Just as Mizuki attempted to cry out for help, the intense feeling of suffocation lasted for less than five seconds before it ended.
He felt his heart brimming with power as the drug began to surge through his brain and limbs.
What was happening? Had the transformation completed so quickly?
This was somewhat different from what that person had said. Could it be that his potential was exceptionally strong? Mizuki tore off his sleeve, revealing a pitch-black cursed seal on the inner side of his right arm. After being nourished by the drug, the cursed seal seemed to come alive, absorbing energy from the natural environment. After voraciously drawing in energy for half a minute, a portion of the energy from the cursed seal flowed into his body, replenishing the deficit caused by the earlier transformation.
Mizuki let out a long sigh of relief; he had fully come back to life.
His withered body swelled up as if being inflated. The strength within his body quickly surpassed his peak condition and continued to rise rapidly, seemingly without limit.
His arms became incredibly thick, with several tiger-like black stripes appearing on his arms, shoulders, and back. His body grew taller by a full twenty centimeters, his muscles bulging with power, making him resemble a small giant.
Mizuki clenched his fist and pounded his chest, producing a dull "thud."
"Hahahaha—what marvelous power! Now, even a Jonin is no match for me!" He burst into a series of wild laughs, but as he laughed, he finally noticed something amiss. Hinata, standing not far away, was too quiet.
Had she been frightened into stupor by his actions?
He looked over and found Hinata unusually calm. Her condescending gaze made him extremely uncomfortable.
"What are you looking at?!" he roared in anger.
Hinata replied unhurriedly, "Mizuki-sensei, you always say that Naruto's Clone Technique is poorly practiced and that his control is weak. But aren't you the same? It's clear that the higher-ups have been lenient with you to let you become a teacher at the Hidden Leaf Ninja School. Your skills are far inferior to Teacher Iruka's. I suspect you haven't practiced the Transformation Technique much, have you? That won't do. Without a solid foundation, you'll suffer when you leave Konoha Village."
Mizuki stared at her intently. The drug had altered his brain, and the cursed seal had allowed him to absorb a vast amount of natural energy, significantly enhancing his perception.
At this moment, he finally noticed the layer of Chakra continuously flowing over Hinata's body. What kind of technique required Chakra to be spread over the body? There were many such techniques in the ninja world, but the most basic one he knew of was the Transformation Technique.
A puff of smoke rose from Hinata's body, and Ino revealed herself.
"It's you! You've been playing me since the barbecue restaurant!"
"Not exactly playing. If you hadn't harbored these thoughts, we could have remained teacher and student. What a pity... Mizuki-sensei, could you tell me what that thing on your arm is? What does this transformation of yours mean?" Ino pointed at the black cursed seal on his arm and asked.
Mizuki's face twisted in rage. "You little brat, daring to mock me! I'll tear you apart!"
He dug his feet into the ground and charged forward, attempting to launch an assault. But just as his Chakra gathered at his feet, he felt his body grow weak and limp. His strength was still there, but his body seemed to be disobeying his commands.
Ino lightly tapped him with her finger. "Are you an idiot? You sent me to buy the medicine, something so important? Many of the herbs weren't old enough, which is why your transformation went so smoothly, got it? And didn't you know that the Yamanaka clan is best at raising flowers, and many of those flowers are highly toxic? The poison has already spread through your heart to your entire body. You'll only get weaker. Surrender now, and maybe the village will spare your life."
"Damn it!" Mizuki roared, staggering forward a couple of steps. Natural energy was still pouring into his body through the Cursed Seal on his arm, as powerful and domineering as ever, but his nerves, bones, and muscles were all somewhat unresponsive, and his vision was filled with double images.
"I won't lose! I absolutely won't lose!!" He glared at Ino, as if defeating this detestable woman would turn the tide in his favor.
"Tsk tsk, still able to move? Impressive." Ino had come fully equipped tonight. She dashed forward, her Kunai aimed straight for Mizuki's throat.
Mizuki's mobility was severely reduced. He could only cross his arms in front of him to block.
The Kunai pierced his wrist, but it only went in about two centimeters before encountering significant resistance, as if it had struck a tire rather than human flesh.
Ino placed her left hand on her right, which was gripping the Kunai, and pressed down with both arms. It was no use. His defense was much stronger than she had anticipated, and her own strength wasn't enough! "What a pain!" She kicked Mizuki's elbow, using the force to jump up. Her left hand brushed her waist, and two Shuriken flew in an arc toward Mizuki's eyes.
Mizuki ducked to avoid the Shuriken, spreading his arms wide. The nails on his ten fingers mutated and elongated, turning into ten sharp blades. Taking advantage of his height and reach, he slashed wildly at the space in front of him.
Ino dodged left and right. His attack and defense were both strong, but due to the poison, his speed had dropped significantly. Spotting an opening, she jumped behind Mizuki and thrust the Kunai into his shoulder blade from below, twisting it harshly in the muscles of his neck and back.
A large chunk of flesh was gouged out, and Mizuki screamed in pain.
Like a wounded tiger, his hands transformed into claws as he launched a frenzied series of attacks at Ino.
Ino didn't use her most proficient Ninja techniques, instead circling around Mizuki, stabbing here and slashing there. "Mizuki-sensei, your ability still has flaws. Your arms have the strongest defense, your front is more defended than your back, and your chest and abdomen are more protected than your lower body, right?"
Without waiting for Mizuki to respond, Ino shouted, "Choji! It's your turn, hit his legs!"
After an awkward wait of three or four seconds, the slightly hesitant voice of the chubby Choji finally rang out. "Huh? Oh! Coming, coming! Watch my Human Bullet Tank!"
Choji's body swelled into a ball of flesh under the influence of Chakra, his head and limbs retracting. Then, spinning at high speed, he shot forward like a cannonball, covering over thirty meters in an instant and crashing into Mizuki.
Mizuki, after all, was a Chunin Ninja. Seeing the incoming flesh ball, he gritted his teeth and swung his fist with all his might, trying to knock it back.
With a deafening "boom," the massive flesh ball was sent flying by his punch, and in the second moment of impact, a crisp sound of bone cracking echoed from Mizuki's left leg.
His body lost balance, but at the critical moment, he managed to steady himself by grabbing onto the wall beside him, barely managing to stay upright.
Impressive! Witnessing this scene, Ino gained a whole new understanding of this Cursed Seal form—thick-skinned, highly resilient, and capable of significantly enhancing one's basic physical attributes.
And this was just an incomplete version of the Cursed Seal created by Orochimaru. The Sound Four, Kimimaro, and others with the Cursed Seal of Heaven and Cursed Seal of Earth must be even more formidable. If these Cursed Seals, which borrow Jugo's cells to absorb natural energy, are already this powerful, how much stronger would a true Sage Mode be?