"When the first Artificial Jinchuriki clone was sent on a mission practically guaranteed to end in death, it realized its purpose had come to an end—blocking Amaterasu head-on and then self-destructing to stop Kisame Hoshigaki when things became irreversible."
Mizuki sighed before continuing, "The pain of Amaterasu's burns, the loneliness brought by impending death, and the regret over a life cut too short—all these feelings surged into my mind with that final explosion."
Mizuki tapped his temple with his finger, then turned around and pointed at the Artificial Jinchuriki clone, "Of course, you've experienced these sensations too."
"That's true. I understand."
This was an obvious truth. Their memories only differed by about a month.
"Put yourself in my position—these kinds of feelings wouldn't matter much if we only differed by five minutes of memory. Five hours would be just a minor issue. After five days, 'I' would start forming slightly different opinions. And after a month, knowing my habits, I'd definitely start asking myself questions like: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What should I do? All of those never-ending philosophical questions without clear answers..."
"We have absolutely nothing hidden from each other," the Artificial Jinchuriki clone seemed to grasp its own situation as well. "As an isekai traveler with such uncertain existence and definition, I also once struggled with those same questions. Created specifically as a temporary clone with a brief lifespan, I inevitably started questioning these things over time."
"So, what's your answer?" Original Mizuki asked.
"There is no answer. Can you believe that?"
"I do. Didn't I say so already? At least for now, we're still incapable of deceiving or hiding anything from each other."
"Sorry, I nearly caused you trouble back there." The Artificial Jinchuriki thought for a moment before speaking again. "Even without intending any conflict with my original form, subconsciously I still reached conclusions beneficial to the clone while being disadvantageous to the original."
Mizuki shook his head as he replied, "Truthfully, didn't we already predict this would happen? This world appears calm on the surface, but in reality, it's not very friendly toward intelligent people who possess great power."
Nodding, the Artificial Jinchuriki added, "Our second theory has also been confirmed—the Shadow Clone technique truly is a trap. That's why Tobirama Senju ranked this imperfect jutsu so highly despite its limited functions of reconnaissance, confusing enemies, aiding battle, and training, even sealing it away as a forbidden technique."
"Actually, calling it a trap might not be quite right. Perhaps Tobirama simply recognized how dangerous the Shadow Clone jutsu could be. He feared clever people trying to shortcut their way forward might combine shadow clones with tailed beasts, walking further and further down a perilous path. Unfortunately, that clever person turned out to be me..."
Shaking his head, the clone said, "Don't underestimate yourself. What Tobirama couldn't achieve, we might yet accomplish. He never encountered the Rinnegan or White Zetsu. We hold advantages he never dreamed of. Our direction remains correct; we're simply lacking refined methods to overcome our shortcomings."
"It'll still come down to you."
"Like this," Mizuki said, rising to his feet and walking toward the Artificial Jinchuriki. "Let's end the discussion here. We've basically figured out the original body and clone situation. It's time to synchronize our memories."
...
The sun was setting when Mizuki walked back to the village along the road, thinking about troubling issues he had discovered in the Artificial Jinchuriki clone's memories—most importantly, White Zetsu.
The clones' nearly barrier-free mental connection with the original body over long distances, and their seemingly infinite life energy—these two abilities felt like they were custom-made solutions for curing Mizuki's lingering damage. With the effects of the pills, White Zetsu's control and interference over these clones could be mostly ruled out. However, Mizuki had never fully understood where these abilities originated. How could a normal world produce a life form approaching immortality? Even considering special creatures like the immortal jellyfish—which could technically reverse aging—this still seemed suspicious. After all, even the Sage of Six Paths died—or at least appeared to have passed away naturally, his lifespan ended and his soul returned to Pure Land.
Another puzzling issue was that the clones could still survive even after the original body died. Without understanding the relationship between White Zetsu's original body and its clones, using them recklessly felt unsettling.
As he was thinking, suddenly someone called him.
"Mizuki, what are you thinking about?"
"Huh..." Snapping back to reality, Mizuki realized he'd already reached Konoha's village entrance. "Are you two on gate duty again?"
The ones greeting Mizuki were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, the ever-present gatekeeping ninjas.
"Come on, check in. Don't make our job harder than it has to be. By the way, Tsunade was asking about you earlier."
"Looking for me?" Mizuki asked curiously. "But today's my day off. I didn't hear anything about urgent matters needing attention."
"Who knows then? But apparently, it's related to Cloud Village. Today, envoys from the Land of Lightning arrived."
"Cloud Village? And our relationship with them isn't exactly great. Why would they send an envoy now?"
"Who knows? Maybe they're trying to take advantage of our current difficulties. They wouldn't be the first."
True indeed—the current Raikage was short-tempered and warmongering. Militarism had become something of a signature trait for Cloud Village.
...
Arriving at Konoha's administrative building, Mizuki passed by two unfamiliar faces whose skin tone was somewhat darker. Judging by the forehead protectors on their heads, they must have been from Cloud Village. But Mizuki couldn't recognize either one.
Without paying them much mind, Mizuki went directly to Hokage's Office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Pushing open the door, Mizuki stepped inside, finding not only Tsunade and her aide Shizune present, but also Might Guy, who had thick eyebrows and large eyes.
"Yo, Mizuki, long time no see," Guy greeted unusually normally.
Mizuki nodded in response.
"You're just in time," Tsunade said as they walked in. "I have something important to inform you both. Cloud Village has sent us a request to participate in the Chunin Exams happening in several months."
"Cloud Village? Chunin Exams? What business do they have with us?"
The relationship between Cloud Village and Konoha is barely better than that between Iwagakure and Sunagakure. During the prior Great Ninja World Wars, nearly every major conflict was essentially a battle for supremacy between Cloud Village and Konoha. The deep-seated enmity between these two strongest ninja villages would take more than three lifetimes to recount in full. One of the most shocking incidents was Iwagakure's lust for the Byakugan, which led them to kidnap Hinata Hyuga. This ultimately resulted in Hizashi Hyuga's suicide.
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