Naruto: Mizuki The Savior

Chapter 15: Knowledge is Power

"It's really lively here, isn't it?" Mizuki greeted as he stepped into the Hokage's office. "Long time no see, Kakashi."

Kakashi glanced up and lazily replied, "Oh, Mizuki? You look awful. What have you been up to? I've been hearing rumors that some ninja have been openly slacking off lately."

"Impossible! I am the epitome of dedication and hard work," Mizuki said with an exaggerated sigh. "Unlike some ninja who are chronically late for everything."

The three young genin standing nearby subtly nodded in agreement, making Kakashi's reputation seem even more questionable.

Ignoring Kakashi, Mizuki approached the Hokage's desk and placed the mission request forms down.

"Hokage-sama, here are the task requests you asked for."

Sarutobi Hiruzen flipped through the stack and nodded. "Good. You're dismissed."

Just then, Naruto perked up at the mention of mission requests. "Wait! What mission is that? Is it protecting a daimyo? Rescuing a princess? Give it to us!"

Mizuki smirked as he turned toward him. "Oh, Naruto-kun, I didn't even notice you there. Too many people in the room—I completely overlooked the tiny little runt standing at the bottom."

"Tiny… runt?" Naruto blinked, then looked at Sakura and Sasuke standing next to him. Realization dawned. "YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ME?!"

"You bastard! You're still the same old bad guy teacher! I'm gonna beat you up!"

Sakura quickly restrained Naruto before he could lunge at Mizuki.

Mizuki ignored him and turned back to Kakashi. "By the way, Kakashi, I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen sometime. I heard from Ayame the other day that she's seen your real face before. Apparently, you're so handsome that you left her completely smitten."

"You really are skilled at spewing nonsense with a straight face," Kakashi said as his genin team turned their curious eyes toward him.

"Am I? Who knows?" Mizuki chuckled and left the office.

Back at the mission hall, Mizuki returned to his usual routine of doing nothing.

"What should I do now? Oh well, might as well sleep. Need to conserve energy for my experiments later."

In the middle of a nap, Mizuki was disturbed by a loud voice calling his name.

"What now?" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"You finally woke up, you lazy teacher! We're here to register a mission!" Naruto shouted.

Mizuki glanced around. "Why me? Aren't there other people at the counter?"

Looking around, he realized the other staff had mysteriously disappeared.

"Where did everyone go? It's a sad day when a village's future depends on such unreliable workers."

"You're the last person who should be saying that!" Naruto shot back, pointing at the drool stain on Mizuki's desk.

"Alright, alright. Show some respect, kid. Let me see the request."

Naruto reluctantly handed over the form.

As expected, it was the Wave Country mission.

"So, Hokage-sama approved this?" Mizuki asked, turning to Kakashi. "This mission seems a bit complicated—it'll take quite some time, won't it?"

"Hokage-sama gave the green light," Kakashi confirmed. "It'll be good experience for the genin."

"I see. Well, as long as you're around, I suppose there won't be any issues."

"Indeed."

"Then you'll set out the day after tomorrow," Mizuki said after finalizing the paperwork.

At that moment, Sakura hesitated before asking, "Um, Mizuki-sensei… have you ever seen Kakashi-sensei's real face?"

"Nope, almost no one has. But Ayame from Ichiraku Ramen did once—she said he's incredibly handsome."

"Really? I want to see too!"

Kakashi interrupted, "It's no big secret. You'll get the chance eventually. But for now, focus on getting ready for the mission."

With that, the genin left reluctantly.

Watching Team 7 leave, Mizuki shut his eyes again, quickly falling back into his nap.

---

Days Passed Quickly

Life continued in a peaceful cycle. Mizuki stuck to his routine—diligently "working" during the day and conducting his personal research at night.

His focus remained on experimenting with the kudzu plant and Turritopsis dohrnii (immortal jellyfish) in hopes of addressing his physical decline. However, the results were disappointing. Despite their unique properties, both organisms had critical weaknesses:

Kudzu had an extreme ability to regenerate from even the smallest fragment, making it nearly a biological cheat code. However, it was still just a plant—easily destroyed by fire, herbivores, or even a good stomp.

The immortal jellyfish could revert to its juvenile state and theoretically never die, but its body was fragile, small, and completely useless outside of water.

Neither offered a direct solution to Mizuki's deteriorating body.

Even though his efforts to acquire a stronger life force had stalled, his side experiments were yielding results. His laboratory now contained oddly mutated creatures:

Three-legged sparrows

Two-headed mice

Insects with unnatural compound eyes

Although these experiments weren't progressing exactly as planned, they revealed a lot about the effects of chakra on biological mutation.

Mizuki meticulously documented each experiment:

The successful creatures were separated and further modified.

The failures were immediately destroyed to avoid unwanted side effects.

A major breakthrough came when Mizuki developed two experimental serums:

1. Green Serum (Regeneration) - Extracted from kudzu's cellular properties, it enhanced cellular regeneration.

2. White Serum (Self-Replication) - Inspired by the jellyfish's ability to revert to an earlier state, though its applications were still unstable.

Mizuki experimented with injecting small animals with these serums. The green serum allowed creatures to regenerate lost limbs, though sometimes extra limbs or eyes would grow in random places. The white serum, however, was far more unstable, often resulting in death or grotesque mutations.

Still, a combined application of both serums showed potential—survival rates improved, and abnormal mutations were reduced.

"It's still not perfect, but it's getting there," Mizuki thought.

---

A Need for More Space

"The experiments are going well, but working in the village is too restrictive," Mizuki muttered, observing his notes. "I need a larger, more secluded lab."

There was an option. In the original timeline, Mizuki had used one of Orochimaru's abandoned hideouts to create his Cursed Seal activation drug. That hideout was located not far from Konoha, in an area rarely visited by anyone.

"That would be the perfect place to set up shop."

Mizuki made a mental note. After the Chūnin Exams, he would explore that location and establish his own secret research facility.

---

A Personal Achievement

Mizuki turned his attention to a large water tank on the shelf, sealed inside a scroll. Unsealing it, he examined the creature floating in green liquid—a lizard-like organism with a long tail.

"When I pulled a single strand of my own hair and it turned into this… I had to wonder," he mused, watching the creature twitch inside the tank.

"Are ninja even human anymore?"

He poured in additional nutrient fluid and resealed the container.

With a satisfied smirk, he thought, "At least now, I have something uniquely mine."

Although still experimental, his research was slowly leading toward his own signature techniques.

For now, he remained patient. The time for real gains was coming soon.