Chapter 46: The Temporary Worker Reports In

Early in the morning, many people had the habit of taking a shower to wake up, especially those with low blood pressure. Mizuki was no exception—on a morning without urgent tasks, a refreshing rinse was his go-to for shaking off grogginess.

But today wasn't the best time for that. There was a guest in his house. Even if she was still a young girl, she was still a girl. If any misunderstanding were to occur, explaining it away would be a nightmare.

Rushing through his morning routine, Mizuki quickly freshened up and prepared to embark on his month-long stint as a temporary mentor.

He poured tea for both himself and Sakura and sat across from her to start their conversation.

"So, since Kakashi asked me to train you—and I've already accepted my compensation—I'll do my best to teach you something useful. But first, I want to know your goal. Are you training just to beat that Sound ninja opponent, or are you looking for a real, long-term improvement in strength? You only have a month, and you won't be able to learn that much. Think carefully before answering."

"Is there a difference?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

"Of course there is. Being able to defeat one specific opponent and being strong enough to fight many are two completely different things. Your opponent is powerful, but having a strong specialty also means he has a fatal weakness. If you train solely to counter him, you might win—but that doesn't mean you'll be strong. On the other hand, if you focus on true improvement, you'll develop broader skills, but you might not have enough time to win this particular fight. Think about it carefully."

Sakura seemed to grasp Mizuki's point and lowered her head in contemplation.

Seeing this, Mizuki nodded approvingly.

"Smart kid. This will make teaching her much easier."

As he patiently waited for Sakura's answer, he sipped his tea and helped himself to the pastries she had brought.

After a short while, Sakura lifted her head with determination.

"Please teach me how to become strong, Mizuki-sensei!"

"Cough!" Mizuki almost spat out his tea. "Don't call me 'Sensei.' You'll have better teachers in the future. I'm just filling in for Kakashi and passing on a few things."

"No matter what, I won't forget a teacher who has helped me," Sakura said sincerely. "I'll just call you 'Mizuki-sensei' like before."

"Fine," Mizuki relented. "So, what do you want to learn?"

"I… I don't really know," Sakura admitted, embarrassed. "But last time, when you taught me those techniques, I felt like I picked them up pretty well. Maybe I should continue with that?"

"Sigh…" Mizuki let out a deep breath. "Alright, I'll decide for you."

It was frustrating to see such a talented child struggling to understand her own strengths and weaknesses.

Konoha was clearly facing a serious talent gap. If the Three Sannin were still around, if the village's core strength hadn't been depleted by war, would Mizuki really be the one filling this role? Would Naruto have gone his whole childhood without knowing he was a Jinchūriki, waiting for Jiraiya to return and explain everything?

Just as Mizuki was about to start explaining her training plan, the door suddenly swung open.

"Huh? You have a guest?" The newcomer was Tsubaki.

Sakura immediately stood up and bowed politely. "Hello! And you are…?"

"This is Tsubaki," Mizuki introduced. "My fiancée."

"Ah…!" Sakura's eyes widened. "Mizuki-sensei has a fiancée? I'm so sorry for disturbing you!"

"It's fine," Tsubaki reassured her. "Mizuki, is she your student?"

"No, she's Kakashi's student. I'm just standing in as a temporary instructor. You'll be seeing her often for the next month."

"Ohhh," Tsubaki smirked. "So this is the temporary worker you mentioned?"

"That's right." Mizuki nodded.

Sakura, meanwhile, was glancing around the shop. "Mizuki-sensei, this flower shop… is it yours?"

"Yep. What do you think?"

"It's nice! It's about the same as Ino's family shop," Sakura said. "I can't believe the 'new flower shop' she kept talking about was yours!"

"This is something Tsubaki and I started together. It's only been open for about a month."

"I see… but…" Sakura turned her gaze toward the shop sign. "Four Seasons Flower Shop? That name feels a little… unusual."

"What's wrong with it? I spent a long time thinking about it," Mizuki huffed.

When thinking about flowers, the first thing that came to his mind was the Lord of the Four Seasons of Flowers, so he had named the shop accordingly. Unlike Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen or the Yamanaka Flower Shop, this was a much rarer type of name. "It's not common, but I think it sounds nice."

"Hmmm…" Sakura tilted her head, studying the sign. "There are some strange patterns on this sign… They look decorative, but something seems… off. And there's a faint chakra fluctuation."

"Shh! Don't say anything! I'll explain later, just don't tell Tsubaki." Mizuki looked at her like she had just uncovered a ghost.

Yes—he had tampered with the shop sign.

For days, many powerful ninja had passed by, yet no one had noticed anything unusual.

But this Genin figured it out in seconds.

This sign was one of Mizuki's greatest creations in the past few months.

First, the material—he had used a specially cultivated type of bamboo as the base. It had been meticulously crafted by hand. The top layer of greenish-blue coating was actually a substance extracted from a blend of lichen fungi and algae. These organic components had been modified, stripping away most of their vitality while leaving just enough for minimal survival. Then, through intricate sealing techniques, illusionary arrays, and barrier formations, Mizuki had embedded microscopic collective consciousness fragments into the sign.

The result? A sign that subtly influenced the subconscious of anyone who saw it, making them more likely to step inside the shop.

The most challenging part was integrating the collective will of low-level organisms into a functional chakra system. After extensive trials, Mizuki had determined that lichen—an organism already consisting of symbiotic fungi, bacteria, and algae—was the best candidate.

Though the power was minor for now, this breakthrough had opened an entirely new realm of possibilities.

Sealing techniques could unify thoughts.

That meant…

"This world acknowledges the existence of collective consciousness. If that's the case, then many 'theoretical' jutsu should be completely viable as long as I have the ability to create them."

It explained so many things.

"No wonder Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation never caused a personality collapse. No wonder Edo Tensei could summon the same soul repeatedly. No wonder Shadow Clones could transfer memories. No wonder my summoning technique classified the pseudo-Jinchūriki and myself as the same entity."

Everything suddenly made sense.

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