Outside Konohagakure!
"I never expected things to go so smoothly. It seems even God is on my side."
Mizuki ran wildly all the way until dawn before daring to stop.
At this moment, he suppressed his excitement and slowly opened the Scroll of Seals.
The first ninjutsu that catches the eye is the 'Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu', which can create thousands of shadow clones at once.
Mizuki was really tempted and wanted to try it right away.
"If you don't want to die, you'd better not try it."
Just as Mizuki was about to try it out, a voice suddenly rang out from the Scroll of Seals.
"Who?"
"Who's speaking? Come out here right now!"
Startled by the sudden sound, Mizuki broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively jumped onto a tree, looking around.
"You're making a fuss over nothing. Haven't you ever seen a Tome Guardian before?"
As Mizuki finished speaking, the Scroll of Seals floated up strangely, and the voice that had spoken earlier rang out again.
Actually, this is a small part of Black Zetsu's body that he separated and hid inside the Scroll of Seals.
The goal is to use this method, along with the Scroll of Seals, to muddy the waters of the entire ninja world.
"Tome...Guardian…?"
Upon hearing this, Mizuki was completely speechless.
With his limited perspective and knowledge, he would never have come into contact with these things.
He even believed that he was very strong, and the only thing he lacked was powerful ninjutsu.
That's why they set their sights on the Scroll of Seals.
"That's right. Back then, the Second Hokage signed a summoning contract with my Tome Sage Realm and obtained our help."
"It was with the power of the Tome Sage Realm that he developed many powerful ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, and recorded them on my body to pass on to future generations..."
When it comes to storytelling, that's Black Zetsu's forte.
In just a few minutes, he had completely fooled Mizuki.
In short, the Tome Sage Realm is the fourth great holy land, alongside Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest.
He is the spirit of the Book of Spirits from the Tome Sage Realm. To learn the forbidden techniques in the Scroll of Seals, one needs his approval.
"An opportunity!"
"My opportunity has arrived!"
Even if Mizuki was ignorant, with the knowledge of a Chunin, he had heard of the legendary Sannin of Konoha.
The reason why the Three Sannin were able to make such a name for themselves is because they were the contractors of the three great holy lands.
Now, the spirit of the Book of the Fourth Holy Land is right in front of him, and he must seize this opportunity no matter what.
"You just said that if I don't want to die, I shouldn't use Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Why is that?"
Mizuki spoke with utmost respect.
"You are an impatient and restless person who only sees half of things. You are unlikely to achieve great things."
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is a ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage to target those with exceptionally large amounts of chakra."
"To use this ninjutsu, one's chakra reserves must be far greater than those of other ninjas."
"Otherwise, you'll die from having your chakra drained as soon as you use it. Kid, with your meager chakra, you're not even capable of mastering this technique."
Black Zetsu said to Mizuki in a mature and sophisticated manner.
He didn't genuinely want to save Mizuki; rather, Mizuki still had unfinished tasks and couldn't die here.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Tome Guardian. If it weren't for your timely reprimand, I would be dead," Mizuki said respectfully. "I wonder if there are any ninjutsu on this that I can learn?"
He desperately wanted to become stronger; he was willing to pay any price to achieve that.
"That's a good question," Black Zetsu said. "As long as you can sign a summoning contract with my Tome Sage Realm, you can obtain a massive amount of chakra at the level of a Tailed Beast."
"By then, you will be able to learn most of the ninjutsu in this Scroll of Seals."
Upon hearing this, Mizuki immediately knelt before Black Zetsu.
"Lord Tome Guardian, I, Mizuki, have wasted half my life, squandering all my prime years in Konoha."
"Now that we have escaped our predicament, it is like a dragon returning to the sea or a tiger returning to the mountains. If we can get help from the Tome Guardian, it will be like a fish in water or a tiger with wings. The future is promising."
"If you will not abandon me, I, Mizuki, am willing to pledge my life to the Tome Sage Realm, and I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Mizuki was a despicable and greedy person with enormous ambitions that did not match his strength.
Now, the opportunity to become stronger is right in front of us, and dignity and face are no longer important.
He is willing to give up everything if he can obtain great power.
"Very good, our Tome Sage Realm is lacking talent like you," Black Zetsu said with great satisfaction. "Stick out your tongue!"
"Tongue...tongue?" Mizuki was slightly taken aback.
"Yes, this is a unique method for signing contracts in our Tome Sage Realm."
"After signing the contract, you will not only be able to summon me at any time, but you will also be able to learn immortal arts."
"Do you know what Sage Mode is? It's a power that far surpasses ninjutsu..."
While speaking, Black Zetsu also gave him a brief explanation of immortal techniques.
Mizuki's face flushed, his whole body trembled, and his eyes were filled with hope.
"Tome Guardian, come and sign the contract!" Mizuki said, sticking out his tongue.
Black Zetsu didn't stand on ceremony with him and directly planted the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, which he had stolen from Danzo, on his tongue.
"Alright, from now on, you belong to my Tome Sage Realm," Black Zetsu placed a curse mark on him and said. "Next, we'll go to the Land of Waves."
"The Land of Waves?" Mizuki blinked in confusion. "But I originally wanted to go to the Land of Fields."
"No, you have to go to the Land of Waves," Black Zetsu ignored his request.
The seeds of calamity have already been sown, there's no need for me to continue pretending.
Anyway, no matter what secrets he knows, as long as he's alive, he'll never tell anyone.
"Why?" Mizuki asked, puzzled.
"There's no reason why. I told you to go, so go. Are you going to disobey my will?" Black Zetsu said bluntly.
"I..." Seeing that Black Zetsu's attitude towards him had suddenly changed 180 degrees, Mizuki was very angry.
But the thought of what he might have planted on his tongue made him afraid to do anything more.
"Mizuki, I'm warning you, don't try to disobey me. The curse I just placed on you can take your life at any time."
"Also, do not try to reveal any information about me, otherwise, that cursed seal can make you wish you were dead."
"You have no other choice but to obey me."
Black Zetsu's condescending tone left Mizuki completely dumbfounded.
What I thought was a lucky break turned out to be a trap set by someone else.
"Who...who exactly are you?"
Even if Mizuki was stupid, he had already figured out the situation by now.
"You don't need to know. Take the Scroll of Seals and go to the Land of Waves!"
Black Zetsu offered no explanation, and Mizuki dared not provoke him, so he could only reluctantly pick up the Scroll of Seals and head towards the Land of Waves.
...
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