Uchiha Kin returned to the tent, took off his medical protective clothing, and revealed the ordinary clothes underneath.
It was a plain white outfit covered in overlapping black spirals, interwoven in a way that made it easy to feel dizzy if you stared at it for too long. The inner layer was the same color, though the style varied somewhat.
It was completely different from the black, dark blue, and grass green favored by most members of the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Kin had dressed this way since he was a child, and he had always stuck with it.
There was no other reason—
He simply didn't like being watched.
Hyuga Ken rubbed his aching temples and muttered, "Hey, could you change your clothes? This is way too un-Uchiha." Actually, it was just making him dizzy. When he looked at Uchiha Kin with his Byakugan, Kin looked like a person-shaped mass of intricate, disorienting patterns.
Uchiha Kin said, "No. I think this outfit is great... White is sacred, black is order."
"So you even wear it when you bathe?" Hyuga Ken asked, seemingly offhandedly, bringing up a little detail that was sure to drive anyone crazy.
Sure enough, Uchiha Kin's expression changed. "What, you watched me bathe?" He paused, then cursed, "Pervert."
Hyuga Ken flushed bright red. "Ptooey, ptooey! Why would I watch you when there's a women's bathhouse? If I were going to watch anyone, I'd watch Nohara Rin!"
Uchiha Kin raised a finger to his lips. "Shh. Don't let Obito hear you, or he'll kill you."
"What? What are you talking about? Why would I kill you?" A voice interrupted them out of nowhere. It belonged to a peer wearing goggles.
Dressed in the kind of outfit commonly worn by the Uchiha Family, he was full of energy. In a few leaps, he was right in front of them. "Hey, you two. Long time no see! And you're talking about me behind my back!"
Uchiha Kin casually said, "He said he wanted to watch Nohara Rin bathe..."
"Ah, you bastard! I'll kill you!"
The air seemed to swell. A white-haired boy wearing a black mask suddenly appeared and put a hand on Obito's shoulder to stop him. "Kin, Ken. It's been a long time." It was Kakashi.
"Kin, Ken!"
Nohara Rin ran over from a distance, a little later than the others. Her voice was noticeably excited when she called out "Kin."
Obito pursed his lips and turned away indignantly, muttering spitefully, "What's so great about a useless Uchiha who can't even awaken his Sharingan? I'm different. I'll definitely awaken mine someday—and it'll be a three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"Obito!" Nohara Rin stopped him, then spoke softly to Uchiha Kin. "Kin, Obito's just like that. Don't take him seriously."
"Hey, I—" Obito was about to say something when a blond man wearing a jonin vest walked over, his face beaming with a sunny smile. "Kin, sorry to trouble you, but High Ninja Ishihara's right arm had to be amputated because of poison, so..."
Uchiha Kin nodded and asked, "Is the arm for the replacement ready?"
"It's ready."
Uchiha Kin said to Hyuga Ken, "Looks like we'll have to catch up later." He nodded, then called Jasmine and Golden Chrysanthemum over. "We have an operation, though it's not very difficult. Head over and get ready first...
"The patient needs an arm replacement. First, clean the patient's wound and prepare the area where the arm will be attached. Second, get the replacement arm ready and use the Mystical Palm Technique to keep it alive. Wait for me to get there."
"Yes!"
Jasmine and Golden Chrysanthemum didn't change clothes. After asking which tent to go to, they went straight there to prepare.
Uchiha Kin changed into his clothes and arrived afterward. The preparations were already complete.
Uchiha Kin had Jasmine and Golden Chrysanthemum line up the arm, then placed his hand on the junction. One after another, pale yellow nerves extended from his palm, pierced through his glove, and burrowed into the patient's body. In an instant, the arm and shoulder were joined.
Minato, Kakashi, Nohara Rin, and Obito waited outside the tent. Hyuga Ken was waiting too.
As he waited, he activated his Byakugan out of habit.
Veins bulged at the corners of his eyes, like a mass of gnarled, twisted tree roots. But they were wrapped in a strip of white cloth, so no one could see the details beneath it.
He forced himself to endure the dizziness and discomfort caused by the spiraling patterns, so full of geometric beauty, in his field of vision. He watched Uchiha Kin perform the operation without looking away.
Those strands of nerves were the most wonderful things in his eyes—and the things he wanted most desperately!
"No rejection. It works right away. This method of connecting them... It's practically a work of art.
"He can actually do this. It's unbelievable. As expected of you, my teammate."
Uchiha Kin's operation took less than a minute. The pale yellow nerves sank into the patient's flesh, vanishing from sight.
Uchiha Kin said to Ishihara, "Give it a try."
High Ninja Ishihara moved his new arm and couldn't hide his delight. "This arm is really powerful..." A thought suddenly struck him, and he drew on his chakra. "It even has earth-nature chakra transformation."
The arm had belonged to a Rock Ninja who had been skilled in the Earth Release Hardening Technique. Both of his arms had been very strong.
An arm like that naturally carried the chakra molding and nature-transformation instincts he had developed over years of training.
Uchiha Kin said, "Good. Get some rest."
Uchiha Kin was about to leave when Ishihara suddenly called out to him. "Wait. Lord Kin!" He had actually addressed Uchiha Kin as "Lord." Confused, Uchiha Kin turned around. Ishihara hesitated. "Um, Lord Kin, could you..."
He summoned his courage. "Could you replace my other arm with the Rock Ninja's as well? And his core muscles...
"My strength is unbalanced like this. This arm is too strong, while my other arm is too weak."
Of course, he hadn't mentioned the real reason—the earth-nature chakra transformation.
That would have made him seem far too greedy.
"Mr. Ishihara... I'm a doctor, and I have my principles. Replacing your arm was treatment for your disability, but what you're asking for now..." Uchiha Kin looked at Ishihara and asked, "Extra, nonessential medical treatment will cost you. Are you willing to pay for it yourself?"
Ishihara was disappointed when Uchiha Kin seemed to refuse, but the moment he heard that the extra treatment would cost him money, he perked up.
"I'm willing! I'm willing!"
Uchiha Kin nodded and said to Jasmine beside him, "Go have someone prepare an agreement, and ask High Ninja Minato to come in. We'll need a third party to witness this."
Before you continue