Chapter 151 - Problematic Fighting Style
As night fell, Mizuki, following his usual routine, spent some time sensing natural energy before settling down to carefully review the dossiers that Tsunade had passed on through Kakashi, containing information about the Suna and Iwa ninja assigned to the mission.
Setting aside minor details, a few names quickly caught Mizuki's attention.
Among the Iwagakure personnel, there were two figures that needed special consideration:
One was Akatsuchi, a genuine elite jonin.
The other was Kurotsuchi — who, in about a decade, would rise to become the Fourth Tsuchikage.
『It seems like the new generation of Kage are predominantly women…』
In the five great ninja villages, three female leaders appearing almost consecutively was quite rare, especially in a world where strength ruled all.
Still, even though Kurotsuchi would eventually become Tsuchikage, she was currently still very young, and her actual strength remained uncertain.
At such an age, no matter the talent, physical limitations posed a huge challenge.
Not everyone could be like Uchiha Itachi — blessed with extraordinary talent and the powerful Sharingan, defeating even a peak-form Orochimaru as a teenager was not something easily replicated.
The lineup from Iwagakure was fairly standard.
With Deidara present, and considering the importance of the mission, sending an elite like Akatsuchi to bolster the group made perfect sense.
Pairing a promising rookie like Kurotsuchi with seasoned personnel mirrored Konoha's own arrangement:
Newly-promoted Jonin Mizuki, supported by the capable Tokubetsu Jonin Yamashiro Aoba, along with two exceptional up-and-comers — Aburame Shino and Hyuga Neji.
This setup served two purposes: accomplishing the mission, and tempering these gifted newcomers.
The ninja world didn't need greenhouse flowers — only those who survived brutal trials would be recognized as true talents.
However, the Suna list was much more intriguing.
As Mizuki studied the names, he fell into deep thought.
『Maki? The sealing specialist female ninja Jun? And Yura? Three jonin?』
Originally, this matter had little to do with Sunagakure.
Yet in the end, Suna had insisted on joining, forming a three-village alliance for Deidara's escort.
Even the travel route selected was unusual — not the shortest path.
For ninja, roads served more for navigation than travel — their movement abilities rendered terrain largely irrelevant unless it was truly perilous.
The official story was that they would first escort One-Tail's Jinchuriki (Gaara) back to the village, then proceed to the Land of Earth.
Of course, such excuses were meant only for outsiders.
Villages like these never acted without strong reason.
Getting a prideful Sunagakure to cooperate with Iwagakure suggested hidden motives.
Mizuki skimmed through the personnel files again —
Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara, all still lingering in Konoha after the Akatsuki attack.
『If Gaara isn't viewed as a mere escort target, but rather as a major combat force, then Suna's investment here implies they're expecting a dangerous enemy.
The Red Sand Scorpion, perhaps?』
Indeed, the true objective of this mission was less about escorting and more about internal purging.
Both Konoha and Iwagakure wanted to flush out hidden threats, using Deidara as bait to lure snakes out of their holes.
While Deidara was technically valuable — a rogue ninja with sensitive knowledge — his betrayal at a young age meant that even Ōnoki hadn't cared enough to seriously pursue him.
Bringing Deidara back alive was preferable, but if he died along the way, it wouldn't truly wound Iwagakure's pride.
As long as it didn't cause the village further trouble, it was acceptable.
Konoha's stake in the matter was even lower —
Deidara's head was insignificant compared to the possible information about the Akatsuki organization he carried.
Although Morino Ibiki had interrogated him, no substantial intelligence had been extracted.
Suna's intentions, however, were not so simple.
Maki — a major figure who would later help Gaara ascend to Kazekage — was powerful in her own right, capable of defeating a careless Hayate Gekko in one move during the original timeline.
She wasn't just a strategist and commander; she was also a fierce frontline fighter.
Her involvement alone suggested this mission was no trivial matter.
Adding in the sealing specialist Jun and the capable jonin Yura, Suna's strength here could overthrow a small ninja village if necessary.
Their sudden and forceful inclusion in the alliance was suspicious.
Clearly, they had their own agenda.
『So Konoha and Iwagakure's goal is to purge traitors, while Sunagakure is after the Red Sand Scorpion?』
With Suna's heavy losses during the previous conflict, the village likely saw opportunity:
Sasori's puppet techniques and especially his use of the Third Kazekage's human puppet were too valuable to ignore.
Recovering those secrets could help Suna weather its current crisis.
Moreover, the appearance of Chiyo's long-lost grandson would naturally stir her into action.
『Then what about me? What's my purpose?』
If this entire escort mission was merely a cover, Mizuki's real objectives were clear:
Primary Objective: Stay alive and safely return Aburame Shino and Hyuga Neji.
Secondary Objective: Silently and cleanly eliminate Deidara — preferably finding a scapegoat to take the blame.
Tertiary (Private) Objective:
If possible, collect a sample of Hidan's cells.
Unraveling the mystery behind Hidan's terrifying immortality — the so-called "Evil God" — was of great personal interest.
Even by the end of the original timeline, after Kaguya's defeat, the true nature of this entity was never revealed.
Thus, the first phase of the mission would be a staged play;
The second phase might very well be the Akatsuki's last major operation for the foreseeable future.
Originally, affairs with Akatsuki should have concluded earlier.
But with Deidara's capture, another twist had emerged.
Sometimes Mizuki wondered:
If Might Guy hadn't captured Deidara a few days ago, things might have been much simpler.
But realistically, he couldn't expect someone who fought so hard to simply release a prisoner afterward.
In fact, it might even be a blessing —
Each action by Akatsuki exposed more of their hand, allowing the great villages to grow increasingly wary.
In the long run, this could make Akatsuki's future operations far more difficult.
With the situation now thoroughly analyzed, Mizuki relaxed.
His Sage Mode training had been progressing smoothly, though there was one troubling anomaly:
While Mizuki had circumvented the initial difficulty of sensing natural energy — as every Sage must in some way — his situation was unique.
After extracting Sage Chakra, his sensitivity to natural energy had indeed increased.
With just a minimal amount of One-Tail's chakra, he could easily sense nature energy.
Normally, a ninja would gradually build this sensitivity even without external help.
Yet strangely, without any tailed beast chakra, Mizuki couldn't sense natural energy at all — not even a tiny amount.
The gradual development that should exist — from nothing to weak sensing to mastery — was missing.
No tailed beast chakra, no sensing whatsoever.
It was baffling.
『Is there some deeper issue I'm missing?』
Mizuki had always been cautious about Senjutsu taught at Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave, fearing hidden dangers.
Yet it was clear now that amidst the traps and risks, there were also crucial techniques embedded.
He resolved to study them carefully —
Maybe even have a serious conversation with Jiraiya.
After all, isolating himself and working blindly was no solution;
One man's energy and insight had limits.
Fortunately, his Sage Mode was functional —
Not as instantaneously activated as Naruto's perfected version, but better than Minato's incomplete one.
In terms of completion, Mizuki's Sage Mode was close to Jiraiya's.
But in combat strength, he was still far inferior.
Without Jiraiya's massive Senjutsu techniques, nor assistance from the Great Toad Sages, Mizuki's only advantage was flexibility.
He could move and cast jutsu smoothly during Sage Mode activation.
However, Mizuki faced another dilemma:
He had no inherited Sage techniques — no pre-taught arsenal of Senjutsu.
Thus, he would need to develop his own Sage combat system from scratch.
Moreover, Mizuki realized that his primary fire element affinity might limit his options.
While Sage Mode enhanced all physical attributes and chakra control, utilizing the surrounding nature energy to boost regular ninjutsu or create massive energy constructs — like the Tailed Beast Cloak's hands — would become critical.
『Originally, I just wanted to be a refined, high-IQ sealing and barrier specialist…
But now, reality is pushing me toward a brutal "magic and martial arts dual specialization" path…』
In the future, Mizuki decided he would have to seriously study more direct and destructive techniques,
such as the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique — a jutsu which, ironically, almost never managed to hit anyone in the entire Naruto canon.
Though Sage Mode slightly shifted his combat style, Mizuki felt its greatest benefit wasn't in battle power —
It was in healing his body.
With continued Sage Mode practice, Mizuki's physical condition steadily improved.
Although it couldn't directly regenerate his cells like Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal, the constant cleansing and minor repairs provided by Sage Chakra greatly reduced wear and tear.
It wouldn't extend his lifespan dramatically,
but it granted him crucial extra time to find a more permanent solution.
For now, Mizuki was satisfied.
———
Time passed smoothly.
Another week later, the mission orders finally arrived.
Fully prepared, Mizuki set off, feeling confident —
no longer fearing that he'd encounter some unbeatable enemy, unable to even flee.
With Sage Mode active, there were few alive in the ninja world who could stop his retreat.
Marching alongside Yamashiro Aoba, leading Hyuga Neji and Aburame Shino,
Mizuki departed through Konoha's gates with a much larger escort force than most ninja teams would ever require.
Soon, Mizuki would once again face powerful enemies he once only knew from distant memories.
This time, however, he had many allies —
even if each harbored their own hidden agendas.
At least, they were powerful.
Since Mizuki wasn't their target, adapting to the situation would be the best strategy.
"Hard to believe a few months ago, and now you're the team leader,"
Yamashiro Aoba chuckled,
"When I first heard the assignment, I couldn't believe it. But thinking about it… if it's you, it's convincing enough."
"Mm. And when we return, don't forget that treat you promised me," Mizuki grinned.
"Still holding me to that, huh?"
Aoba sighed in defeat.
"Of course. No escaping it."
"Fine, fine," Aoba laughed again — but then his expression turned serious.
"By the way, Mizuki… doesn't the Suna team seem a little too strong?"
Hearing the concern, Mizuki immediately gestured for silence.
"Say nothing. I'll explain everything later — there's an important plan.
Now is not the time."
Seeing Mizuki's serious attitude, Hyuga Neji and Aburame Shino also nodded in silent agreement.
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