Night Two in the Shinobi World
On the second night of wandering through this new world, Shuimu felt an unfamiliar emptiness creeping in. Upon returning to his temporary lodging, a sense of depression took root—one born from the burden of secrets he couldn't share, and the alienation of existing in a world that wasn't truly his. It was a stark contrast to the wonder of his first night.
"Then... it's time to deal with my own hidden danger."
In the bathroom, Shuimu let warm water cascade over him from the showerhead. His eyes lingered on the dark, vein-like patterns etched across his arm.
"A curse mark? A blessing in disguise? Or a death sentence?"
The "gift" from Orochimaru wasn't something he could ignore. It would be a lie to say he hadn't thought about it—Orochimaru was known in the original story for experimenting on people like they were toys. Mizuki, too, had been manipulated. He may have taken the risk willingly, tempted by power, but in the end, what did it get him? Nothing but ruin.
This seal—half-finished, barely functional—was dubbed mockingly "The Curse Seal of the Tiger." Unlike the Curse Seal of Heaven granted to Sasuke, or the Curse Seal of Earth used by Jūgo and Kimimaro, this mark couldn't even be activated properly. It remained dormant, silently leeching his energy. And unlike those other seals, which offered users a second-stage transformation and substantial power boosts, his came with unbearable side effects—accelerated physical burnout and spiritual erosion.
"Others get power-ups. I get a self-destruct button."
Unless he could somehow acquire extraordinary vitality, like Naruto's Uzumaki lineage or Kabuto's post-mutation regenerative abilities, there was no offsetting the damage. The most reliable solution was the cells of Hashirama Senju—Senju DNA that could harmonize with nearly anything and restore life-threatening injuries. Danzo used it. Obito did too. Even Yamato gained Wood Release through it. But Shuimu? That door was closed. No access, no compatibility.
"This thing is a time bomb."
Even without following Orochimaru's activation method, the seal could go haywire under stress, sucking him dry and leaving a husk behind. He needed a solution—fast.
Wiping condensation from the bathroom mirror, Shuimu stared at his reflection. Something about him looked off. Maybe it was just the short hair. He considered glasses for a moment.
"No... Kabuto wears glasses. Too on the nose."
After a bath, Shuimu sank into bed. Unlike the night before, he had a little peace. He picked up a book beside the nightstand.
"Not Icha Icha Paradise?"
It was a heroic tale—probably The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, if anything. He smiled faintly.
"So Konoha's youth literature isn't just smut. Huh. Maybe their education system works."
He tossed the book aside, lay down, and focused his chakra into his palm. A faint blue glow flickered.
"Chakra... the miracle power of this world."
People always assumed that transmigrators would arrive with godlike powers or some cheat code. But living inside this world, seeing its inner workings, made everything feel more fragile. He thought back to something from his past life:
"No matter how big the cake is, it's still limited by the size of the oven."
In other words, this world had its constraints too, even if they weren't obvious.
To the people of this world, chakra was just common sense. But to him? It was miraculous. Prophets, travelers, and reincarnators all shared one hidden weapon—perspective. If he had a golden finger, he should fear it first. Power never came without cost.
"You don't just get chakra for free. The Six Paths Sage didn't hand out coupons."
In legend, chakra didn't originate here—it came from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who consumed the fruit of the Divine Tree. But Madara's story about the Divine Tree? Shuimu found it suspicious.
"A world that randomly grows a tree of godlike power, only to let an outsider eat it and destroy the system? Laughable."
Unless this world had a power ceiling higher than what anyone had reached, that tree didn't evolve naturally. It was planted. Like a parasite. The more he considered the plot of The Last and later arcs, the more sense it made: Kaguya was just the first invader, not the origin. The Divine Tree was a weapon of colonization, and chakra was the harvested product.
The Six Paths Sage may have saved the world, but separating chakra into Yin and Yang, Five Elements, and spreading it...
"He broke the rules and then walked away with the manual. How convenient."
From there, the ninja world spiraled. Edo Tensei blurred life and death. The Reaper Death Seal touched souls. The Rinnegan reversed death outright.
"Even the laws of life are violated. And we thought nuclear weapons were dangerous?"
Kakashi's famous line rang true:
"A ninja must see underneath the underneath."
Or perhaps more simply, "Common sense has no place here."
Despite everything, Shuimu knew the world hadn't ended in the canon timeline. But with his presence here now, who knew what butterfly effects were already at play?
Everyone in this world—villains and heroes alike—spoke of salvation, while dragging the world closer to destruction. No one seemed to question what the world itself needed saving from. The Six Paths Sage, the Toads of Mount Myōboku, even the sages—they all pulled strings from the shadows.
"Chakra... the union of body and spirit."
He laughed bitterly.
"Orochimaru was onto something. Curse marks. Reincarnation. It's all genius-level madness."
In the end, chakra was a glitch—a legacy of an alien power. If anyone could extract it, then it was like the world just handed out free hacks.
Hashirama, Madara, Naruto, Sasuke... they got the good stuff.
Mizuki? Just another Chūnin with no instruction manual.
As sleep finally overtook him, Shuimu grumbled,
"This goddamn world where everyone gets a golden finger but me."
In that half-dream state, he drifted through bubbles of emotion and memory—scenes of joy, fear, anxiety, and pain. College exam stress. A job promotion. The Nine-Tailed Fox…
Each bubble contained an experience—most from his past life, some from Mizuki's.
Then, he saw something. A figure curled in on itself, eyes dull and lifeless.
"Mizuki?"
It was him. Or part of him.
Startled, he jerked awake, heart pounding.
A masked ANBU stood beside his bed.
"A nightmare? You've got poor awareness for a ninja."
"The Third Hokage wants to see you."
"Got it. I'll prepare."
Outside, the first rays of dawn peeked over the horizon.
"If chakra reacts to both physical and mental shifts, then these dreams… might be more than dreams. They could be warnings."
Touching the dormant curse mark again, Shuimu sighed.
"From soul to skin... this body is full of landmines."