It was Zhuli, the imitation body created by Mizuki, who arrived. As he spoke, a scroll flew in from the opposite side. Mizuki casually reached out, caught it, and tucked it into his robes.
"Perfect timing. It's about to start. Go have your little battle, but don't get yourself killed. Making another one of you isn't hard—just a waste of my time."
"Relax. I value my life more than you do~" Zhuli replied with a grin.
By the time Mizuki returned to the spectator stands, the field was already alive with the sounds of battle. The crowd roared with excitement, and the tension in the air was palpable.
Kakashi, who had just ended his usual back-and-forth with Kai (Might Guy), noticed Mizuki's reappearance. He gave a small nod in acknowledgment—then paused.
"…Hm? That's odd," Kakashi muttered, his visible eye narrowing.
He sensed something was off.
"Impressive, Kakashi," Mizuki said with a faint smile, stepping up beside him.
Kakashi lowered his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan. He scanned Mizuki carefully.
"This isn't a Shadow Clone… nor a Transformation Jutsu. What kind of technique is this?"
Before Kakashi could press further, another Mizuki stepped out from behind the first—identical in every way.
"Not a trick," said the second. "Just good positioning. If you're not actively searching, you won't even notice I'm here~"
The technique used wasn't simple invisibility. It was something more—a complete suppression of presence. Not only was his chakra signature nearly erased, but his very existence seemed to slip from the conscious mind. Even Kakashi's Sharingan had only caught a faint flicker of chakra that hinted someone was standing nearby.
"This is that breath-holding technique you gave to Sakura?" Kakashi asked, astonished. "Didn't you say it just conserved chakra?"
Mizuki smirked. "Kakashi, any ninjutsu taken to the extreme becomes something else entirely."
"Even the most basic Three Academy Techniques can become lethal tools in the right hands," he added. "Remember Hanzo of the Salamander? A simple poison technique, yet even the Sannin had to crawl away in defeat."
Kakashi nodded. "Fair point. But to completely suppress the 'smell' of illusion from the body—that's something else."
"It's not as easy as it looks," Mizuki admitted. "This isn't some tracking-seal jutsu. I originally developed the breath-holding technique as a training aid for entering Sage Mode. Stealth and concealment are just side benefits—temporary applications."
Kakashi stopped prying, sensing Mizuki's reluctance to elaborate. He looked back toward the exam field and asked, "Still… what's with all the cloak and dagger? You're sneaking around like the enemy. Doesn't seem like something a Chūnin needs to do."
"Hey, this is to boost combat power, not espionage. I'm not all-powerful like you." Mizuki rolled his eyes. "I am a Chūnin, after all."
"True," Kakashi said, then pointed to the clone nearby. "But really—what is that? It's not a Shadow Clone. It's not a puppet, and it's definitely not genjutsu. Normal techniques can't do this."
"Rude," said Zhuli with a scowl. "You talk about me like I'm a tool."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, now truly intrigued. "It even has independent thought? What the hell did you make?"
"I'm not sure what to call it yet," Mizuki said. "It's similar to a Shadow Clone… but far more stable. It lasts longer, too."
After refining the breath-holding technique, chakra consumption had significantly decreased. While Zhuli still had limitations—particularly in high-output combat—its stamina and autonomy were vastly improved. Mizuki no longer needed to constantly infuse chakra to keep it functional.
Mizuki had long dreamed of creating a durable proxy—one that could handle tedious tasks or dangerous experiments. But Zhuli still wasn't perfect. It was a long-term project.
Things had shifted recently, though—especially after the Moonlight Gale incident. Since then, Mizuki had begun researching the mind and soul, drawing from the theories of Inoichi Yamanaka, and comparing them to concepts from his former world.
Ideas once dismissed as fantasy—like "one mind splitting into three aspects" or the Daoist notion of manifesting sentient avatars—had begun to feel plausible. After all, the Naruto world already had conceptual beings like the Tailed Beasts, entities born from the Ten-Tails' body and shaped by the negative emotions of humans.
In that sense, they resembled something close to the "Information-Integrated Collective Consciousness" from a sci-fi theory Mizuki once read about. That idea had once seemed laughable. Now? Not so much.
He didn't want to recreate a new tailed beast. He already had the framework—even if the Zhuli clones were poor imitations, they were proof of concept.
What Mizuki really wanted to understand was why the Tailed Beasts could form from human will. If he could map his own will onto chakra, then imprint and seal it into a blank body like Zhuli…
He could create a true Shuimuren Jinchūriki—a living embodiment of himself, carrying his intent and chakra independently.
It was ambitious. Absurd, even. But if he could just get his hands on a bit of tailed beast chakra—it would be a huge leap forward.
This Chūnin Exam might be his only chance.
Which tailed beast could he get close to? None. Not directly. But a Jinchūriki?
Only one fit the criteria: Gaara of the Sand.
Beaten and vulnerable after his loss to Naruto, Gaara was alone and unguarded. Before the time skip, before Shippuden began… this might be Mizuki's only shot at harvesting a trace of the One-Tail's chakra.
And if he missed this chance… there might not be another.
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