~ ~
The Fragment, Year 1230: The third year of the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
Following Naohiro's encounter with Hizashi Yoshino, First Sword of the Sun, during the Invasion of Oasis Country...
~ ~
A shining rent appeared in the cool air of Aisu Naohiro's personal realm, the fragment of eternity, a single radiant line of light slashing vertically through the air. It turned and twisted in upon itself, coalescing into a portal through space and between worlds. Naohiro stood hunched on the other side, silhouetted by the intense sun of Oasis Country, with a limp figure cradled beneath one arm. He took one staggering step through, dragging his cargo with him, and moved instantaneously out of the baking heat of the desert and the burning sands underfoot into the frozen darkness and peace of his own pocket of reality. He let out a cry and toppled forwards, letting go of the corpse, as the shock of the cool air ran through him, and momentarily washed away his exhustion just enough for the pain of his various wounds to stab at him. The portal closed behind him, plunging him into the dim ambient light of his crystalline palace. For a long moment he lay there on the cold ice of the ground, staring upwards and gasping for air, his breath spouting small clouds of warm mist with every exhalation. He closed his eyes and let the familiar, comforting chill seep back into his tired and beaten body, soothing his various burns and wounds in addition to his nerves.
After what seemed an age he rolled and rose slowly back to his feet, assessing himself and his surroundings. First things first: He was still badly injured, for all that his initial blast of iijutsu had temporarily staunched the bleed and sealed the most severe wound: a clean and precise stab wound in his abdomen that ran through the full depth of his body and out the other side. The skin around the half-healed entry point was puckered and raw, seared with intense heat that still sent shocks of pain through him with every movement. His flak jacket was burned clean away in a circle around the area, and where the fabric was not scorched it was stained a deep, oily red. But this surface wound was the lesser of his concerns; beyond that external pain and discomfort, a deeper, sickening ache pulsed inside his gut. The injury on the inside of his body, where the heat of Hizashi Yoshino's final parting gift had undoubtedly been concentrated, her attack simultaneously lacerating and roasting his stomach from within. The heat may have cauterized some of the injury, but the organ was, without any doubt and even for an expert like himself, beyond the scope of a full recovery. He could most likely save himself from death, but it would never again function properly. Not as it had. And he was too young—too skilled and too stubbornly proud of it—to accept anything less than perfection.
"Gods above," the wound sent another shock of pain flashing through him as he inspected it and he instinctively clutched a hand to the injury, only to immediately regret it as another spear of pain lanced through him in responce. It reverberated around inside his abdomen and made his legs quiver with the effort of staying upright. "...I should be dead!" He hissed through clenched teeth, vision swimming as he turned his head to look down at his assailant and victim, her body still crisp and perfectly frozen from his own final counterstroke. A splinter of flash-frozen blood had begun to weep in the desert sun; but here, in this place, the deep-set environmental cold was turning it back to a trickle of small crimson crystals. "You were a worthy enemy. Well fought, Hizashi Yoshino." His eyes lingered on her crumpled form, then flickered back down to his hand over him stomach. A fresh trickle of blood ran between his fingers from where dragging her, or walking through his portal this far, had torn open the half-sealed flesh above. An idea began to form, and though he hated it to his core, he couldn't justifiably push the plan away. He hunched over for a long moment of indecision until another racking wave of pain made shuddered through him.
"...But you can yet serve me." He whispered, jaw clenched. Maybe she'd save him. He'd accept no less than perfection, and yet... If it was the only way... Could he be flexible? Could he live, impure, but healed? No matter which way he looked at it, it was preferable to living a half-life in agonising, useless retirement from the near-fatal, never-healing wound. The decision was already made, he only had to accept the consequences. It was anathema to him, almost sacrilege. A shameful, sinful act. But the only real option.
Alright. He nodded to himself, resolve slowly, reluctantly building. He began with a simple set of hand seals, placing his green-glowing hands down around the wound on his abdomen. He closed his eyes, concentrating and carefully pushing a trickle of chakra into and around the area, letting it numb the area. It was sorely tempting to keep going, to push more energy into the technique, but he forced his hands away and released his concentration after only taking the edge off of the injury. He needed his energy, and couldn't overly sedate himself yet.
He glanced around, trying to place his position within his realm; he'd opened the gateway so quickly and without premeditation, and its passage had deposited him near a large arena at the core of his crystal-shaped realm. Not where he needed to be. He took an uneasy step, clutching his wound, and reached down to take one of Yoshino's limp arms. Every motion burned, and the wound split wider with each step, but he had to move, and couldn't yet anethetise himself. Thankfully he only had to limp a short distance to one wall, then used his mental control over his realm to shift the solid ice structure to make a path for him. The wall split, shards of ice retracting inwards until a rough doorway gave him passage through to a freshly-formed decline leading down and deeper into the structure. He shoved the corpse down ahead of him, then sat himself down and skidded slowly downwards on his rear to the bottom, trusting his mental control over the fragment to direct the path ahead.
He slid out of another newly-shaped doorway a moment later, emerging into a room furnished simply but practically to suit the needs of either interrogation or surgery. Many of the tools and tables would serve either scenario, rare as they arose. He spared no grateful thoughts for his earlier planning and efforts setting up the area, concentrating all his efforts in hauling the body of Hizashi Yoshino up onto one of the ice-formed tables. Then he half-leant, half-collapsed against its side, letting his head hang down while holding himself up against the table to rest. A small trail of blood marked his passage so far through the realm. He slowly slid down to a crouch, leaning against the side of the table still; he needed to rest and gather his energy to continue, but he dared not wait too long. Time was of the essence, but carefully so. Too quick and he wouldn't have the chakra or the strength to do what needed to be done. Too slow, and his condition would worsen until the same result was inevitable.
Eventually he rose again and turned back to the corpse, pulled out a kunai and sliced cleanly through Yoshino's clothing around her midriff. A shelf below the table provided him with a jar of sterilising fluid that he spread over first his hands and arms, the body, and then his own wound too. Next he picked up a thin scalpel, cold and razor-sharp, which he used to carefully make his first incision. He had techniques to do both jobs in better ways, but for now trusted to his experienced hand rather than waste precious chakra; soon enough he would need every remaining shred of that for greater tasks. He continued with deft hands, delving deeper into Yoshino's abdomen and delicately isolating and removing Yoshino's stomach, examining the organ as he did so. His hyouton had served him well, here, unintentionally preserving the body in almost pristine condition during the same process that froze the brain and stole the life from its previous user. Despite this, and given the organ's intended recipient, he spent a little more chakra to protect and preserve the organ before continuing. He used his experience with the Careful Cut translplant technique, only with a physical implement rather than a chakra blade, to manually separate the organ before finally completing the extraction and setting the organ down into a sterile container nearby, formed of ice and prepared within his realm for just such an eventuality. Next, with one hand over the pristine organ, he channeled briefly and used chakra to introduce its tissues to his own body, a tentative first meeting to begin acclimatization.
Now, the difficult part. The truly risky part. He left Yoshino's now-mutilated corpse on the table and took the organ over to another, across the room in a clean area, then stripped away the rest of his attire and lay down on one of the tables. A mental command to his realm shifted the surface of a nearby wall and the ceiling overhead, turning them into perfectly smooth and reflective mirrors. He lay for a moment, steadying his breathing and planning out the procedure ahead, miming the actions he needed to perform with his hands. Finally he was ready, and began with a much more powerful anaethesia technique. Medical chakra flowed throughout his body, fixing to the nerves throughout and finally eliminating almost all of the original pain. His head cleared, free of distraction, and he ceased the technique before it would risk making him too groggy. Only a distint throbbing ache remained. He took a moment to familiarise himself to working with numbed senses before permitting himself to proceed.
This time he didn't risk using a phyiscal tool and instead relied upon his masterful chakra control and familiarity with the body to open himself up with a chakra scalpel. A long, deep cut running up his side above his hip, carefully clearing a path through the upper layers of tissue and through to his own stomach. A further spark of iijutsu held the incision open cleanly and eased the bleed, as well as clamping the blood vessels, veins and arteries to the organ he needed to replace. He mentally recounted the minutes since the injury had been sustained; it felt longer, but he was certain he was working quickly enough to avoid further complications in his body from the connection to the damaged organ. Next he repeated the extraction procedure, albeit far more carefully and delicately this time. It took longer than he'd like, and more than once he had to withdraw his hands and pause his channeling to ease the strain and allow himself to recover. He had time, still, and could afford no mistakes.
Eventually he completed the removal of his own stomach, and in its place inserted Yoshino's. A frantic few minutes of intricate organ stitching followed, though thankfully his techniques took care of the most sensitive work, connecting the unwilling donor's organ to his own body in all the right places. It was slow and demanding work even so, requiring his full concentration, and soon enough the anaethesia began to wane. Discomfort blossomed to pain slowly, and by the time the final stitches were being made and the incisions being closed, he could feel every needle prick. It felt like Yoshino was truly there inside him, stabbing at him again and again. In horrified revenge of what he was doing.
A repeat of his earlier technique to acclimitize his body to the new organ and surpress his immune response completed the procedure. An essential but utterly draining final jutsu, it sapped the last shreds of his energy. As soon as it was complete he sagged, arms falling limp over the edge of the table. Exhaustion overcame even the return of pain as the numbing technique continued to subside, and he fell into a deep and painful rest. A few hours later he opened bleary eyes to check his own vitals and repeat a much more thorough anaesthetic technique, and this one knocked him out fully. He'd rest for several days, letting the pain subside and his body recover from the demanding procedure, before eventually allowing himself to come back to full consciousness. Healed, healthy, full of new potential... And defiled. Once he had the energy, he wasted little time in removing all scars and signs of the procedure from his body, then destroyed the remnants of his own stomach and the body of Hizashi Yoshino.
Nobody could ever know what had transpired here in this frozen corner of his realm. One day, maybe, he'd find a way to accept and forgive his own actions.
Jutsu used...Show
[Iijutsu • Local Anesthesia]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will channel chakra into their hands and then place them over a group of muscles. Their chakra will spread through the muscle group at [Control] speed and numbness will begin to creep throughout it, beginning with the flesh before seeping into the muscle below. This numbing begins where the user has placed his/her hands and spreads outwards and in intensity until the hands are removed. In the first post the numbness can cause the pain equivalent to being stabbed with a kunai to be nullified, but sustained contact can fully anesthetize the target area. Once numbed, the effects last for four (4) posts before fading.
*[Careful Cut]
C-Rank Iitaijutsu
Prerequisite: *[Chakra Scalpel]
While *[Chakra Scalpel] is in use, the user will focus and enhance the chakra into a precision blade unable to be used to damage an opponent in combat but perfect to make precision incisions in patients. The user will then separate soft tissues with a brief touch and be able to cut only what needs to be cut, in exactly the way it needs to be cut, ensuring that the user may remove, heal, or focus on only the tissue in question for up to 5 posts.
*[Organ Removal]
B-Rank Iitaijutsu
Prerequisite: **[Careful Cut]
The user will channel chakra into their free hand while the other maintains the *[Careful Cut] jutsu. The user will then place their hand over an organ and infuse it with this chakra. This chakra will coat and numb the nerves while preserving it after it is removed with the *[Careful Cut] jutsu.
*[Cognizant Anesthesia]
A-Rank Iijutsu
Prerequisites: *[Anesthesia]
Rather an alteration on an already existing jutsu than a whole new technique in itself, an iryou-nin is able to use this technique to keep themselves conscious and clear while sedated. They will be able to perform procedures on themselves but suffer -2 [Willpower] because they are not able to completely avoid feeling groggy while under anesthetic. Some pain from the procedure will still go through and be felt, but it will be only a painful annoyance, not detracting from their medical capabilities. The user is able to move while under the influence of this technique, but is unable to travel. Even walking is not achievable without losing concentration and interrupting the jutsu.
*[Iijutsu • Chakra Scalpel]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
The antithesis to the famous *[Iijutsu • Mystical Palm], the infamous *[Iijutsu • Chakra Scalpel] is no precision instrument. The user will channel chakra into their palms before attempting to place them on a target. If the user is able to connect the entirety of their palm, the chakra will be released into the opponent's body at [Control] Strength. If cast with 34 [Control] or less, this chakra will slice through thinner body tissues, such as arteries, ligaments, tendons, or veins with ease but cannot slice thicker tissue such as that found around organs, up to 4 inches from the surface in an area roughly the size of the user's hand. If cast with 35 [Control] or more, thicker tissue can be sliced through. The skin remains unblemished by this technique, as it only causes internalwounds. The chakra used in this technique is highly visible when first activated and emanates from both hands for a duration of three (3) posts or until contact with the opponent is made.
*[Clamp]
D-Rank Iitaijutsu
The user is able to channel their chakra to create a makeshift clamp they then place while performing surgery or other types of healing jutsu to close off blood vessels which have been cut and prevent further blood loss. This can last for [Chakra Pool]/2 posts.
*[Self Implantation]
S-Rank Iitaijutsu
Culminating all of their knowledge of the human body and medical expertise into one point, the user will be able to perform transplants on themselves, potentially giving themselves a Kekkei Genkai, body modification, etc. The user of this technique performs everything themselves or else with limited help, including pre-operational work, maintaining the sedation on themselves during the procedure, monitoring their vitals, the act of implantation/splicing, connecting tissue to tissue and organ to body. The time this procedure takes is dependent entirely on what is being implanted, but because the doctor is impeded by being the patient, it generally takes longer than normal.
*[Organ Implantation]
S-Rank Iitaijutsu
Prerequisite: *[Organ Removal]
After all the necessary precautions are taken, the user will begin by removing an organ from the patient in question to create a spot for the donor organ to be implanted with the *[Organ Removal] jutsu. They will then place the donor organ within the appropriate cavity. Following that, they will perform the actual placement, and then finally connect the tissues to the proper places. This results in the patient being granted organ-based Kekkei Genkai such as the Akari or Kagu
*[Iijutsu • Chakra Stitching]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user performs a short set of hand seals and then will gently place their index finger at the base of the patient's wound. Once this is done, the user will lift their finger and touch it to the other side of the wound, causing a visible 'stitch' of chakra to appear and hold the wound together with [Control] Strength. This is repeated until the wound has been pulled together. Actions performed with more [Strength] or [Speed] than the [Control] used to create the stitch will destroy it.
*[Organ Stitching]
A-Rank Iijutsu
Prerequisite: *[Chakra Stitching]
The user will place an organ or a tissue into it's proper place in a patient's body, be it a replacement or an implantation, and then channel chakra into their hands. They will continue to hold their hands over the tissue or organ in question and connect the various other tissues in the patients body where it needs to be connected with *[Chakra Stitching]. Blood vessels, connective tissues, muscles, etc. will all be connected to the organ in question, ensuring that once implanted, it will stay nourished and protected as if it were the body's own.
*[Inhibiting the Inhibitor]
A-Rank Iijutsu
When a foreign substance or object invades the human body, the immune system responds and attempts to remove the threat. In order to prevent this, iryou-nin have developed a jutsu to acclimate the body to specific foreign organic substances. After forming the needed hand seals, the user is able to introduce a set amount of a given organic substance to a patient and to allow their immune system to respond naturally. This technique is also used to acclimate the patient to bloodline limits and prevent them from going out of control while the patient undergoes surgery.
*[Anesthesia]
B-Rank Iitaijutsu
After forming the necessary hand seals and focusing chakra on a patient outside of combat, the user is able to heavily sedate them. This sedation technique is used to perform deeply invasive surgeries on patients, preventing them from moving while under and also keeping them deeply asleep and lasts for up [Chakra Pool]/2 posts. If a patient wakes up during the procedure, they will find themselves, depending on their [Willpower], mentally scarred from the intense amount of pain the surgery causes, and their vitals will go insane while they are awake unless they possess a sufficient [Discipline] to remain collected under immense stress and pain. Patients require greater or equal Control than the user's Control to fight off the sedation completely.
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will channel chakra into their hands and then place them over a group of muscles. Their chakra will spread through the muscle group at [Control] speed and numbness will begin to creep throughout it, beginning with the flesh before seeping into the muscle below. This numbing begins where the user has placed his/her hands and spreads outwards and in intensity until the hands are removed. In the first post the numbness can cause the pain equivalent to being stabbed with a kunai to be nullified, but sustained contact can fully anesthetize the target area. Once numbed, the effects last for four (4) posts before fading.
*[Careful Cut]
C-Rank Iitaijutsu
Prerequisite: *[Chakra Scalpel]
While *[Chakra Scalpel] is in use, the user will focus and enhance the chakra into a precision blade unable to be used to damage an opponent in combat but perfect to make precision incisions in patients. The user will then separate soft tissues with a brief touch and be able to cut only what needs to be cut, in exactly the way it needs to be cut, ensuring that the user may remove, heal, or focus on only the tissue in question for up to 5 posts.
*[Organ Removal]
B-Rank Iitaijutsu
Prerequisite: **[Careful Cut]
The user will channel chakra into their free hand while the other maintains the *[Careful Cut] jutsu. The user will then place their hand over an organ and infuse it with this chakra. This chakra will coat and numb the nerves while preserving it after it is removed with the *[Careful Cut] jutsu.
*[Cognizant Anesthesia]
A-Rank Iijutsu
Prerequisites: *[Anesthesia]
Rather an alteration on an already existing jutsu than a whole new technique in itself, an iryou-nin is able to use this technique to keep themselves conscious and clear while sedated. They will be able to perform procedures on themselves but suffer -2 [Willpower] because they are not able to completely avoid feeling groggy while under anesthetic. Some pain from the procedure will still go through and be felt, but it will be only a painful annoyance, not detracting from their medical capabilities. The user is able to move while under the influence of this technique, but is unable to travel. Even walking is not achievable without losing concentration and interrupting the jutsu.
*[Iijutsu • Chakra Scalpel]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
The antithesis to the famous *[Iijutsu • Mystical Palm], the infamous *[Iijutsu • Chakra Scalpel] is no precision instrument. The user will channel chakra into their palms before attempting to place them on a target. If the user is able to connect the entirety of their palm, the chakra will be released into the opponent's body at [Control] Strength. If cast with 34 [Control] or less, this chakra will slice through thinner body tissues, such as arteries, ligaments, tendons, or veins with ease but cannot slice thicker tissue such as that found around organs, up to 4 inches from the surface in an area roughly the size of the user's hand. If cast with 35 [Control] or more, thicker tissue can be sliced through. The skin remains unblemished by this technique, as it only causes internalwounds. The chakra used in this technique is highly visible when first activated and emanates from both hands for a duration of three (3) posts or until contact with the opponent is made.
*[Clamp]
D-Rank Iitaijutsu
The user is able to channel their chakra to create a makeshift clamp they then place while performing surgery or other types of healing jutsu to close off blood vessels which have been cut and prevent further blood loss. This can last for [Chakra Pool]/2 posts.
*[Self Implantation]
S-Rank Iitaijutsu
Culminating all of their knowledge of the human body and medical expertise into one point, the user will be able to perform transplants on themselves, potentially giving themselves a Kekkei Genkai, body modification, etc. The user of this technique performs everything themselves or else with limited help, including pre-operational work, maintaining the sedation on themselves during the procedure, monitoring their vitals, the act of implantation/splicing, connecting tissue to tissue and organ to body. The time this procedure takes is dependent entirely on what is being implanted, but because the doctor is impeded by being the patient, it generally takes longer than normal.
*[Organ Implantation]
S-Rank Iitaijutsu
Prerequisite: *[Organ Removal]
After all the necessary precautions are taken, the user will begin by removing an organ from the patient in question to create a spot for the donor organ to be implanted with the *[Organ Removal] jutsu. They will then place the donor organ within the appropriate cavity. Following that, they will perform the actual placement, and then finally connect the tissues to the proper places. This results in the patient being granted organ-based Kekkei Genkai such as the Akari or Kagu
*[Iijutsu • Chakra Stitching]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user performs a short set of hand seals and then will gently place their index finger at the base of the patient's wound. Once this is done, the user will lift their finger and touch it to the other side of the wound, causing a visible 'stitch' of chakra to appear and hold the wound together with [Control] Strength. This is repeated until the wound has been pulled together. Actions performed with more [Strength] or [Speed] than the [Control] used to create the stitch will destroy it.
*[Organ Stitching]
A-Rank Iijutsu
Prerequisite: *[Chakra Stitching]
The user will place an organ or a tissue into it's proper place in a patient's body, be it a replacement or an implantation, and then channel chakra into their hands. They will continue to hold their hands over the tissue or organ in question and connect the various other tissues in the patients body where it needs to be connected with *[Chakra Stitching]. Blood vessels, connective tissues, muscles, etc. will all be connected to the organ in question, ensuring that once implanted, it will stay nourished and protected as if it were the body's own.
*[Inhibiting the Inhibitor]
A-Rank Iijutsu
When a foreign substance or object invades the human body, the immune system responds and attempts to remove the threat. In order to prevent this, iryou-nin have developed a jutsu to acclimate the body to specific foreign organic substances. After forming the needed hand seals, the user is able to introduce a set amount of a given organic substance to a patient and to allow their immune system to respond naturally. This technique is also used to acclimate the patient to bloodline limits and prevent them from going out of control while the patient undergoes surgery.
*[Anesthesia]
B-Rank Iitaijutsu
After forming the necessary hand seals and focusing chakra on a patient outside of combat, the user is able to heavily sedate them. This sedation technique is used to perform deeply invasive surgeries on patients, preventing them from moving while under and also keeping them deeply asleep and lasts for up [Chakra Pool]/2 posts. If a patient wakes up during the procedure, they will find themselves, depending on their [Willpower], mentally scarred from the intense amount of pain the surgery causes, and their vitals will go insane while they are awake unless they possess a sufficient [Discipline] to remain collected under immense stress and pain. Patients require greater or equal Control than the user's Control to fight off the sedation completely.