Inside an ordinary flower shop in Konoha village, Mizuki sat behind the counter—mostly hidden by an array of flowers—and was deeply engrossed in studying some documents. From time to time, he jotted down notes with the pen at his side, fully absorbed in his work. His intense focus discouraged many would-be customers from entering.
Originally, Mizuki had only planned to temporarily help out as a clerk until Tsubaki Yamanaka got everything organized. But hiring staff had proven surprisingly difficult, and for several days now, he'd become somewhat of a local celebrity known as the flower shop owner—an unexpected situation that left him quite conflicted.
"I guess I really got tricked," Mizuki finally realized later, understanding Tsubaki had set him up. "There's been so much happening lately, and Tsubaki still feels uneasy. She probably wanted us to spend more time together doing something as a couple. Is she still worried I might chase after Orochimaru?"
Understanding girls really was too hard. Still, this wasn't necessarily bad—it gave him more time to observe, learn, and maybe even meet some interesting people along the way.
Just as Mizuki was preparing to stretch after sitting for so long, he noticed someone eyeing his flower shop.
"Ah, it's you, Ino. What are you doing here? Did you open this shop?" The visitor turned out to be none other than Ino Yamanaka, the blonde girl.
"Oh, it's Ino. Yep, this is my shop." Mizuki chuckled. "Though come to think of it, your family runs a flower shop too—you're not here to steal trade secrets already, are you?"
"Pfft, as if! What 'trade secrets' could there possibly be in a flower shop?" Ino shot back, then added, "I just heard a new store opened nearby, so came to check it out. Never expected it to be yours."
"Well actually, the shop belongs to my fiancée. I'm just helping out," Mizuki immediately spilled the beans. "To be honest, I was thinking maybe opening a barbecue restaurant might have been better. Considering how many big eaters like Choji there are in Konoha, maybe opening a barbecue place could work pretty well. But since I don't really have any special cooking skills or recipes, that wouldn't have worked out."
"So you switched to flowers instead?"
"Yeah, because this is what my fiancée's interested in, and frankly, she's pretty good at it. Me on the other hand? No idea what I'm doing."
"Looks decent at first glance, but there are plenty of mistakes in how the flowers are paired," Ino teased playfully while rearranging some displays. "At this rate, you're gonna go bankrupt."
"Huh? Don't say that—they all look basically the same to me. How could I possibly mess that up?" Completely lacking natural talent, Mizuki couldn't figure out why two flowers that looked nearly identical and shared the same color were considered completely different species.
Unable to tolerate Mizuki's casual treatment of precious blossoms any longer, Ino spent considerable time fixing what she saw as glaring errors in the arrangement.
"Ino, you don't need to bother," Mizuki said watching her work. "Tsubaki will be coming soon—she can fix everything herself."
"Tsubaki is your fiancée? What kind of person is she? You two are getting married already?"
"What? What's wrong with that? I'm a grown man too, you know."
"You should worry more about Sasuke. I heard he and Sakura Haruno have been spending a lot of time together lately—they're getting pretty close. After all, she's got the advantage of being around him so much. I don't think you stand much of a chance anymore, Ino."
"Like hell I will! I won't lose to Forehead-girl Sakura!"
"Who knows? Anyway, Ino, aren't Genin supposed to be doing missions? How come you're so free?"
"We just finished a mission and came back. I'm on vacation now," Ino explained. "Isn't Mizuki-sensei off duty around here too?"
"I'm a special case. But things'll get busy before too long."
With the Genin and their squad leaders returning to the village, the Chunin Exams couldn't be far off.
"Ino, thank you today," Mizuki couldn't help but sigh—girls really paid more attention to flowers. "This bouquet is just a little thank-you from me."
"Mizuki-sensei," Ino Yamanaka didn't accept it, "you only use these kinds for funerals~"
"No way?" Mizuki laughed nervously. "Then how about this one instead?"
"This one's for marriage proposals or love confessions, Mizuki-sensei. This counts as harassment."
In the end, Ino picked one herself and took it. Was it a rose? A China rose? Or something else entirely? Either way, it got her through the moment.
"The secret techniques of the Yamanaka clan… I really want them. They might finally help overcome my current limitations."
Mizuki knew it was nearly impossible to obtain another clan's inherited secret techniques. But apparently Aoba Yamashiro had received some teachings. How did he manage to get them? What a complicated situation.
While thinking about these things, Mizuki suddenly vanished in a puff of chakra smoke. Then immediately another figure appeared—it was Mizuki again.
"Time's up already? Looks like this still won't work. I need another plan."
Actually, the Mizuki who had been watching the shop was merely a Shadow Clone. Regarding this legendary jutsu created by the Second Hokage, Mizuki thought its most peculiar value was the strange characteristic where memories and experiences could be transferred to the original body. To understand this better, Mizuki combined Sealing Techniques with the Shadow Clone Jutsu, significantly increasing its flexibility in usage. Distributing chakra became easier, and their durability increased as well. However, after experimenting for several days, there was still no breakthrough in their duration limit. Once the chakra ran out, they would disappear regardless. It was really inconvenient. If only he could develop a better cloning technique.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu]
For several consecutive days, Mizuki was constantly experimenting with Shadow Clone Jutsu and Sealing Techniques, occasionally testing out Summoning Jutsu as well. But given the short time period, results were scarce. Meanwhile, more strangers began arriving in Konoha. More ninja from other villages wearing forehead protectors appeared too. Until one day, Konoha issued the Mobilization Order. Looking at the flying birds chirping above, Mizuki actually wasn't very eager to go. But since he was officially participating in the Chunin Exam duties, plus having been leisurely for quite a while, his health had improved sufficiently. Going to take a look wouldn't be bad either.
Determined, Mizuki finally arrived at the Hokage's Office after a long time.
Along the way, he exchanged greetings with some familiar ninja. Once he arrived, Mizuki moved toward the back and leaned against the wall in his usual relaxed posture.
The following events made Mizuki completely lose interest—the Third Hokage was giving a long-winded speech, followed by three jonin making recommendations for new genin, then Iruka stepped forward to challenge them, and finally both sides began arguing. How boring! Next, wouldn't the Third Hokage just mediate and announce a preliminary exam?
"I really want to go home," Mizuki muttered, letting out a loud yawn.
Suddenly, Izumo poked his arm.
"What?" Mizuki snapped back, suddenly realizing something was off. "Why is everyone looking this way?"
"Erm," the Third Hokage asked, "Mizuki, are you still not feeling well?"
"Something feels off with how this is going," Mizuki calmly replied. "But I'm fine already."
"Glad to hear that. Do you have any thoughts on the preliminary exam?"
"None at all. Whatever the Third Hokage decides works for me." Though he secretly wondered, What were you guys talking about earlier? Did it have anything to do with me?
"If no one has any objections, then everyone should go prepare now."
Everyone then filed out one by one, leaving Mizuki itching for someone to explain what had just happened.
As Mizuki stood there puzzled, Iruka approached from behind, saying, "Mizuki, thank you for agreeing to help me."
"Help with what exactly did I agree to?" Mizuki had a bad premonition of trouble coming his way.
"Which one will you be testing? Sasuke? Naruto? Or Sakura?"
So Iruka wasn't confident doing this alone and wanted to rope me in too? That's why everyone kept staring at me. He sure knew how to land me in hot water.
"I'll take Sakura Haruno then. That works." Resigned to his fate, Mizuki picked what he thought would be the easiest target. Definitely not Naruto—either one genjutsu would take him down, or I'd end up getting beaten up; either way, it wouldn't prove anything. Forget about Sasuke too—we just don't get along, and facing the Sharingan would be troublesome. Sakura was still a soft target for now; might as well take advantage while he still could.
"Sakura is fine," Iruka responded. "Mizuki, you've just recovered from a serious illness, so testing her should be manageable. Everyone else I'll handle myself. This time, consider it repaying the favor you owed me."
"Iruka, my favors aren't cheap. Are you sure you're not wasting one on such a small matter? You might end up at a loss."
"How come? Doesn't seem bad at all, right?"
"Well if you insist, I can't just half-ass it then. I'll need to prepare carefully."
"You're in charge of Sakura's test, Mizuki?" Kakashi suddenly appeared. "Now I'm genuinely worried about my team's future."
"Don't worry, Kakashi. Have some faith in them. Otherwise, why recommend them at all?"
"Well said. Of course I trust them. It's not them I'm worried about. It's you."
"Make me sound like the villain, will you? Just watch and see. Right, Iruka?"
"Just don't go overboard. They're still brand-new genin, Mizuki," Iruka advised.
"Relax, I know my limits."
Seeing Mizuki's mischievous grin—the kind someone gets when finding a new toy—Kakashi couldn't help but feel concerned for Sakura.
Actually, being pulled into this last-minute preliminary exam by Iruka wasn't a big deal. But it was indeed a good opportunity to test his recent research findings, especially against an opponent like Sakura Haruno, who hadn't yet proven herself.
"A standard strength test is utterly dull. Sakura's weaknesses are so glaring, it'd be a shame not to exploit them."
"As long as I don't push it too far, Kakashi won't care. He can handle the trouble anyway. So it's settled."
Mizuki, having made up his mind, bit his thumb and swiftly formed Hand Seals. As the Kuchiyose no Jutsu markings spread out, a figure appeared.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>