Chapter 69: The Day After Tomorrow
Chapter 69: The Day After Tomorrow
"I understand now. I was too conceited, Mizuki-sensei." Sakura spoke with guilt.
"It's not your fault. I simply wasn't clear enough."
Sakura's intelligence and remarkable learning efficiency often masked the fact that she was still just a twelve-year-old girl with little experience in accurately evaluating herself or others' strength.
Simply teaching her jutsu and techniques without guiding her towards a clear direction—that was Mizuki's oversight.
"No ninja becomes strong by relying solely on others. You must forge your own path. What I've taught you is meant to expand your knowledge and give you more options for the future."
"I understand, but… why don't you choose a specialization for me, sensei? With your ability, you must know which path suits me best."
Hearing her question, Mizuki chuckled and nodded. "You're not wrong. Any competent teacher should be able to do that. However, a ninja's success isn't just about talent—it's about something far more important."
"Something more important?" Sakura asked in confusion.
"No two people are exactly alike. Naruto craves recognition and dreams of becoming Hokage. Sasuke desires power above all else. What is it that you truly want?"
Before Sakura could respond, Mizuki continued, "I'll be honest with you—your talent in genjutsu and medical ninjutsu is exceptional, far beyond mine. If you wish to follow that path, you should seek a more suitable teacher in the future.
"Sealing and barrier techniques, combined with your keen tactical mind, will be important assets for you. However, your talent in general ninjutsu is only average, and you have limited chakra reserves. Even with the Chakra Suppression Technique I taught you, it only serves as a support skill—it enhances stealth and endurance but does nothing to amplify your jutsu's power.
"As for taijutsu… unless something drastic changes, it's better to abandon it. It simply isn't suited for you."
Mizuki wasn't exaggerating. Despite teaching Sakura tricks to compensate for her weaknesses in close combat, fundamental differences in talent are difficult to overcome.
Even if she had a massive chakra reserve to burn, her natural aptitude for ninjutsu was lackluster. What would be the point of trying to imitate Kakashi, copying dozens of jutsu, if she lacked the skill to fully utilize them? In three years, conventional ninja combat would become obsolete anyway.
Hearing Mizuki's assessment, Sakura lowered her head in deep thought.
"Does it frustrate you? A ninja's talent doesn't always align with their desires. Take Rock Lee, for example. Do you think he always aspired to be a taijutsu-only ninja? No—he had no other choice."
On the surface, Sakura appeared fragile, but internally, she was far from weak—her determined spirit and aggressive tendencies ran deep. Completely abandoning taijutsu, a direct and impactful combat style that suited her temperament, might not be the right decision.
Perhaps Tsunade really was the perfect teacher for her.
For now, Mizuki was merely guiding her through a transitional phase. He hoped that when she inevitably found her true path, she wouldn't abandon her innate talents and ignore other possibilities too quickly.
---
The final day of the month-long training had arrived.
Over the past few days, Sakura had finally calmed down, spending time consolidating what she had learned.
"I originally planned to give you a final test," Mizuki said, "but there's no need. Tomorrow, everything you've gained will be tested in battle."
It wasn't long before the Chūnin Exam finals, and there was no more time left for training.
"One last piece of advice—don't underestimate Dosu. He's more than just his sound-based attacks. However, if you play to your strengths, your chances of winning are high."
"Thank you, Mizuki-sensei. I've caused you a lot of trouble this past month." Sakura bowed deeply.
Beside her, Ino also prepared to leave—her one-month-long "voluntary labor" was finally over.
"You both have half a day left to rest. Go back and prepare yourselves—tomorrow will be a very different day."
Starting tomorrow, the shinobi world would begin to change.
With Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, conflicts lurking in the shadows would gradually be forced into the open.
The peaceful days were coming to an end.
---
Reflecting on the past month of teaching, Mizuki realized that the process had also been a self-examination for himself.
In many ways, his situation wasn't so different from Sakura's.
The key difference was that she would have Tsunade to guide her. Mizuki, on the other hand, had no one but himself.
The path was clear—but time was not on his side.
Among everything he had taught her, his biggest sacrifice was the Chakra Suppression Technique.
Unlike Yin Seal, which stored chakra to be released explosively, Mizuki's technique functioned completely differently.
Instead of merely storing chakra, it absorbed scattered spiritual and physical energy, refined it into chakra, and then stored it.
This extra step wasn't meaningless—it served two major benefits:
1. It minimized the burden on the body. Rather than depleting natural chakra reserves, it recycled excess energy, reducing overall fatigue.
2. It didn't seal chakra in one place (like the Yin Seal on the forehead). Instead, it was distributed throughout the body at a cellular level, allowing for gradual accumulation over time.
This technique was highly demanding—it required mastery of sealing jutsu and exceptional chakra control.
However, it offered powerful advantages:
It made entering Sage Mode easier by gradually adapting the body to store energy more efficiently.
It enhanced sealing, barrier, and genjutsu techniques by providing a constant, regulated chakra supply.
It even countered the Hyūga Clan's Gentle Fist—since chakra was dispersed throughout the body, targeting tenketsu (chakra points) would be far less effective.
Teaching it to Sakura was also an experiment.
He wanted to see how far she could push its limits—because in the future, he might need her expertise in refining it further.
---
Having fulfilled Kakashi's request to train her, Mizuki now turned his attention to the bigger picture.
The battle loomed on the horizon.
Unlike the Wave Country mission, which had been a low-stakes conflict between Chūnin and Genin-level fighters, this time was different.
The Chūnin Exam finals would mark the beginning of a full-scale invasion.
From high-level ninja duels to massive summon beast clashes, this would be an all-out war.
Although Mizuki hadn't drastically altered the main course of events, he had changed countless small details.
Would those seemingly minor differences add up to a significant shift in the future?
That answer… would be revealed tomorrow.
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