Equal Exchange

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Eiju looked Kiyomi straight in the eyes before looking away for a while. He wasn't really feeling bad about this honesty which he was about to show. Technically, he had no reason to feel bad about what he was about to say, no one ever should but that wasn't the source of his suddenly originating pain. It was quite another realization completely.

"Yes, there is one thing that could save Mana even now" the Quack looked at the lifeless body of the girl that actually meant nothing to him and should've meant nothing to the girl that he liked playing around with the thoughts of maybe calling out on a date when he settled down just because he liked her animosity towards him.

Kiyomi winded up a punch but then she clenched her aching ribs and lowered her hand relaxing it. She looked the medical rogue straight in the eyes and walked up to him trying to stare him down, she had a decently intimidating stare but the Quack's firm look didn't budge.

"What does that mean? Why would you withhold that from her then!?" Kiyomi yelled out angrily.

"Because it's a forbidden technique, it isn't that complicated so in theory a skilled medical ninja should be able to use it but it's forbidden, it's a kinjutsu, lovely" the Quack's eyes stared back at Kiyomi, it was the eyes of the Yamanaka that first quivered and started switching sides between focusing on her dying friend and on the Quack.

Kiyomi wasn't sure just what her stance on things was anymore. If the technique that the Quack referred to really was a forbidden one it may not have been proper to bully him into doing it. Truth be told there were no actual legal consequences on using the kinjutsu techniques but they were heavily frowned upon and they were absolutely never taught, most people possessing the knowledge on forbidden techniques were self-taught from various sources such as historic scrolls or black market scrolls containing intel on the techniques. If Quack was revealed to have used a kinjutsu right before the application to join the village ranks he'd sink his odds of actually having his request granted to the bottom.

"What do you care if it's forbidden or not? I know you... People like you. You don't give a shit if a technique is forbidden or not, you just care that it makes you strong, if it can get you to your goals..." Kiyomi whined out. She was honestly on the verge of breaking. Her friend was dying and there was a huge dilemma erected in front of her.

If she bullied the Quack into using that forbidden technique she'd lose his trust and hopes of ever playing around with those thoughts of rebelling against the clan rules, but she'd save Mana's life in the process. She could still let the magician die and she'd morally be in the right – kinjutsu were not to be used, it was more of a moral responsibility but it was responsibility, a badge of honor nonetheless. If she just told Hanasaku things how they actually were the Fifth wouldn't have winked twice and understood it.

"You're right, lovely, I don't care if it's forbidden or not. I couldn't give a horse's shit spouting arse if some bloke sitting in his office decided to ban a medical ninjutsu technique." Quack carefully placed his hand on Kiyomi's shoulder trying to comfort her, normally such gestures of kindness and emotional closeness would've been beyond his care but now he genuinely felt bad.

Eiju felt bad not because he didn't burn with the desire of using the forbidden medical technique but because he simply didn't care that much. Even if healing Mana by conventional means was an option and he tried it and the girl died the Quack wouldn't even frown a muscle. He was emotionless towards human life other than his own or that from which he was to obtain certain use. That was not a fitting emotional state towards a man hoping to legitimize himself.

"I care because of what that technique does. Do you even know why most kinjutsu are forbidden? Impure World Reincarnation is a technique that can bring a dead person back to life but it requires a life and soul of another as an equal exchange, Creation Rebirth and Dead Demon Consuming Seal are techniques that either kill or heavily injure the user beyond the point of ever being able to recover... They are not only vile and morally repugnant techniques, fuck that no one cares about morals these days and lives until their fifth birthday, that they're lethal or costly to the user themselves is what counts" Eiju explained.

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