Ringo Ameyuri spat out a mouthful of blood, her expression darkening significantly. She was still plotting to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, yet she had run into a physical combat freak like Kiyoshi.
Had it been any other ninja, she could have pulled back to unleash various Lightning Style techniques to strike from a distance. Unfortunately, this Uchiha brat possessed terrifying strength; every time she parried his strikes, it drained a massive amount of her stamina.
The moment she coughed up blood, Kiyoshi seized the opening. His ninja blade flicked upward, sending Ringo's kunai flying, before coming to rest right against her jugular. The heat radiating from the blade's edge scorched her skin.
Even with a fist's width of distance between them, she could feel the intense temperature of the flames. Looking closely, she noticed that the fire coating the blade had a strange pinkish-purple hue compared to normal flames.
"Just kill me. I won't reveal any village secrets," Ringo Ameyuri said as Kiyoshi stopped. She assumed he intended to interrogate her regarding the Hidden Mist's objectives.
"Intelligence? I don't need that for now. I need something else," Kiyoshi said calmly, his eyes fixed on her.
A sickly individual like her was the perfect subject for clinical trials. When he had visited the Leaf Hospital previously, Kiyoshi had taken some fish and mice—essential materials for learning medical ninjutsu. Without a subject to practice on, one cannot truly master the craft.
Using those materials, Kiyoshi had conducted experiments with Moryo. If he started researching Moryo's power from scratch, it would likely take decades to make progress. However, he possessed the learning methods for Dark Medical Ninjutsu.
The "kind" Shrine Maiden had collected incredibly detailed and complete information, saving Kiyoshi a vast amount of time. His research on Moryo had been progressing steadily; he simply lacked a volunteer to make a "contribution to science."
"What do you want?" Ringo Ameyuri looked at Kiyoshi's sharp, handsome features, her interest piqued. He didn't want her life or information, so what did he want? A Hidden Mist secret technique? Kiyoshi looked very upright; without the Uchiha crest on his back, almost no one would associate him with those arrogant, paranoid, and gloomy Uchiha.
"Your body," Kiyoshi said, his words striking like a thunderbolt.
"You... you..."
A flash of confusion crossed Ringo Ameyuri's face. She suspected she had misheard. Setting aside his righteous appearance, the name Uchiha alone carried the glory of a clan that had spanned a millennium.
It was like finding out the top student in class with perfect morals was secretly posting "benefits" online. This sense of cognitive dissonance nearly made her short-circuit.
"Brat, do you even know how many years older I am than you?" Ringo Ameyuri looked up at him. She might be short, but that didn't mean she was young. She was definitely several years his senior.
"What I mean is, I have a method to treat you. I'm not entirely certain of it yet, but if you're willing to take a gamble, we can try," Kiyoshi explained, presenting it as a win-win scenario. Ringo would gain a healthy body, and he would gain experimental data. As for failure—what surgery has a 100% success rate?
In truth, Kiyoshi valued her physique. To be sickly for years and still qualify for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen meant her body was exceptionally resilient before the illness took its toll. Being small, it was also packed with potential energy.
"Why should I trust you?" Ringo wasn't an idiot. For all she knew, this was a stalling tactic to lower her guard so he could capture her alive.
Seeing this, Kiyoshi used his free hand to pull out a scroll and summoned a syringe. He had divided Moryo's physical essence into many portions; when gathered, it looked like a viscous liquid.
"What is this?" Ringo could feel a considerably evil chakra within the syringe, one that sent shivers down her spine. It felt dangerous.
Kiyoshi didn't speak. He used his Sharingan to freeze her in place with Genjutsu and carried her away. Once they were far enough that the sounds of battle had faded, he set her down and injected the Moryo power. Black chakra light flickered at Kiyoshi's fingertips—the characteristic trait of Dark Medical Ninjutsu.
"Ngh—" Ringo's brows furrowed tightly. She could feel the Moryo power crashing through her meridian system, causing excruciating pain. However, Kiyoshi's fingertips were guiding that chakra, constantly remodeling her flesh.
Three minutes later, Kiyoshi stopped. He had merely stimulated Moryo's power to briefly boost her status at the cost of burning some of her life force. To truly cure her, a complete overhaul was necessary, but this was enough to convince her. She didn't know she had lost a few years of her lifespan, and Kiyoshi didn't plan on telling her.
Once Kiyoshi released the Genjutsu, Ringo Ameyuri was about to lash out when she realized her body felt light. It was as if a heavy burden she had carried for years had suddenly vanished. The suffocating feeling in her chest had eased significantly.
"Hmph, you're an interesting fellow." The methods Kiyoshi revealed left her astonished. She had never heard of such a ninjutsu. No wonder Mei Terumi's face took on such a complex expression whenever his name was mentioned. A man like this was hard to forget.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you once I've recovered?" Ringo cocked an eyebrow, her smile revealing her sharp teeth.
"It's only a temporary relief of your symptoms." Kiyoshi had only used a small portion of the syringe. He had hundreds more of these. He put it away, sealing it back into his scroll.
"How do you plan to help me?" Ringo crossed her arms, pushing up her small chest and forming a cute curve.
"Just lead Raiga Kurosuki out." Kiyoshi turned toward the woods; the battle in the distance would be over soon. Raiga Kurosuki was a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen; even if he couldn't beat the combined efforts of Minato and another Uchiha Jonin, he could still escape. Kiyoshi's unit's mission was to reinforce the front, so they wouldn't be allowed to break formation to pursue a single target.
"Interesting. Are you sure you haven't left any 'traps' in this stuff?" Ringo asked suspiciously.
"Of course not. It will even make your physical fitness better than the average person," Kiyoshi said with a slight smile. If she were too weak, she might fall apart after just a few "rounds" of testing. Her unique sharp teeth would surely help him gain quite a bit of ocular power. Such a rare experience wasn't easy to come by.
Ringo Ameyuri looked at him dubiously, sensing that Kiyoshi's smile hid a somewhat mysterious meaning.