The escort mission concluded without incident, and Kiyohara's team safely returned to the rear logistics camp.
The golden glow of the setting sun cast a warm veil over the tents in the camp. Groups of shinobi who had finished their missions for the day returned in twos and threes, bringing a rare sense of vitality to the previously quiet base.
After having a simple dinner, Kiyohara headed to Rin's medical tent as promised.
Inside, the tent was filled with a faint herbal fragrance. Medical tools and scrolls were neatly arranged on the tables, giving the space an orderly and calming atmosphere.
"Kiyohara, you're here," Rin greeted him with a gentle smile.
"Sorry to bother you, Rin," Kiyohara replied politely.
Rin nodded softly. She had agreed earlier to teach Kiyohara some basic medical ninjutsu. For her, it was not only a chance to teach but also a good opportunity to consolidate her own knowledge. Improving the abilities of her teammates also meant indirectly helping herself.
"Learning medical ninjutsu requires an exceptional amount of patience and extremely delicate chakra control, especially the application of Yang Release chakra. Tonight, we'll start from the very basics…"
She began explaining the fundamental theories behind medical ninjutsu in detail.
Kiyohara listened intently. Ever since fusing with the Missing-nin Kiyohara's spirit, his spiritual energy had grown far stronger than before. The greatest advantage brought by this was naturally his enhanced ability to absorb and memorize information.
With Rin only explaining everything once, Kiyohara had already memorized nearly all of it.
"You remembered everything already?" Rin asked, surprised.
She tested him with several questions, only to find that Kiyohara answered every single one fluently.
"If I review it one more time, I should remember all of it completely," Kiyohara said.
He felt an odd tingling sensation in his head—almost like new knowledge was trying to sprout.
"Eh? That fast?" Rin blinked in astonishment. She hadn't expected his memory to be this good. She herself had taken a long time to remember all this medical theory back then.
"I'll explain it again," Rin said, and repeated everything once more before questioning him again.
She soon discovered that Kiyohara still answered every question correctly without hesitation. His memory was nothing short of astonishing.
"Kiyohara… you might actually be surprisingly well-suited to becoming a medical shinobi," Rin said with a sigh of admiration.
As she spoke, a breeze drifted through the tent's flap. Her short brown hair fluttered lightly across her cheek, making her look even more adorable.
Rin then went on to teach Kiyohara a basic medical ninjutsu called Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, which could remove a portion of flesh.
This jutsu was typically used to cut away severely poisoned areas that couldn't be treated in time.
"It's just a pity… I don't know if you have the Yang Release attribute." She sounded a little regretful.
Chakra paper could only test the five basic elemental attributes. Yin and Yang chakra had to be tested through other methods.
"Who knows…" Kiyohara smiled faintly. He didn't continue the topic. Instead, he attempted to perform the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique Rin had just taught him.
Sadly, nothing happened.
He was only good at memorization, after all.
Kiyohara knew he possessed Wind and Lightning chakra natures. His enhanced spiritual energy strengthened his Yin Release nature, but he still didn't know whether he had Yang Release.
Every person possessed different chakra affinities, but they only manifested when chakra reached a certain threshold.
For example, Sasuke had six chakra attributes but lacked Yang Release, while Naruto also had six but lacked Yin Release.
'I wonder if the future me, one who has already learned medical ninjutsu will ever appear…' Kiyohara thought to himself.
If that happened, he might be able to skip twenty years of effort and instantly inherit medical talent and experience.
"It's alright, Kiyohara. Everyone is like this at the beginning," Rin comforted softly when she noticed his lack of progress.
Medical ninjutsu was harder than regular ninjutsu, and it required extremely refined chakra control. She herself had taken a long time to release her first medical jutsu. It was impossible to master it instantly.
"What matters is building a solid theoretical foundation. You can practice slowly when you have time."
"I understand. Thank you, Rin," Kiyohara said sincerely.
As long as he eventually fulfilled the renegade Kiyohara's wishes and inherited his talent, all the knowledge he had just memorized would instantly become practical ability.
Whether he had Yang Release didn't matter—future him would!
As night deepened, the inside of the tent was illuminated by the glow of an oil lamp. The two continued studying and discussing medical theory.
At that moment, a white shadow quietly emerged from the ground. It stayed for a moment, observing silently, then slipped back into the earth.
It came quietly and left just as quietly, not leaving behind so much as a trace.
Except… it did not escape the notice of the youth Kiyohara's spirit.
His spiritual form was crouched right in front of the White Zetsu, though the creature couldn't see him at all.
"Hm… why is every White Zetsu green-haired anyway?" youth Kiyohara muttered to himself. After sensing that the White Zetsu had gone, he returned to Kiyohara's side like a silent guardian spirit.
"Something happened?" Kiyohara asked inwardly.
"Mhm. A White Zetsu showed up. Probably sent by Madara," youth Kiyohara replied.
"Uchiha Madara…" Kiyohara fell silent.
Madara must be observing the situation, waiting for the right moment. If he wanted to push Obito into darkness, there was no doubt he would prepare a detailed plan.
"I need to sell the loot and forge the shinobi blade as soon as possible—tomorrow," Kiyohara decided.
…
At the same time, in the Mountains' Graveyard site.
Beneath the enormous Gedo Statue, Uchiha Madara sat on a chair, eyes closed, listening to the intel transmitted back by the distant White Zetsu.
White Zetsu clones could infiltrate plant roots and underground water systems, forming a vast organic network that communicated like radio signals. Through the countless Zetsu scattered underground, Madara possessed a massive intelligence network.
Even though he was trapped in this dark cavern, nothing happening in the shinobi world could escape his eyes.
"Hey, Madara! How long until you let me go back? I must go back! I need to go back!" Obito—covered head to toe in bandages, half his body made of White Zetsu cells—struggled anxiously on the crude bed.
The single exposed eye he still had burned with worry and longing for Rin.
Madara ignored him, continuing to rest with his eyes closed.
Seeing this, Obito turned urgently to the White Zetsu that had just returned.
"Hey! White guy! What were you telling Madara just now?" Obito demanded impatiently.
Here in this dim underground passage, Obito had long lost his sense of time. He no longer knew whether it was day or night outside, nor how long he had been here. He desperately wanted any information about the outside world—especially news about Rin and Kakashi.
"Hmm… Obito, I just saw one of your old teammates learning medical ninjutsu," White Zetsu reported.
"Medical ninjutsu?" Obito brightened instantly.
Old teammate + medical ninjutsu…
Those two words together could only mean—his beloved Rin!
(End of Chapter)