"My cooperation?" Kakashi felt a growing sense of unease. He couldn't shake the feeling that something significant was about to unfold.
"Exactly! Without Uncle Kakashi's photos, I'd still be stressing over how to get the illustrations right!"
Sakura laughed cheerfully. Those illustrations in the book were specially created by Naruto using [Shadow Clone] and [Transformation Jutsu]—they looked so realistic they seemed totally genuine.
"What exactly have you done?" Kakashi nervously swallowed hard. He really shouldn't have provided those pictures of Obito in the first place.
"Not much. You can just buy a copy yourself once it's published—you'll definitely love it, Uncle Kakashi!" Sakura replied mysteriously. As for how Kakashi would react later, that wasn't something she wanted to dwell on at the moment.
In Konoha, spring arrived with cherry blossoms fluttering through the air. Graduation season had come again; the Ninja Academy was ready to welcome new students while bidding farewell to those who passed their exams.
Neji, Tenten, and Lee had graduated one year earlier than Sakura and her class. They were assigned under Might Guy's leadership. Every day they carried out simple D-rank or C-rank missions, which were like child's play for them. Even without Might Guy guiding them, they completed missions flawlessly, already building quite a name for themselves among the Genin.
"Today's exam focuses on [Clone Jutsu]," Iruka announced while holding a small notebook recording scores. "Those who pass will successfully receive their forehead protectors and become official ninjas. Sorry to those who fail."
He cast a subtle glance toward Naruto as he spoke, his eyes brimming with worry. Although Naruto rarely acted up, he constantly skipped class. During every classroom test, Naruto's grades were always the lowest.
"Oh no... It's my weakest skill—the Clone Jutsu!" Naruto rested his chin on the desk, hands gripping his head while cold sweat dripped down.
"You know what, Naruto? If you don't pass this time, we'll just have to say sorry to you!" Sakura turned around and said, "Then you'll have no choice but repeating the class alone!"
"No way, I refuse to repeat the year!" Naruto exclaimed frantically.
Behind Iruka, a man wearing a Chuunin vest from Konoha watched the scene unfold, a sly and sinister smile creeping across his face before he turned and walked into the neighboring classroom.
The moment Mizuki left the room, Naruto's expression changed completely. Gone was his earlier look of panic.
"Well then, Sakura, can you tell me why I need to pretend I can't do Clone Jutsu?" Naruto asked, puzzled. From the very beginning, Sakura had instructed him not to stand out at school, so he had gone through each course half-heartedly without ever showing his real abilities. This made him appear last in the class rankings.
"That's because there's a schemer planning to use you for something. If we don't put on some act, he won't fall for it so easily!"
"Mizuki's gone." Sakura's face resumed its usual calm. "Since he wants to plot against you, let's give him this chance. Let him make the first move, and then we'll take him down!"
"You're saying Mizuki-sensei wants to use me for some hidden agenda?" Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He definitely wasn't as naïve and easily deceived as he used to be in the original story. Thanks to Sakura's relentless efforts, his personality now closely resembled his later self from the original tale, and his analytical abilities had improved dramatically.
"Just play along once we're done with class, Naruto," Sakura said. "Act like you failed the exam, and he'll come running."
As far as someone like Mizuki—who was practically begging to get himself killed—was concerned, Sakura felt zero sympathy. If he insisted on dying, she wouldn't stop him either.
"I've already discussed it with Lord Third. Just do whatever Mizuki tells you, and then we'll set a trap—catch him red-handed with solid evidence!"
In reality, even without Sakura's interference, Mizuki was destined to die anyway. As the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, Naruto was constantly under surveillance by numerous Anbu operatives who recorded every word and action of anyone approaching him. Mizuki's behavior was no exception—the moment he opened his mouth, Lord Third would know.
Moreover, the location where the Scroll of Seals was kept was probably deliberately leaked by Lord Third himself. Otherwise, how could Mizuki—a mere Chunin working as a teacher at the Ninja Academy without any clan lineage, Hidden Techniques, or notable power—possibly know where the Scroll of Seals was?
"So does that mean we're going to fight real ninjas tonight?!" Hinata's eyes lit up with excitement. Until now, they'd only sparred among themselves, so naturally they'd grown familiar with each other's techniques and found it rather boring. Although Mizuki wasn't strong, at least he was a genuine ninja; surely fighting him would be different from their regular practice matches.
"Hinata, can you not get so excited? He's just a weak Chunin with barely any combat prowess—nowhere near what we usually train against!"
Sakura couldn't help but make a face. Hinata's current character was completely opposite to her original role in the storyline. Her outgoing nature had already caused Hiashi Hyuga more than a few headaches. Unlike the original timeline where she was largely ignored within the Hyuga clan, present-day Hinata had become the undisputed heir of the Hyuga clan. Both Hiashi and the rest of the family were very satisfied with her progress. Especially Hanabi, the younger sister, absolutely adored clinging to her elder sister and constantly imitated Hinata's style of dress and behavior. This particular development left Hiashi nearly worried sick—he had hoped for a gentle, warm-hearted girl, but somehow ended up with a fiery little firecracker instead!
"Even if he's weak, he's still a real ninja!" Hinata replied enthusiastically. "By the way, let me borrow your music player. I really like that song called [Legendary Star of Turbulent Times]!"
"Here," Sakura muttered, handing over the player with a bit of a headache. Hinata's personality and hobbies—was she seriously considering changing her name to something completely different in the future?!
Shikamaru, slumped over the table nearby, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Mizuki deep down. Being targeted by anyone would be better than being targeted by Hinata. After all, she only ever softened a little around them—everyone else got no mercy from Hinata at all.
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