Chapter 174: Avoiding the Hard, Choosing the Soft

Chapter 174: Avoiding the Hard, Choosing the Soft

"Shino, use your insects to try."

Mizuki had no means to handle the red beast-like chakra cloak around him. He couldn't keep delaying—he needed external help now.

Hearing this, Aburame Shino paused. "Try? Try what?"

"Use your kikaichū to suppress this thing." Mizuki gestured toward the crimson cloak. "I can't retract this damned thing right now. I need you to help wear it down."

Understanding dawned in Shino's eyes—no wonder Mizuki had been asking him earlier about the properties of kikaichū.

"I understand."

"Good. Let's get started. The less time this has to run amok, the better."

When it came to his own body, Mizuki didn't dare gamble with the unknown.

Shino raised both hands, and a dense black swarm of kikaichū floated over, quickly surrounding Mizuki in a thick cloud.

Suddenly immersed in darkness, Mizuki felt his vision swallowed by the swarm. Still, the crimson glow and his evolved eyes allowed him to faintly observe the innermost insects. They had just started gnawing at the cloak's energy when they were killed by the overpowering natural energy and Shukaku's chakra. Fortunately, the kikaichū's sheer numbers allowed a slow but steady advance.

"Shino, do you have more suitable insects for this?" Mizuki asked, seeing the slow progress. "Like the more powerful kikaichō?"

"Kikaichō?" Shino was a bit surprised. "I didn't expect you to know about that secret technique of the Aburame Clan."

"It's not hard to learn, as long as one's curious. Ninja secrets—unless deliberately hidden—are always discoverable."

"I see…" Shino didn't press further. "But I haven't reached the level to control kikaichō yet."

Mizuki nodded in disappointment. That was to be expected. The kikaichō were too specialized, designed to counter massive chakra-based enemies like tailed beasts or giant summons. They were even said to harm the Ten-Tails. But against ordinary ninja, they weren't practical. It made sense the clan reserved them for elite members.

With no kikaichō, Mizuki could only hope Shino's kikaichū could hold out long enough.

…

Elsewhere, after Gaara was stabilized, his siblings Kankuro and Temari rushed over to assist.

"How do you feel, Gaara?"

"Like my body's falling apart… no strength. My head's pounding too… like something cracked open. I can't focus…"

"Any other discomfort?" Temari asked anxiously, offering him water.

The cool liquid helped Gaara regain some clarity.

"Not really. I just… can't form chakra. I'm useless."

"Don't worry. The battle's mostly over now," Maki said, finally at ease.

Gaara glanced around at Temari, Kankuro, and Maki. Then he asked, "Where's Yura-sensei? I haven't seen him…"

"…I'm sorry." Maki shook his head. "We suffered heavy losses."

Yura's sudden death was still mysterious, but no one had yet suspected him of being a traitor. Maki, who knew the truth, kept it hidden for now.

"I see…" Gaara lowered his head. "So it still ended in tragedy… Did I… do something terrible after I lost control?"

"Of course not." Maki reassured him. "Without you, we'd still be trapped. And you helped more than you realize."

Though a bit misleading, it wasn't untrue.

"…That's good." Gaara sighed, his clenched brows finally loosening.

"Try to rest. There's no more danger." Maki then turned to Temari and Kankuro. "You two look after Gaara and the others. I'll check in with our allies."

He needed to smooth over the tensions caused by earlier misunderstandings. After all, they'd fought side by side.

What relieved Maki the most was Gaara's recent changes. The gloom had lifted, replaced by cautious optimism. His bonds with his siblings and others had grown stronger.

"As long as we have Gaara, the Sand still has hope."

With his talents and status as a Jinchūriki, Gaara would one day be Sunagakure's pillar of strength. His emotional growth made that future more likely.

…

Back on Mizuki's side, his plan from before leaving the village was proving sound. His so-called "Sage Mode," which had always felt somewhat makeshift, now showed its flaws. Shino's insects were his contingency for just this scenario—when a single failure might lead to total collapse.

And just as Mizuki feared, his body had become a powder keg. Once natural energy spun out of control, the surge of power was overwhelming—but so was the danger of self-destruction.

Fortunately, the kikaichū worked. A thick carpet of dead insects had formed around him, but the energy cloak's growth had stopped.

"Shino, how are you holding up?" Mizuki asked.

"I can still continue…"

The toll was clear. Shino had used up most of his chakra. With so many kikaichū already lost, he had to burn even more chakra to activate the secret technique Insect Cocoon, rapidly breeding replacements.

With the increased numbers, progress accelerated.

Eventually, the red energy cloak thinned to the point where it lost its form. Cracks appeared in the aura, then fragments, then nothing.

It was gone.

Shino collapsed, exhausted. His bugs dispersed, and he nearly crumpled—only to be caught by Aoba.

Seeing the greatest threat finally resolved, Mizuki exhaled deeply.

"Thank you, Shino. Rest now."

Shino nodded wordlessly, his spirit still burning even as his body failed.

"Mizuki, is it over?" Aoba asked.

"Not quite." Mizuki shook his head. "The most dangerous part is done, but there's more to go."

"Do you still need help?"

"Actually… yes. Maybe even from you."

Aoba raised a brow. "But I can't control chakra or use healing ninjutsu…"

"That's okay. You have your own talents. I'll let you know when it's time."

"What now, then?"

"Rest. I need to assess the situation." Mizuki turned to Neji. "Especially you. Be ready."

"Understood." Neji nodded, not sure what was coming, but fully serious.

Aoba and the others rested. Mizuki turned inward, feeling the tangled storm inside him.

"Never again am I stuffing weird powers into my body…"

In the shinobi world, all things stemmed from chakra and nature energy. Most powers were interconnected. Mizuki's Sage Mode and Curse Mark-based transformation both stemmed from nature energy. The Curse Mark was a half-finished product—Mizuki's version even more unstable. Sage Mode was the complete form, albeit a clunky one.

Before, these two systems didn't interact. But under the intense pressure of Shukaku's chakra, that changed. Worse still, the artificial spiritual essence Mizuki used to balance Yin-Yang was now entangled with the Curse Mark's core. They could no longer be separated.

If the links weren't so deep, Mizuki could've dealt with them one at a time. But now, they were one explosive mess.

"What now? Natural energy's the core. Curse Mark and spiritual construct are locked together. I can't treat this like separate parts anymore."

One wrong move and Sage Mode would collapse. If natural energy ran wild again, Mizuki feared even thinking of the consequences.

He finally made a decision—forceful separation. With Shukaku's chakra removed, the next crisis was his dwindling chakra. Even the Breath-Holding Technique (敛息术) was starting to fail. It was a miracle he'd lasted this long.

If he couldn't solve it, maybe it was better to act first. A bold gamble might spark a breakthrough.

"Neji, how are you feeling?"

"Recovered. No issues."

"Good." Mizuki looked serious.

"Next, I'll need your help…"

"What should I do?"

"Nothing complicated. Just use your Byakugan to monitor my chakra flow. If anything seems abnormal—if you see a sudden surge or overflow—cut it off. Use your Gentle Fist."

"You want me to seal your tenketsu? But that could damage your chakra network."

"I know. Do it anyway. If this goes wrong, better I suffer internal injuries than lose control again. I'll handle the consequences."

Aoba turned pale. "You're sure?"

Mizuki's eyes remained calm.

"Absolutely. Let's end this. No more hidden dangers."

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