Some things, once done the first time, become easier the second, third, and even countless times after. Eventually, it becomes an addiction—an escape that one can no longer pull away from.
"One day, the sin of tampering with life will demand retribution. Maybe that day, I'll fall too. The only reason I can justify it now is survival..."
Even though Mizuki felt shame and unease gnawing at him, he had no intention of turning back. Watching Hyuga Hiashi and Gaara break through the encirclement and regroup with the others, he didn't hesitate. He funneled the residual chakra left in the air from Uchiha Sasuke's Cursed Seal eruption directly into the seal on his clone.
"What is that?" Hyuga Ke, the closest to him, frowned at Mizuki's strange movements. "This chakra... it feels nauseating."
What looked like an artificial humanoid mass was bound tightly by a complex sealing array. Its preparation was obviously abnormal. Once the eerie purple-black chakra was introduced into the figure, its dormant body began to twitch.
Mizuki slowly removed the final binding seal. As the last tag burned away, the chest of the clone, near the heart, began to throb rhythmically. The tempo quickened unnaturally.
"What is this supposed to be?" Hyuga Ke's expression grew more conflicted. "Mizuki, what are you doing?"
"Don't panic," Mizuki responded with a faint smile. His earlier hesitation had been overtaken by action. There was no turning back now, only the path forward.
"How can we not panic?" Ke's voice rose. "This isn't normal at all..."
Anyone could see it: the malformed humanoid form began to shift grotesquely. With each pulse of cursed chakra, marks snaked across its surface until its entire body was saturated. From the center of its chest, a ripple of spatial energy—chakra drawn from nothingness—began to spiral into the creature. It visibly grew before their eyes.
"Mizuki!" Hyuga Branch House shinobi grabbed his shoulder. "You need to explain this!"
As the clone grew, it began to emit strange chakra signatures. While others could barely sense it, the Byakugan clearly saw the disruption in the natural energy around it. It wasn't just disturbing—it was unnatural.
"What's going on?" Kurenai Yuhi and Temari caught up, panting. Hyuga Hiashi and Gaara also arrived just in time to see the half-formed creature levitating beside Mizuki. Any seasoned shinobi could tell—it reeked of danger.
"It's almost dawn..." Mizuki muttered and pointed beyond the treeline. "See that white owl?"
"An aerial summon?" Hiashi activated his Byakugan, then narrowed his gaze. "Deidara? He's already recovered? That quickly..."
Among the group, only Gaara and Temari lacked firsthand experience dealing with Deidara. The others knew—if the enemy had aerial superiority, retreating on foot was nearly hopeless. Unless Deidara held back, escape would be unlikely.
"What does this thing have to do with Deidara?"
"I said I wouldn't abandon Gaara," Mizuki said firmly. "Do you have a better plan?"
No one responded. The situation was dire. Reinforcements wouldn't arrive in time, and the enemy's advantage was crushing.
"If this can help..." Hinata hesitated, looking at the humanoid form, its body now nearly adult-sized.
"Don't worry," Mizuki assured her. "It's not a human experiment. It's artificial—but it's still a real lifeform."
Hiashi frowned, memories of Orochimaru's experiments flashing through his mind. After Orochimaru killed the Third Hokage and devastated Konoha, anything resembling human experimentation was taboo.
"Even if it's artificial," Mizuki continued softly, "that doesn't mean it isn't alive."
The clone floated freely in mid-air, its deformed features slowly resolving. Twin horns protruded from its head, and its skin—sickly pale—began to flush faintly. Its limbs, however, began to crumble. The tips of its fingers flaked away into black ash.
"It's ready. Let's move."
Seeing Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand closing in, Mizuki turned to Hiashi.
"What? You're just leaving it?"
"We must. It won't last. And it's dangerous to be near. I don't know how it will react to its... creator."
"Understood." Hiashi gave a reluctant nod. He didn't like abandoning any form of life, but there was no room for sentimentality.
"Let's try it."
Leaving the unstable clone behind, the six ninja resumed their retreat.
Minutes later, Deidara, flying on his giant clay owl, arrived ahead of Sasori. His sharp eye immediately spotted the clone floating silently below.
"Huh? What the hell is that? Looks freaky... Well, let's blow it up. Art is an explosion, yeah!"
Deidara hurled several clay bombs. The clone didn't move.
"Frozen in fear? Heh, idiot."
But when the smoke cleared, the clone stood completely unharmed.
"What!?"
Even Deidara was stunned. His explosions hadn't even scratched it.
Sasori arrived moments later.
"What is it now? Another one of your mistakes?"
"Brother Sasori, look down there—! That thing just tanked a full blast!"
Sasori studied it with narrowed eyes. The clone's aura pulsed, heavy and dreadful.
"Should we go around it?" Deidara's voice was uncharacteristically nervous.
"Too late," Sasori said. "Besides, it could be useful puppet material."
The clone's chakra began to pulse violently, creating a barrier of repulsive force. Even Deidara's massive explosion couldn't breach it.
"Sasori, I don't like this! That thing... doesn't feel human."
"Relax," Sasori said calmly. "Look at it—it's already dying."
Indeed, the clone's limbs were almost gone. Its torso was deteriorating rapidly. Then suddenly—
Its eyes snapped open.
A pulse of foreign chakra rolled outward, and the clone's body stabilized for a moment. The seals pulsed. It glared directly at Sasori with a pair of rippling eyes—Rinnegan.
Deidara gasped. "That's... that's not possible!"
Sasori's expression twisted into awe and grim amusement.
"The Rinnegan. Again? The Leader said he alone possessed it. If another has awakened it... what does this mean for Akatsuki?"
Before he could ponder further, the clone, now fully awakened, retaliated. In a single motion, it sent out a shockwave. Sasori's puppets, Deidara's owl, and even the trees were dragged toward it in a vortex of gravitational pull.
The clone's body continued to crumble rapidly. Black ash scattered like smoke. It was fading—returning to nothing.
As the last of its strength flared, it met Sasori's gaze. Its expression was neither hatred nor rage, but a strange sorrow, confused and childlike, as if asking—"Why... did you hurt me?"
"That eye..." Deidara stammered. "It feels like judgment."
And then, like a flame snuffed out, the clone dissolved completely.
Only silence remained.
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