Naruto: Mizuki The Savior

Chapter 29: The Imitation Jinchūriki

As dusk settled, Mizuki finally returned home from his duties. Apart from the usual exhaustion from chakra depletion, the day's work hadn't been particularly strenuous—the difference in strength had simply been too vast.

"Chihiro, things are going to get busy for a while. You don't have to wait for me at night to make dinner, and you should check on the flower shop more often."

"Alright. But I'm also busy with several barrier inspections these days."

"If it's too much, just hire someone. If necessary, post a request at the mission center for a shopkeeper."

"You have money for that?"

"…Let's just eat and not talk about depressing things. Thankfully, payday is soon."

---

After dinner, once the house was tidied up, Mizuki unrolled his summoning scroll and released a wooden puppet.

"Chihiro, just like last time—I'll control the chakra, and you handle the sealing."

He tapped the puppet's forehead, and in an instant, its wooden form transformed into a small, humanoid creature. Its body was covered in complex sealing marks, its face bore faint tiger-like stripes, and its hands and feet had sharp claws. Its posture was slightly hunched, as if preparing to pounce at any moment.

"How do you feel?" Mizuki asked.

"My regular movements are fine," the creature responded in a high-pitched, childlike voice. "But combat drains too much energy, even at low intensity."

"If we ignore the chakra needed to maintain barriers, can you still fight effectively in short bursts?"

"I wouldn't count on it. Defeating someone like Haruno Sakura doesn't prove anything."

"Then what's the biggest issue right now?"

"My body generates far more chakra than expected. The more intense the battle, the more my body instinctively produces chakra at a rapid rate. But the strain of this overproduction is also shortening my already limited lifespan."

"How long do you have?"

"Hard to say. It depends on how frequently and intensely I fight."

"I see…" Mizuki rubbed his chin. This was becoming a serious problem.

The strange creature before him was actually a clone grown from Mizuki's own hair.

In his quest to solve the control issues of his clones (and avoid any ethical dilemmas regarding their treatment), Mizuki had experimented with an unconventional solution—mirroring the Jinchūriki concept.

His reasoning was simple:

The Tailed Beasts were chakra constructs formed from negative human emotions. Likewise, Shadow Clones were chakra constructs imbued with his own will.

Was there really such a big difference between the two?

By using sealing techniques, he had implanted a Shadow Clone within one of his grown clones—effectively making it a pseudo-Jinchūriki.

Surprisingly, it worked.

Unlike real Jinchūriki, who were dominant over their Bijū, Mizuki's experiment was the opposite: the body was just an empty shell, completely controlled by the sealed clone. The original consciousness of the grown clone never had a chance to develop.

This erased any moral concerns—it was merely another version of himself.

Watching his creation, Mizuki couldn't help but be impressed. It spoke fluently, responded logically, and functioned just as expected.

However, there was a critical flaw—lifespan.

Cells could only divide so many times before they died.

Since this body was grown from Mizuki's adult cells, its telomeres were already shortened. Even with the regenerative capabilities of the panacea serum, the lifespan issue couldn't be ignored.

Ninjas, by nature, already lived short lives.

The excessive use of chakra extraction techniques and reckless battles meant they burned through their vitality at an alarming rate.

Mizuki had no illusions—if he endured another mission like the one in the Land of Waves, his own lifespan would take a severe hit.

Unlike in martial arts fantasies, where the strongest warriors lived the longest, shinobi aged and withered once their peak passed.

Had it not been for Hashirama's cells, countless rogue shinobi would have died much sooner.

"…Alright," Mizuki finally said. "Let's swap information, then I'll replenish your chakra. You need to learn to regulate your energy output better. For now, this is our best solution."

He turned to Chihiro. "Let's begin."

---

The Day of the Chunin Exams

In the Hokage's Office, a large gathering of exam proctors stood waiting. Mizuki, as usual, took a seat in the back row, idly dozing off.

Fortunately, Hiruzen kept his speech brief this time. With a few words, the first exam officially began, and the crowd dispersed.

Ibiki Morino, the head proctor for the written test, led a group of Chunin to the examination hall.

Mizuki had originally planned to observe the candidates beforehand, but the risk of encountering Orochimaru made him reconsider.

Instead, he busied himself with paperwork, keeping a low profile.

Encountering Orochimaru or Kabuto in public wasn't a concern—they wouldn't care about a small fry like him.

The real danger was a private confrontation.

Seated near the door of the examination hall, Mizuki glanced around.

"This wasn't in the original story."

From what he recalled, there was no proctor assigned to this spot.

Looking at the face-painted Sand ninja, Kankuro, he raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't this the same spot he used to trick an examiner with his puppet?"

Now that Mizuki occupied the seat, that particular cheating scheme was impossible.

"I wonder how they'll pass now?"

He scanned the room.

"There's Orochimaru… He blends in well."

Kabuto looked unassuming as ever, his glasses adding to his harmless appearance.

A girl with bright red hair caught his attention—Karin.

"That's Uzumaki chakra alright. Vivid red hair, insane reserves… It's too obvious."

Then his eyes drifted to Naruto.

"…Wait. Why is his hair blonde?"

Kushina's genes should have been dominant, yet Minato's had completely taken over.

"Minato was allegedly a commoner, but… was his bloodline actually special?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Ibiki's instructions.

Mizuki didn't bother listening. Instead, he scribbled calculations on his notes.

Summoning jutsu coordinates.

Reverse summoning chakra formulas.

He needed a way to travel discreetly between Konoha and his secret laboratory.

The Chunin Exam? Irrelevant.

His absentminded writing had an unexpected effect—it terrified the test-takers.

Seeing an examiner furiously writing page after page, some panicked, thinking they had already fallen behind.

As students were eliminated for cheating, Mizuki glanced at Kankuro.

He's getting anxious.

The Sand ninja couldn't use his puppet trick anymore.

"Let's see what you'll do now," Mizuki thought.

A few minutes later, the test ended.

Kankuro and Temari, unable to cheat, sat stiffly, their papers blank.

Then, Naruto's dramatic speech triggered Ibiki's final question—allowing even those who failed to pass.

Mizuki stood up. "Finally free."

As he left, a voice called out:

"Mizuki, aren't you a backup proctor for the next exam?"

It was Aoba Yamashiro.

"'Backup' means nothing unless you screw up, right?" Mizuki shot back.

"…Do you want me to mess up?" Aoba asked, bewildered.

Mizuki simply waved him off and walked away.

The real game was about to begin.

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