Kiyohara traced his finger over the map, his eyes narrowing at the Rain border.
"Many civilian merchants don't consider their own country's geopolitical interests at all," Kiyohara analyzed coldly. "They simply import mass quantities of illegal ninja tools from the Great Nations and resell them at astronomical markups to mercenary factions in the Land of Rain. As for whether those smuggled weapons will be used to slaughter civilians or Konoha shinobi... they don't care in the slightest."
Kiyohara estimated that the specific Konoha merchant they were assigned to escort was exactly such a war profiteer.
"The merchant escort should theoretically take the least amount of operational time. Therefore... I vote we take this mission," Kiyohara stated his final decision. "Right now, Iwagakure is far too occupied with their own collapsing logistics. The Iwa squads left behind to scavenge the Land of Rain will likely be weak vanguard units."
'If we try our luck and capture one or two Iwa stragglers for violent interrogation, we might be able to extract classified information regarding the deployment of Steel Release ninja,' Kiyohara added internally.
Hearing this cold logic, Shiranui Genma also looked closely at the map. He felt that Kiyohara's tactical assessment made perfect sense. Honestly, it didn't really matter which specific mission they chose; all of them were dangerous B-Rank deployments in hostile territory.
Genma took a deep breath around his senbon and nodded. "I agree with Kiyohara."
Kurenai seemed a bit hesitant. She naturally leaned towards the safer, diplomatic intelligence exchange option, but she also understood the critical importance of aggressive intelligence gathering during a war. Seeing that both Kiyohara and Genma had aligned, she followed suit. "I... I choose this one too."
"Escorting a war profiteer's caravan? Very well," Orochimaru's pale expression remained completely unchanged.
To a Sannin, all three B-Rank missions were utterly trivial tasks; there was no difference in difficulty. Leading Kiyohara and the others on a simple escort wouldn't tax his operational bandwidth at all.
"Then the deployment is set: Escort the merchant caravan deep into the Land of Rain," Orochimaru took back the scroll and snapped it closed. "Get your affairs in order. We will gather at the main Village gates in exactly three days to deploy."
Orochimaru deliberately allowed for a three-day buffer period. During this time, the ninja were expected to repair their ruined equipment and psychologically decompress from the horrors of the coastline.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" the three Chunin replied in unison.
After Orochimaru dissolved into a flock of snakes and left the room, Genma groaned, a look of misery on his face. He didn't want to go on any of the missions, but unfortunately, avoiding the draft during wartime was treason.
"I heard it rains non-stop, year-round in the Land of Rain. It's a miserable, freezing swamp," Genma sighed. "I'll have to go to the quartermaster and buy a heavy waterproof cloak." He had never been deployed to the Rain before.
"Take your time preparing," Kiyohara said. He planned to spend this entire afternoon fencing his looted gear and selling his excess iron sand.
"That's true," Kurenai agreed thoughtfully.
The Land of Rain rained all year round, the urban environment was incredibly complex, and specialized intelligence agencies from all Great Nations had heavily infiltrated it. The interior was currently a chaotic warzone filled with violent mercenary factions and rogue ninja syndicates, making it exceptionally lethal for standard escorts.
Because the Land of Rain's geographical location was highly strategic—sandwiched directly between three major nations—it served as a geopolitical buffer zone. Therefore, during the horrific Second Great Ninja War, the Land of Rain had served as the primary battlefield, bearing the absolute brunt of the collateral damage and civilian slaughter.
After saying goodbye to his teammates, Kiyohara hit the black market. He meticulously fenced all the classified tactical vests, encoded scrolls, and high-quality weapons he had scavenged from the Mist corpses.
In total, he cleared over 1,000,000 Ryo.
He immediately paid off the remainder of the shady 70,000 Ryo loan he had taken out months ago, completely clearing his debt.
With his massive remaining capital, he purchased a premium, high-density chakra-conductive chainmail undergarment to replace his ruined mesh.
Regarding the razor-wire used for Shurikenjutsu traps, Kiyohara also purchased several spools of extremely expensive, high-tensile industrial wire.
With the terrifying possibility of Madara Uchiha dispatching White Zetsu clones to sabotage their upcoming mission at any time, Kiyohara planned to aggressively upgrade his entire arsenal first.
'Sigh... copper wire ultimately has its physical tensile limits,' Kiyohara thought, organizing his newly bought spools and placing them in his tactical pouch.
He was thinking that if he somehow acquired Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear forbidden technique, using those black, biological threads to bind his weapons would likely make his traps infinitely tougher and sharper. Judging solely from the Akatsuki member's canon usage, those cursed threads were nearly indestructible.
Just as Kiyohara finished his purchases and began walking toward Orochimaru's subterranean laboratory for his scheduled research shift, he heard a loud, all-too-familiar voice echoing from the street corner ahead.
"Orochimaru! You have to lend me the money this time! Just fifty thousand Ryo! I swear on my grandfather's grave I'll pay you back double once my luck turns around!"
On the bustling street, Tsunade—with her golden twin tails and imposing, voluptuous figure—was physically blocking Orochimaru from walking past her. Her ample assets trembled slightly with her aggressive, desperate movements.
Even though Orochimaru's pale expression didn't change, his slitted eyes conveyed that he was currently profoundly exasperated.
"Tsunade. I have told you this many times. All my liquid funds are heavily invested in critical biological research. I have absolutely no spare cash to fund your addictions."
"What use is that creepy research of yours anyway—?!"
Tsunade was halfway through her angry sentence when her sharp brown eyes spotted Kiyohara walking calmly up the street. Her eyes immediately lit up as if she had just seen an angel descending from heaven.
"Ah! Kid! You're here!" Tsunade practically shoved Orochimaru aside to greet Kiyohara.
She had read the classified military reports regarding Kiyohara's absolute slaughter on the eastern flank. She knew the Village High Command was going to issue him an astronomical bounty reward in a few days. The kid was loaded.
Kiyohara's footsteps paused. He could only lament that a gambling addiction was a terrifying, bottomless black hole; no amount of money in the world was ever enough to squander.
As the literal Princess of the Senju Clan—even though the Senju Clan no longer existed as a political entity and had chosen to disband into the civilian populace—the vast, generational wealth and inheritance of Hashirama Senju, Mito Uzumaki, and even Tobirama Senju should have gone entirely, directly to Tsunade.
Yet, despite inheriting the GDP of a small country, Tsunade had still ended up in such a pathetic state, constantly dodging violent loan sharks whenever she stepped outside the Village gates.
"Lord Orochimaru. Lady Tsunade," Kiyohara bowed respectfully.
Just then, a Root ANBU operative materialized silently from the shadows and whispered a few coded words directly into Orochimaru's ear.
Orochimaru nodded grimly. He turned to Tsunade and Kiyohara. "I have urgent political matters to attend to. You two catch up."
After saying that, he dissolved into a flock of snakes and hurriedly left with the Root operative, intentionally leaving Kiyohara alone to face the burning, desperate gaze of the legendary Sannin.
"Hehe... kid. Now no one's here to disturb us," Tsunade stepped aggressively closer. A faint, sad scent of cheap sake mixed with expensive perfume wafted from her clothes.
"How about it? I find you quite agreeable," Tsunade purred, her eyes fixed on his waist pouch. "Didn't I promise I'd give you a full day of medical guidance before we deployed? How about I add another day to the tab?"
"To be brutally honest, Lady Tsunade... I did gain some substantial bounty rewards from the previous massacre. But the vast majority of it has already been exchanged for necessary armor replacements and tactical supplies for my upcoming deployment," Kiyohara lied flawlessly, his face a mask of regret. "What I have left... isn't much."
The liquid cash he had left was actually massive, but he absolutely couldn't just hand it to Tsunade easily.
Money could be lent, but the psychological transaction had to be executed slowly, hesitantly, and painfully. Only then would an addict feel that this money was hard-earned and value the "favor" they owed him.
Hearing this flat denial, Tsunade was visibly, crushing disappointed. She wondered if she should force Shizune to go on high-society house calls to find some wealthy civilian aristocrats to treat for cash.
"But... if it is specifically for you, Lady Tsunade... I can lend you a portion of my emergency funds," Kiyohara sighed, reluctantly reaching into his pouch. He pulled out a thick stack of bills and handed it directly to her.
This money, of course, came entirely from fencing the Kirigakure ninja's stolen weapons. So Kiyohara didn't feel an ounce of pain spending it. The Hidden Mist was footing the entire bill for his medical tuition!
Tsunade, who had genuinely thought she wouldn't be able to extort any gambling money today, saw the thick stack of Ryo and was immediately overjoyed.
"Not bad, kid! Not bad at all," Tsunade laughed, snatching the cash with lightning speed. "I'm free this afternoon, so I'll just drag you to the hospital and guide you myself."
"Alright," Kiyohara nodded slightly. The transaction was complete.
Tsunade immediately marched Kiyohara to the Konoha Central Hospital.
As the undisputed top Medical Ninja in the world, even if Tsunade rarely performed active surgeries anymore due to her trauma, she still held an absolute, transcendent political status here. In terms of raw medical skill, there was currently no one alive stronger than Tsunade.
She bypassed all the checkpoints and brought Kiyohara into a highly secure, well-equipped surgical laboratory. Inside, various advanced medical instruments and sterile tables were neatly arranged.
Tsunade walked over to a supply shelf and took down a transparent glass container. Inside, several lively, fat carp were swimming around in the water.
"Let me see how your basics are. Use the Regeneration Technique scroll I gave you previously," Tsunade ordered, her tone shifting from a desperate addict to a strict, veteran instructor.
She instructed Kiyohara to use a scalpel to cut a deep, lethal slit in the fish's belly, and then demanded he perform the emergency healing.
After issuing the order, Tsunade immediately turned around, walked to the far end of the lab, and sat heavily on a leather sofa, crossing her legs. She stared at the ceiling, refusing to look at the table. One foot dangled in the air, revealing chipped, faded red nail polish.
With her crippling hemophobia, even the sight of a fish bleeding would trigger a severe panic attack.
Kiyohara didn't comment on her trauma. He walked to the sterile operating table, picked up a surgical scalpel from the tray, and made a swift, brutal incision across the carp's belly.
Blood instantly seeped out, staining the metal tray, and the fish began to thrash violently, suffocating.
At that exact moment, Kiyohara's left hand already covered the wound. His palm glowed with a vibrant, intense green light. He executed the Regeneration Technique.
With the massive biological boost from his stacked Yang Release genetic mutations, the green light of Kiyohara's medical chakra was vastly richer and denser than that of an average medic.
Under the intense stimulation of his chakra, the torn cells at the wound site rapidly, violently divided and regenerated. The deep incision sealed itself shut at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The entire surgical process took no more than sixty seconds.
The fish flopped twice more on the metal table, seemingly no longer in pain, and quickly regained its frantic vitality.
Kiyohara picked up the healed fish, placed it gently into a clean recovery container, and then meticulously scrubbed the bloody water off the surgical tray with a rag.
"Lady Tsunade. The operation is finished," Kiyohara announced softly.
"So fast?"
Tsunade finally turned around. She walked over, keeping her eyes averted from the rag, and glanced at the fish swimming happily in the water tank. Its silver belly was perfectly smooth and intact, with almost no scar tissue indicating it had been cut open, nor any residual trace of blood.
She stepped closer and carefully observed the fish's scales. A flash of genuine surprise appeared in her brown eyes.
"Your Yang Release chakra is incredibly, terrifyingly active. That is a genetic talent almost unheard of among modern Medical Ninjas."
Kiyohara nodded. Inheriting the Yang Release mutation twice from the Urn had indeed given him a monstrous advantage in all abilities related to biological life force and cellular regeneration.
"However..." Tsunade's tone turned stern. "Medical Ninjutsu isn't something that can be mastered purely by relying on brute-force genetic talent."
Tsunade walked over to a massive library shelf nearby, which was filled with various chemical reagents and thick textbooks.
"Microscopic chakra control requires tens of thousands of hours of grueling practice. And you also need to memorize a vast, encyclopedic amount of anatomical knowledge to avoid healing a wound incorrectly and causing a fatal tumor."
Tsunade began pulling massive, heavy textbooks off the shelf, slamming them down on the desk in front of Kiyohara.
Basics of Advanced Trauma Medicine. The Complete Ninja Meridian System. Yang Release and Cellular Theory. Human Anatomy and Chakra Flow.
"These are all absolutely essential reading," Tsunade stated.
Kiyohara took a look at the desk. Good heavens. The thick stack of medical textbooks was nearly three feet high!
Tsunade pulled over a stool and sat down. She pulled a small metal flask from her jacket and took a long, burning sip of sake.
"Tell me the truth, kid. Are you learning Medical Ninjutsu because you actually want to develop a career in this direction? Or is it simply a pragmatic support skill for combat?"
"It's a support skill," Kiyohara answered honestly. "But I intend to learn it thoroughly. On the battlefield, possessing one more utility ability means possessing one more chance of survival. Moreover... the improvement in microscopic chakra control gained from practicing Medical Ninjutsu is comprehensive. It directly aids in stabilizing highly volatile offensive ninjutsu."
"At least you're sensible," Tsunade smiled, taking another sip from her flask. "Many ignorant fools think Medical Ninjas just cower in the backlines and play nurse. But actually, top-tier Medical Ninjas are utterly terrifying in close-quarters combat."
If someone else had made that arrogant claim, Kiyohara might have doubted it. But hearing Tsunade say it, he believed it completely as absolute gospel.
Tsunade was the textbook definition of an apocalyptic battle medic. She could heal a severed spine, and she could shatter a mountain with a single punch. She was a truly flawless, all-around tactical weapon.
Subsequently, for the rest of the grueling afternoon, Kiyohara practiced advanced cellular theory with Tsunade in the lab.
Tsunade was, after all, the Medical Saint. Even if it was just a single afternoon of intense, unbroken tutoring, Kiyohara's fundamental understanding of human biology benefited immensely.
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Give me powerstones.
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