Inside an underground base located a considerable distance away from where Mizuki and Kabuto Yakushi had their conflict, Kabuto was now busy treating his injuries in a desperate attempt to recover.
Thanks to Mizuki's last-minute mercy, Kabuto had managed to escape death. Relying on years of relentless drug-induced physical enhancements that granted him extraordinary healing abilities, combined with his superb medical ninjutsu and driven by sheer willpower, he barely made it to safety before Mizuki could reconsider.
"This time I've seriously miscalculated!"
Losing resources without gaining anything in return—nothing ruins your day faster. However, Kabuto still needed to carry through with this transaction. Just as Mizuki suspected, if Sage Mode wasn't obtained, then both the Cursed Seal Technique and the Flying Thunder God Technique would be wasted efforts. All he'd have to show for it would be a bunch of scars. Circumstances forced Kabuto to keep investing further—only by exchanging for the complete method of Sage Mode cultivation could he prevent too great of a loss. As long as he could control the Sharingan and evolve it into the Mangekyo Sharingan, everything would be worth it.
"So the next step is figuring out how to get my hands on the Impure World Reincarnation and Living Corpse Reincarnation techniques?"
A glint of strange light flickered in Kabuto's weary eyes.
"Especially with Living Corpse Reincarnation—if I could actually find a way to materialize lingering willpower into a physical form…"
In an instant, countless beneficial possibilities flashed through his mind.
…
Tsunade closed the mission report she was holding and nodded, saying, "Good job. This mission went very smoothly."
Mizuki, waiting patiently for her reply, responded, "I wish all S-ranked missions were this easy."
"You're thinking too much. How could that ever happen? You just got lucky avoiding some serious heat this time. For ordinary ninja, slipping past a jinchuriki and Anbu squad detection is tough enough—forget about finishing the mission."
Mizuki completed the task easily, but whether another jonin with a different fighting style could do so was uncertain.
"I've also read your conclusion. Regarding Utakata, the Six-Tails jinchuriki, judging from Mist Village's strength, there's basically no chance they'll recapture him. That means Utakata will remain a rogue ninja for quite some time."
"Yes," Mizuki agreed. "It's difficult to assess Utakata's combat effectiveness after tailed-beast transformation. Even Mist's Anbu couldn't force him into using the beast's power unless I personally intervened. Plus, given Utakata's escape capabilities, unless overpowered directly and utterly, leaving him nowhere to run, capturing him seems practically impossible."
"That's quite a high assessment. Then you mean we don't need to worry about Akatsuki threatening Utakata anytime soon?"
"Precisely. Moreover, Utakata isn't necessarily the only tailed beast and jinchuriki combination currently wandering outside of villages. We can't know everything for sure anyway. In comparison, I feel far more concerned about Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki!"
"I understand the situation. Jiraiya will handle Naruto's protection," Tsunade acknowledged Mizuki's judgment. "This mission is concluded here. You can take two days off. Moving forward, your main focus will shift toward training Genin Team 8."
"Understood!"
"I'll do my best!"
...
Mizuki, who had completed his mission, didn't waste much time outside and returned home early. After enduring the harshness of living outdoors, braving wind and sleeping under the stars, coming home was always more comfortable. The first thing he did upon arriving was take a hot shower, then lazily settle onto the sofa to sort through his trophies from this mission.
[The Flying Thunder God Technique] was placed aside first—the difficulty of learning this jutsu might even exceed that of training in Sage Mode. Those with spatial talent are even rarer than those suited for Sage Transformation. Created by Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, this technique was later perfected by Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Nowadays, only Hayate Gekko, Raijin Butoh, and Yivashi—once the elite bodyguards of the Hokage—could use it together as a team. Space–Time Ninjutsu wasn't limited to just the Flying Thunder God; Tsunade's summoned beast, Katsuyu, also demonstrated Space–Time Ninjutsu capabilities, including techniques for ultra-long-distance chakra transmission.
Yet no matter what, unless something unexpected happened, short-term progress on the Flying Thunder God Technique would be minimal. Considering how many geniuses have existed in Konoha over so many years without anyone mastering it, its level of difficulty was self-evident.
As for the Medical Ninjutsu—["Yin Healing Wound Destruction"]—that could wait. After all, medical techniques weren't Mizuki's chosen path.
Finally, there was the Cursed Seal Technique—itself the one jutsu requiring serious research.
And this particular technique couldn't be entrusted to an Artificial Jinchuriki for study.
Some things just had to be handled personally, especially in case something went seriously wrong and fast action would be needed.
Thinking back to everything and the changes that happened during their last meeting with the Artificial Jinchuriki, unease flooded his mind.
[Once progress has been made on researching the Cursed Seal Technique, I should visit the underground base back mountain!]
Potentially problematic issues like these required personal verification. Before completely dispelling his doubts, Mizuki wouldn't hand any soul- or spirit-related secret techniques back into the hands of an Artificial Jinchuriki clone.
Looking repeatedly at the Cursed Seal Technique scroll in his possession, the more Mizuki studied it, the more he realized there was far more to it than met the eye.
Undoubtedly, this technique originated from Ryuchi Cave, where Jugo had a major role to play. If Stage One of the Cursed Seal merely pushed the physical body to its limits, Stage Two clearly displayed characteristics of Sage Transformation.
Jugo involuntarily entered a Sage Mode state—and lost control, killing indiscriminately—either when surrounded by areas rich in natural energy or when emotionally excited. This was clearly caused by absorbing too much uncontrollable natural energy. Ultimately, both Jugo and Mizuki were pitiful victims suffering under the invasion of natural energy. Mizuki's situation was actually worse. At least Jugo maintained some defense against spiritual damage. The makeshift Sage Mode Mizuki engineered himself posed far greater risks.
Since Mizuki himself had already figured these things out, he refused to believe Orochimaru—who had studied this topic for years—hadn't reached the same understanding. But if Orochimaru still regarded the Cursed Seal as extremely important, there must be specific reasons behind it.
In theory, the idea behind the Cursed Seal wasn't all that complicated. Comparing earlier research results about separating Sasuke's cursed seal chakra, Mizuki confirmed a suspicion he'd long held.
During the second-stage development of Jugo's Cursed Seal, Orochimaru made numerous critical modifications. The Natural Energy and residual vitality from Ryuchi Cave were extremely weak within the dark purple Chakra of Sage Transformation. The special Chakra representing Orochimaru's will, however, remained highly active and was responsible for the primary corrosive effects on Sasuke's spirit.
From this point alone, Mizuki recognized the formidable intellect of Orochimaru.
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