Bootleg Jinchuriki

As evening fell, Mizuki finally returned home after completing his mission. Aside from having used up quite a bit of chakra, he didn't feel particularly tired. The gap in strength had simply been too great.

"Kotsubaki, I'll be busy for a while, so you don't need to go out of your way to make dinner and wait for me in the evenings. You should also check in on the flower shop more often." (translate)

"Tsubaki, I'll be busy for a while, so you don't need to go out of your way to make dinner and wait for me in the evenings. You should also check in on the flower shop more often." Wait accidental Chinese. Need redo. 49? Also exact structure. ### As evening fell, Mizuki finally returned home after completing his mission. Aside from having used up quite a bit of chakra, he didn't feel particularly tired. The gap in strength had simply been too great.

"Tsubaki, I'll be busy for a while, so you don't have to make dinner and wait for me in the evenings. You should also check in on the flower shop more often."

"Okay. But I've been busy lately too. I have quite a few barrier inspection missions to take care of."

"If you can't manage it all, hire someone. If you have to, post a shopkeeping mission in the village."

"Do you have money to post a mission?"

"Let's eat. No sad talk. Fortunately, the end of the month is coming up, and I'll get paid."

After dinner, the two tidied up the house. Mizuki took out a Summoning Scroll and released the wooden puppet inside.

"Tsubaki, just like last time: I'll control the chakra, and you do the sealing."

As Mizuki tapped the puppet on the forehead, the wooden puppet instantly transformed into a creature no taller than his waist, its body covered in runes. It looked half-human and half-beast, with tiger stripes on its childish face and sharp claws on its hands and feet. Its body leaned slightly forward.

"How does it feel?" Mizuki asked the creature.

"Moving around normally isn't a problem anymore, but fighting takes a lot out of me, even at the relatively low intensity of that last battle." The creature actually answered, its voice shrill and childish.

"If we don't count the chakra needed to maintain the barrier, can you be of use for a short time?"

"Don't expect too much. There's no point in having enough strength to defeat someone like Sakura Haruno."

"Then what's the biggest problem right now?"

"My body produces far more chakra than expected. The more intense the battle, the more chakra my body produces. Strenuous activity pushes my body to burn through its reserves quickly, making my already short lifespan even shorter."

"About how long can you last?"

"Hard to say. It depends on the number and intensity of the battles."

"I see." Mizuki found the answer troubling.

The creature opposite him was actually a clone grown from Mizuki's hair. To solve the problem of controlling these clones—and, incidentally, resolve his own moral dilemma—Mizuki had suddenly thought of modeling it on a Jinchuriki. The principle was simple: using the chakra from his Shadow Clone and his skill in Sealing Jutsu, he sealed a Shadow Clone containing a huge amount of his chakra inside the clone.

In his original theory, Tailed Beasts were merely collections of chakra born from humanity's negative emotions, while Shadow Clones were also collections of chakra that carried his will. Even though the two were incomparably different in strength, the principles behind their formation seemed quite similar. And when it came to choosing a Jinchuriki, what could be a more suitable pairing than a Shadow Clone and a clone of one's own body?

He'd decided to give it a try, and the creature before him was the result.

Unlike a Jinchuriki, whose will remained dominant while the Tailed Beast's will was sealed away, Mizuki's creation worked in exactly the opposite way. The body was nothing more than an empty shell. All Mizuki had to do was leave a back door in the seal and let the Shadow Clone, which carried his will, leak out a little chakra. It had then taken over the body naturally. The process had gone so smoothly that even Mizuki could hardly believe it. Any consciousness that might have developed as the body grew would probably never have a chance to take shape now, which put one of his worries to rest.

Seeing the creature think clearly and answer questions coherently, without anything seeming amiss, Mizuki felt that he'd achieved an initial success. But the most troublesome issue, its lifespan, was a difficult one. It wasn't just the clone opposite him that had this problem; Mizuki himself did too. As a rule, all living things had a limited number of cell divisions. As cells divided, the ends of their genetic information wore down, and the cells gradually aged. Mizuki had used cells from his adult hair, then activated their pluripotency with drugs to develop them into an independent organism. The cells' lifespan had probably been nearly used up already.

Ninjas weren't long-lived to begin with. Just think of the chakra extraction method: strength came from the body and the mind. Using it in moderation wasn't a problem, but ninjas fought constantly, and it was hard to avoid pushing their bodies too far. Once they overdid it, shortening their lifespan became routine. If Mizuki had to take on two more missions like the one in the Land of Waves, it would be a miracle if he didn't die young. In Mizuki's eyes, most ninja training and combat methods were thoroughly demonic. Overexerting the body was commonplace, and the various experiments were practically on par with those of mad scientists and the Resident Evil series. But that was just how things were. When life was uncertain, it was hardly surprising that people would spend their future lifespan to survive in the present. No wonder most ninjas aged rapidly once they passed their prime; there was none of the legendary idea from martial and immortal fantasy stories that the stronger you became, the longer you lived. If not for extraordinary beings like Hashirama Cells extending the lives of a bunch of villains, the history of the Shinobi World would have been very different.

"Let's leave it at that. First, we'll exchange information, then replenish your chakra. Do your best to draw on your body's strength and reduce the strain. For now, this is the only way. Without a constant source of chakra, we'll have to make do with this clumsy method," Mizuki decided. "Tsubaki, get started."

On the day of the Chunin Ninja Exams, a large group of Chunin and Jonin assigned to proctor the exams gathered in the Hokage Office. Mizuki, as usual, had settled in at the very back to doze off. But perhaps because there wasn't much time left, the Third Hokage didn't ramble this time. He said a few brief words and announced the start of the exams. In the blink of an eye, the group of ninjas scattered.

Ibiki Morino, the chief proctor for the first exam, led a group of Chunin to the written test room.

Mizuki had considered meeting some of the other examinees over the past few days, but it wouldn't be good if he ran into Orochimaru. So he'd stayed put in the Mission Hall, doing some clerical work. It had been quite relaxing.

Mizuki wasn't worried about running into Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi during the exams. With so many eyes on them, he figured that big shots like them wouldn't care about a little nobody like him. He just had to avoid meeting them in private.

Sitting in an examiner's seat near the door, Mizuki couldn't help shaking his head. As he recalled, there hadn't been any examiner seats in the original story. Seeing Kankuro, his face covered in paint, seated in front of him, he thought, What a coincidence. Wasn't Kankuro supposed to put on a puppet show from the seat I'm in now, pretend to be an examiner, and lead them out to copy answers? Now that there's a real examiner here, how's this guy going to pass? It'd be a headache if the later events changed drastically because of me.

Forget it. It's all the same anyway. Orochimaru's goals behind the scenes haven't changed, so there shouldn't be a problem. Mizuki looked around. Is that Orochimaru? Not a bad disguise. He barely stands out if you don't look closely. Kabuto Yakushi looks so ordinary; with those glasses, he really does look the part of a spy. Is that Karin over there? Her large chakra reserves have given her vivid red hair. That's a sign of the Uzumaki Clan, right? But what's with Naruto Uzumaki? Are Minato Namikaze's genes really so strong that they completely overpowered Kushina Uzumaki's, leaving Naruto with blond hair? Looks like Minato Namikaze's bloodline isn't so ordinary after all, despite his reputation as a civilian ninja.

Ibiki was still explaining the rules of the written test at the front, but Mizuki wasn't interested in anything he already knew. It had nothing to do with him anyway; the other examiners would handle the proctoring.

After Ibiki finished explaining, Mizuki casually picked up his pen and began working out formulas for the coordinates of the Summoning Technique and reverse summoning, as well as the directions for sensing chakra.

This is more important. If I can figure it out, I'm not expecting to invent some super Space-Time Ninjutsu like the Flying Raijin Jutsu. I just need a convenient way to travel and move between the lab and the village without being seen. As for the Chunin Ninja Exams, play them however you like.

Mizuki's lack of interest wasn't a problem, but the way he kept writing and drawing on the paper alarmed the examinees who were preparing to cheat. As time passed, more and more examinees were caught cheating and thrown out of the room. Seeing Mizuki write without stopping only made the others more and more terrified.

Suddenly, Mizuki, bent over his work, felt a surge of chakra beside him.

"Hmm?" Mizuki raised his head, annoyed. "I've already given you a lot of leeway. Don't push your luck."

Not realizing that he'd already put the examinees under too much pressure, Mizuki sensed the chakra. "Kankuro?" He checked the clock. "It's this late already? No wonder he's getting restless. But it's too late to put on a puppet show, isn't it?"

Intrigued, Mizuki stopped what he was doing and watched Kankuro with interest, scaring him into stillness.

I wonder how you'll cheat next if you don't put on a puppet show. Mizuki turned to glance at Temari. Other than Naruto Uzumaki, those two are the only ones who've left their papers blank. Gaara probably has no interest in passing them answers. Another blonde beauty. Her face and figure are both nice, but I'm not fond of her hairstyle, so I won't give you a break. You're on your own!

Ten minutes later, the written test ended. Frightened into staying still by Mizuki's unsettling smile, Kankuro and Temari had no choice but to pin their hopes on the tenth question. Thanks to Naruto Uzumaki's outburst, they managed to pass the test through Ibiki's grueling interrogation. There were simply two more people who passed with blank papers.

"It's finally over. I'm free now, too." Mizuki walked out of the test room, ready to head home.

"Mizuki, weren't you an alternate for the second stage in the Forest of Death?" Aoba Yamashiro, who had an assignment for the second stage, asked.

"You said it yourself: I'm an alternate. If you, the primary, don't run into trouble, there's no reason for me to be needed," Mizuki retorted. "Do you want something to happen to me or not?"

Aoba Yamashiro was at a loss for words, and Mizuki went home at his leisure.

"Now it's time for me to stay behind the scenes and fish in troubled waters. I wonder if those backup plans will pay off."