The sun had climbed high when Mizuki made his way toward the Hokage's office. Passing by the Ninja Academy, he noticed students gradually entering the school gates while Iruka was organizing chunin to maintain order among the graduates. His injuries seemed to have healed well.
"I wonder if fate will bring about another moment like that infamous kiss between Sasuke and Naruto. If it never happens thanks to the butterfly effect, that'd really be a shame," Mizuki mused.
"Should I slow down? Chances are the Hokage is assigning genin teams to jonin right now. Showing up too early might not be a great idea. Then again, maybe taking a peek wouldn't be so bad."
When Mizuki finally arrived at the Hokage's office, everything was already over. The other team leader jonin had long since departed, and the last one leaving was Kakashi Hatake.
"Yo, Mizuki. You changed your hairstyle. Actually looks halfway decent on you for once," Kakashi greeted without proper respect.
"Halfway decent? It's always been decent. By the way, don't you think my new hairstyle has high recognition value? No one will mistake me for someone else ever again."
"That's true, but what's the point? Even if you spruce yourself up, it's way too late—already got yourself a fiancée."
"What are you even talking about? Anyway, aren't you supposed to meet your lovely students?"
"Oh right, making them wait a bit won't hurt. First, I'm gonna grab something to eat, then go home for a nap. These past couple days have been hell—courtesy of some bastard who won't let me catch a wink."
"Man, being your student really must be exhausting."
After parting ways with Kakashi, Mizuki entered the Hokage's office. Inside remained only several chunin and tokubetsu jonin.
"Anko Mitarashi? Ibiki Morino? Is this related to the Chunin Exams? But we still have months to go—already preparing this fast? These ninjas sure work efficiently."
Mizuki silently moved aside upon entering, unobtrusively waiting like an ordinary bystander.
Noticing Mizuki's arrival, the Third cleared his throat slightly and announced, "Now that everyone's here, let's begin assigning missions."
"This year's Chunin Exams have been decided to take place in Konoha after three months. Several allied ninja villages, including Sunagakure, will participate. Furthermore, the Kazekage and daimyos from various countries will attend as spectators. This is a significant event; therefore, preparations must start early. Now, I'll distribute the detailed arrangements. Feel free to ask questions or discuss anything unclear afterward."
"So they're actually letting me get involved in this? What about my supposed punishment?" Mizuki accepted the plan booklet with slight confusion, flipping through it casually.
"It looks almost exactly like the original plot, except this time I'm involved in monitoring during the first exam and several other tasks like patrols and cleanups. My team leader is Anko Mitarashi? Are they testing me suspiciously on purpose? Probably not—it's just coincidence."
Mizuki stopped paying attention after that, his mind running through the potential risks and possible loopholes he might exploit for his own gain. Finally, once all plans were set, the Third instructed, "If there are no objections, you may all proceed with your preparations. Mizuki and Anko, stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed."
Quickly, most people left the office, leaving only the Third Hokage, Mizuki, and Anko Mitarashi.
Then the Third Hokage spoke, "Regarding the second exam, Anko, as chief examiner, you must proceed cautiously with your arrangements. The fatality rate needs strict control; otherwise disputes might arise and our allies could become dissatisfied."
"So Anko Mitarashi, I need you to submit a complete plan as soon as possible. The exam site—Forest of Death—must be carefully inspected to prevent outsiders from sabotaging the exams and endangering Konoha's reputation. Also, we must clean it up; the Forest of Death hasn't been properly maintained for a long time and contains many creatures clearly beyond the capability of Genin. These threats must be eliminated entirely. This mission will be carried out specifically by Mizuki, with Anko Mitarashi conducting inspections and confirmation. Starting tomorrow, the barrier around the Forest of Death will remain open for ten days—you must complete your task within that time."
"Understood." Mizuki and Anko Mitarashi replied.
"Mizuki," the Third continued, addressing Mizuki, "I hope you execute this mission seriously. I don't want to see another incident that I'd rather avoid. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand, Lord Third."
"As for your punishment, Konoha has decided to deduct your salary for the next three months. You are not allowed to leave the village without a mission authorization signed personally by me. Furthermore, you are prohibited from approaching Naruto Uzumaki for one month. These restrictions will be lifted after the Chunin Exams are completed."
"Yes."
"Mizuki, understand that considering what you've done, this shouldn't be such a lenient punishment. However, the village is short on manpower at the moment, so I'm giving you a chance to atone through meritorious service."
"Alright, you're dismissed," the Third ordered dismissively before Mizuki could speak, "Complete your mission well. If anything happens, have Anko Mitarashi relay it to me."
"Yes, Lord Third." With no choice, Mizuki turned and left.
Only two people remained inside the room. The Third took several puffs from his pipe, exhaling smoke rings, then instructed Anko Mitarashi, "Monitor Mizuki. If you discover anything suspicious, apprehend him immediately. And if he resists—" the Third said gravely, showing the ruthless side of a scheming warlord—a tyrant—who had firmly held the Hokage position for decades—"execute him on the spot."
"How could that possibly be necessary?" Anko Mitarashi asked in surprise. "I've heard about Mizuki's crimes over these past couple days, but surely they don't warrant execution, do they?"
"I know," the Third answered solemnly. "Judging from current circumstances, indeed it seems too harsh, but I have a bad feeling about this." Though no evidence has surfaced yet, something still doesn't feel quite right.
"I hope I'm just being paranoid. This is just precautionary. Anko, watch the Forest of Death carefully. Don't let anyone try to manipulate things behind our backs. Alright, you may go now."
"Yes." Anko Mitarashi turned and walked away.
The office was now occupied only by the Third, puffing away at his pipe, lost in thought.
...
After leaving the Hokage's office, Mizuki hurried straight home at full speed, skipping dinner and ignoring the curious stares he received along the way.
Back home, he quickly closed the doors and windows, drew the curtains shut, instantly plunging the room into darkness. Mizuki took off his shirt, pressed his hand against the cursed seal on his right arm, and sat heavily onto the bed.
"Didn't expect danger to come this fast. Just started thinking this thing could turn into a big problem—and now this happens all of a sudden."
Mizuki touched the still-warm cursed seal, examining it carefully. The entire seal seemed to emit a faint red glow.
"I knew from the start this thing wasn't reliable. As an incomplete prototype, its stability was definitely poor—but I didn't expect it to react this easily."
Regarding the cursed seal's reaction, Mizuki noticed something strange the moment he stepped into the Hokage's office. At its peak, his entire arm felt scalding hot, almost making him lose control. And the closer he got to Anko Mitarashi, the more violently the seal reacted.
"It must be related to the cursed seal on Anko Mitarashi herself."
As for Mizuki's incomplete cursed seal—actually, it never appeared in the original manga; it was an anime-original addition. During all of Mizuki's appearances in the series, he'd never been near someone with a cursed seal before. It seems this thing resonates with similar energies.
"No, it's not the cursed seal itself. More precisely, it must be Natural Energy—or even Sage Chakra."
Cursed Seals were something Orochimaru developed by studying Jugo's Kekkei Genkai, which originated mysteriously from Ryūchi Cave.
After Orochimaru's failed attempt to master Sage Mode, his research into Jugo's Kekkei Genkai made significant progress. The enzymes—more accurately, hormones—extracted from Jugo's body formed the basis of all Cursed Seals. Originally meant as a preliminary technique for Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu, this substance turned out to have astonishing potential. Though it wasn't a conventional power source, it was still nothing short of miraculous. Just look at the second-stage transformation of the Cursed Seal—the immense strength, bodily changes, and additional auxiliary organs. Ignoring aesthetics and logic, isn't this similar to Sage Mode? At its core, the Cursed Seal is basically a degraded form of Sage Mode. Otherwise, Kabuto wouldn't have managed to so easily master Snake Sage Art using only Orochimaru's old techniques.
Furthermore, Orochimaru took it further by incorporating his own essence—his spiritual energy, the foundation of Living Corpse Reincarnation, an immortality technique—into the mutated, degraded Sage Chakra within the Cursed Seal. This closely resembles Ashura and Indra's chakra reincarnation cycle. However, lacking Ashura and Indra's immense power and Yin–Yang Release necessary for true reincarnation, Orochimaru could only resort to this flawed body-swapping immortality technique to escape the limits of his lifespan. If given more time, who knows what groundbreaking discoveries Orochimaru might have made.
"This presents danger, but also offers a great opportunity to peek into the mysteries of Natural Energy and Sage Chakra."
As a half-finished cursed seal, it naturally has difficult-to-resolve defects. Yet it doesn't retain a backup of Orochimaru's original spiritual essence either. Presumably, Orochimaru wouldn't even consider attempting possession on someone like Mizuki, whose body he looked down upon completely. This half-finished cursed seal was likely nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment experiment—an exploration of possibilities, which isn't unusual at all for a researcher. The key issue remains finding methods for self-control. The Konoha leadership might achieve this, but Mizuki can hardly expect such help. Consider Kakashi Hatake's Evil Sealing Method—as demonstrated during the Chunin Exams when he used it on Sasuke. But currently, Mizuki hasn't built enough familiarity with Kakashi to request such assistance, and there's no guarantee Kakashi wouldn't report everything to the Third. The risks are too high. Although vastly different from the Cursed Seal of Heaven in appearance, once activated, even an idiot would realize his connection with Orochimaru.
"Should I ask for help from Kakashi Hatake? No… that has to be my last resort—to use only when I absolutely can't control it anymore."
"So I should stay away from people with Cursed Seals or those cultivating Sage Mode."
"What a shame having to work with Anko Mitarashi on this mission. Guess I'll have to endure temporarily without exposing any weaknesses." Mizuki couldn't help but smile bitterly. "This world never gives me a moment of peace."
A warmth spread through his arm as Mizuki quickly got dressed. Then someone barged in rudely—it was indeed Anko Mitarashi.
"Looks like this thing also has an early warning capability. Quite a pleasant surprise."
"Why so dark? Making things all secretive, are you hiding some secret lover here?"
"Don't talk nonsense, I'm already engaged."
"Engaged? Never thought someone like you would actually have one. This world really has gone blind."
"Don't say such things or the world will curse you~" Mizuki raised his hands in surrender. "Didn't we just meet not long ago? What's so urgent that you're looking for me now?"
"I need you to go investigate the Forest of Death alone tomorrow first. I have to discuss details about the Chunin Exams thoroughly with Ibiki and prepare a report for The Third to review. Don't have time to visit the Forest of Death myself right now. So I came to inform you."
"I understand."
"By the way, who is your fiancée? I'm really curious which blind girl fell for you?"
"Calling her blind is quite rude. My fiancée is Chiharu Tsubaki."
"Oh, that girl from the Sealing Team who barely shows up and can't even hold her liquor? Definitely sounds like someone easily deceived."
"Well, she may not be as present as Anko Mitarashi, but when it comes to true feminine charm, my Chiharu surpasses our ever-so-present Anko by leaps and bounds."
"Anyway, I won't say more. I'm leaving first—I've got drinks with friends later. Catch you later." With that said, she vanished with a flash.
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