Mizuki saw no point in stalling. The sooner this was done, the faster he could deal with everything else. Holding onto Sage Mode was incredibly uncomfortable—his senses felt duller than ever.
"Ready, Neji?" Mizuki asked one last time, double-checking with him. Although the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist technique was expertly skilled at controlling chakra and the body's meridians, the energy within Mizuki's body wasn't ordinary chakra. It was a strange mix of Sage Chakra, Natural Energy, and other elements. Given Neji's abilities, Mizuki couldn't help but feel uneasy without final confirmation.
"No problem," answered Neji Hyuga. He had full confidence in the Gentle Fist—it had been his life since childhood. Even if he had been defeated before, he never doubted the power of the Gentle Fist—only his own ability and effort.
"Then we begin. Watch carefully..."
With that, Mizuki started suppressing the Cursed Seal's power. Handling easier things first was a reasonable strategy. At the very least, the seal naturally restrained itself; [Evil Sealing Method] continuously exerted its effects. This effectiveness was limited not only by his available chakra but mostly by his own willpower. Previously, Mizuki had cautiously chosen not to impose too many restrictions. But now, under deliberate focus, the power of the cursed seal began gradually fading away.
However, the tangled energies inside weren't so easily untangled. Unfortunately, an unexpected turn occurred.
"I knew it wouldn't be simple, but this is getting way more complicated than I expected."
Mizuki no longer dared fully trust the rules of this world. Compared to chakra, common sense and logic were basically a punchline in this world. Although somewhat prepared, the actual situation inside his body proved far more complex than expected.
As the Cursed Seal receded, it wasn't just its chakra being controlled—the collective will of the Summoned Beasts Mizuki originally introduced to balance his Yin-Yang imbalance were forcibly torn apart and devoured by the oppressive Cursed Seal. As a result, the awakened Cursed Seal, seeking a new Yin-Yang balance, immediately seized one of Sage Mode's foundational components—the spirit body with Yin Attribute—using [Evil Sealing Method] as a catalyst.
Even as Mizuki realized what was happening, the curse's suppression directly caused Sage Mode to collapse entirely.
Faced with such a desperate situation, Mizuki stood helpless. Losing a huge portion of spiritual strength drastically reduced his original body's chakra reserves. Instantly, Natural Energy gained overwhelming dominance within him.
"If this continues, am I going to turn into stone or lose my sanity completely?"
The danger of direct contact with Natural Energy was clear: fail to control it during Frog or Snake Sage Arts training, and you'd end up either dead or hopelessly insane.
At this critical moment, Mizuki threw all caution aside. He poured every last bit of remaining chakra from his Breath-Sealing Art recklessly outward, using his final means to desperately fight for a sliver of survival.
The direct collision between his original Chakra and natural energy wasn't as intense as expected. Instead, the two forces entangled, forming an uncontrollable mix of energy within his body. Since the balance between natural energy and Chakra wasn't achieved, Sage Chakra didn't form. The chaotic energy rampaged inside Mizuki, wreaking havoc internally and worsening his lingering damage.
"I can't get rid of it. What do I do?"
Mizuki couldn't help but feel regret. Maybe his approach to solving things was off—he got the order wrong when dealing with those hidden threats. He shouldn't have placed all his hopes on just two Genin. More importantly, he gravely underestimated the power of cursed seals. Assuming that Sage Mode alone would render those incomplete Sage Transformations—cursed seals—as nothing more than trash, he neglected the fact that something capable of earning Orochimaru's high expectations couldn't possibly be reduced to just a weaker imitation of Sage Mode. Based solely on the effects seen after its two outbursts, Mizuki now regarded it with entirely new eyes.
Still, matters concerning cursed seals could wait until Mizuki had enough capacity to deal with them, especially after resolving his lingering chakra issues. Right now, there were insufficient records and no feasible method for conducting in-depth research. And this was definitely not the time to be thinking about it.
Just when Mizuki was burning with anxiety, Neji Hyuga, who had been watching intently beside him, finally made his move.
[Gentle Fist Art—Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.]
A sharp and dense layer of Chakra instantly enveloped Mizuki's entire body. Without any resistance from Mizuki, Neji's Gentle Fist technique landed directly and effectively on him.
*No wonder the Hyuga clan has passed down this secret technique generation after generation—it's truly powerful. Even more surprising is that Neji Hyuga managed to master this advanced skill without any formal teaching. What an amazing natural talent indeed.*
First grounding himself in the Eight Trigrams posture, Neji rapidly struck sixty-four vital points on Mizuki's body. This precise-point strike method immediately halted the outward flow of energy within Mizuki. His Chakra release became blocked, preventing the buildup of force and slightly lessening the damage inflicted upon him. Then, another set of sixty-four strikes followed. Increasing the speed of his attacks significantly compared to before, Neji seized the opportunity while Mizuki's internal strength waned, unleashing all one hundred twenty-eight palms consecutively and completely cutting off the flow of energy within Mizuki.
After finishing the Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms technique, Neji was visibly exhausted. Unlike ordinary Chakra, the energy within Mizuki's body was extremely overpowering and dangerous.
Against regular ninja and their Chakra, the Gentle Fist acted like its natural enemy, posing a direct threat to their very core. An attack that targets Chakra directly has always been one of the hardest to counter.
Yet this time, facing Mizuki, Neji felt somewhat at a loss. Striking Mizuki with the Gentle Fist felt like hitting a springy steel plate, causing Neji extreme discomfort. Without exerting full strength, piercing through Mizuki's defense to inflict actual harm was nearly impossible.
Reluctantly, Hyuga Neji poured far more strength and focus than usual into his Gentle Fist technique, enduring tremendous recoil. Just before collapsing, he finally managed to temporarily suppress the major internal threat within Mizuki.
"Captain Mizuki… I can't go any further than this," gasped Neji, clutching his slightly trembling hands as he spoke toward Mizuki.
Without a word, Mizuki gave a brief nod, too preoccupied with sensing the trouble inside his body to respond.
['So it's like commuting a death sentence to a suspended one? Quite disappointing indeed.']
Neji's Gentle Fist had momentarily halted the energy within Mizuki, but it only pushed back his death by the slimmest of margins.
Back during the Chunin Exams, even a bit of leaking Nine-Tails chakra was enough for Naruto Uzumaki to shatter the binding effects of Neji's Gentle Fist. There shouldn't be such a massive gap just because Naruto was the so-called destined child. Natural energy shouldn't be that much weaker than tailed beast chakra. Perhaps Neji had gotten stronger recently and treated Mizuki with extra caution, producing better results than expected—but there shouldn't have been such an extreme deviation. This time, Mizuki hadn't really expected the Gentle Fist to solve everything either; he only hoped it would buy him some extra buffer time to properly handle the situation.
It wasn't until now that Mizuki truly wished someone nearby could absorb chakra. Mizuki, who had nothing special going for him—no extraordinary physique or talent—could only imagine how useful such an ability would be if another power-loss incident happened in the future. Someone who could pull the energy out of his system would definitely be more reliable than trying to figure things out on the fly like this.
"How are you feeling?" anxiously asked Aoba Yamashiro, watching Mizuki standing motionless with no sign of taking further action, growing increasingly impatient. "Do you need help?"
"Help?" Mizuki's heart stirred, as if suddenly realizing something.
"Yeah, those two Genins can't do much right now. But there's still me."
"You're absolutely right. That was my mistake."
['Bias from conventional thinking—guess I really overcomplicated things. Other problems might still be tough to crack, but at least this one isn't impossible after all.']
Just like how Mizuki used to fall into weak-minded patterns before, as an isekai traveler, fundamentally speaking, aside from his fiancée Chiharu Tsubaki, he trusted no one else completely. These weren't just habits left behind by the original Mizuki—they stemmed from Mizuki's sense of distance and caution toward this world. Even close allies like Kakashi Hatake and Aoba Yamashiro couldn't know too much about him when crucial moments came. Whenever things went wrong, he'd talk it over with Chiharu Tsubaki once or twice—but most of the time, he'd just suffer alone, carrying the weight by himself.
Like now, the problem Mizuki faced was quite typical. After sealing the external tail-beast-like manifestation and locking away the cursed seal, the only remaining issue was the uncontrolled Sage Mode. If there were sufficient normal chakra reserves inside his body, then his current problem could be resolved.
In Mizuki's original fixed mindset, he had always strived to enhance every bit of control because he was used to maintaining the balance between Yin and Yang attributes as well as natural energy within his body. Accepting Shukaku's chakra and the collective consciousness of summoned beasts was already a significant compromise. Therefore, subconsciously, he resisted any further interference from others so as not to add more strain to Sage Mode.
But now circumstances had completely changed. Mizuki no longer needed to consider all these things so carefully. As long as there was enough chakra to expel natural energy, it would be sufficient. If it was his own chakra, that was better; if not, what difference did it make? Other people's chakra would certainly affect his control capability significantly, which was extremely detrimental to Sage Mode. However, since he didn't need to maintain Sage Mode anymore, such matters were no longer important.
Perhaps earlier, the power inside him was too immense and exclusive, but with the collapse of Sage Mode, a major vulnerability appeared in the previously impregnable defense of Mizuki's body, just like how Neji Hyuga could temporarily restrict Mizuki's internal energy using Gentle Fist. If Sage Mode had still been active, how could such a thing have happened? With Neji Hyuga's level, being able to approach Mizuki at all was already impressive.
Moreover, this was a good opportunity. While the meridians and acupoints were damaged and the flow of energy restricted by pressure points, the power within his body was actually at a stable phase—an ideal moment for others to assist him.
Just then, a figure approached from a distance.
"It seems you're facing some trouble. Is there anything I can assist with?"
It was indeed Baki, the Jonin from Sunagakure, who had left not long ago.
"It's you?" Aoba glared disapprovingly at Baki and said, "What is it? Mizuki-senpai isn't feeling well right now and can't treat anyone. Come back later."
"Wait, Aoba, don't get excited," Mizuki quickly stepped in. "After all, they're our allies. We should at least communicate properly."
Since an experienced Jonin had arrived, it was fortunate—they might just offer assistance.
"Hmm... Well, okay." Although Aoba didn't know exactly what Mizuki planned, he still nodded in agreement.
"So, Mizuki-san, is there anything I could assist you with?" Baki asked politely. "Earlier, your help really made a big difference. Otherwise, if Shukaku had gone out of control, we wouldn't have known how to handle the situation."
"You're too modest," Mizuki replied. "As allies, fighting side by side is only natural. However, there indeed is one troublesome matter requiring Jonin Baki's help right now."
So saying, Mizuki turned to Aoba. "Aoba, come over here too."
Baki and Aoba followed Mizuki's instructions and moved closer, listening closely to what he had to say.
"Now, I'll need both of you to inject as much chakra as possible into my body."
"Chakra?" Baki asked, puzzled. "Any other specific requirements?"
"No. Quantity matters the most, regardless of type—steady and smooth will suffice," Mizuki explained. "Jonin Baki, start by channeling your chakra into my limbs—beginning with my right arm."
"The Cursed Seal on my right hand was released first. By quickly releasing that seal, the curse's power can be stabilized once more. Once his right hand fully recovers, Mizuki will regain the use of Sealing Techniques. That gives him far more flexibility instead of being stuck waiting for others' help like he is now."
Then Mizuki said to Aoba Yamashiro, "Aoba, send your chakra into my core."
It was still safest to let an ally handle the vital areas. With a friend present, Yamashiro Aoba — a Tokubetsu Jonin — could even handle delicate techniques like [Mind-Reading Technique]. There was no reason a basic chakra control and transfer task should go wrong.
Although unsure exactly what Mizuki planned, Aoba had great confidence in him. Mizuki rarely made mistakes, so Aoba didn't ask any follow-up questions.
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