Natural Enemies

The rest of the time passed rather quietly. Sakura studied in silence while Mizuki occasionally served customers who came in and tidied up the shop. He still wasn't very familiar with the place, but at least he'd learned how to avoid making a fool of himself.

Close to noon, Tsubaki brought lunch for everyone. The three of them gathered around a small table and ate casually.

"How did you and Tsubaki meet, Mizuki-sensei?" Sakura seemed quite interested in their relationship.

"We've known each other since we were little. We grew up together as childhood friends," Tsubaki replied readily.

This girl's so young, and she's already into gossip? Mizuki couldn't help thinking.

"Really?" The simple answer clearly wasn't enough for Sakura. "That's so nice, having feelings grow from childhood. I hope things work out between Sasuke and me, too."

"Don't you know childhood friends usually can't compete with someone who comes out of nowhere?" Mizuki couldn't help saying. "You'd better keep a close eye on your Sasuke. Some strange girl might show up out of nowhere and steal him away."

"Is that so? What does 'someone who comes out of nowhere' mean?" Sakura didn't quite understand.

"Mizuki," Tsubaki scolded him, "don't talk nonsense."

Then she reassured Sakura, "Don't listen to him. You're working so hard—Sasuke will notice."

After quickly finishing lunch, Sakura went back to her studies, while Tsubaki pulled Mizuki aside, seeming to have something to tell him.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Mizuki asked, looking at Tsubaki.

"I think something's wrong with your experimental subjects."

"What?" The news genuinely took Mizuki by surprise.

"They started changing a few days ago. I thought it was normal, but today I realized something was off."

"Did you bring them?"

"I brought back a few samples."

"I see." Mizuki turned to Sakura. "We have to step out for a while. Could you look after the shop for us, Sakura?"

"Of course, Mizuki-sensei," Sakura agreed.

As soon as they got home, Mizuki eagerly took the Storage Scroll from Tsubaki and opened it.

"They're definitely abnormal. They've deteriorated badly."

That alone wouldn't have surprised Mizuki. The atavistic changes had been brought about solely by the drug's stimulation. Without outside interference, most mutations should have faded as the subjects finished developing, overtaken by more dominant traits. These were merely empty shells of flesh, with no corresponding power or inner foundation to support them. The mutations brought on by the altered power should have been the first to disappear.

But these test subjects were clearly abnormal. Most of them appeared to be clones of Sasuke Uchiha. The vertical slit in the middle of the third eye on their foreheads had completely disappeared, and the horns on their heads were almost indistinguishable. That much was within expectations, but their bodies had also begun to age and shrivel in an inexplicable way. At Sasuke's age and with his talent, his cells should have been far more active than Mizuki's. Yet Mizuki's clones had survived several rounds of overexertion just fine, while Sasuke's clones were already failing. It made no sense.

Could it be that such powerful atavistic mutations are indirectly draining too much of their life force? Without a proper foundation, is this what happens when you try to wield power that's far beyond your reach?

After thinking it over, Mizuki took out some chakra he'd collected when Sasuke's Cursed Seal had flared up. He separated a small amount and injected it into one of the smaller specimens, which had aged particularly badly. In an instant, it began greedily absorbing the Nutrient Solution and growing at a terrifying speed. Red-and-black markings spread across its entire body in the blink of an eye, and an inexplicable ripple of energy radiated outward, completely unaffected by the barrier concealing the room.

At that moment, inside a special-care room at Konoha Hospital, Sasuke had been resting peacefully, his injuries stable. Suddenly, his Cursed Seal erupted abnormally. Stimulated by the distant ripple of energy, it slowly broke through the restraint of the Evil Sealing Method. The agonizing pain made Sasuke cry out in his sleep, immediately alerting the Anbu on duty.

"What's happening?" Faced with this sudden turn of events, the Anbu had no idea what to do. "He was fine just a moment ago. Have his injuries worsened? Why did the Cursed Seal suddenly flare up?"

Hearing the commotion, Hatake Kakashi hurried over from nearby and examined Sasuke. "Did anything happen just now?"

"Nothing at all. It happened out of nowhere."

"I see." Kakashi thought for a moment, then gave an order. "Search the area carefully and see if anyone or anything might have triggered the Cursed Seal."

"Yes." The Anbu dispersed at once.

In a house not far from the hospital, Kabuto Yakushi had been watching from a distance, preparing to make a move against Sasuke Uchiha. Seeing the hospital suddenly increase its security, he had no choice but to postpone his plan.

Far away in Otogakure in the Land of Fields, Orochimaru was preparing to assassinate the Kazekage when he sensed the disturbance coming from Konoha.

"What's going on? That Cursed Seal chakra... Could someone be after my Sasuke? Danzo? That doesn't seem likely. The Third wouldn't hand the village's last Uchiha over to Danzo. The old Third is so stubbornly old-fashioned that he wouldn't tamper with anything himself, either. So someone's taken an interest in the power of the Cursed Seal and is trying to unravel it?" In an instant, Orochimaru thought of the attacker from the Forest of Death.

"I wonder if it's the same person. I've been away from Konoha for years, yet there's an interesting character lurking there. Next time I go, I'll have to get a good look at them."

Inside Mizuki's house, the two of them watched the frightening changes in alarm.

"Mizuki, what did you do?" Tsubaki was completely at a loss.

"I don't know, either." Mizuki gave a wry smile. Who could have expected that even a tiny bit of chakra containing the Cursed Seal's power would cause such a terrifying change?

The clone before them grew rapidly, soon breaking free of the cultivation vessel. The pressure radiating from its body grew stronger and stronger. Before long, its body reached its limit and stopped growing, but the consequences of its rapid growth began to show. Its limbs aged at a visible speed.

As its body continued to burn through its life force, the aura of superiority around it grew ever stronger. Starting at its extremities, which had reached their growth limit, the clone gradually crumbled into black ash. Its whole body trembled faintly, taking on an eerie red hue. Its tightly shut eyes quivered, as though about to open. An aura of a natural predator, one long accustomed to the heights of power and capable of stripping others of their will to resist, was on the verge of bursting forth with its gaze.

"Not good." Fighting down his fear, Mizuki pulled out a Kunai and swung with all his might. The Kunai shot forward, piercing both of the clone's eyes.

But it wasn't over. The blinded clone gaped, as if resenting the fact that it had been born only to vanish without ever seeing the world for itself. Its body began to evaporate even faster. Its limbs had already crumbled to dust, and the decay was gradually spreading up its torso.

As more and more of the clone's body disappeared, its hair grew at an astonishing rate. Then Mizuki saw something even more horrifying: at the spot on its forehead where the third eye should have vanished long ago, something began to bulge, stretching the skin until it split. Tissue that should no longer have existed was about to appear before them, sustained by the life force of every cell in its body.