The surgery proceeded methodically. The unique tomoe of the Sharingan appeared in Kiyoshi's eyes, slowly rotating along his pupils. The amazing thing was that as time passed, Kiyoshi was continuously growing stronger. The areas his Sharingan could see became clearer, and the continuously increasing insight allowed Kiyoshi to clearly see Ōhiro's blood vessels.
Kiyoshi's scalpel continuously avoided the thick, winding meridian system around the heart, carefully tending to the heart behind it. The Meridian System exists in every part of the human body: blood vessels transport blood, and the meridian system is responsible for transporting chakra. These meridians vary in size; the smallest are hidden within every cell, and the largest are comparable to blood vessels.
The heart is the area with the most meridians in the human body. Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear takes advantage of this, cleverly transplanting other people's hearts, along with their large meridian systems, into his own body to gain more chakra natures. This is a method of acquiring additional chakra natures later in life without undergoing lengthy training.
An average Jōnin typically only knows two chakra natures, and many Chūnin and Genin only possess one.
"H-how is it going?" Hazuki's voice was intermittent, sounding as if she was chewing on takeout food.
"Almost done." Kiyoshi didn't even look at Hazuki, keeping his hands on the operating table to continue Ōhiro's surgery.
***
Half an hour later, Ōhiro was moved from the operating table to a patient room.
"Then I'll be going now." Seeing Hazuki silent with her head bowed, Kiyoshi turned and walked away.
Only after Kiyoshi left did Hazuki slowly lift her pretty face. Her eyes were brimming with tears, rolling in the corners, looking as if they would fall at any second.
Just then, Ōhiro let out a soft groan. He frowned tightly and slowly opened his eyes. It was the familiar white ceiling. Kiyoshi's perfectly administered dose of anesthetic had precisely controlled his awakening time.
"Hazuki, I… what is this…?" Ōhiro pulled aside his hospital gown and found a new layer of bandages wrapped around him.
"The surgery was a success, Ōhiro." Hazuki wiped away her tears with her hand and showed him a smiling face.
"It doesn't hurt like it did before when I knead chakra." Ōhiro was pleasantly surprised to find that his chakra kneading ability was much improved.
He looked up at Hazuki, who had cried out of worry for him, and a warm current surged through his heart. Perhaps due to her excessive worry, Hazuki's hair was messy, with a wisp of fine hair falling near her mouth.
Ōhiro said with sincere emotion: "Hazuki, thank you so much."
He had originally intended to gamble on the surgery's success rate, letting whichever medical ninja was free perform the operation without being picky. The fact that Hazuki called in a medical ninja from their Uchiha clan was a truly unexpected pleasant surprise for Ōhiro.
"Right, was that ninja… Kiyoshi?" Ōhiro recalled encountering Kiyoshi previously when he was with the Ninja Cat clan.
"Yes, it was him." Hazuki nodded gently.
"I must treat him to a meal sometime." Ōhiro made this decision.
***
Kiyoshi's home. After the surgery, Kiyoshi began to adapt to the dramatically increased Dōjutsu power in his right eye, feeling this power gradually feeding back into his limbs and body.
He picked up his ninja blade and began practicing simple slicing movements. The ten-kilogram ninja blade was usable for him, but extended swinging still caused fatigue.
A katana made of ordinary metal would not be this heavy. Most ninjas used short swords or short-range weapons like kunai. Kiyoshi's ninja blade was definitely considered a long weapon, a rare sight among ninjas.
However, Kiyoshi was very satisfied with this weapon. His height was still increasing, and in a few years, he would be able to wield it perfectly. Longer meant stronger, and the range Kiyoshi could apply his chakra-enhanced enchantment would also be greater.
"Next up is… the Great Snake Substitute Jutsu." Kiyoshi muttered softly. His skin instantly split down the middle, slowly shedding like a layer of skin, taking his clothes with it.
"You have acquired the Trait: [Snake-Style Ninja (White)]."
[Trait: Snake-Style Ninja (White)]
[Requirement Achieved: Successfully use a variant Jutsu technique outside the Five Great Natures—a Snake-Style Jutsu—1 time.]
[Progress: (Completed).]
[Effect: Your affinity for snakes is higher, and the use of Snake-Style Jutsu will be enhanced by 5% on the original basis.]
[Note: Can be further advanced.]
"Snake-Style Jutsu, huh?" Kiyoshi thought to himself. The progress bar had appeared not long after he began practicing the Great Snake Substitute Jutsu, but it had only reached the Completed status today.
"Looks like I shed a layer of skin." Kiyoshi stroked his chin, looking at the shed skin below, which still had clothes identical to his own.
Slowly, the shed skin on the ground continuously withered over time, estimated to disappear soon.
The Great Snake Substitute Jutsu actually had the effect of the Transformation Jutsu as well. It involved enchanting a layer of chakra onto the body's surface, and after an enemy attacked, that part of the chakra could be shed.
This process was similar to the Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak formed by a Jinchūriki leaking chakra, except the Great Snake Substitute Jutsu would be disguised to look exactly like the person.
"Don't eat that." Kiyoshi suddenly squatted down and tapped the White Snake's head. The White Snake had stealthily slithered onto the ground while Kiyoshi was lost in thought, immediately opening her mouth to try and eat Kiyoshi's shed skin.
"Hiss hiss…" The White Snake made the raspy sound unique to snakes. She then reluctantly opened her jaws and dropped Kiyoshi's shed "skin-suit," retracting her crossed, crimson tongue.
"You won't miss out on your food." Kiyoshi shook his head and threw the shed skin on the ground into the trash can. Kiyoshi was still unsure whether this substance was chakra or flesh. It wouldn't be good if it caused unknown side effects for his summoned beast.
They were scheduled to leave for their mission tomorrow, and Kiyoshi didn't want any accidents during the mission.
"The chakra consumption is a bit high." His body was perhaps overly "hard" and lacked a "soft" side. This technique required a certain physical pliability, and Kiyoshi's previous Lightning Release Body Forging only made his muscles stronger and bulkier.
If he had Soft Physique Modification, the chakra consumption would be greatly reduced.
"I need to find a way to get Soft Physique Modification from Orochimaru." Kiyoshi thought to himself. Orochimaru's hideout was a good place; not only could he "scavenge" various cutting-edge research data, but he could also learn a series of Snake-Style Jutsu.
He just wasn't sure if summoning snakes counted as Snake-Style Jutsu. Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and Myriad Snakes Swallowing Jutsu both involved summoning snakes.
***
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