Natural Enemies

The time that followed passed rather dully. Sakura studied quietly, while Mizuki occasionally attended to customers or tidied up the shop's displays. Although he was still not quite used to this, he managed to muddle through well enough to avoid making a fool of himself.

As noon approached, Tsubaki brought over bento boxes for a few people, and the three of them gathered around a small table to eat lunch casually.

"Mizuki-sensei, Tsubaki-senpai, how did you two meet?" Sakura seemed quite interested in their relationship.

"We've known each other since we were kids; we grew up together as childhood sweethearts," Tsubaki answered readily.

Such a young girl, and she already has a penchant for gossip? Mizuki couldn't help but complain to himself about Sakura.

"Eh?" A simple answer clearly didn't satisfy Sakura. "That's so nice, a bond cultivated since childhood. If only Sasuke and I could be that smooth."

"Don't you know that childhood sweethearts usually can't beat the 'new arrival' trope?" Mizuki couldn't help but interject. "You'd better keep a close eye on your Sasuke, or he might just get snatched away by some strange girl who appears out of nowhere."

"Is that so? What is a 'new arrival'?" Sakura didn't quite understand.

"Mizuki," Tsubaki chided, "don't talk nonsense."

She then comforted Sakura, saying, "Don't listen to his rambling. You're working so hard; Sasuke will see it."

After finishing lunch in a hurry, Sakura continued her studies, but Tsubaki pulled Mizuki aside, seemingly having something to say.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Mizuki looked at Tsubaki and asked.

"Those test subjects of yours, it seems there's a problem."

"What?" This was truly shocking news to Mizuki.

"There were some changes a few days ago. I thought it was normal, but today I realized something was wrong."

"Did you bring the items?"

"I selected a few samples and brought them back."

"I see," Mizuki turned to Sakura and said, "We have some business to attend to for a moment. Would you mind looking after the shop for us, Sakura?"

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

Back home, Mizuki impatiently took the Storage Scroll from Tsubaki and opened it to take a look.

"As expected, it's very abnormal. The regression is severe."

If it were just this, it wouldn't have surprised Mizuki. The atavism caused solely by the stimulation of reagents should, in the absence of external interference, regress and disappear as the subject fully developed, being masked by more dominant traits. For a mere empty shell of a body, lacking corresponding power and internal support, the mutations brought about by the alienation of power should have been the first to vanish.

However, it was clear that these test subjects were not right. Most of them appeared to be clones of Sasuke Uchiha; the vertical slit of the third eye on the forehead had completely vanished, and the horns on their heads were almost blurred into invisibility. If these were within expectations, then the overall abnormal aging and atrophy were inconceivable. Given Sasuke's age and talent, his cell activity should be far greater than Mizuki's. Yet, Mizuki's own clones were still doing fine after repeated overexertion, while Sasuke's clones were already failing. It made no sense.

"Could it be that the overly powerful atavistic mutation overdrawn too much life force? Is this the price of trying to master high-end power without the corresponding foundation?"

After some thought, Mizuki took out a bit of chakra he had collected from when Sasuke's Cursed Seal erupted. He injected a small amount into a smaller, severely aged sample. In an instant, it began to rapidly absorb the Nutrient Solution, growing at a terrifying speed. Red and black markings covered its entire body in the blink of an eye, and an inexplicable fluctuation radiated out, one that even the room's concealment barrier could not block in the slightest.

At that very moment, in the intensive care unit of Konoha Hospital, the Cursed Seal on the sleeping Sasuke, whose condition had been stable, suddenly erupted abnormally. Stimulated by the nearby fluctuation, the seal slowly broke through the restraints of the Evil Sealing Method. The sudden, intense pain caused Sasuke to scream in his sleep, immediately alerting the Anbu on guard.

"What's going on?" Faced with such a turn of events, the Anbu, completely unaware of what had happened, were at a loss. "Wasn't he fine just a moment ago? Did his injuries worsen? Why did the Cursed Seal suddenly erupt?"

Hearing the commotion, Hatake Kakashi, who was nearby, hurried over and asked after checking the situation, "Did anything happen just now?"

"Nothing at all. It just happened suddenly."

"I see," Kakashi thought for a moment and ordered, "Search the vicinity carefully. See if someone or something stimulated the seal."

"Understood." The Anbu dispersed in a flash.

In a civilian house not far from the hospital, Kabuto Yakushi, who had been observing the situation from afar and preparing to make a move on Sasuke Uchiha, saw the hospital suddenly tighten its security and had to postpone his original plan.

Far away in the Land of Fields, at the Sound Village, Orochimaru, who was preparing to assassinate the Kazekage, also sensed the disturbance coming from the direction of Konoha.

"What is this? This power of the Cursed Seal? Could it be that someone has taken a fancy to my Sasuke? Is it Danzo? Doesn't seem like it. The Third wouldn't hand over the village's last Uchiha to Danzo. That old man is too pedantic; he wouldn't resort to such tricks. So, does that mean someone has taken an interest in the power of the Cursed Seal and is trying to crack it?" Orochimaru immediately thought of the attacker from the Forest of Death.

"I wonder if it's the same person. I didn't expect that after being away from Konoha for so many years, such an interesting fellow would be lurking there. I must go and see for myself next time."

Inside Mizuki's house, the two of them were watching this terrifying change with trepidation.

"Mizuki, what exactly did you do?" Tsubaki was completely confused by the situation.

"I don't know either," Mizuki replied with a bitter smile. Who could have guessed that a tiny bit of chakra containing the power of the Cursed Seal would cause such a frightening change?

The clone opposite them grew rapidly, soon breaking free from the constraints of the culture dish. The pressure radiating from its body grew stronger and stronger. Before long, the body, having grown to its limit, began to stabilize, but the dire consequences of such rapid growth began to manifest: the extremities of its limbs started to age at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As the body was continuously overdrawn, the aura of a superior being became increasingly powerful. The clone, having reached its limit, began to crumble from its aging extremities, turning into wisps of black ash that drifted away. Its entire body trembled slightly, taking on an eerie red hue. Its tightly closed eyes twitched, showing signs of opening, and an aura of a natural predator—one accustomed to being in a position of power, making others lose the ability to resist—was about to erupt along with its eyes.

"Not good." Mizuki, suppressing the fear in his heart, pulled out a kunai and swung it with all his might. The kunai flew out, directly blinding the subject's eyes.

However, it wasn't over. The clone, now blind, opened its mouth wide, seemingly filled with the resentment of never having seen the true face of the world since its birth. Its body accelerated its evaporation; its limbs had already turned to dust, and the decay was gradually spreading to its torso.

As the clone's body continued to vanish, its hair grew at an abnormally rapid rate. Then, Mizuki witnessed an even more terrifying sight: something was bulging slightly at the spot on the forehead where the third eye should have already vanished, pushing the skin out into a crack. A tissue that should no longer exist was about to appear before them, fueled by the life force of every cell in its body.