a brilliant blue. A gentle breeze brushed against him, carrying a hint of warmth.
He opened his hand and held it up before his eyes, palm facing upward—
The hand in its white medical glove looked utterly ordinary. He suddenly smiled. "That's right. Who else has this technique but me? As a Uchiha, what else could I do to escape the fate of death?"
Ever since he learned at birth that he was a Uchiha, the shadow of his clan's destruction had weighed on his heart.
He had no choice but to struggle desperately and find a way to survive... And yet, he was an extremely calm person, largely indifferent to emotion.
He couldn't rely on his Sharingan, so he developed this secret technique for controlling nerves, preparing for the future.
"The Land of Grass... Kannagi Bridge. It's time for me to reap what I've sown."
Ten years honing one art, its edge never yet revealed.
Today, it was time to show that edge and break free from the cage.
A bluebird flew across the sky, flapping its wings and singing.
Its clear, ringing cry tore through the sky like a sharp sword.
The bluebird's image flashed through Uchiha Kin's eyes, then all that remained was the azure sky.
"Well, old teammate, long time no see." A young man approached from a distance, dressed in a white robe, with a strip of white cloth tied around his head. His forehead protector was wrapped around the knuckles of his left hand. "You seem to have it easy. Can't say the same for me."
He was Uchiha Kin's "old teammate," Hyuga Ken, a branch-family member of the Hyuga Clan. They were the same age and equally "precocious and mature." He seemed to be a transmigrator, just like Kin.
He was one of the few in the Hyuga Clan who felt no attachment to the name "Hyuga." He genuinely looked down on Gentle Fist, believing it was impractical and ill-suited to the Byakugan. His weapon of choice was a pair of short swords.
After all—compared to poking pressure points, a blade going in white and coming out red was more efficient and direct.
Uchiha Kin gave a noncommittal reply and asked, "What do you want?"
"Obviously, I need your help with something!" Hyuga Ken grinned.
"What do you need help with?" Uchiha Kin asked, though he already knew the answer. Looks like he's ready.
Jasmine and Golden Chrysanthemum exchanged a knowing glance with Uchiha Kin, then walked away on their own, giving the two men some time to talk privately.
Hyuga Ken said, "If you're going to talk like that, you're no fun. Come on—we don't have much time!"
"Fine. I'll go change first!"
Before you continue