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With 'Naite' still in effect, it was going to be difficult regulating his chakra to keep the technique active while he continued onto the next part. Fortunately, the following technique, one known by even fledgling iryou-nin to a lesser degree, required no seals. Otherwise, he might have risked cellular destruction in his other appendage, and that would be have embarrassing, if not downright stupid. In any case, making sure to keep his left finger still as it hovered over the soon-to-transplanted eye, Rael's right hand was soon bathed in a soothing blue light, and the Genin could feel its healing properties even its user. Right on time too, as the charge-up delay 'Dead Hands' finally ended, and began to work its magic on the organ.

By focusing all of his chakra into just the tip of his finger, and powering it with just a mere fraction of the amount normally used in even its lowest setting, Rael reduced the speed it killed cells to less than one-hundredth of its original measure. Although doing his best to target specifically the cells that were actually afflicted, which should have impossible given the jutsu's inability to differentiate between the two on its own, it was only natural that some of the surrounding ones were also terminated. However, that was where Rael's 'Shousen' technique picked up the slack. At least, he hoped it would. The speed at which both jutsu worked was absolutely crucial in the following minutes.

Unlike with his left hand performing 'Naite', Rael didn't need to focus all of his chakra towards just the fingertips in his right-side limb. An outside might have stared at the spectacle: a small boy hovering over a staring eyeball, one finger seemingly prepared to poke its center, while his other hand looked on the verge of caressing it lovingly. In reality, the process was a bloody chore, as Rael timed both operations so that, as the cancerous cells were being eliminated, healthy ones were being recreated almost immediately afterward, minus the melanoma. Rael was afraid that, not being attached to a living body and supported by its internal systems, the Sharingan eye would be unable to heal if his 'Dead Hands' technique went awry. From the looks of things though, it was going along perfectly; the black tumors seemed to be disappearing on their own, without any of the surrounding cells being destroyed for more than a half-second before being restored in a completely healthy state.

As the last of the dark smudges were wiped clean, Rael suppressed the desire to sigh in relief; still too early to tell if everything would turn out alright. Until Kang Chae Yoon was awake and able to see out of his new, vastly improved eye, the iryou-nin would hardly proclaim the surgery as a success, nor would he be too elated. Far too many good things came to an premature end because the individual couldn't contain themselves¹, and he had no intention of joining their ranks.

---

^{1. Couldn't resist
Shousen no Jutsu [Mystical Hand Technique] // 'S' Rank // x2 High --> x1 High [Iryou T1 Mastery]}

The cave, as they carefully ventured further into its depths, was turning out to be both a spelunker and mythologist's gold mine. The natural, precious stones found all around them were valuable indeed, but Rael was more interested in the many inscriptions they found carved into the surrounding walls. These rudimentary designs, while a step up from crude cave drawings and even obscure hieroglyphics, still appeared rather simple, suggesting they were not made in recent times. However, while uncertain of the specifics, he managed to get the general gist of things. For one, the 'characters' shown didn't look human, unless there were half-man, half-fish people walking around that he wasn't aware of.

And the Hoshigaki don't count. Though maybe someone with that bloodline could provide further insight once I get back.

These 'mermen', as he would henceforth refer to them as such, didn't exactly seem like they were a peaceful civilization either. Both males and females of the race were wielding nasty-looking tridents, suggesting the latter saw no less of combat than their counterparts. One of the carvings, depicting a larger merman than the rest, held a most unusual weapon in his hands, resembling an oversized sai or three-pronged sword. Was that the Gariantou old man Revāj talked about, or just another oddity in their culture? There was no time to dwell on the subject further, as the very faint sound of someone singing further in the cave drifted to their present location. He didn't know if Han was able to hear it; judging from the way he barely reacted, likely not.

What came next was a jumbled mess of events. As the cave opened up into a cavern, completely covered by water with exception of a small platform, Rael immediately took note of the half-submerged figure lying on the circular patch of rock in the center. By now, Han was definitely able to hear her voice, as he completely disregarded what the Genin told him earlier, rushing forward of his own accord with a dumb excuse for doing so. The woman's voice was compelling, yes, but his shinobi training allowed him to scope out the situation without being distracted. Also, at his young age, Rael had no particular interest in the supposed 'fairer sex', and so wasn't nearly as affected as his companion.

...How does she look hurt if she's singing to herself perfectly fine?

Releasing a small sigh at Han's ignorance, the iryou-nin followed behind at a much slower, normal person's walking pace. As the teen civilian kneeled down to handle the woman's hair, Rael had the sudden urge to facepalm. "Han, you're being rude. Let her go." As her arm shot out to grab Han's own meddling hands, the Genin didn't react aggressively in the slightest. Stopping just at the edge of the path leading to the pair, he bowed at the waist towards the woman in apology. "Please forgive him for his impudence, miss; he is not well-learned in social etiquette I'm afraid. We are explorers of the unknown, and I apologize for the both of us if we've disturbed your personal quiet." Little did he know just yet, she was no mere "miss".

The hardest part of Chae's operation was now finished; the vast majority of complications occurred during the exenteration process, as errors frequently occurred when removing either the eyeball itself, or surrounding fat and other muscles adjacent to the eye. Rael took great pains to ensure much of the latter remained intact. Best for as much of the original tissue to be leftover as possible, as it would make placing in the foreign eye and having the host body accept its new organ world's easier. Hovering over the man's unresponsive body, Rael surveyed the gaping, empty socket with a critical eye, then turned his attention towards the object that caught his intrigue ever since it was first shown.

Sharingan, hm? Men the world over would kill for this.

Holding up the vial containing the fabled doujutsu-bearing organ, Rael observed for another few seconds before something struck him as odd. Lifting the glass container up to the overhead lights for a better view, an abnormally large dark spot on the red iris that had nothing to do with its surrounding tomoe caught his attention. Is this what I think it is? A regular surgeon may have dismissed the matter as nothing serious, but for the young iryou-nin, no technicality could go unresolved before he commenced the actual transplant. Furthermore, if the irregular mark was what he suspected it to be, Chae's life would only be put at further risk should the transplant be successful.

Bringing the vial over to the nearby table and clearing the mess out of the way, Rael uncorked the top and carefully extracted the single eye from the fragile container, setting it atop a clear, untouched plane of glass. The red iris and surrounding tomoe stared up at him, and it took all the boy's medical training to remain unflinching as he gently closed a thumb and forefinger around the sides, sending a small pulse of chakra into the organ to assess its condition. He never even thought to check Chae's new would-be tool before performing the transplant, but as the brief diagnostics were completed, Rael was relieved he hadn't jumped the gun.

After all, I doubt he'd want an eye with melanoma put in.

---

[Melanoma = form of eye cancer]

There was little Rael needed to do himself, aside from keeping tab on the proceedings from his superior vantage point, continuing to manipulate the corpse of "Dai" as it wreaked havoc alongside Shizue. As his living tool (or not, however you looked at it) released its grip around the dead fool's neck, it lumbered towards the remaining two with both arms outstretched, not making use of its original speed but aiming for fear factor instead. As the kunoichi impaled one of them through the heart with her thrown dagger, Dai crouched down next to the mortally-wounded man and sunk its teeth into their neck, tearing out flesh and muscle as it chewed lustily.

From high above, Rael had a perfect view as three more ruffians tore down the street towards and into the fray, though one of them stayed further behind than the others, trying to aim with unsteady hands the crossbow they held. The Genin frowned, and as though telepathically linked to its controller, 'Dai' paused in its grisly feast, ignoring Shizue as she moved in to retrieve her weapon, before rising onto both feet and actually sprinting towards the new trio. It didn't even stop to pay attention to the incapacitated male with a quartet of needles lodged in his throat, and simply backhanded the kneeling idiot out of its way as it charged forward without slowing down.

The two in forward positions branched off, speeding towards Shizue and Dai respectively. One of the assailants crowed in triumph as he plunged his dagger into the latter's chest via a forward stab without any resistance, but was cut short as not only did his victim not keel over, but shot out an arm in response, grabbing them by the neck and hoisting the bewildered male clear off his feet. Behind them, the third (seventh, counting all of them) ruffian finally managed to slide a bolt into the notched groove and had the armed kunoichi centered in his sights. As the projectile was released with a quiet *fwip*, his cocky grin immediately fell when the large frame of one thrown partner abruptly intercepted the bolt mid-flight, then crashed into him and bowling the pair over.

Time to wrap things up.

As the crossbow-using thug struggled to free himself and push his wounded, heavier counterpart off, while the other scrambled to do the same amidst the pain, neither of them noticed the figure falling towards them before it was too late. The hammer kick that slammed into the one on top instantly put him out of his misery, completely pulping the body on contact. With no apparent loss in momentum, the same appendage carried through and landed against the ranged combatant, smearing him into a bloody mess. It took everything in Rael's control to immediately dissipate the chakra surrounding his limb before it touched ground and left a giant crater in the middle of the street. The young iryou-nin didn't appear at all bothered by the fact he was splattered in gore, as he rose from his half-crouched position, ascertaining Shizue handled her own quarry before slowly making his way over to the single 'leftover' he'd backhanded earlier, his 'puppet' following in tow.

---

^{1. Bruising Sky Leg // 'C' rank // x1 Low}

At least now I have a better idea of where we’ll end up. Not that it really helps in this case.

There was little else to be uncovered from Yugai’s words, when he wasn’t being purposely cryptic. No, it was through his actions and evident concern that put Rael on edge. The Genin didn’t question him any further; given the man’s current state of mind, he was liable to turn nasty if peppered with any more. Therefore, he simply did as instructed, heading below deck to check up on Han. Upon discovering the boy’s less-than-stellar condition, he would search the fishing vessel for a canteen of water, along with some flavorless saltine crackers, before bringing them back to the teen. The latter would need to be well-hydrated and free of his upset stomach before they docked at the island cave.

Upon arrival, the captain wasted no time in handing them a single-shot flare gun, which he allowed Han to hold onto. "Just come if you see any loud explosions going off in the sky." Given what they were getting themselves into, the firearm might not even be an option once they were done with this. Tugging Han along once more, the pair of them descended from the vessel onto the sandy beach, and made their way into the yawning mouth.

Immediately upon entering, Rael let go of Han's arm, as they witnessed the marvelous sight of walls inlaid with pearls; it was just as old man Revāj said it would be. However, there were things that needed to be cleared up before they proceeded any further. "I know it's tempting, Han, but for now, don't touch any of the pearls or anything else unusual you might see. We'll have plenty of time for more detailed perusal once everything's done." Beckoning for the teen to follow his example, Rael suddenly kneeled, placing both palms flat on the cave's surface and kowtowed three times, though to which hidden being or deity he paid tribute, remained a mystery.

Rising from his unexpected tribute, Rael addressed Han once more, as he took point and slowly led them further into the cave, careful to watching his footing on the uneven surface. "I'll cover our front and sides; focus your attention on our backside, in case we need to make a quick escape."

Forgoing the traditional scalpel in favor of a chakra-generated blade, Rael began his grisly task in earnest. A 360° incision was made down the periorbita, exposing the orbital rim. Not the slightest sign of movement from his patient; good. Horrible as it might sound, the sight of Chae suddenly leaping off the operating table and howling would certainly be something to see. The red splash trickling down the sides didn't appear to bother him all that much. Some wannabe surgeons believed it necessary to drain the area of blood before continuing on, which was utter rubbish. Despite inserting them just minutes ago, Rael plucked out the five elongated needles around Chae's eye, manually holding back the eyelid once more for a brief moment.

Grabbing a nearby periosteal elevator, the device was used to keep the membrane-thin fold of skin covering his eye from closing as he resumed work. The thin space around Chae's eyeball marginally widened as his razor-edged chakra underwent form manipulation, reaching around the contours of the eye to cleanly cut away at the optic nerves and six extraocular muscles located at the back, severing it completely from his head. Now, instead of actually being attached to his head in any way, the organ merely rested in the socket. Chakra immediately rushed into the broken nerves to keep them temporarily alive, for if they died before he could transplant the fresh eye, they could never be mended again. If Rael showed any indication of disgust at performing this operation thus far, it was well-hidden. The boy's voice was steady, completely neutral as he gave the next set of orders.

"You," he said without looking at the other boy that was also present, "bring me another vial, same as the initial one."

As the required container was set down next to him, Rael filled the empty vial from a previously prepared jar of formaldehyde combined with water, before returning to extracting the eye from Chae's head. The tongs in hand were tiny in comparison to the ones he normally used, but in this case, he needed something he could maintain full control over with regards to pressure exertion. With the extra space he created earlier, it was a simple task of gently maneuvering the metal clamps around the eye and carefully lifting it out. The freed optical organ was slowly deposited into the vial containing the formaldehyde, serving a dual purpose of preserving the organ, as well as eradicating any regular bacteria that might otherwise accumulate on it. Placing a hand over the empty socket that now occupied the space Chaei's right eye once held, his chakra seeped out once more, performing the same process of bacteria prevention, but on his now-empty socket.

"Phase one complete, Mr. Kang. You'll be out of here soon enough."

---

^{Chakra no Mesu [Chakra Scalpel] // 'S' Rank // x2 High --> x1 High [Iryou T1 Mastery]
Shousen no Jutsu [Mystical Hand Technique] // 'S' Rank // x2 High --> x1 High [Iryou T1 Mastery]}