Mizuki kept his expression neutral, but inside he was secretly thrilled—the fool had finally taken the bait.
"Then do you know where the Scroll of Seals is, Teacher Mizuki? I'll definitely go get it!" Naruto asked eagerly, clearly fired up.
"Of course I do," Mizuki replied. He quietly told Naruto the location he had discovered and then added, "However, this must stay between you and me, Naruto. If anyone else finds out, that method of graduating using the Scroll of Seals won't work anymore!"
Chapter 89: When Conspiracy Meets a Filming Crew [Part 1]
"Sure thing, Teacher Mizuki!" Naruto firmly nodded. "I'll get the Scroll tonight, and then I can officially become a ninja!"
"I've always believed you could become a great ninja who stands on your own!"
After giving Naruto a few more encouraging words, Mizuki turned to leave—and the moment he did, his gentle smile twisted into a sinister grin. Soon, very soon, he would obtain the Scroll of Seals. Once he brought the scroll to Lord Orochimaru, he would surely be greatly valued.
Only after Mizuki completely disappeared from Naruto's sight did Sakura and her group step out from their hiding spot in the shadows.
"This Mizuki must've had something wrong with his head," Hinata said, looking toward the direction Mizuki had gone, puzzled. "Didn't he suspect anything? As a chunin—especially one teaching at the Ninja Academy—how could he have even found out the Scroll's location? That just doesn't make sense."
"He must've gotten carried away by emotion and long forgotten the composure every ninja should have," Sakura shrugged. It didn't take much thinking to realize all the information he provided was clearly false—the exact location of the Scroll of Seals, the surprisingly low number of guards, and their unusually weak strength. All these clues obviously pointed to a lie, yet Mizuki still believed it. Besides being emotionally overwhelmed, Sakura couldn't think of any other explanation.
"But who exactly is this guy working for? Or maybe he's a spy sent by another village?"
Hinata rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She now frequently helped Hiashi Hyuga handle affairs related to the Hyuga clan, so she naturally considered things more deeply.
"Just a pawn," Sakura shook her head. Mizuki may think he's smart enough to serve Lord Orochimaru, but he never realized he was merely a tool used for testing the cursed seal.
"Anyway, everyone, let's just go celebrate graduating already! We've finally made it out of hell! From now on, we're official ninjas!"
They immediately cast aside all thoughts about Mizuki. After all, what threat could a single chunin pose? They had been strong enough to fight chunin even years ago—let alone now, after getting so much stronger.
Inside Mr. Ichiraku's shop, Sakura and her group sat around a table. The place was nearly empty except for their company. Although the sign of "Ichiraku Ramen Shop" still hung outside, business had long ceased—it had now become their private dining spot. Occasionally, high-ranking officials and nobles from the Land of Fire would come to taste Mr. Ichiraku's hand-cooked dishes, though such instances were rare, with only a handful occurring each year.
Fourteen people in total had gathered here: Sakura's group of nine, plus Neji and his two companions, along with Kakashi and Might Guy—the two lone men. They talked loudly while picking food from the table.
"Oh, right! Sakura, I finished crafting the item you asked for!"
Tenten suddenly pulled out a sealing scroll and handed it over. "Took me quite a while to get this done. The blacksmith nearly cried saying how wasteful the request was."
"You finally finished?"
Sakura lit up, quickly reaching out to accept the scroll without even bothering to hide her excitement in front of everyone, immediately unrolling it.
A shining tachi appeared before them all. Just by observing its blade—one that gleamed with icy sharpness—they could tell this weapon was truly one of a kind.
"Sakura, what exactly was this made from?" Kakashi glanced at it and felt the material looked oddly familiar. Only an exceptional blade could reflect light so sharply, but the substance itself wasn't something commonly seen; often, you couldn't even purchase it if you wanted to.
"Oh, it was just that meteorite chunk I brought back years ago!" Sakura casually replied while closely examining the sword she held. "I figured there was no point keeping it lying around collecting dust, so why not turn it into a weapon? Honestly, the quality turned out pretty great!"
She gave the blade a light tap with her fingertip, letting out a sharp, ringing tone.
"Wait... You mean to say you used the entire meteorite to forge just this single sword?" Kakashi's expression suddenly became awkward. That meteorite had contained valuable meteoric iron—known for being both tough and conductive to chakra. Normally, adding even a small amount into weaponry would already be excellent craftsmanship. Forging an entire sword just out of meteoric iron was absolutely outrageous.
"Yeah, so what?" Sakura replied with a puzzled look at Kakashi. "It's not like it did anything sitting around unused. So I figured, might as well make use of it and create a blade."
"I named it 'Starlit Night,' and I also had Tenten help forge a smaller tanto using leftover scraps mixed with other precious metals. It may not be as high-quality as mine, but it's still quite impressive."
As she spoke, Sakura pulled another short blade from the scroll alongside 'Starlit Night' and handed it to Kakashi.
"Your father was renowned across the shinobi world for his swordsmanship, known as the 'Legend of the White Fang.' His blade struck fear into the hearts of the other four Hidden Villages. Let this tanto go to Kakashi then!"
"The Legend of the White Fang, huh?!"
As Kakashi took the tanto, his expression shifted between sorrow and nostalgia. The White Fang was not only Sakumo Hatake's title but also the name of that legendary blade in his hands. Unfortunately, after his father's death, such an extraordinary sword gradually began to rust and eventually broke during a battle. So Kakashi buried the broken White Fang in front of his late father's grave. Yet now, the tanto presented by Sakura looked identical in appearance to the White Fang, leaving Kakashi with a complex mix of emotions.
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