Naruto: From Extra to Savior

As soon as Asuma Sarutobi and Might Guy arrived, the mission details were settled. There was no time for preparation; the two set off immediately to rescue Hiashi Hyuga and Gaara, who had nearly fallen into a desperate situation.

After Asuma and Might Guy left, attention turned once again toward Danzo Shimura.

"Danzo, I think you understand there are certain things that simply shouldn't be done," Homura Mitokado warned him. "The Hokage is the foundation of Konoha's stability. Even though most of the Anbu were personally trained by you, it doesn't mean those people should take orders from you. You don't need to make up excuses to fob us off now."

Koharu Utatane added bluntly, "We acknowledge your influence, but your actions have already crossed the line. We won't just sit idly by. Before the Fifth is decided, you'd better stop what you're doing. The Hokage is the village's supreme leader, and nobody would want to be a leader whose personal forces are filled with spies secretly working for someone else. What you're doing undermines the very foundation on which Konoha stands. Was this the passion and dedication you used to proclaim so loudly about Konoha?"

The two advisors present and Danzo Shimura were longtime peers and comrades-in-arms—they understood one another far more deeply than anyone else could imagine.

"Well then, I agree with what you've said," Danzo replied clearly, without any further attempt to evade their points. Men of his caliber don't bicker over small stuff like street vendors. "I can guarantee I'll leave the Fifth Hokage a clear and stable Konoha."

Since Danzo had already made such a major concession, Homura and Koharu didn't press further. Reaching this point was already the maximum they could achieve through pressure. If they hadn't seriously doubted Danzo's fundamental attitude toward the village, it wouldn't have been certain whether he would yield tonight.

"A 'clear and stable' Konoha?"

Mizuki, silently listening nearby while the elders argued, felt as if a wave of bloodstained stench washed over him upon hearing that word from Danzo's mouth.

Ninjas themselves originated as combat professionals specializing in intelligence and assassination techniques. It was normal for ninja organizations, especially hidden villages (like Konoha), to send spies into enemy territory to gather intelligence. Many among them were already exposed, unexposed, suspicious, or even double agents—there was every possibility.

"If I hadn't cleared my name in time, someone like me—under suspicion but with no proof—wouldn't have made it through this purge. Either death or vanishing without a trace would be the only possible outcomes."

The artificial Jinchuriki, relieved to have narrowly escaped this crisis, had no idea a big mess from his original body was waiting for him to deal with.

Now that the high-level matters were settled, it was time to handle things on the lower level.

"Kakashi, you need to look after your disciple, Naruto Uzumaki," Homura Mitokado instructed.

"But isn't Lord Jiraiya personally mentoring him?" Kakashi asked, puzzled. "With Lord Jiraiya around, it probably doesn't make much difference whether I'm there or not, right?"

"Jiraiya may become the Fifth Hokage, and even if not, he'll have other missions to handle, so it's impossible for him to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki directly. When Naruto Uzumaki is alone in Konoha, you will secretly guard him," Homura Mitokado said with a pause. "And~" Homura continued, "you have another important task within the village: keep a close watch on Sasuke Uchiha."

Homura's words caused both Kakashi Hatake and Mizuki to startle slightly.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. "Has the situation really gotten this serious?"

Things had eventually turned toward Sasuke Uchiha after all. For others, no matter how powerful they were, Leaf ninjas wouldn't feel as wary about someone they didn't know well as they did about Orochimaru, whom they deeply understood. And Sasuke, who had close contact with Orochimaru before, certainly required extra attention.

"Sasuke originally wasn't important, as long as he didn't go looking for Orochimaru~" Danzo Shimura interjected. "No one can guarantee that Sasuke Uchiha won't abandon the village. If Orochimaru succeeds in obtaining the Sharingan he desires so deeply, it will already be too late."

Danzo fully understood just how powerful the Mangekyou Sharingan could be. Back then, when he first learned about Shisui Uchiha's ultimate genjutsu Kotoamatsukami, that deep sense of terror from the bottom of his heart was something he never wanted to experience again.

"I understand, although I still firmly believe that Sasuke won't be a problem."

Mizuki thought Kakashi was being too naïve. Not everyone, after experiencing events like those involving Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, could walk out from their own hidden darkness. At only twelve years old, Sasuke Uchiha's mind and experiences were far from sufficient for making correct judgments at this moment.

"Whether there's a problem or not will be judged by the village. Just do your current job well enough."

Kakashi nodded without speaking further.

"Now then, this concerns you next, Mizuki~" Homura said with visible interest. "We didn't pay much attention to your matter the day before yesterday afternoon, so we didn't ask detailed questions. But now, looking carefully, your clone really is quite remarkable."

It's capable of acting independently, thinking clearly, and passing on information. In combat, physical duplicates generally have almost no time limit, completely lacking the weakness common to widely used techniques like Shadow Clone Jutsu, which disappear instantly upon impact. Originally, when unnoticed, things weren't so bad, but after careful investigation, the true power behind this rare cloning ability became apparent.

"So they noticed after all?"

Mizuki thought helplessly. Although he had long known that such a special clone technique's secret wouldn't remain hidden forever, actually being exposed so quickly and completely still greatly surprised him.

"You're giving me too much credit. It's just a slight variation of the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Mizuki replied humbly.

"A slight variation? You're being too modest~" Koharu Utatane remarked. "If I'm not mistaken, the clone you currently have here is truly made of flesh and blood, right?"

"That's correct." There was no hiding it—anyone could see that.

"Then where exactly did you get this clone's body from?" Koharu asked solemnly.

This was way too close to the bone. Human trials are the kind of thing that make people absolutely furious. If Mizuki had really been secretly conducting forbidden human experiments, things could get very difficult for him from now on.

"This isn't the result of human experimentation," Mizuki replied calmly under pressure. "It's a clone created using my own body's cells."

Accepting the accusation of human experimentation was absolutely out of the question. He couldn't allow others to link his actions with what Orochimaru had done in the past. But using one's own cells? That was a much safer explanation to give. Many ninja modified their bodies to increase their battle capabilities—Orochimaru's Soft-body Technique was a classic example. Dosu and Sakon from Otogakure were also classic examples, although they only modified their arms. The most extreme case was Sasori—known as Red Sand of the Desert—who abandoned his human body entirely.

So what if Mizuki made a clone of himself? What business was it of theirs anyway? At most, it was self-experimentation, something no one else had the right to interfere with. Plus, the Artificial Jinchuriki clearly bore Mizuki's features, which made his argument far more convincing. Since its genetic information matched that of Mizuki's original body, there was hardly any room for doubt.

"How exactly did you manage this?" Danzo Shimura asked curiously, genuinely impressed that Mizuki alone had mastered such advanced cloning techniques. After all, given the current technological level of the ninja world—even in Konoha, already elevated by Orochimaru's standards—it was still extremely difficult to accomplish.

This question cut deep, similar in nature to Koharu Utatane's request two days earlier for the formula of life-saving pills. Of course, Koharu hadn't realized yet that these two requests were practically asking for the same thing. As for Mizuki, he wasn't eager to answer either, so he simply kept his head lowered in silence.

"Are you willing to endure suspicion and criticism just to keep your methods secret?" Koharu Utatane expressed dissatisfaction toward Mizuki. "Fine then. I suppose you won't want to share how you create such powerful clones using Shadow Clones either?"

"That part I can talk about a little," Mizuki surprisingly agreed.

"If I don't say *anything*, I might never shake off the suspicion."

"It's based on sealing techniques—an application combining Sealing Techniques with the Shadow Clone Technique to develop this special clone technique." For this method of creating an artificial Jinchuriki, revealing just a bit and letting others speculate was the best approach. No one would ever guess this weakling clone had anything to do with the ultimate strategic weapon of the ninja world—the Jinchuriki. Only someone like Mizuki, who possessed deep knowledge of the ninja world, dared to imagine and act boldly enough to implement such a concept. Unless you were someone truly on another level, this was just plain impossible.

After so many years in the ninja world, nothing as seemingly useless as this had ever appeared before. Even after many more years, even if people tried to piece together fragments of what I've said, it would still be nearly impossible for anyone else to replicate it successfully.

What's more, there was still that critical thing—those life-saving pills were still in his hands. If no one could make a Shadow Clone and had to rely on a replacement body from somewhere else, whether it would work or how applicable it might be, Mizuki hadn't tried it himself and couldn't really say.

"Shadow Clones and sealing techniques, huh?" Mizuki's answer actually got Shimura Danzo, someone familiar with human trials, thinking deeply.

...

After leaving the Hokage's office, Mizuki and Kakashi walked side by side on their way home. It wasn't late yet—just past midnight, the calmest hour of the night. Occasionally, patrolling Anbu passed by, but upon recognizing two familiar faces—especially Kakashi Hatake, the former Anbu captain—nobody interrupted their conversation.

"Just now, I was really sweating for you," Kakashi said. "But this thing of yours is actually pretty practical. Can't it be spread out more widely?"

Spread it? Not impossible, but the requirements are way too steep. Of course, you might manage it, maybe. Same with Sakura or Asuma's student Shikamaru. But most others aren't even close."

"Aren't all your techniques like that?" Kakashi scratched his head in exasperation. "Extremely advanced chakra manipulation skills plus a clever mind. Can't you come up with something simpler and more convenient?"

Kakashi had no interest in taking Mizuki's techniques for himself. As the Copy Ninja who possessed over a thousand jutsu, he sure didn't need another couple. Real strength only came with steady training. His next step would depend entirely on the Sharingan. However, since Kakashi didn't have a body compatible with the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, combined with the Hatake Clan's traditionally scarce chakra reserves, using the Sharingan was extremely draining—even basic training was difficult to manage normally.

"Oh, simple and practical ones definitely exist." Take Breath-Sealing Art, for instance—it only requires pure chakra control and decent skill in sealing techniques. Kakashi Hatake could barely handle that much, but Mizuki had no intention of selflessly sharing. Giving it to Sakura Haruno was already a huge exception—one of the biggest sacrifices Mizuki had ever made dealing with Kakashi. If Kakashi could offer something else valuable enough in exchange, another deal wouldn't be out of the question. Yet at Mizuki's current level, ordinary things had long since ceased to impress him. If Kakashi, as the Fourth Hokage's disciple, had access to any secret techniques passed down from his mentor, that might make a decent trade.

"We can talk about those things later." Kakashi was just messing around earlier; if he truly wanted anything from Mizuki, now wasn't the appropriate time. "As for the issue concerning the prodigy, I'm not particularly worried. That kid's got his flaws, but he knows what he's doing. Now that Lord Jiraiya's keeping an eye on him, I can finally breathe easier."

Mizuki nodded in agreement, saying, "After all, he's the blood heir of the Fourth Hokage and the Uzumaki Clan. His talent's plain for anyone to see—you can't miss it."

"Mm." Kakashi went on, "The real issue is Sasuke. Do you have any plans for him?"

"Ah well," Mizuki sighed. "Other things can wait, and if you give me another year or two, I'm sure I can sort out the Cursed Seal issue. But the problem isn't that—it's about human hearts..."

Kakashi nodded. "Hatred... now *that's* a real pain to deal with."

Having once wrestled with his own darkness, Kakashi understood Sasuke Uchiha's struggles all too well.

"You're not the main problem," Mizuki added with a playful smile. "It's about Naruto~"

"Yeah, I get it, but I'm not really sure what to do about it. Plus, counting on Naruto and Sakura entirely feels kinda shaky~"

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