The More You Try to Hide It, the More Obvious It Becomes

The ninja world is not like my past life, where the body and soul are inextricably linked. In this world, possessing chakra as an extension of one's will allows the soul to, in a sense, break free from the shackles of a single physical form. In a world where even the fundamental rules are somewhat unstable, it is truly no surprise that entities like the Tailed Beasts—manifestations of humanity's negative will—could come into existence.

Mizuki stopped paying attention to the sign at the entrance and led Sakura into the shop.

"You will be working here for a while?"

"Working?"

"No, that's not right—it's studying." Mizuki nearly slapped himself; he had almost let the truth slip.

Sakura nodded without saying anything.

"Do you feel anything different about this place?" Mizuki asked.

"If I had to say, the shop feels abnormally quiet." Sakura looked out at the bustling street, yet the sounds barely reached inside.

Mizuki nodded. "Your focus and perception are both very sharp, which likely relates to your excellent chakra control. This is a trait that will be of great benefit to you in the future."

Without further explanation, Mizuki led Sakura behind the counter, revealing a small, intricately hidden bookcase. Pointing to the books and various scrolls inside, Mizuki said, "Do not touch the ones with red labels. You may only read the yellow ones when I am present. As for the rest, feel free to look at them. You have three days; learn as much as you can." He then handed Sakura a small booklet. "This is a reference guide and record I compiled. Most of the contents have been verified, though I cannot guarantee absolute accuracy. If you don't understand something, you can refer to this. I will test you in three days."

"Mizuki, is this really okay?" Tsubaki asked, looking somewhat uneasy. "Hatake Kakashi entrusted his student to you, and you're just leaving her to self-study?"

"I am watching over her, don't worry," Mizuki replied. "A smart student doesn't need a teacher to worry too much."

"I'm leaving then. I'll bring you lunch at noon." Tsubaki headed off to work.

"Mm, don't forget to bring some for Sakura."

As time passed and the morning rush subsided, the flow of customers in the shop dwindled. Mizuki glanced at Sakura, who was buried in her work; her focused attitude was truly that of a talented student.

Taking advantage of the spare time, Mizuki took out the payment Hatake Kakashi had given him: the Ninja Dog Summoning Contract passed down through the Hatake Clan.

As part of the cost for teaching Sakura, Mizuki took this opportunity to observe a genuine summoning contract scroll up close.

Touching the cover of the scroll, Mizuki emitted a faint trace of chakra, sensing for any potential issues.

"It's not ordinary paper; it seems to be the skin of some creature."

He unfurled the long scroll, revealing a series of names and thumbprints. The first one he saw was Hatake Kakashi's. As he looked further up, the long list consisted mostly of members of the Hatake Clan. At the very end, a summoning formation was displayed.

After studying the contract for a long time, Mizuki found nothing particularly unusual.

"I suppose that's what you'd expect from a summoning beast passed down through a ninja clan; it's certainly much more advanced than the common variety."

The optimization of the various runes, the spatial perception, and the method of connection were all far more reliable. Correspondingly, the demands on the user's chakra were stricter; different chakra levels and output methods likely corresponded to different individuals. However, Mizuki still hadn't found anything of value.

"Could it really be that there are no issues? The contract is fair: it uses chakra to sustain the summoning and covers the consumption. While it costs a bit more, it can be seen as payment. In that sense, it's a model of a mutually beneficial contract. I haven't found any traps in the decorative patterns or inscriptions either. Everything is perfectly standard. Could I just be overthinking it?"

Unwilling to give up, Mizuki pondered while slowly stroking the surface of the scroll. Suddenly, his hand stiffened, and he felt the texture of the scroll more carefully.

"What is this?"

There seemed to be some special markings. Mizuki hurriedly observed them closely, and as his fingers traced the surface, he discovered traces that matched the color of the material perfectly.

"These are natural sealing runes inherent to the raw material itself. No wonder I couldn't find them. But this shape... it looks somewhat familiar."

After thinking for a while, Mizuki put the scroll down, walked out of the shop, and studied the Four Seasons Flower Shop sign, recalling every detail of how he had made it.

"So that's it. No wonder." Having finally found a lead, Mizuki understood.

He turned and walked back into the shop, picked up the scroll again, and after some thought, copied the natural formation. After checking it several times to ensure no information was missing, he put it away.

"Although I was worrying for nothing, the discovery is quite shocking."

Hidden within this summoning contract were runes remarkably similar to the ones Mizuki had developed for gathering consciousness. In other words, according to this contract, the summoning beasts were constantly collecting the mental fluctuations—or spiritual radiation—of the contractor. Theoretically, this posed no harm to humans. As a person thinks, they naturally emit information that dissipates into the air, even without any processing. It is like the sun emitting light and heat; whether you use it or how you use it, it is simply there. The summoning beasts seemed to be collecting these seemingly useless scraps, which, to the average person, were even more worthless than chakra.

"If they aren't plotting something else, then they must have mastered a way to turn waste into treasure. Generally, those who possess summoning beasts are either powerful military organizations like Konoha, or they belong to major ninja clans with secret techniques passed down for hundreds of years—they are all powerful figures favored by fate."

Mizuki, his head spinning, stopped his train of thought. "The water here runs deep. They could have written this into the contract openly, yet they chose to hide it. I'll have to study what kind of treasure is hidden here in the future."

"Mizuki-sensei, here?" Suddenly, a cup of water was handed to him from the side.

"Oh, it's Sakura. Thank you." Mizuki took it and drank it in one gulp, immediately feeling more refreshed.

"You're welcome. I didn't expect you to be like this, Sensei." Sakura said with a smile.

"Oh? And what did you think I was like? Yelling and shouting like Iruka?"

"Not at all. I just think you're much more knowledgeable than I imagined," Sakura said quickly. "Looking at the things you're researching, I can only memorize most of them; I don't understand more than half of it."

"That means you understand at least a little bit, right?" Mizuki comforted her. "Every ninja's private research has its own personal style. Without a foundation of prior knowledge, it's already impressive that you can even identify what you're learning."