Chapter 15: The Mission and the Odds of Victory
"Hey, big sis—against someone from the Hōzuki Clan, how good are your chances?"
Hearing that, the severely injured Pakura froze for a moment, then thought bitterly to herself, What kind of question is that? Look at me—I'm in this state. Forget a Hōzuki Clan jōnin, even some random bystander could walk over with a little knife and stab me to death right now, okay?
Still, despite what she was thinking, Pakura answered seriously.
"If my injuries weren't this severe, I could kill ten of him."
Yeah, right. Don't kid around, lady. You? Take on ten? If I hadn't saved you, you'd already be meeting your ancestors by now.
After hearing her answer, Chizuki felt a bit awkward. Three black lines practically slid across his forehead, and a trace of disbelief showed on his face as that thought flashed through his mind.
As if sensing exactly what he was thinking, Pakura snapped irritably:
"Hey, brat, don't underestimate me. The Hōzuki Clan's Hydrification Technique is powerful, but my Scorch Release can evaporate water. I can dry up all the moisture in the surrounding area in an instant, let alone the water in his own body. And if there's no water nearby, he won't be able to use the Hydrification Technique."
That was true.
Whether in the anime Chizuki remembered or in fan discussions online, there had never really been a clear official explanation for how to counter the Hydrification Technique. Still, there were a few things worth considering.
First, although Water Release was restrained by Earth Release, the Hydrification Technique didn't seem to fear Earth Release at all. On the other hand, its defense against Lightning Release wasn't especially strong.
Second, the Hydrification Technique worked by turning the user's flesh into water as a form of defense. But at the end of the day, that water still had substance. In that case, Pakura's Scorch Release—which could evaporate water—really did seem like a perfect counter.
After all, this was the Hydrification Technique, not the Vaporization Technique. If the water in his body was evaporated away, then even on a microscopic level the change would be enough to kill Hōzuki Kōgetsu.
As expected, if you study your math and science well, you can walk the world without fear. Science really was the primary productive force.
Orochimaru, I support you!
Thinking of that, Chizuki smiled faintly and made up his mind.
The truth was that just moments earlier, when Chizuki had been preparing to find an opportunity to escape, the system had, at the worst possible time, suddenly issued a random mission.
Normally, even if it were just an ordinary mission, with Chizuki's personality he would still have chosen to protect his own life first.
But this time, the reward was simply too good.
After struggling with it again and again, he had finally decided to gamble on it.
"Ding. Based on the host's current situation, a side mission has been issued—Salvation of Fate.
Mission description: Having arrived in this new world, you have finally entered the storyline. Please save this heavily injured person.
Mission rewards: Successfully rescue Pakura—reward: Ember of Mana x1. Kill Hōzuki Kōgetsu, jōnin of Kirigakure in the Land of Water—reward: Servant Skill [Monstrous Strength]."
Seriously, was that not infuriating?
When I was just standing on the sidelines watching earlier, why didn't you issue the mission then? But the moment I'm getting ready to leave, you pull this on me.
And what do you mean Salvation of Fate? What fate? I don't even know her. Sure, she's pretty, but still—I'm the one who needs saving here, okay? My situation is already dangerous enough, and you still want me to go all-in?
That said, the rewards this time really were excellent.
Setting aside the Mana Ember, which was even more effective at enhancing magical energy, the Servant Skill [Monstrous Strength] was incredibly useful.
As far as Chizuki remembered, it was Medusa's innate skill, ranked B—an ability that could temporarily boost physical strength. Once activated, it granted enough power to lift even a road roller with one hand.
For Chizuki, who currently lacked even the strength to truss up a chicken, it was practically a divine skill.
So when it was time to risk it, he had to risk it.
Compared to hiding in the shadows, slowly grinding levels and developing cautiously, the rewards from winning this fight would be enough to give him a truly powerful trump card.
Chizuki looked at Pakura, his eyes shifting as he thought for a moment. Then he nodded.
"Big Sister Pakura…"
"Just call me Pakura."
Seeing Chizuki act like this—and recalling how he had doubted her just now—Pakura frowned in displeasure and replied curtly.
"Alright then, Pakura… ahem. I can help you recover some of your injuries. I still have a few soldier pills here too, so I can help replenish your chakra. You just need to make sure that Hōzuki Kōgetsu can't use the Hydrification Technique anymore."
"Fine."
At that, Pakura arched a delicate brow, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
After all, Chizuki was only a Konoha genin. The fact that a five- or six-year-old child was already on the battlefield was strange enough. Yet he also possessed some kind of healing ability, carried soldier pills on him, and had a young girl of considerable strength by his side. It was enough to make Pakura wonder whether he was some young master from a powerful clan out on a so-called "life experience" journey.
Hearing her agreement, Chizuki smiled faintly and walked behind her, placing his palm against her snow-white back.
He could clearly feel Pakura's body tremble slightly under his touch.
He had no time to dwell on the soft warmth beneath his hand. His eyes sharpened as he silently thought:
[First Aid], activate.
The instant the command sounded in his mind, the ring on his finger flashed with light. A weak yet tenacious life force bloomed forth together with a green glow and flowed into Pakura's body.
Actually, Chizuki could have healed her simply by grabbing her hand.
But there was no helping it—this was a Mystic Code, not medical ninjutsu.
One was equipment. The other was a skill.
If others found out that he possessed such a portable healing method, being captured and interrogated would be the best-case scenario. And if, during that interrogation, they somehow dug the existence of the system out of his head, then he'd end up on a dissection table for research.
Even taking ten thousand steps back—even if they didn't discover the system—how was he supposed to explain memories from a past life? Knowledge of the story's future development? In anyone's hands, that kind of information could be used to cultivate an outrageously powerful villain.
As Pakura felt the life force flowing from Chizuki's palm, the doubt in her heart only deepened.
There was a reason so many people couldn't learn medical ninjutsu: their chakra control simply wasn't precise enough.
Forget genin—even many chūnin and jōnin were unable to manipulate chakra with perfect accuracy.
And yet this little genin before her was capable of using such delicate healing ninjutsu—how could that not be shocking?
Tilting her head, Pakura subconsciously wanted to turn and look at him.
But the tingling sensation spreading through her wounds made her stop.
Although [First Aid] didn't restore a huge amount of damage—even in the game it wasn't especially impressive—this wasn't a game world, and there were no numbers here.
Here, no matter how strong you were, one stab from a blade could still take your life. If you got careless for even a moment, you could still die.
And right now, Pakura was seriously wounded, practically standing on the edge of death. If not for the powerful chakra sustaining her body, she would have died already. At a moment like this, even a modest amount of healing was like delivering charcoal in the middle of a snowstorm.
As the pain in her body gradually eased and her strength slowly returned, Pakura closed her eyes.
She needed to mobilize the chakra within her body.
Her injuries were one matter.
But more than anything else, Pakura wanted to turn that Mist bastard who had almost ambushed her to death into a beautiful mummy.