It had been a long 5 years, even if not much had happened to himself. The troubles with the summit and the old Sannin Trilby was a deep betrayal. Not only had one of the highest ranking ninja in the village actively betrayed the village by attacking his own Kage, and wife during the 5 Kage summit, but he had thrown suspicion onto the current, strike that now, last Kazekage. It was completely unacceptable to tear at the systems that was life to those of intelligence! But overall nothing had directly affected him. Today did makes those events finally catch up to him tho, for today he got to see the old Kazekage possible one last time, if his guess was right.

Several days ago after he had finished a regular maintenance of his personal lab and infirmary room beneath his house, he had found a message discreetly placed in his front room. The fact that someone had managed to slip a letter into his house without causing a commotion, or any signs wasn't to much of a surprise; the normal parts of his house wasn't particularly secure because he left his protection to the village far less secure that his lab. And so it didn't concern him very much. What WAS interesting was what was written onto the note; an anonymous note about the purchase and transplant of his sharingan, no questions asked about who they were or where they were going. With the funds definitely to his liking he had decided to accept, tho he didn't exactly see how he would decline. Sense there hadn't been any location specified, only a date for today, he had only to assume that they knew about his lab and that it would be the place to transplant the eye at.

It was a simple matter of requesting the leave time from active duty. Once every year or two he had asked for some leave time, and normally he would spend it relaxing at his house and pursuing his hobby, so nothing would seem amiss if he vanished for a few days.

Of course he had needed to remove his eye before today so that he had time to recover before he actually operated. He was only at most physically attached to the eye, and only viewed it as just another tool in his arsenal, one more thing to use in his studies. In all the years he had it never had he even bothered to strengthen his bond with it, and so on the few occasions that he did activate it it remained only as potent as the day he got it. So in exchange for the listed payment, the loss of his eye was worth it; perhaps one day he would find a suitable eye to replace this one with. He wasn't even concerned with how loosing an eye would affect his ability to preform in his duty; before he acquired the eye and the special eye patch that even now he wore, he normally didn't use both of his eyes. One would almost always be covered with a normal eye patch so as to spread false information about his weaknesses to any hostile foe.

Normally the removal of a living person's eye, assuming he wanted to keep them living, and he very much wanted to keep himself living, would be entrusted to other medical ninja besides the person having their eye removed. Unfortunately this wasn't normal circumstance. The discreet manner in which he was contacted made it obvious that things should be kept to himself, and if he had others remove his eye they would surely gossip about what he was going to use it for. The most obvious thing he could do with it would be to transplant it into another person, and that was gossip he didn't want to go around. So he must remove the eye himself.

The actual removal wasn't very difficult thanks to his advanced skills in medical ninja, plus his well equipped personal lab. With a mix of a numbing injection and some medical jutsu he was able to remove the eye with no damage to either his own socket, or the eye, and kept the eye's Uchiha nature fully intact. The eye actually helped to counteract some of the negative effects of the numbing agent while he removed it. His slightly numbed reflexes were counted by his ability to instantly correct any fault see by the eye. After he deposited the eye into a jar containing a special mixture which would prevent any decay or damage for several days, he unleashed the best recovery techniques he knew of to get himself into peak condition. His recovery was of the utmost importance to ensure that his skills were in peak condition to preform the operation on the client.

During his short recovery phase, for his expert skills had left minimal damage for the removal of an eye, he had spent his strong hours doing prep for his surgery room. He went over every instrument and surface to make sure that they were clean and disinfected. That all of his tools were sharp if they needed to be, and all of them in the right place. He made sure that he could still navigate the entire room and perform every thing he would need to do with out a problem with his new state. And as a bonus precaution he ensured that all of his security precautions and defence layers were still in place, and there was no defect in them. He would ensure that there was no interruptions while he operated, commoner or ninja. During his operation hours he was as utterly unreachable as almost any person in the land could be. Only after the entire procedure was complete and his client and patient was in a state that time to recover was all the more that he could offer them, would he once again re-join the world.

And so He waited in his front room for his client to arrive. Sense he wasn't currently in his lab, his choice of attire was the same as it had been for nearly a decade; his long blue hair and pale skin remained defiant of the desert sun, always refusing to change in shade or sun burn mostly thanks to seldom being out in the sun. His leather like jacket also worn despite the desert's heat, only rarely did he sweat anyways and never from the heat if he had anything to do about it, which he always did. His special see through eye patch covered up the hole where his eye was just days before, it's special property wasted due to the lack of anything behind it still capable of seeing. His white undershirt tied his wardrobe together and lent it a feeling of seriousness, and if what his undershirt said didn't get through, the manner in which he existed revealed to a keen eye something only closely related to human; a soul that was born from human, but barely considered itself human. His movements seemed to study the world around him like it was all just some kind of equation, or maybe an lab test that he was mildly curious about, with the results possible blowing up the country or turning lead into gold.

As the time passed until the appointed arrival time arrived, his thoughts turned to the likely identity of his client. Very few people knew about his sharingan. He had done his best over the years to keep it a secret, with only the higher ups in the village knowing about it, and a few ninja he had worked with in situations where his eye patch was removed to reveal it. It meant his buyer was likely someone inside the village. While it was possible for his secret to get out to other villages, it was unlikely that the few people who did know about it would have told outsiders about his eye. Further more the fact that they would be doing the transplant in the middle of the village lend good credibility to his theory; a ninja of another village probably wouldn't be comfortable having a dangerous procedure done to them in a setting that wasn't filled with allies like their home village. As for which person from his own village, he figured the most likely person would be the former Kazekage. She defiantly had the knowledge of his eye because she used to be his superior and privy to nearly all information in the village, but further more defiantly had the funds to make this purchase. But the key fact that pointed to her was that there was a great deal of suspicion on her that would likely end violent one way or another. With the eye her combat ability with her mighty swords would surly be enhanced, genjutsu would be of limited use to her, and it would prove to be of great help if she was to track down Hao, the man who rumors said corrupted her husband. All of the eye's abilities would defiantly come in handy when she was eventually forced to make her move.

Spoiler:

Gin drew a cigarette to her lips, inhaling the smoke slowly. It was nighttime in Sunagakure. She had always enjoyed looking at the village from above. She stood in the sky, keeping chakra on the soles of her feet to stay afloat in the middle of the heavens. The darkness and clouds provided a decent enough cover. She knew that she wouldn’t be recognized.  She remembered a time when she struggled to keep such precise control over her chakra. She smirked at the memory. It had been a while since she had last visited Sunagakure. It had been at least a year. Since her husband had died, she had decided it was best to disappear for the sake of her children and what was left of her family.

The former Kazekage could not afford them getting dragged into politics or being publically shamed for sins that she did not commit or even seeing them used as hostages or prisoners to supposedly keep her in control. No, her children deserved better than that. In the process, she had left the Hidden Sand Village without a proper leader. She wondered who was dealing with the administrative duties and the paperwork in the meantime. It was probably Hodaka – the poor bastard never seemed to catch a break. Gin shook her head in amusement. She wondered how her former assistant was doing now. She asked herself if maybe he had taken it upon himself to sometimes play parent with her children. Shinji and Kiku were probably quite lonely, as were Chie and Reiko…

But Gin no longer had anything to do with them. It was better this way. It kept her children safe. She could watch them from the shadows every once in a while and pay information brokers to find out whether or not they were safe. It was the best she could do for them. Gin inhaled the smoke from her cigarette once more. This time, she looked at the stars shining above her. The night seemed so… peaceful and tranquil. It was odd, considering that those were the exact opposite adjectives that she would ever use to describe the shinobi world. She had held the title of Kage for almost ten years before her untimely departure. She knew quite well how this world worked and how corrupt and violent it could be. Experience had no doubt made her cynical. She had been betrayed on multiple occasions, she had witnessed death in more ways than she could count, she had seen atrocities be committed in front of her and she had been forced to fight and kill people she once cared for. All in all, she was somewhat happy that she was now free to live a carefree life. She could seek out happiness without being bound to duty.

Gin knew that she could now go back to how he used to be before she took on the responsibility of becoming Kazekage. The former village leader could now dedicate her life to earning money and seeking out thrilling fights and strong opponents that made her feel alive. She could rest easy knowing that the people she cared for were safe. She could roam the world and seek out adventures like she did in her youth. She could do something to change things without being bothered by red tape and rules. She could live her own life while it lasted. And if she were to fall in battle at the hands of a worthy opponent, it would be a good death.  She finished smoking the cigarette. It was almost time to take on the next step in her plans. She shivered. Her innate discomfort and phobia towards all things medical was something that she would always have trouble trying to get over. She looked down at the city one more time. These would likely be the last few days that she spent there in a very long time. The village brought back too many painful memories of betrayals and loves lost. The pit of emptiness in her stomach was almost unbearable. But Gin had learned a long time ago to put up a front and hide her true emotions.

It was odd to think of herself as Gin. She had given up that name a long time ago. She was now referred to as Shinobu by the people who she worked with and the people who contracted her. But she supposed that there was one person that would now see through that and realize that she was indeed alive. She had been hesitant about contacting him at first. Shinobu knew that she would have to reveal her face during the surgery and that a medical ninja of his skill would not doubt recognize her. There was no way around it. But she needed the eye, she needed that sharingan. It would without a doubt become incredibly useful in the future, something that would aid her cause and save her life dozens of times over. So she finally concluded that the risk was necessary. As an added bonus, she could now charge more when she was lending her services if she showed that she had such a powerful and legendary doujutsu in her arsenal. Her mind drifted towards the sheer amount of alcohol that she would be able to buy with her future paychecks.

Shinobu let out a cackle. If there was anything that described her personality, it was that line of thought. She could drift from utter seriousness to something trivial in a matter of seconds. She was a very peculiar person and she knew that. The former Kazekage looked into the distance, locating the whereabouts of Defisk’s medical facilities. He was talented and passionate enough to have his own laboratory, which made him perfect for the job. He could conduct the surgery in private, without anyone knowing of her whereabouts and existence. Furthermore, he knew enough about her to know that betraying her secret and crossing her path would no doubt get him killed in the long run. So she decided to trust the Special Jounin. She had snuck into his lab only a few nights ago. It hadn’t been too difficult. Over the years, Shinobu had learned the art of stealth. Not only that, but her acquired talent for sealing often helped her undo complicated locks and traps. She had managed to slip in and out unnoticed with her hastily scribbled note. She had thought of maybe writing it in code.

The paranoid side of her told Shinobu that it was best to be safe than sorry. However, thinking rationally, she knew that doing something like that would likely end up with the note being completely disregarded as a prank and thrown away without a second glance. A straightforward message had been best in the end. She had spent the last few days spying on Defisk from the shadows, being careful to hide her presence from him. She had noticed, though not without difficulty, that he had removed the sharingan from himself successfully. After seeing that, she could rest assured that her plan was well underway. The mercenary walked over the sky, headed towards the lab where he other shinobi was likely waiting for her. She took a deep breath and discarded the cigarette bud, casually throwing in onto the ground beneath her.

A light breeze blew through the night. Gin adjusted the bandages around her face to hide her appearance once more. She walked slowly, letting a light feeling of melancholy wash over her. This… This was her old home. This was the place where she had spent the happiest moments of her life. But it was also home to a great deal of tragedy. This had been where she had lost Juro, where she had miscarried her child, where she found out about Sake’s death, where she was betrayed by her husband and where she ultimately found out that she was now a widow. But these had been her people once. She remembered a time when she would have given up everything for them. But now… after they had accused her of betrayal, after they had forgotten her so quickly, she could not bring herself to care anymore. For the first time in her life, she had made herself, her happiness and her own survival her top priority.

After some time, she reached her intended location. She dropped from the sky, twirling several times in a perfectly executed set of summersaults. She landed on the laboratory’s rooftop in perfect silence. She scaled down the wall and simply decided it was best to head into the building without bothering to announce her presence. Her dexterous fingers quickly undid the lock. She pushed the door open and walked in. The room’s lighting was dim, though it didn’t stop Gin from seeing the place clearly. She had been in there before. She knew where she was and where she needed to go. She finally found Defisk. She didn’t announce herself, nor did she bow politely. “My name is Shinobu,” She said simply. Her voice was deep, but raspy and somewhat sultry. There was always a mischievous undertone to it as well. Her crimson eyes sparkled with the same kind of attitude. “I hope the eye is ready?” she asked, going straight to the point of their little meeting. She would wait on his answer and further instruction before doing anything else.

[Word Count: 1569/3000][/b]

As the appointed time of their meeting finally neared arrival, his thoughts were invaded by the sound of one of his numerous locks being opened. He had always deliberately kept them just dry enough that they would make a noise almost anyways you opened them, as long as you didn't oil them beforehand. It was one of the numerous was his paranoia manifested. The sound either meant his client had arrived, or his death was imminent; possibly both even. There was also the off chance that it was neither and just a prank, but no one was close enough to him to prank him in a friendly manner, and most of the village wasn't eager for the company of him and his snakes; but still a small possibility. Hearing no further noises that would come with an inexperienced assassin meant that it was most defiantly not a prank.

“My name is Shinobu” Came a voice that interrupted his listening this time. Tracking the sound back to it's source of a bandaged wrapped female's head. It looked like it wasn't Gin, at least as he had known her. But with the concealment of his client's identity it was still a distinct possibility.

Her inquiry about the readiness of the eye made it clear what kind of meeting this would be; straight to business. He nodded in response to the question and elaborated The eye is ready to be transplanted, and the operating room is only lacking a body to operate on. He skipped through introducing himself and cut straight to the point as well. If she didn't know who he was at this point it would serve no purpose to let her know; and if she didn't know then his name couldn't be given up to others. No reason to paint a target on his back.

Standing up from his seat he went to the most direct path to the operating room and gave a simple set of instructions. " Follow me. When we get to the room make sure that your left eye is not covered by anything, and then lie down onto the table. We will begin immediately. Without ensuring he was being followed by his client, he opened the pathway. Along the way one of his pet guard snakes came alert at the scent of a stranger near by his doorway, but he calmed it with a scratch on it's head. The snakes he kept were not a perfect means of security, and he mostly kept them around to study and interact with them, they did prove to be a more loyal guardian than most dogs or other such guard animals. They would only calm down again after he personally assured them that all was fine like he just had with the scratch. Now it would be calm for a couple of minutes before resuming it's vigil against anyone trying to gain entry into the lab.

The door next to his snake guard was one of the few entry points into the more secure section of his house; the laboratory. It would take a considerably larger amount of effort to break into this section of the house than the other parts, thanks to it's enforced walls, doors, and more complex locks. At least all the measures for security would buy extra time for the occupants. After unlocking the door, it opened on it's own to a full 100 degrees, to remove itself from his way in case he was bringing something large through the doorway. After ten seconds the door would close on it's own, and require to be unlocked again. Hopefully his client would be smart enough to follow through the door.

Just past the doorway was a buffer room that would prevent the sand, that often crept in when the door opened, from getting to any important rooms. He made a mental note passing through it to clean it once more. The room lacked anything of interest besides empty snake housings that he kept in case any of his occupied ones became damaged. Passing through another door, unlocked this time, he passed into the recovery room. This room was kept stocked with bandages, food, a working sink, and several comfortable beds to help the recovery process. He kept this room ready for any VIPs the village wanted to tend to, but preferred a safer location than the general hospital.

Speaking to behind him as he walked on, in an offer to his client if she needed it. " You are free to use the recovery area after the operation. The outer doors can be opened from the inside when you are ready to leave." He said all of this as he crossed the otherwise unoccupied room. He had once kept some snakes in this room long ago so as to provide company to anyone recovery, but that had disturbed some people, so he had moved them all to the outer layer of his house.

The last room he reached was finally the operation room. It was already fully prepped and ready for the transplant, with the eye close at hand in it's jar. He immediately went to the side of the room to change into a sterile overcoat and gloves. It was near impossible to get an infection with his level of skill and his medical ninjutsu, but additional precautions were still taken to make sure that it never happened. Turning back to the now occupied table to begin the operation. Good, she had been following him. It would be rather awkward if she hadn't, but she came all this way to get the eye, it would be silly if she didn't.

Gathering chakra into his hands, he molded it into one of the basic jutsu that he used for surgeries: Numbing Touch. Then he touched his fingers the skin near her left eye to let the chakra sink into her head, numbing it completely by temporarily suppressing all the nerves in a small radius near where his fingers landed. He gave the jutsu a moment to ensure it took full effect, then put one of the devices he had on a tray, onto her eye. It would keep the eye lid from closing while in place, making sure that it close at an inopportune time while he was removing the eye, and end up pushing the blade into her eye, or worse the socket.

Now that he was able to get a very good look at her face, it was very similar to the Gin he had first meet many years ago when he was a kid. Her kind of crimson eyes were not a particularly common color, and the facial structure of each person wasn't something that he forgot. He was certain his earlier theory about the identity of his client was indeed correct. It would take some very serious effort to make another person look like this, especial after he would cut out the eye and replace it.

With the eye exposed and numbed, he placed his fingers around the eye while it was coated with protective chakra, and gently pulled it out of the socket enough to delicately slip the scalpel in to cut the nerve cluster connecting the eye to the head. With all the muscles in the socket completely numbed, there was no chance for a reflexive muscle spasm. All the patient would get out of it was the sudden loss of sight in the left eye, then the sight of her left eye being pulled out of her skull, if she chose to look with her functioning eye.

Placing the normal eye onto the tray for eventual disposal, he quickly opened the jar containing the sharingan eye and it's preserving fluid. Reaching into the jar gently pull forth the eye, he channeled chakra into his hand to remove any superfluous fluid from the eye and his hand before returning his attention to the table. He had already carefully measured the length of the connecting nerve that remained on his old eye, and had made sure the cut the patient's normal eye to account for this. When the eye fully healed, there would be no difference in feeling between the old eye and the new eye. It would be as if she was born with the eye, almost. Lowering the eye carefully into the open socket so that the nerve endings would be together, using a little bit of chakra to guide them together, he again weaved hand signs into a potent healing jutsu that all members of his clan knew: Accelerated Regeneration. Then he once again applied the jutsu to his target so that the nerves would mend. He noted that the normal effects of the jutsu were being muted to a degree, as if her body had problems being healed, but fortunately the jutsu used was more than enough for what was needed.

With the eye now in place, and his jutsu making sure that the final healing process was sped up and happened correctly, the only thing he did before cleaning up was to transfer his eye patch from his head, onto the healing eye of his patient. He wouldn't need it anymore, any normal one would do.

Jutsu used:

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Gin took a deep breath, bracing herself for the oncoming surgery. On the surface, she seemed perfectly calm. After dozens of political scenarios and experiences, she had been able to perfect such an ability. Regardless of the situation, of whether her mind was running at a thousand miles per hour or her emotions were ravaging and out of control, Gin always managed to keep her composure. Albeit, it hadn’t always been that way. There had been a time when the former Kazekage was rash and impulsive. She would act completely on instinct both in and out of battle. She remembered having compromised more than one business deal just by not having filtered her opinions on those greed-driven businessmen. She had been young, rash, inexperienced and ill trained for the position of Kazekage. She had just been a Jounin, focused on training her three students and going on missions so that she could earn a living and enjoy a decent fight. But apparently, she had managed to make a name for herself. And thus, at the mere age of 18, she was promoted to one of the top ranking positions in the entire world.

Suddenly, political power had been thrust onto this careless and naïve young girl. Needless to say, the village elders disagreed with most of her policies from the beginning of day one. In retrospect, she now understood why. She let out a light chuckle at the memory. Her first night as Kazekage, she had decided to blast dozens of fireworks into the sky, thus waking up the entire village. That… that was the same night she had made an enemy out of Genko Shibirin. At the time, she hadn’t thought much at all about the young boy’s sudden disliking for her. She had dismissed it as something childish and petty that he would eventually grow out of. But her apparently minor, trivial and insignificant actions that night had possibly bred one of the most powerful criminals and traitors that Sunagakure had had in over a century. Gin shook her head.

The former Kazekage now found herself now standing in front of what seemed to be a secret pass way. It was heavily guarded. Gin’s instincts almost led her to pulling out one of the many scrolls where she carried her weapons. In a matter of milliseconds, she had devised an entire plan of escape and retaliation should the animals or their owner attack. It had crossed her mind several times that Defisk might already know who she was. She had thought already that maybe he would use this opportunity to lure her into a false sense of security so that he could discretely kill her. No doubt there would be some sort of bounty on her head. Maybe the higher ups or the elders of Sunagakure had given him this mission. Maybe she was being watched. Of course, this was just Gin’s natural paranoia speaking. This had been a habit that she had developed since her youth. It was also something that had kept her alive and out f death’s clutches throughout her entire life.

However, throughout all of this, the only indication of what was going through the young woman’s mind was the slight tension in her shoulders. She soon let go of it, however, when Defisk simply ordered the snakes to stand by as they walked down the narrow passage that led to his laboratory. This part of the house was intricately well protected. The walls were thicker, the locks on the doors were far more complicated and she could have sworn that her eyes spotted a couple of traps along the way. Finally, they would reach the laboratory. Gin took a moment to look at it. The place was well equipped, though fairly simple in its layout. It was easy to tell form the scattered materials and scribbled plans that the Special Jounin spent most of his free time down here. She wondered what kind of experiments he decided to spend his time on. Whatever it was, it wasn’t probably what she would describe as harmless. Did he use human test subjects? She knew that the practice was illegal and severely punished in the Hidden Sand Village. But that was no longer her concern. Whoever sat behind that cursed desk in the Administration building, it was their problem now.

Gin only wanted the one thing that she had come here for: her eye. The legendary sharingan… The young woman still wasn’t sure what to expect from the transplant. She had only heard and read about what the legendary eye could do. It was fascinating, to say the least. It would grant her access to many new techniques. It would draw challenging opponents to her, should she decide to flaunt it. After all, the sharingan was considered to be a nearly priceless asset in combat. But she would come to figure out the mechanics later. The former Kazekage would only nod at the man’s instructions. She was grateful for the fact that he would let her use the recovery room before she set out. She would without a doubt want to know the full extent of what the eye could do before setting out and travelling. She would, of course, be discrete as she travelled around the continent. She didn’t want to become infamous under this new identity. Sure, she sought out powerful opponents, but being sought out as a criminal by every single shinobi village in the near vicinity wasn’t exactly her goal. She wanted to live a relatively peaceful life. Well… as peaceful as a Kuroka could ever hope to be. Fighting and the will to fight was in her blood. There was no way around it.

In any case, Gin lay herself down on the operation table. She took a deep breath as she watched Defisk move around the room from the corner of her eye. All she could think of was that if he decided to kill her during the surgery, it would be an incredibly pathetic way to die. Oh well, she would have to put herself in the hands of fate or whatever deity had been hell bent on making her life miserable for the past ten years. She sighed in frustration and closed her eyes as Defisk moved towards her to perform the surgery. She remembered little to nothing after that. She slept peacefully as the surgery went by. It was a deep and dreamless sleep. Gin drifted in a dark void. She was unable to move, unable to speak, unable to see. But then again, she was also completely unable to feel her surroundings or even sense the passing of time. Truth be told, it was a feeling akin to death.

She didn’t know how much time passed by before she woke up from her drifting sleep. All she knew was that she felt groggy and that there were likely several antibiotics and pain medication flowing through her system. So he hadn’t killed her. But by now, he probably knew who she was. She looked at Defisk, wincing slightly in pain as she sat up. A moment of silence drifted between them. Bandages covered Gin’s new eye. It felt… odd. “You know who I am, don’t you?” Regardless of his response, she would continue speaking. “I hope you already know that if you tell anyone who I am, what I did here or where I am going, I will have no choice but to come after you,” she said. Her tone of voice wasn’t accusing, nor was it threatening. Rather, there as an undertone that hinted at a profound sadness and feeling of loneliness. “Of course, if you wanted me dead, or if you wanted to turn me in, you would have likely done it already. You have earned my trust for that.” Gin got up from the operation table. She moved slowly. She was still drained from the procedure and new that it would take a while for her to get back to full strength.

The former Kazekage staggered and almost fell as she stepped onto the ground. But she would refuse any kind of help. She had to do this on her own. The young woman would spend the coming week in the recovery room. She would test the eye, try to adjust to it. She greatly appreciated Defisk’s gift. The eye patch would no doubt come in handy in the future, especially if she wanted to hide the fact that she now possessed the sharingan. It would be interesting to see her opponents try to guess what made her reaction timing so impeccable. But in the meantime, she couldn’t strain herself by overusing her new doujutsu. After she felt ready to leave, she would do so. The young woman would not say a word. She would simply step out of the door and head out to her new destination, wherever that may be.

[Word Count: 3057]

[Exit Thread]