Chapter 23: There Are No Coincidences in This World

Chapter 23: There Are No Coincidences in This World

Ever since the Third Hokage visited his hospital room, Mizuki felt like life had never been better.

If Orochimaru could just stay underground, quietly doing his research, Mizuki wouldn't mind even helping him study immortality. Let Pain, Tobi, and Uchiha Madara all fight over the "savior" role—Mizuki wanted nothing to do with that suicidal job.

"They act like the world is begging them to be its savior..." Mizuki mused. "If you want to be some divine being, why not just lock yourself up in a cave and enjoy it alone?"

He sighed.

"There's an old saying—'If you're poor, focus on self-preservation; if you're rich, help the world.' But this world doesn't have philosophers like Confucius or Mencius. So why do all these ninjas, the moment they gain a little power, start rushing to 'save the world' like they're on an energy drink overdose?*"

Mizuki glanced around, making sure he hadn't left anything behind.

"Kochou, don't forget the hotpot. It's ours. And Iruka, grab that chair too—it looks nice, take it with us."

"Mizuki," Kochou hesitated, "that chair doesn't belong to us… and neither does that vase… and also, that blanket—"

"You must be mistaken, Kochou," Mizuki said with a straight face. "All of this is ours. Don't worry. Iruka, that painting on the wall looks nice too—let's take it."

The medical staff looked at Mizuki like he was a thief.

At long last, Mizuki was discharged from the hospital.

To be honest, he could've left a few days ago, but his body was still weak, and he needed a wheelchair. Now, after almost a month, his hospital room had transformed into a study, bedroom, and makeshift kitchen.

Packing everything was such a pain that he had to call Iruka for help.

"Kochou, we should buy a big house soon," Mizuki declared. "This apartment is way too small. Look at those big clans—they have mansions with courtyards, ponds, even their own forests. That's the life!"

"But Mizuki… we can't afford that," Kochou said awkwardly.

Mizuki turned to Iruka.

"Iruka, you've been saving money all these years, right? And you don't even have a girlfriend—you're not spending it on anything important. Lend me some cash."

"I refuse," Iruka deadpanned. "Just because I'm single doesn't mean I don't need money. I'm not lending it to you."

"So stingy!" Mizuki huffed. "After all these years of friendship, you'd choose money over me? This world is so corrupt!"

"The only thing corrupt is your brain," Iruka shot back. "Now that you need something, we're suddenly 'friends'? Where was this energy before?"

Kochou quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Mizuki, let's just drop it. Even all of us combined couldn't afford a mansion."

"Is that so? Fine, then!" Mizuki sighed. "Kochou, how about we use Transformation Jutsu and borrow money from loan sharks? Once we get the cash, we disappear! Oh, wait—we can transform into Iruka! He can take the debt instead!"

Iruka's forehead vein twitched violently.

"Are you seriously plotting this in front of me?!"

"Tsk," Mizuki sighed. "I should've asked the Third Hokage for a house. Missed opportunity."

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Kochou! Let's start collecting wedding gifts early! The wedding is coming up anyway, so we might as well get the money first. It's a guaranteed profit!"

"That's not how it works, Mizuki!" Kochou protested. "You have to give return gifts too!"

"Kochou, you're too honest. Just pretend you forgot! Who would dare ask a severely injured man for their money back? Do they have no shame?"

As Mizuki continued scheming, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Two figures entered—it was Yamashiro Aoba and Gekkou Hayate.

"You two? What brings you here?"

"The Hokage sent us to deliver some materials," Aoba said, dropping a huge pile of scrolls onto the floor.

"So many?" Mizuki sighed. "We're running out of space. How about you help clean my house while you're here?"

Two free laborers—why waste the opportunity?

After cleaning and organizing the house for hours, it was finally done.

Mizuki clapped his hands.

"Alright, it's late. You guys should head home. Thanks for the hard work!"

"Wait, you're not even inviting us for dinner?!" Aoba and Hayate looked stunned.

"I'm broke," Mizuki said shamelessly.

Seeing them about to leave, Mizuki suddenly added:

"Oh, by the way, Aoba, you promised to treat me to breakfast for a month, right? Just convert it to cash instead—too busy to meet up."

Then, before Aoba could argue, Mizuki shut the door in his face.

Kochou sighed. "Mizuki… wasn't that too much?"

"They'll get over it," Mizuki said, already sitting down. "Now, what's for dinner?"

"What do you want?"

"Sushi."

"Oh, you haven't had that in a while! I'll make some."

---

That night, Mizuki couldn't sleep.

Instead, he got up and unsealed his research samples.

Staring at the strange lumps of flesh, Mizuki's expression darkened.

"Something's wrong…"

Examining the samples carefully, Mizuki's entire body trembled—not from weakness, but from a mixture of shock, fear, excitement, and realization.

"I made a terrible mistake…"

He picked up a vial of green serum, the so-called 'All-Purpose Medicine'.

Originally, it was just meant to enhance cell regeneration—a temporary healing agent to help him overcome his physical issues. He never thought it could be something this terrifying.

The real problem?

It didn't just regenerate cells. It activated dormant genetic traits—even ones hidden for generations.

"Which means… if someone uses this… they might not just heal—they might mutate into something ancient… or something worse."

Mizuki felt a chill crawl down his spine.

"Why didn't I realize this sooner?"

He recalled his previous animal experiments. Many creatures had shown bizarre mutations, but he ignored it, assuming it was just a side effect.

But then… why hadn't he or the others mutated?

"Is there something stopping it?"

Then, it hit him.

"Chakra."

Chakra wasn't just energy—it was a guiding force. It stabilized the body, preventing random genetic deviations.

He had laughed at how narrow-minded the people of this world were… yet he himself had overlooked something so obvious.

The chakra attributes weren't just flavors of energy—they actively shaped the user's body and personality.

Water-types were fluid and adaptable.

Fire-types were aggressive and passionate.

Earth-types were sturdy and unyielding.

"So it's not luck."

Yamashiro Aoba, Gekkou Hayate, and himself weren't just lucky—their chakra naturally controlled the mutations.

There was no such thing as coincidence.

---

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