Gazing at the dazzling, multicolored orbs of memory surrounding him, Mizuki wandered through his dreamlike haze, silently observing countless memories he had never truly paid attention to before.
"It's been a long time since I last dreamed of this place after sealing the Cursed Seal. Maybe it was because my body was weak before, making me sleep too deeply. Or perhaps something recently stimulated me enough to return here."
The scenery appeared as usual, though fewer eerie red lights flickered around. This meant the Cursed Seal was relatively stable and wouldn't cause trouble for now.
However, if there was one thing that could be called a change, it was indeed quite strange. The Four Symbols Seal within his spiritual world remained solid as ever. Since the Cursed Seal's outbreak in the Land of Waves had been suppressed, it hadn't faced any impact again. The original Mizuki's spiritual form, isolated by the seal, had long vanished—completely eliminated during the Cursed Seal's last surge by the natural energy it absorbed. And the massive amount of life force drained during that Cursed Seal eruption had coalesced into a concentrated mass of energy under the suppression of the Evil Sealing Method.
"Strange, why is this shape so unusual?"
This strange energy felt different from chakra—it was much more stable than regular chakra, with minimal disturbance even when his spiritual power coiled around it. What stood out most was its taijitu shape (the yin-yang symbol)—but only half of it.
Something like this couldn't possibly be related to advanced techniques like Yin-Yang Release. Mizuki had seen Shikamaru Nara's clan secret technique before. Although it used yin natured chakra-based ninjutsu, it was vastly different from this. It seemed more like the result of life force drained by the Cursed Seal and intercepted after being controlled and sealed.
Yet, while closely observing that half taijitu, he suddenly realized something familiar about it.
"If I shrink this down... wouldn't it look exactly like a magatama?"
Mizuki recalled how, after suppressing the Cursed Seal's outbreak in the Land of Waves, the Evil Sealing Method no longer took the shape of an abstract tiger-head pattern but instead transformed into a jet-black magatama.
"Could it really be this? Impossible... If that's true, then there are many implications to consider."
Magatama were quite common throughout the ninja World. The most famous ones undoubtedly belonged to the Uchiha clan's Sharingan eyes. The more magatama there were, the stronger the Sharingan became. Rumors once spread saying those magatama represented manifestations of soul power.
Another example came from the Cursed Seal of Heaven itself, which, when stabilized, took the shape of three magatama.
Another often-overlooked possibility was that many summoned beasts also bore magatama. For instance, Jiraiya's summon, the toad, carried magatama during its youth and adolescence. As it aged, these marks multiplied and became increasingly noticeable until reaching adulthood, where various physical appearances emerged.
There were still many other types of magatama in existence, but thinking carefully, if two magatama connected end-to-end, they would indeed perfectly resemble a taijitu.
Though rooted in yin and yang duality, the ninja World seemed to hold a particular reverence for the number three.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven consists of three tomoe, just like the Sharingan. People have even recognized the significance of the number three—many squads in the ninja realm are also formed in groups of three.
This actually aligns well with certain philosophical theories from past lives regarding the number three. In Laozi's cosmology, it is clearly stated: "The Dao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced all things. All beings carry Yin and embrace Yang, achieving harmony through balance."
Thinking about this, Mizuki couldn't help but recall the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan—evolving from a single tomoe to two, then three tomoe, eventually leading to the fully matured form known as [Mangekyou Sharingan], signifying a divine-like power. This represented a major transformation born from gradual development. If the three-tomoe stage was somewhat similar among individuals, once reaching the Mangekyou Sharingan stage, abilities became varied and unique, deeply tied to an individual's personal experiences.
Such a silent coincidence amused Mizuki greatly. According to legends surrounding the number three, everything follows a pattern of thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Similarly, in the ninja realm, there exists Yin Technique, Yang Technique, and Yin–Yang Technique. The Sage of Six Paths mastered the Yin–Yang Technique, Indra and his descendants wielded the Yin Technique, while Ashura and those who inherited his will controlled the Yang Technique—its deeper meaning remains elusive.
However, regarding this mass of energy before him, from Mizuki's perspective, viewed from the angle of Yin and Yang, it likely belonged mostly to the Yang attribute. Yet for something seemingly harmless but whose function remained completely unknown, Mizuki had no idea how to handle it—it had long since fused inseparably with his soul. All he could do was wait and see how things would change from here.
...
Early the next morning, Mizuki woke up right on time. The dreams from last night didn't leave him feeling too stressed. Perhaps it was due to the previous day's failed experiment, or maybe the lingering stimulation from that alarming, hostile chakra at the end—he hadn't checked in with himself in a long time. It turned out not to be such a bad thing after all.
At the moment, however, the most important matter remained fulfilling his role as a life mentor.
Mizuki arrived at the flower shop and opened up. Not long after, Sakura Haruno also arrived at the shop where she both trained and worked part-time, starting her day.
Just when Mizuki thought it'd be a quiet, ordinary day, Kakashi Hatake suddenly showed up around noon.
"What brings you here?" Mizuki asked in surprise. "Come to check whether I've been fulfilling my responsibilities as a teacher? Don't worry, I'll make sure things go smoothly since I've already accepted your favor. Anyway, I'm done reading it—here, take this back." He said, pulling out the summoning contract scroll and handing it over.
"I happen to need this too," Kakashi replied as he accepted it.
"Does that mean something happened?"
"That's exactly right," Kakashi said with a bitter smile. "Unexpectedly, Kabuto Yakushi attacked the hospital room, intending harm to Sasuke, though fortunately, he failed."
『So even with such major changes occurring, certain events still unfold as they should. Changing certain people and events doesn't necessarily change hearts—thus, history's inertia is incredibly strong.』
Upon hearing about the attack on Sasuke, Sakura, who had been sitting nearby, could no longer sit still. "Did Sasuke get hurt, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Don't worry, Sakura, Sasuke will be fine. Just focus on studying hard under Teacher Mizuki, and you'll see him again in a month." Kakashi continued, turning to Mizuki. "You were attacked by Kabuto as well two days ago. Did you find any clues?"
Mizuki shook his head. "Not really. I can only confirm he's not an ordinary Genin. He must be working for Orochimaru and wants something from Sasuke. Other than that, I don't know much."
"That matches what I've heard. Though his strength truly surprised me. Escaping Anbu guards, defeating several of them, and nearly succeeding? That's no ordinary ninja feat."
"I thought there were special ninjas assigned to investigate Yakushi Kabuto? Why are you still looking into this?"
"I know. Right now I'm only handling protection duties for Sasuke. Someone else has already started tracking Kabuto Yakushi."
"Who is it?"
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