The environment of the ninja world is extremely unique. Under the influence of chakra, living beings' forms and natures tend to change easily. Mizuki's concern was clearly demonstrated in the case of the Tailed Beasts—the Ten-Tails, the avatar of the God Tree. Its physical vessel had been sealed onto the moon by the Sage of Six Paths, while its core chakra was divided into nine parts, becoming the Nine Tailed Beasts. But after a thousand years, has any of them even wanted to reunite as the Ten-Tails? The Nine Tailed Beasts themselves are full of internal contradictions, constantly fighting among each other—there's no thought of self-sacrifice or reviving the Ten-Tails.
Extending one's will is relatively simple. Shadow Clone, one of the most effective techniques for this, is also incredibly easy to use. Especially after Mizuki resolved the issue of even chakra distribution—which wasn't really a flaw to begin with—the technique's practicality improved greatly.
But this ninjutsu passed down by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, has one major advantage: asynchronous memory between original and clone. Once the Shadow Clones are dispelled, as long as the original endures the initial fatigue, they inherit all memories and experiences from the clones. Using this feature, Naruto Uzumaki completed wind nature transformation at an unimaginable speed and eventually created the Wind Release: Rasengan Shuriken.
But just as the saying goes—"Both the blessing and the curse come from the same source." The lack of synchronized willpower meant each clone was only a copy made when the original used the jutsu. These freely acting Shadow Clones weren't truly under the original's control—they merely maintained the fragile perception that both were "one person" through their shared starting memories. Even the destined child, Naruto Uzumaki, occasionally exposed this problem when using Shadow Clones. In a practical combat test, countless Shadow Clones surrounded Kakashi Hatake. Exploiting this weakness, Kakashi transformed into Naruto's appearance and impersonated one of his clones. In such a situation, neither the original Naruto nor his clones could distinguish the enemy. Disagreements led to infighting, ultimately giving Kakashi the chance to reap the benefits effortlessly.
Of course, during sparring between teacher and student, this was just a minor issue. But for Mizuki, it became a massive vulnerability. Naruto's Shadow Clones, limited by external chakra retention time, have very short lifespans—usually only lasting a few minutes to ten at most, and even in rare cases never exceeding a day. Therefore, the conflict between original and clone wasn't obvious and didn't cause much harm.
However, Mizuki's Artificial Jinchuriki clones, under the combined effects of sealing techniques and breath-sealing arts, could remain active for an extremely long time. Even with identical memories and mindset, so many different experiences naturally led to growing differences over time, inevitably resulting in conflicting opinions and unavoidable disputes. Why did Mizuki insist on regular meetings and memory sharing with his clones even when there was no battle and little need for additional chakra replenishment? Exactly to prevent situations like this from arising.
Of course, this was just a precautionary measure. After all, aside from their physical bodies, Artificial Jinchuriki were still ordinary shadow clones whose independent wills would eventually fade away.
But this time, what Mizuki and the Artificial Jinchuriki needed to accomplish would definitely not be that simple. To gather enough collective willpower to resist the corrosive effects of natural energy, they first needed individual wills. Right now, the Artificial Jinchuriki couldn't even be considered a fully formed individual—how could it possibly possess a true "will"? It was nothing more than a composite body taken over by a shadow clone, similar to Gaara when his body had been taken over by Shukaku through the Feigning Sleep Technique. The difference here was that this possession lasted far, far longer. Unlike Gaara, who had an original native will that could awaken and end the control, the Artificial Jinchuriki had no such foundation at all.
Mizuki had plenty of precedents to draw from when it came to resolving the conflict between the original and the clone. However, time was running out, so Mizuki kept exploring within the spiritual realm, desperately searching for a suitable solution. Some reincarnation-related cloning techniques from his previous life involved strict spiritual requirements, and even then, safety wasn't guaranteed. More reliable methods should be based on existing examples within the ninja world.
One particularly promising example was the Rinne Six Paths. The Black Receivers controlled by the Rinnegan allowed remote transfer of chakra, which to some extent fulfilled the requirement. Unfortunately, Mizuki's makeshift replicas still couldn't safely produce a complete Rinnegan. Moreover, he lacked mastery over Yin-Yang Release, making it impossible to craft such superior chakra-conducting tools.
Another option was White Zetsu, known for its ability to create countless duplicates through either Infinite Tsukuyomi or cultivation by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. While the origins differed, the core components were roughly the same: cells from the First Hokage and the Ten-Tails.
While Mizuki couldn't access either of these directly, studying White Zetsu corpse cells along with Shukaku's clone did offer a glimpse into some hidden secrets. This research offered real hope for solving both physical and spiritual issues. When success was so close at hand, abandoning everything to gamble on dangerous endeavors like "creating life" seemed extremely unwise.
...
"Sometimes, I wonder if I should give you a name," Mizuki's original body said to the Artificial Jinchuriki after their pointless argument. "I don't know your reasons for making this suggestion, but honestly, I think I really overlooked your feelings before."
Mizuki's words instantly made the atmosphere even heavier. The heavy silence in the air was so thick it felt like it could suffocate anyone.
"Are you doubting me?"
The Artificial Jinchuriki's eyes flashed mysteriously as he stared directly at the original, slowly and clearly asking each word.
"You should remember how the first Artificial Jinchuriki clone died, right?" Instead of answering the question, Mizuki suddenly changed the subject.
"I know."
After a brief pause, the Artificial Jinchuriki seemed to grasp the point. "You mean…"
Mizuki's original body raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. "We share almost all the same memories, and our thinking is practically identical. There shouldn't have been any real disagreements between us by now. But something's gone wrong — and we need to face it!"
"So it's come to this?" the Artificial Jinchuriki said with a bitter smile. "It always comes down to where you sit, doesn't it? Our stances have started drifting apart without even realizing it."
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