Omnipotent Chakra

Mizuki didn't finish his mission and return home until the sun had completely set, where Tsubaki had already prepared dinner and was waiting for him.

"Did everything go smoothly today? I heard the team was led by Special Jonin Anko Mitarashi."

"Mm, nothing out of the ordinary. It went quite well. We originally planned for ten days, but now that we have a few extra hands, I'll see if we can finish early if we put in the effort."

"That's good. I heard Iruka was there too. Did you two get along today?"

"Mm, don't worry, there were no issues."

"That's a relief." Tsubaki felt reassured. "I organized some basic materials on sealing techniques today and left them on your desk. You can take a look; they might be useful to you."

"Thank you, Tsubaki," Mizuki said happily. "Let's eat first."

"Alright."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

"Who could be coming by at this hour?"

Mizuki went to open the door and found Iruka standing there.

"Yo, Iruka, why are you here now? Is something the matter?"

"Is that Iruka? Should he come in and eat with us?" Hearing the commotion at the door, Tsubaki offered an invitation.

"No need, I'm leaving right away. I just came to drop this off for you." With that, Iruka pulled a scroll from his tunic and handed it to Mizuki.

"What is this?"

"A sealing technique scroll. It contains a few very simple seals and some tips."

"You knew I wanted this?"

"Mizuki, we've been friends for over ten years now. I know you well enough. Otherwise, why would you have mentioned the Binding Formation for no reason?"

Well, Iruka was truly an incorrigible do-gooder.

"Wait here." Mizuki turned back, grabbed two scrolls, and tossed them to Iruka.

"These contain my insights on genjutsu, as well as some knowledge on puppetry and secret medicines. They aren't anything spectacular, but they should be enough for you."

"Mizuki, what is this?"

"I don't want to owe you any favors. This way, we're even."

"Ah, well... I suppose I'll accept your kindness then. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You should focus on how to finish your mission faster."

"Alright then, I won't disturb you any further. See you."

"Wait, Iruka." Mizuki suddenly changed his mind. "I'll count this as me owing you a favor. If you need anything next time, come find me." Although Iruka couldn't realize he had taken a massive loss, Mizuki couldn't forgive himself for exploiting a friend's ignorance to gain an advantage.

"As you wish."

"See you tomorrow."

As Iruka turned back toward the house, he watched Tsubaki bustling about and looked down at the scroll in his hand.

Should I start looking for some helpers? Fighting alone isn't a good choice, and I don't have the capability for it. It seems necessary to build and expand my own network as soon as possible; I might benefit from it at some point. A certain level of social interaction is a form of protection in itself.

Over the next few days, Mizuki left early and returned late, diligently completing his tasks. By the eighth day, the three genin stopped following them. The final two days involved setting up the exam grounds; although they didn't know about the Chunin Exams yet, it wasn't appropriate to keep them involved in matters directly related to it. Iruka, Mizuki, and Anko Mitarashi didn't receive their rare few days of leave until they had finished the final tasks and received approval after reporting to the Third Hokage.

On a leisurely afternoon, Mizuki leaned against the windowsill, basking in the sun while watching the crowds pass by on the street.

"This peaceful and prosperous scene won't last long." Mizuki shifted his focus to a few unremarkable plants in the flowerpots on his windowsill.

These were common plants brought back from the Forest of Death, but after a few days of experimentation, they had gradually undergone some changes. One plant, similar to kudzu and known for its rapid growth as a common medicinal herb, had begun to display incredibly tenacious vitality after being nourished by his chakra for a few days; even if chopped into several pieces, new buds would sprout within two days. There was also a carnivorous plant with thorny vines, similar to a pitcher plant, which had gradually grown massive over the last few days, occasionally luring and consuming sparrows or mice. Others, like the fast-growing bamboo or flowers that could revive upon contact with water even after being dried into hay, had all developed strange mutations in the dense chakra environment.

That wasn't even the most shocking part. Mizuki turned to look at a large glass tank in the middle of the room, which housed some transparent creatures that were nearly invisible unless one looked closely. They waved their long tentacles as they swam slowly; if not for the red light pulsing in the center of their clustered bodies, one wouldn't even know they were alive.

These things were a specialty Mizuki had accidentally discovered being sold by an out-of-town merchant at a night market—a rare type of jellyfish with potent venom. The moment he saw them, Mizuki bought them without hesitation and kept them at home for close observation. He not only kept them in a dense chakra environment but even fed them a fair amount of his own blood to see how they would react. Ultimately, Mizuki was pleasantly surprised to discover that this jellyfish shared remarkably similar traits with the Turritopsis dohrnii from his past life. In a sense, the Turritopsis dohrnii was the only theoretically immortal species discovered in his previous life; if the environment was suitable, it could live forever. This was due to a miraculous trait: once the jellyfish reached maturity, it could revert directly to its juvenile polyp state and grow into a mature jellyfish again, repeating the cycle indefinitely until it was eaten by a predator.

For a long time, the desire for immortality had been an unattainable dream. Even after years of tireless research, Orochimaru had only managed to develop an imperfect immortality technique: the Living Corpse Reincarnation. In some respects, immortality remained a theoretical possibility. However, "undying" was actually a false proposition; where there is life, there is death. No matter how strong one's vitality, on an infinite timeline, one would eventually die due to an accident or otherwise. But even theoretical immortality was nearly impossible to achieve. The advanced technology of his past life had only discovered the miracle of the Turritopsis dohrnii, which showed just how difficult it was.

Yet, in this world where chakra and supernatural powers existed, if one had the right materials, achieving a certain degree of immortality or a massive increase in vitality was entirely possible. If he told Orochimaru about the strange properties of this jellyfish, the man would surely develop an even more powerful reincarnation technique.

"However, while I don't have the fanaticism of a mad scientist like Orochimaru, I do have chakra. I can achieve the same result using a different method. Thank you, almighty chakra."

During his experiments over the past few days, Mizuki had even signed a summoning contract with one of the jellyfish. Although the jellyfish lacked the intelligence to follow any commands and its frail body was useless in a fight, the experiments where it transformed and reverted into a polyp confirmed that the individual bound by the summoning contract did not disappear. Reverse aging was real.

In Mizuki's view, the biological technology of the ninja world was extremely distorted. Due to the existence of chakra and immense vitality, this world could even perform organ transplants and cloning under crude conditions. They had likely grasped the basic theory of genetic codes, but in practice, they still relied on barbaric fusion methods, completely lacking the precise gene-editing technology like the "genetic scissors" of his past life. Perhaps it was because it wasn't necessary; as long as one used barbaric fusion and had enough experimental samples, one could always get the desired result. This was perhaps a commonality between basic technology and supernatural power: once something was "good enough," the next step of deeper inquiry was often unconsciously ignored.

Thinking of this, Mizuki activated the sealing array nested between the windowsill planting area and the fish tank. As he injected chakra, the slightly dim barrier began to operate at full power once more.

These arrays were the fruits of Mizuki's research over the past few days. They were still far from being practical for combat, but he had managed to create a simple environment for gathering and enriching chakra. Regarding the basic principles of sealing techniques, he had barely managed to achieve the sealing of tangible matter and chakra energy; the fundamental analysis of energy dynamics remained incomplete, requiring him to inject chakra repeatedly to maintain the array's operation. As for the effects, he had mastered simpler techniques like the Fire Sealing Method, the Binding Formation, and the sealing of small objects, but he only had a superficial understanding of deeper techniques like the Four Symbols Seal, the Eight Trigrams Seal, and the Five Elements Seal. The more powerful Yin-attribute sealing techniques based on spiritual energy were only just beginning, and he was still some distance away from resolving his own hidden dangers.

Seeing there was nothing left to organize, he checked one last time to ensure his treasures in the tank were fine, then headed out for a leisurely stroll. He wouldn't find a solution cooped up at home anyway; perhaps going out would lead to another surprise like the jellyfish.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office in Konoha, the Third Hokage was listening to an Anbu report regarding Mizuki.

"Has there been anything suspicious about Mizuki over the past few days?" the Third asked.

"Yes, Lord Third. We conducted a very detailed inspection of the mission to clear the Forest of Death and confirmed there was nothing amiss. Furthermore, Anko Mitarashi did not discover anything suspicious."

"What has Mizuki been doing these past few days?"

"He has been on leave at home, occasionally strolling through the streets."

"Did he come into contact with any suspicious individuals?"

"None discovered. His recent contacts have been limited to Iruka and his fiancée, Tsubaki Chie. Aside from that, he has only spoken with ordinary street vendors. We have verified all their identities, and there are no issues."

"Vendors?"

"Yes. Mizuki seems to be conducting some research into potions and poisons lately. He brought back several common plants and medicinal herbs from the Forest of Death, the details of which are recorded in the report. He also purchased several venomous insects from vendors, which he is now keeping at home; he seems to take them quite seriously."

"Oh?" The Third flipped through the report in his hands, finding nothing amiss.

"A Venomous Jellyfish? What does he need that for?"

"It is currently being kept in a fish tank at Mizuki's home. It appears he intends to breed them in large quantities, likely to extract their toxin."

"Hmm." The Third flipped through Mizuki's personnel file once more. As a commoner ninja with no lineage to draw upon, Mizuki's abilities were entirely mediocre, with nothing to make him stand out. His affinity was the common fire element, and lacking the various jutsu passed down through clans, it was not strange for him to rely on external tools like poisons as his own unique method. After all, there were previous records of Mizuki using poisons.

"I see." The Third pondered for a moment.

"From now on, cancel the round-the-clock surveillance on Mizuki. Switch to monitoring key areas instead. In three days, once his leave ends, have him assist with the classification and distribution of missions. Any B-rank or higher missions handled by Mizuki must be submitted for my review."

"Understood."