Damp. Rank.
That was all Mizuki Han sensed when he regained consciousness.
A bone-deep chill seeped from the cold stone bed beneath him. He struggled to open his eyes, but his vision was sliced into fragments by rows of rusted iron bars.
Was this... a prison cell?
A violent headache struck, and countless fragments of unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.
The Yuki Clan, the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, the Mist Anbu, the Village of the Bloody Mist... and a Great Purge targeting Kekkei Genkai clans.
He, Mizuki Han, last of the Yuki Clan, had been thrown into Kirigakure's Anbu death prison on suspicion of colluding with rebels.
"Did I transmigrate?"
Mizuki Han's lips moved faintly, but the sound that came out was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping together.
He wasn't a member of the Yuki Clan. He was just an ordinary man from the Blue Star.
But now, he was a prisoner in this living hell.
"Clank—"
The heavy scrape of chains sounded nearby, accompanied by a cold, emotionless voice reading something aloud.
"Kaguya Clan, Kotsukawa. Execution."
"Hozuki Clan, Suigetsu. Execution."
"Yuki Clan, Hyono. Execution."
Each name was followed by a piercing scream and the metallic clang of a cell door opening and closing.
It was a death list.
Mizuki Han's heart clenched. He forced his feeble body to move, trying to draw on the chakra in his memories.
But his chakra reserves were empty. The pathways throughout his body felt as if they'd been pinned shut by countless steel needles. A strange sealing force had locked him down, leaving him unable to gather even the tiniest bit of energy.
This was a world of shinobi. Without chakra, he was worse than an ordinary person.
"No... I can't die here."
A fierce will to live surged from the depths of his soul. In his previous life, he'd been someone who could never feel safe, afflicted with severe Firepower Deficiency Phobia and Persecutory Delusion.
He never trusted anyone and was used to keeping his fate entirely in his own hands.
Yet now, someone else had decided his life with a thin sheet of paper.
That was worse than death!
"Next, Yuki Clan, Mizuki Han."
At last, the cold voice called his name.
Mizuki Han's pupils contracted sharply.
"Creeeak—"
The door to his cell slowly swung open from the outside.
In the dim lamplight, a shinobi wearing a standard Mist Anbu mask walked in. He was tall, and the heavy stench of blood and palpable killing intent clung to him.
"Your turn."
The Anbu guard's voice held no emotion. "Are you walking on your own, or do I drag you there?"
Mizuki Han said nothing. He simply stared at the man.
He was analyzing.
The man's stance, the rhythm of his breathing, the way he gripped his sword.
This was a desperate situation, a dead end with no way out.
But the only thought in his mind wasn't to beg or despair. It was to strike back!
Even if he had only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he'd drag the man who'd decided his fate down to hell with him!
"Looks like you won't cooperate."
The Anbu guard seemed to have lost patience. He advanced step by step, the Ninja Blade in his hand reflecting a chilling glint in the dim light.
"Those Kekkei Genkai vermin should've been wiped out long ago."
His voice was full of disdain and contempt. "Monsters like you don't deserve to live in the Mist Village."
Mizuki Han's body trembled faintly with weakness, but his gaze grew colder, like a lone wolf driven into a corner.
He noticed that each time the guard stepped forward, the water underfoot rippled in a faint ring.
The cell was damp.
There was water everywhere.
Water...
A reckless idea took shape in his mind.
But without chakra, it was all just wishful thinking.
The shadow of death had already fallen over him. The guard raised his Ninja Blade and aimed it at his heart.
The icy blade was less than ten centimeters from his skin.
He could even smell the blood still clinging to its edge.
Just then, a cold mechanical voice rang without warning in his mind.
[Host's life signs are nearing their limit. Will to survive has reached its peak...] [Empire Procreation System activating...] [Activation successful!] [Host: Mizuki Han] [Kekkei Genkai: Ice Release (Beginner, bloodline diluted)] [Current Status: Chakra sealed, severely weakened] [System Core Function: By fusing with high-potential female Kekkei Genkai users, the host can extract their genes, evolve his bloodline without limit, and earn supreme derivative skills.]
A cheat?
Mizuki Han's mind was rocked by a tempest, but his face remained cold and impassive.
He knew this was his only chance to survive!
The Anbu guard's blade had already touched his prison uniform. In the next instant, it would pierce his heart.
"System! Do I get a Novice Gift Pack?!" Mizuki Han roared in his mind.
[Novice Gift Pack has been issued. Please claim it!] [Congratulations, Host. You have received: Original Chakra (small amount) x1.] [Note: Original Chakra can bypass all conventional seals and act directly on the host's chakra pathways.]
A faint but incredibly pure energy surged into his desiccated chakra reserves.
There was pitifully little chakra. It probably wasn't even enough to create a basic Water Clone.
But it was enough!
As he watched the guard swing his blade at him, the corner of Mizuki Han's mouth curled in an almost imperceptible smile.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he threw all his strength into lunging at the guard!
"Fool!"
A cruel glint flashed in the guard's eyes as he accelerated his swing without hesitation.
He could already picture the last Yuki Clan survivor being run through the heart by his blade.
But just as the blade was about to pierce Mizuki Han, a sudden change occurred!
"Thwack!"
The sound of a blade sinking into flesh rang out.
But there weren't one, but two such sounds!
The guard lowered his head, staring in disbelief at the Ninja Blade that had pierced Mizuki Han's chest.
There was nothing there.
He'd struck nothing but an unstable afterimage made of water.
Meanwhile, a tearing pain flared in his chest.
A razor-sharp icicle, formed from the dirty water on the cell floor, had pierced his chest at some point, running straight through his heart!
Blood dripped from the icicle.
The guard's mask slipped off, revealing a face twisted with overwhelming pain and shock.
He opened his mouth as if to speak, but only a ragged, wheezing "h-h-h" escaped.
His life was fading fast.
Mizuki Han appeared behind him like a ghost.
His face was as pale as paper, his body swaying. That strike had drained all his strength and the last of his Original Chakra.
"The rules of the Bloody Mist," Mizuki Han said, his voice cold and hoarse, as if it came from the deepest pits of hell, "are that the weak die."
"And now, you're the weaker one."
The Anbu guard's body crashed to the floor, splashing dirty water everywhere.
Mizuki Han panted heavily, leaning against the slick wall to keep from collapsing.
He'd won.
In an utterly hopeless situation, he'd pulled off a textbook counterattack.
But the danger was far from over.
There were more Anbu in the hallway outside. The noise of the guard's death would soon draw them here.
He had to get out at once!
Mizuki Han's gaze fell on a little girl curled up and trembling in the far corner of the cell.
She had long black hair and wore a shabby kimono. She looked about seven or eight years old.
His fragmented memories told him that this girl was an orphan he'd picked up while fleeing. Her name was Haku.
She was also a survivor of the Yuki Clan.
[High-potential Ice Release Kekkei Genkai user detected (child)] [Target for fusion: Haku.] [Fusion success rate: 95%.] [After fusion, the host's Ice Release is expected to reach intermediate level and a new skill will be unlocked.]
The system's notification sounded again.
A flicker passed through Mizuki Han's eyes.
He walked over to the girl and slowly crouched down.
Haku looked up, revealing a pretty, delicate face drained of color by fear. Her big eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at him timidly.
"Han... big brother..."
Mizuki Han paid no attention to how she addressed him. He simply reached out and gently brushed his cold fingers over her cheek.
His voice held not the slightest trace of emotion.
"From today on, you're mine."
Before you continue