Reviewing the Desperate Ordeal, He Vowed to Seize Fate in His Own Hands

The basement air was heavy as lead, thick with mold, the stench of blood, and the dampness left by the rain. The crimson light seeping through the cracks in the iron door was the only light in this forgotten corner of the world.

Mizuki Han stood before the pile of shabby quilts, his gaze lowered to the sleeping Haku.

He slowly raised his new left hand. His fingers were long and slender, and an almost invisible glimmer of exceptionally pure chakra shimmered around his fingertips. This hand was about to press against the girl's forehead and begin the domineering, bloody plunder ritual known as "Deep Fusion."

But just as his fingertips came within a centimeter of Haku's smooth forehead, his movements abruptly stopped.

The focus vanished from his abyss-like, unruffled eyes.

Scene after scene replayed wildly in the depths of his mind, each as sharp as the most keenly honed Ice Shard.

In the death cell, when the Anbu guard brought down his executioner's blade, he had relied on the System's perfectly timed "Novice Gift Pack" and that insignificant yet seal-ignoring source chakra to pull off a seemingly dazzling counterattack. If the System had activated one second later, he would already be a cold corpse.

That was luck.

At the exit of the sewage pipe, faced with Kisame Hoshigaki's overwhelming strength, every scheme he had devised—the bait, the Water Clone, the Chakra Bomb—had seemed laughable and powerless. He had survived not because he was clever enough, but simply because Kisame had amused himself by sneering at a "little rat." The fatal Water Release blade had missed his heart, and his final fake death had succeeded, all because his enemy had arrogantly decided it was "boring."

That was charity.

In the cave, when the Wildcat Squad surrounded him, he had used traps and psychological tactics, seemingly directing the battle with ease and toying with his enemies. But when Wildcat was backed into a corner and unleashed a large-scale Water Release attack without regard for anything else, Han was instantly forced into a dead end. If he hadn't turned the battle around by relying on his understanding of Ice Release's physical properties, he would have been blasted into mincemeat by the raging Water Dragon.

That was a fluke.

Inside the Energy Hub, he had been suppressed from start to finish by the powerful Earth Release jonin. His so-called use of the environment and precise restrictions were as fragile as a sheet of paper before the unreasonable defense and strength of his "Armor of Rock Body." His final victory had come from a brutal struggle, bought by wagering one arm's permanent disability and using a self-mutilating forbidden technique. If not for the System's S-Rank Reward, he would now be a one-armed cripple lying in the ruins, waiting to be corroded by poison gas until nothing remained but dry bones.

That was a gamble.

Luck, charity, flukes, gambles...

Mizuki Han's body began to tremble almost imperceptibly.

It wasn't fear, but the extreme anger and dread rising from the depths of his soul!

He slowly drew back the hand suspended in midair and clenched it into a fist. His new knuckles gave a faint crack under the strain.

He had always thought he was calm and rational enough to calculate every step down to the last detail.

But now, in this absolutely safe and silent basement, as he coldly reviewed everything, he was horrified to realize that from beginning to end, he had been no more than an acrobat walking a tightrope along a sheer cliff.

Beneath him yawned a bottomless abyss, and the so-called "safety line" he relied on was nothing but an enemy's momentary mercy and some elusive luck.

The sensation filled him with a bone-deep disgust and unease.

The "Firepower Deficiency Phobia" and "Persecutory Delusion" engraved in his soul were like a volcano packed with high explosives. In that instant, they erupted!

Weak!

Still far too weak!

The so-called chakra of a Chunin meant nothing before a true powerhouse!

The so-called schemes and calculations were just pathetic struggles before overwhelming strength!

He hated this feeling.

He hated having his life controlled by someone else.

He hated how every victory came with a painful price and enormous risks.

He wouldn't gamble anymore.

He didn't want to win chips at the table through dazzling skill and a little luck.

He wanted to become the casino owner who made the rules!

He wanted the absolute power to overturn the entire table and hold every gambler's life and death in his hands!

An unprecedented ambition, as deep as a black hole, surged wildly in his chest and swelled!

Survival?

No. Simply staying alive was nowhere near enough.

He would establish absolute supremacy!

He would make this land shrouded in a bloody mist—and even the entire Shinobi World—tremble beneath his will!

Anyone who dared to oppose him would be crushed to dust the moment the thought crossed their mind!

He would take the ethereal thing called "fate" from the hands of the gods and mold it into the shape he wanted with his own hands!

"Whew..."

Mizuki Han let out a long breath. In the dim air, the stream of air took on a faint, visible frost-white tint.

When he opened his eyes again, the last trace of confusion and dread had vanished from his pupils. In its place was a will as unyielding and cold as ice that had endured for ten thousand years, along with an ambition that could burn away everything under heaven!

For the first time since arriving in this world, he had set himself a truly grand goal.

Not to flee, not to protect himself, but to—rule the world!

His gaze fell once again on the small figure curled beneath the quilts.

His expression had changed completely.

Before, Haku had been a "tool" and "material" of great value to him.

Now, she was the first cornerstone of his grand design, the first "sacrifice" in the creation of his Ice Empire.

This Deep Fusion would no longer be a simple act of plunder to increase his strength.

It would be a ritual.

A grand opening ceremony through which he would announce the rise of his ambition to this cruel world!

Mizuki Han walked to the pile of mold-smelling quilts and slowly knelt beside it.

He reached out with both hands but didn't touch the sleeping Haku. First, he straightened the filthy, disheveled bedding and shifted her body into a more comfortable position, lying flat on her back.

Then he took from his clothes a razor-sharp, specially made short blade he had looted from the Armory.

The cold blade reflected a sinister glint in the dim red light.

Without hesitation, he lightly drew the blade across the wrist of his newly restored left hand.

A tiny wound opened. Pure blood, infused with the power of extreme cold, slowly welled up, but didn't drip. Instead, it gathered on his skin into crystalline beads, as if alive.

Next, he picked up Haku's cold, slender right hand.

The faint tooth marks were still on the girl's wrist, left there when she had bitten herself to feed him blood.

Mizuki Han looked at the bite mark without the slightest change in his expression. With the precision of a surgeon, he placed his blade over the old wound and made a gentle cut.

"Mm..."

Haku seemed to feel the pain in her sleep. She let out an unconscious whimper and curled up, but her exhaustion was too great for her to wake.

Warm blood flowed from the wound on her wrist.

Mizuki Han tossed aside the short blade and pressed his bleeding left wrist tightly against Haku's bleeding right wrist.

Ice and blood began to mingle.

[The host has voluntarily initiated the Deep Fusion ritual...]

[Establishing genetic pathway...]

[Warning: This process will cause the fusion target, 'Haku,' great pain and irreversible changes to her bloodline. Continue?]

The corner of Mizuki Han's mouth curled into a cruel, indifferent smile.

"Continue."

He didn't just want to plunder her power; he also wanted to carve his will into the depths of her bloodline like a brand.

From this day on, she would no longer be the remnant of Yuki Haku, but the first creation on his road to supremacy.

But just as the System confirmed his command and their blood was about to fuse completely, a sudden change occurred!

A third force, belonging to neither of them and brimming with an ancient, savage aura, burst forth from the depths of Haku's seemingly pure blood!