Chapter 47: The More You Hide, The More It Shows
The world of shinobi was vastly different from Mizuki's previous life. Here, the soul and body weren't as inseparably bound. With chakra acting as an extension of will, the soul could partially free itself from a single physical vessel. In a world where even the basic laws of existence were unstable, the birth of creatures like the Tailed Beasts—manifestations of humanity's negative emotions—wasn't particularly surprising.
Mizuki stopped paying attention to the shop sign outside and led Sakura inside.
"You'll be working here for a while?"
"Working?"
"No—learning," Mizuki quickly corrected himself, mentally kicking himself for almost letting something slip.
Sakura simply nodded without commenting.
"Do you sense anything unusual about this place?" Mizuki asked.
"Unusual…? Well, the shop feels unnaturally quiet." Sakura looked toward the bustling street outside. The noise from the crowd was significantly muted inside the store.
Mizuki nodded. "Your attention to detail and perception are sharp. It's probably linked to your excellent chakra control. That's a rare and valuable skill for your future."
Without explaining further, Mizuki led her behind the counter, revealing a carefully concealed bookshelf. He pointed at the various books and scrolls.
"Don't touch anything with a red tag. Anything with a yellow tag, you can only read when I'm present. The rest—feel free to study as much as you want. You have three days. Learn whatever you can."
He handed her a small notebook. "This is a reference guide I compiled. Most of the information inside has been tested, but I can't guarantee everything is absolutely correct. If you don't understand something, cross-reference it here. After three days, I'll give you a quiz."
"Mizuki, are you sure about this?" Tsubaki asked hesitantly. "Kakashi entrusted her to you, and you're just letting her study on her own?"
"I'm keeping an eye on her, don't worry," Mizuki reassured. "Smart students don't need their teachers breathing down their necks."
"Alright, then. I'll bring you lunch around noon," Tsubaki said as she prepared to leave.
"Bring some for Sakura too," Mizuki added.
As the morning rush faded and fewer customers visited the shop, Mizuki glanced at Sakura, who was already deeply engrossed in the scrolls. Her concentration was impressive—she truly lived up to her reputation as an academic genius.
Taking advantage of the quiet, Mizuki pulled out the item Kakashi had given him as payment—the contract scroll for the Hatake clan's ninja hounds.
As part of his deal to train Sakura, Mizuki had gained the rare opportunity to closely examine an authentic summoning contract scroll.
Running his fingers over the scroll's cover, he released a faint pulse of chakra, trying to sense any irregularities.
"Not ordinary paper… seems to be made from some kind of animal hide."
Unrolling the long scroll, he found a series of names and fingerprints. The first name he recognized was Hatake Kakashi, and as he scanned further up, he saw a long line of Hatake family members recorded over generations. At the very end of the scroll, a summoning seal was prominently displayed.
After a long period of studying the contract, Mizuki found nothing out of the ordinary.
"I suppose this is what I should expect from a shinobi clan's summoning beast contract. It's clearly more sophisticated than the standard ones."
The optimization of the sealing formula, the method of spatial connection—it was all far more refined than common summoning contracts. However, this also meant that the chakra requirements were much stricter. Different amounts of chakra and variations in its application likely determined which individual hound was summoned.
And yet, Mizuki still hadn't found anything particularly suspicious.
"Is there really no hidden catch? The contract seems fair. Chakra is offered in exchange for summoning assistance—although the required chakra output is a bit higher than expected, it could simply be considered a form of compensation. From a contractual standpoint, this is practically a model of mutual benefit. Even the decorative patterns and inscriptions don't contain any traps. Was I just being paranoid?"
Unwilling to give up so easily, Mizuki absentmindedly ran his fingers across the surface of the scroll. Suddenly, his hand froze.
"Wait… what is this?"
Beneath his touch, Mizuki sensed an unusual texture. He immediately began a closer examination. As he rubbed his fingers across the surface, he discovered faint markings—ones that were the exact same color as the scroll's material, making them nearly invisible.
"These aren't ordinary symbols… They were part of the original material itself. No wonder they were so hard to detect. But this pattern… it seems familiar."
Frowning, Mizuki put the scroll down and stepped outside, staring at the Four Seasons Flower Shop sign. He recalled every step of how he had created it, carefully piecing together his observations.
"So that's how it is… No wonder."
Returning inside, he picked up the contract again. After some thought, he carefully traced the natural symbols onto a separate sheet of paper. After verifying multiple times that he hadn't missed anything, he stored the contract away.
"Even though my paranoia was unfounded, my discovery is still shocking."
The summoning contract contained hidden symbols similar to the ones Mizuki had developed for his research into collective consciousness.
In other words, the contract seemed to be constantly gathering mental fluctuations or spiritual emissions from the contract holders.
In theory, this shouldn't be harmful to humans. The human mind constantly emits faint, subconscious waves of thought—information that normally disperses unnoticed, like sunlight radiating heat whether you use it or not.
But the summoned creatures were collecting this information.
"If they're not doing it for a nefarious reason… then they must have a way to turn this 'waste energy' into something useful."
Most summoning contracts belonged to powerful organizations like Konoha or were inherited by major shinobi clans over centuries. They were exclusively used by people who were either immensely strong or had fate on their side.
"This goes deeper than I thought. If this function was harmless, they wouldn't have bothered hiding it. I need to investigate this further—there might be a treasure trove of hidden knowledge buried here."
"Sensei, here." A cup of water was suddenly offered to him.
Mizuki snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, Sakura. Thanks." He took a sip and felt instantly refreshed.
"It's nothing. I just didn't expect you to be like this outside of class," Sakura said with a smile.
"Oh? What did you expect?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "Someone like Iruka, always shouting?"
"No, no!" Sakura shook her head. "I just thought Mizuki-sensei was more… bookish than I imagined. Looking at all these notes you've compiled, I can only memorize them for now. I barely understand half of it."
"So that means you understand half?" Mizuki smirked. "That's much better than I expected. Every shinobi's personal research carries their own unique thought process. Without the necessary foundation, just understanding what the topic is is already impressive."
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