Her graceful, slender figure took flight, leaving a lingering image in Uchiha Kin's heart. His own heartstrings stirred, and he thought, So I can still appreciate beauty. The group set off again.
Uchiha Kin continued to use the Body Flicker Technique, but the chakra it consumed forced him to mix in ordinary movement along the way.
Danzo fell back by a hundred meters without a word, yet somehow kept pace with Uchiha Kin. The Root members farther behind were having a much harder time.
But Root members didn't need human emotions. They silently endured, then endured some more; they persevered, then persevered some more.
When they returned to the Hidden Leaf Village camp, Uchiha Kin parted ways with Danzo and his group, heading straight for the battlefield hospital.
"Lord Kin, you're back!" "Lord Kin!" Some of the wounded in the clearing saw Uchiha Kin and greeted him respectfully.
Jasmine and Golden Chrysanthemum heard the commotion and came running out. They wore white protective suits, masks, and goggles, and their clothes were stained with blood and medicine. "Captain." "Captain, you're back. That's wonderful... We were so worried."
Uchiha Kin nodded. "I'm fine. It was a minor mission, really. I was only there to guard against underhanded tricks like poisoning. There was no need for me to fight."
"Oh."
"I'll head to the central tent first!" Uchiha Kin told the two of them, then went ahead.
The central tent was empty. He sat in the chair behind the desk, leaned back, and closed his eyes to wait.
A little over ten minutes later, footsteps drew near. A blonde woman in white miko robes, a hood, and round glasses lifted the tent flap and entered. She had the same warm, sunny smile as Minato Namikaze, but hers carried a uniquely feminine gentleness.
"You're back?" she asked. When Uchiha Kin started to get up, she said, "Stay seated. No need to stand. This trip must have been exhausting."
As she spoke, she took off her outer robe.
"You're a Medical Ninja!" Uchiha Kin looked at her. "What Medical Ninja goes behind enemy lines to bring people out of prison? Nonō... rescuing prisoners of war and hostages isn't a Medical Ninja's responsibility..."
The woman was none other than Yakushi Nonō, who now controlled the entire medical system in Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War!
It was this very battle that would earn her the title "Wandering Miko" in the shinobi world. She would cross over from the field of medical ninjutsu and defeat the specialists at their own game, becoming the greatest spy in the shinobi world!
Yakushi Nonō replied casually, "There are more wounded these days, Kin, so you'll have to bear with it. Every life we save is something worth celebrating."
Uchiha Kin stared at her face for a long while before saying, very seriously, "People in power are always short-sighted. They mistake gold for gravel! Your talent for infiltration and rescue will surely draw attention..."
"I don't want to see the head of Konoha's wartime medical system forced into becoming a spy one day!"
"You're overthinking it... Have you been working yourself to the bone lately?" Yakushi Nonō changed into a white protective suit and put on a mask and cap. Seeing her like this made Uchiha Kin feel ashamed of himself. Yakushi Nonō added, "Be careful around Danzo. Don't trust his promises."
"Mm."
Yakushi Nonō left the tent, and Uchiha Kin followed her out. "I'll come too. You're working so hard that you make me look downright lazy."
"I'm only making my rounds. I'll be back soon..." The two walked and talked as they went.
"One of the three people I brought back this time had his memory read by the enemy. His brain and nerves are in terrible shape, and he's barely hanging on.
"I was going to put him out of his misery, but then I thought of an expert like you, so I brought him back instead. Take a look when you have time—and don't rush. He won't die anytime soon. Focus on the other wounded first!"
"A brain that's had its memories read? I've never seen a case like that before. What method does Iwagakure use?"
Uchiha Kin asked offhandedly. He didn't expect anyone to answer; he was just curious...
He knew Konoha's methods: the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques combined with chakra and brain-machine interfaces, with several people working together in coordination.
He didn't know what methods other shinobi villages used...
"If we can heal him, he'll be the first ninja to bring back the memory-reading method used by another shinobi village. A living sample!" Yakushi Nonō said.
For Konoha, this kind of "knowing the enemy" was immensely valuable. For shinobi, intelligence itself was its own reward.
Yakushi Nonō took him to see the three people who had just been brought back. All three were receiving treatment. Their skin had been stripped away, leaving their nerves exposed. They bore signs of torture, with torn muscles and burns.
The cruelty of the Rock Ninja interrogation squad was plain to see—
Their muscles, normally bundled together, had been torn apart one strip at a time. Even the places where they connected to the bones had been ripped open.
There were clear signs of electric shocks on the nerve endings. Someone had deliberately made holes in their lungs, and chili oil still clung to the inside.
The Medical Ninjas treated them in a crude, direct way, flushing their lungs clean with Water Style.
The wounded man tried to cough by reflex, but couldn't. By the time he realized it, his internal organs had already been healed with the Mystical Palm Technique. But when it came to the skin, the attending Medical Ninja was at a loss. Uchiha Kin spoke up. "I'll take it from here."
The attending Medical Ninja had been focused on the treatment and hadn't noticed Uchiha Kin. When he heard him speak, he looked over at Uchiha Kin and Yakushi Nonō, delighted.
"Lord Kin! Lady Yakushi!"
Uchiha Kin nodded with a smile. "Go prepare some skin for him. Any kind will do. I'll go change my clothes and come back."
Uchiha Kin stepped out and returned a short while later in protective medical clothing. After a brief wait, someone brought over some hides—
One tiger hide and one deer hide. The ninja who brought them looked uneasy. "W-will these do?"
"Yes, but not enough. There are three people here, so you'll need to find more."
"Yes." The other ninja breathed a sigh of relief.
Yakushi Nonō asked, "What should we do next?"
"Measure all three of them, then cut the hides to fit the different parts of their bodies. Leave the rest to me."
"I'll do it!" Yakushi Nonō personally joined in. The attending Medical Ninja and the nurses helped too, carefully cutting the hides with scalpels to preserve the fur and keep the underlying tissue intact.
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