NABC Chapter 73 Kaori Uzuki
Chapter 73 Kaori Uzuki
Chapter 73 Kaori Uzuki (Part 4)
Sosuke placed Kaori on the long table in the storeroom.
"Ren, go and fetch plenty of hot water."
Ren immediately took action.
Sosuke picked up a pair of scissors. *Snip*.
The scissors cut open the kimono, the fabric was pulled back, and a pale body was exposed under the light.
Very beautiful.
It was a combination of the fullness of a mature woman and the taut muscle lines unique to a ninja. Even with severe malnutrition, she was still stunning.
Sosuke was lost in thought for a moment. But he quickly remembered his business.
He saw a bruise on his abdomen, a sign of internal organ injury. His ribs were slightly swollen.
"Mr. Sosuke, the hot water is here." Jin ran over with a basin, not daring to look at the woman on the table, and turned his head away with a blush.
"Put it there and go out to guard the door."
Sosuke picked up a towel, soaked it in hot water, and wrung it out. Steam rose from it.
He dried his skin, then took out a small box containing a medicinal paste he had spent three days preparing. He carried it with him for future use.
He dug out a piece and smeared it with medicinal mud.
Kaori, who was unconscious, seemed to feel the pain, her brows furrowed.
After applying the ointment, Sosuke put away the box and placed his palm on her abdomen.
Green healing chakra was slowly injected.
Ten minutes later. Treatment ended.
Sousuke felt weak. There was nothing he could do; his chakra reserves were too low.
But Kaori's breathing became steady.
"Ren, bring me a cotton quilt."
The next morning.
Sunlight streamed in, illuminating the swirling dust.
Kaori Uzuki opened her eyes.
My head hurts a lot, but I feel much better.
She sat up abruptly. The quilt slipped off her body.
She found herself in an unfamiliar place. It seemed to be a storage room.
Looking down, I saw that her dirty clothes were gone, and she had changed into a white kimono, which seemed to be new.
A cool sensation came from the wound; it was the best ointment.
"Awake?" A person walked in.
Kaori turned her head warily.
A man.
He was dressed in a dark gray casual suit and was playing with two glass marbles in his hand.
He was wearing a black eye patch over his left eye.
One-eyed.
"Who are you?"
Kaori instinctively reached for the outside of her thigh. That was where she usually strapped her ninja tool pouch.
But there was nothing there.
"Don't bother looking for it. Your ninja tool bag is on the table."
"This is a dessert shop on Red Fan Street. I'm the owner, Sosuke."
"Sousuke? You're the owner of that bottled water shop?" Kaori recognized him.
"Exactly."
"How did I get here?"
"You fainted at the back door of my shop yesterday."
Memories flooded back. Kaori recalled everything from yesterday: despair, hunger, and that sweet scent.
"Did you save me?"
"Yes."
Sosuke poured a glass of warm water and came over.
"It took a lot of effort. Your life is saved."
Kaori took the water but didn't drink it.
Sousuke's one-eyed appearance certainly didn't make him look like a good person. Moreover, as a former ANBU candidate, she instinctively doubted everything.
"Why did you save me? I don't know you. I don't have any money to pay for medical expenses."
"money?"
Sosuke smiled. He took out a piece of paper.
That was the payment reminder slip that fell out of Kaori's pocket when he was helping her take off her clothes.
A payment reminder from Konoha Hospital.
The name "Uzuki Yugao" was written on it, and there was an outstanding fee.
"What is your relationship with Uzuki Yugao?"
"That's my daughter, her name is Kaori Uzuki."
Daughter — no wonder they look so alike.
"Thank you for saving me, I will repay you. But I have to go now. My daughter is still in the hospital—"
Kaori tried to get up, but she hadn't eaten in a long time and was too weak to stand up. She almost fell.
Sosuke helped her up.
"Don't rush, your condition is very bad. And you just want to leave like this? The medicine I gave you is very expensive, a total of thirty thousand taels."
Kaori gave a bitter smile.
"I have no money."
"It can be repaid with something else."
What do you want?
Kaori became alert. She then realized with a start that her clothes had been changed. A flash of shame and indignation crossed her face.
She quickly turned her back to Sosuke and checked her body. Fortunately, there were no signs of assault.
"Don't get me wrong. I saved you not because you're beautiful."
"From what I've observed, the calluses on your hands indicate that you are skilled in swordsmanship. I happen to be short of a bodyguard right now."
While Might Guy is strong, he can't be by his side 24/7. Having two bodyguards greatly increases his safety.
"I don't do bodyguard work." Kaori bit her lip. "I'm a Chunin from Konoha."
"Chunin?"
Sousuke smiled.
"Alright, then you can go."
.
He stepped aside, making way for the doorway.
"The door is unlocked, please make your way."
Kaori was stunned.
She hadn't expected this man to be so decisive. He didn't try to take advantage of her kindness, nor did he try to force her to stay.
This is... letting me go?
Kaori picked up her ninja tool pouch, which was her only remaining support.
She got off the table, put on her shoes, and walked towards the door.
One step, two steps.
and many more.
Kaori stopped in her tracks.
Where was she going after pushing open the door?
Go back to the apartment? That's someone else's home.
Go to the hospital? Without money to pay, Xiyan was already pushed into the corridor, exposed to the cold wind.
Go take on a mission? Her current physical condition isn't even capable of handling the simplest D-level mission. Besides, there are no missions for her to take on.
Without money, Xi Yan's medication will be stopped today. She will die tomorrow. And she herself doesn't even know where her dinner is for tonight.
Kaori turned her head and looked at the man behind her.
Sosuke poured himself a cup of hot tea and slowly blew on it.
The clothes he was wearing were made of very fine material; they were top-quality silk.
This man is the owner of a bottled water business; he's very wealthy.
"What's wrong?"
Sosuke looked at her indifferently.
"Aren't you leaving? Or do you want me to reimburse your travel expenses?"
Kaori turned around and walked back.
"If I were to serve as a guard—how much would you pay me?"
Sosuke put down his teacup and smiled.
Without saying a word, he pulled out a thick envelope.
"Here is one million taels."
Kaori stared at the envelope, her pupils dilating in shock. One million taels?
She toiled herself to death for a few thousand taels of silver, while this man casually tossed out a million taels?
"This is the advance payment for your wages, and also for your daughter's medical expenses."
Sosuke's tone was flat.
"I don't do charity. From today onwards, you are responsible for my personal safety."
Kaori grabbed the envelope.
"Yes, boss."
"Very good. Now you can go to the hospital. Go and take care of your daughter's matter."
Konoha Hospital, Dr. Tanoshita's office.
"What did you say?"
Tanashita looked at Kaori Uzuki in disbelief.
The woman who looked like a stray dog yesterday has returned looking radiant today.
"I said, prescribe the best medicine for my daughter."
Kaori slammed a thick wad of banknotes on the table. That was five hundred thousand taels.
Tianxia looked at the money, his Adam's apple bobbing.
This amount is enough to book an intensive care unit for a month.
"Where did you get the money?!"
Tianxia looked at her suspiciously.
"Are you going to—"
His gaze began to drift in that lewd direction again.
*Whoosh.* A kunai was nailed to the chair between his legs.
It was only one centimeter away from the vital point.
Tianxia screamed in fright and almost slipped off the chair.
"Take your dirty look away."
Kaori said coldly.
"This money is clean. I work for Takaya Trading Company and am now Mr. Sosuke's bodyguard."
"Takaya Chamber of Commerce? Sousuke?"
A cold sweat instantly broke out on Tianxia's back.
In this village, who doesn't know that the Takaya Trading Company and the Uchiha clan are now in cahoots?
That businessman named Sosuke even dared to oust the head of the supplies department.
If this woman really got involved with that connection—
Tanashita's attitude immediately made a 180-degree turn.
"Oh dear! It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"
He smiled broadly and hurriedly collected the banknotes.
"Now that the fees are covered, everything is negotiable."
"Is bed number 3 still there?" Kaori asked.
"Yes! Of course I'm here!" Tanashita lied through his teeth. "I've been saving it for Yugao. That wounded Sarutobi clan member—uh, he just got discharged from the hospital."
Actually, they haven't moved in yet.
"Arrange to transfer them back immediately. Use the best Wind Kingdom Lung-Clearing Powder."
"Definitely, definitely."
Seeing her daughter lying back in the warm, private hospital room, Kaori's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
All it takes to go from hell back to earth is a sugar daddy.
West Street Warehouse.
Sosuke returned here.
He is adapting to the new perspective.
After losing my left eye, my blind spot became larger. Attacks from the left side became harder to detect.
"call out!"
Might Guy threw a small pebble, which went straight for Sosuke's left ear.
Sosuke did not turn his head.
His ears twitched. He raised his left hand and caught the pebble precisely.
"Wow, boss, that's impressive!"
Dai exclaimed in surprise.
"Although you can't see with your left eye, your hearing and perception seem to have become stronger."
"Compensation mechanism".
Sosuke threw away the pebble.
"The brain is very intelligent. If vision is impaired, it will allocate more resources to hearing and touch."
"Furthermore—I am now more sensitive to the flow of chakra."
Perhaps because he had been injected with chakra suppressants and experienced electrical stimulation, his nervous system underwent some subtle changes.
His intuition for danger had improved to a whole new level.
"Boss, are you really going to take Mrs. Maoyue as your bodyguard?"
"Um."
"She's a dangerous woman," Dai said intuitively. "She exudes a strong murderous aura."
"I know. After all, she's a former ANBU substitute. But dangerous women are the most useful."
"Dai, from now on she'll be in the shadows, and you'll be in the light. My life is in your hands."
"Don't worry, boss!" Dai flashed a bright white smile. "Whoever wants to hurt you will have to step over my dead body first!"
Sousuke smiled.
With Dai and Kaori by his side, plus the Uchiha network of connections, his safety level has greatly increased.
"Next————"
Sousuke untied the straps of his blindfold. The blindfold fell down.
The exposed left eye showed no signs of injury.
The eyeballs are intact and still clearly visible.
However, that pupil was gray.
A deathly gray. Without luster, without focus. Like a layer of fog.
"Still can't see. The optic nerve in my left eye has indeed died—"
He lost sight in his left eye.
This is the price we paid for the last experiment.
That night, Orochimaru delivered the [Chakra Suppressant].
That's a good thing. After the injection, the chakra indeed went into a dormant state and no longer reacted negatively to the electric current.
The risk of paralysis is gone.
So, Sosuke asked Chiba to increase the voltage.
He wanted to re-enter that state of "extreme excitement".
He succeeded.
In that instant, Sosuke felt his nerves become like a superconducting fiber, his reaction speed increasing once again.
He could even clearly see the trails of dust particles floating in the air.
However, everything comes at a price.
Although there was no chakra interference, this kind of experiment was inherently high-risk; the electric current was uncontrollable.
The high voltage directly burned out the optic nerve in his left eye.
At that moment, he heard a soft "pop" in his head.
Then, the world on the left went black.
Permanent nerve necrosis.
Even medical ninjutsu cannot regenerate a damaged optic nerve.
Unless an eye transplant is performed.
Sosuke regretted it. Trading an eye for a slight increase in nerve reaction speed seemed a bit too much to ask.
This taught him that reckless experimentation comes at a price. This time it was the optic nerve, next time—
So he never conducted that experiment again.
He put the blindfold back on, covering his gray, lifeless eyes.
We need to find a way to restore my eyesight —
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