For Orochimaru, survival is everything. As long as he lives, everything else—power, prestige, even his physical body—is ultimately expendable. With his knowledge and abilities, even if he loses everything, he believes he can reclaim it sooner or later.
But for the shinobi of Konoha, there are too many things to protect—lives, ideals, the village itself. Orochimaru understood this perfectly and exploited it. By putting his enemies in a position where they couldn't go all out without risking collateral damage, he gained a crucial advantage.
And as he expected, despite being outmatched in raw combat strength, he avoided placing himself in a truly desperate situation. His next move was clear: exploit the chaos, find an opening, and escape.
The One-Tailed Shukaku was rampaging across the battlefield. Even though Gaara hadn't yet fully surrendered to its influence through the "Feast of Dreams" sleep technique, the sheer size and brute force of Shukaku already placed it far beyond what a handful of Genin could hope to handle.
From a distance, Mizuki spotted Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, both watching the massive form of Shukaku with stunned expressions.
"What's going on? Didn't Gaara restrain Sakura and threaten Naruto in the original timeline? The general course is the same, but the details are already starting to diverge a lot…"
Mizuki frowned, muttering to himself. He hadn't yet realized just how far the situation at the Chūnin Exams had deviated from expectations.
"Sakura, Sasuke! Are you two okay?" Mizuki called out. "I was delayed on the way—didn't get here in time."
Not that his arrival would change much. At this level of power, Mizuki's strength alone wouldn't be enough to make a meaningful difference.
Yet even so, Naruto Uzumaki was pushing back harder and harder against Gaara. In truth, saving Sakura in the original timeline had only been a trigger. At their core, Naruto and Gaara were opposites—shaped by similar pain, yet arriving at very different beliefs. As the reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki, Naruto's overwhelming drive to connect with others made a clash with Gaara inevitable.
Then, a massive surge of chakra erupted nearby—Toad Bunta, scarred and towering, appeared on the battlefield.
"Is that… Naruto?" Sasuke whispered in disbelief as he saw his teammate standing atop the giant toad's head.
"Mizuki-sensei," Sakura asked, "is this the power you meant when you said Naruto was beyond standard limits?"
Mizuki nodded. "Yes. But this is only a part of it."
"Only part of it?" Sasuke echoed, wide-eyed.
"It depends on how you look at it," Mizuki replied. "His potential is vast… but whether he can unlock it is another matter. Take your Sharingan, for example. Do you truly understand its full potential?"
Frankly, Mizuki didn't like talking to Sasuke. The boy had no sense of gratitude—always demanding more, driven solely by revenge. That kind of person made poor collaborators.
"You know a lot about the Sharingan?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowing. With no family left to guide him, and Kakashi as his only mentor, Sasuke was desperate for any insight into his clan's dōjutsu.
Mizuki shook his head. "The Uchiha clan was notoriously secretive. Outsiders rarely got the chance to learn much about the Sharingan. You're better off asking Kakashi."
Sasuke lowered his head, disappointed.
"Mizuki-sensei, should we go help Naruto?" Sakura suggested.
"No," Mizuki said firmly. "Sasuke's still injured—he shouldn't be moving. Stay here and take care of him. I'll go."
Gaara didn't use his sand to bind Sakura—so one potential opportunity to harvest chakra was lost. Another chance would be when Toad Bunta severed Shukaku's right arm. The worst-case scenario would be to forcibly stimulate Gaara and trigger the tailed beast chakra extraction—but the risk of that approach was far too high.
Mizuki carefully approached the battlefield, positioning himself in line with Sakura's location. He knew Naruto would avoid directing attacks toward where his teammates were.
But the destructive force of Shukaku was overwhelming. Even from this distance, the gusts of wind it kicked up were enough to rip trees from the ground. Getting too close would be lethal.
"The chakra needed to summon a boss-level toad like Bunta… Naruto doesn't have that kind of chakra reserve on his own. He must have drawn on the Nine-Tails' chakra. Even the Sage Mode requires immense chakra to maintain. Jiraiya, Minato, and Naruto could master it—but what about someone like Yakushi Kabuto?"
Mizuki frowned. "That grotesque Snake Sage Mode Kabuto used looked completely unstable. It wasn't properly mastered—but somehow, he still succeeded. Don't tell me Orochimaru's cells were the key. Orochimaru himself couldn't use Sage Mode properly—so how could his cells be a viable conduit for senjutsu? That explanation feels absurd."
Some people really were geniuses in their own right. Kabuto and Orochimaru especially—both managed to remain dangerous even in the later stages of the war. Their talent was unquestionable.
"I wish I could find a few collaborators like them to study with."
Mizuki sighed. He had once considered training Haruno Sakura more seriously. She had talent—and a strong logical mind that suited his methodology. But her affections for Sasuke made her a shaky investment. The concept of a master-disciple relationship, the handing down of secret techniques… those held little meaning to Mizuki. What he wanted weren't disciples, but partners—true co-researchers like Kabuto or even Orochimaru had once been.
"Should I try reaching out to Shimura Danzō?"
Mizuki quickly dismissed the thought. With his current standing, approaching Danzō would be suicidal. He'd be used up and discarded. And there was always the threat of Kotoamatsukami, that terrifying genjutsu Danzō wielded with Shisui Uchiha's eye. Even if Danzō didn't use it, the curse seals at Root were enough of a deterrent.
Until the Third Hokage passed and Tsunade returned to power, it was better not to draw attention. He had value—but revealing too much of it too soon would only paint a target on his back.
For now, laying low and biding time was the smarter move.
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