Naruto turned around and saw Sasuke, Hinata, and the others watching him. Just like always—no anger, no disgust. Only worry hiding behind their eyes.
Meanwhile, Mizuki's psychological state had turned grim. At first, it was just Naruto and Iruka—he'd been one hundred percent confident then. But now so many others had suddenly showed up. Whether he could kill them all wasn't even the main issue; the real problem was that most of them were heirs to powerful clans. If he ended up killing them all here, he'd be hunted down relentlessly by Konoha. The crime would be nothing like stealing the Scroll of Seals.
"Naruto, Sakura, I'll hold off Mizuki. You two go get some ninjas from the village," Iruka leaned against a tree, forcing himself to stand despite dizziness from blood loss.
"Tsk, tsk, Teacher Iruka, just sit back and enjoy the show. It's only Mizuki after all—we can handle him!" Sakura helped Iruka sit back down before calling out toward the air, "Someone come out and help treat Teacher Iruka!"
Just as Iruka began to feel puzzled, an Anbu-clad figure suddenly appeared, startling him.
"This is… an Anbu ninja?"
"Why is Anbu here? Could my plan have already…"
Mizuki panicked even further. Anbu answered directly to The Third, and now one had shown up here—could it mean The Third already knew everything he had done?
"Mizuki-sensei, how does it feel meeting an acting troupe?" Seeing Iruka being treated by the Anbu, Sakura turned her body to face Mizuki, whose expression kept shifting between rage and disbelief.
"Acting troupe?"
His heart pounding, Mizuki finally realized why everything had felt wrong from the beginning. Now it made sense—he must've been tricked from the very start.
"That's right, an acting troupe!" Hinata and the others stepped forward, standing beside Naruto and Sakura.
"We've known about your entire plan since the beginning. Naruto failing his exam on purpose was part of the act—to make you believe us and fall into our trap!"
Sakura reached into her Ninja Tool Pouch and pulled out a Forehead Protector. "In reality, Naruto had already passed the ninja graduation exam with special permission from The Third. In other words, the whole exam at Ninja Academy meant absolutely nothing."
"Here, put this on."
She gently placed the protector onto Naruto's head, adjusting its position slightly with satisfaction. "Definitely looks much cooler with the Forehead Protector!"
Tch… I can't believe I was actually played! But what can a bunch of little brats do, even if you found out my plan?!" Mizuki's lips curled with sinister amusement. "If I kill all of you, I can still take the Scroll of Seals and escape from Konoha!"
"Too bad—it looks like we'll disappoint you again!" Sakura took the Scroll of Seals from Naruto's hands and opened it. Inside was completely empty—there wasn't a single word written anywhere. "This so-called Scroll of Seals is nothing but a fake prop used by our acting troupe! If you can't even tell the difference in shape and size of the real Scroll of Seals, how do you even think you can steal it?!"
"The real Scroll of Seals is slightly larger than the one they're holding, and it's already filled with various Ninjutsu. What they're holding now is simply an ordinary blank scroll."
"By the way, those scrolls are produced by our Tentsuzan Armory!" Tenten raised a finger and wagged it playfully, giving her family business a quick plug.
Chapter 95: Kakashi's Sadness Overflowing
"Tenten, you don't need to advertise right now. There's barely anyone around, and even if there was, your ad wouldn't bring in customers," Sakura said, clearly unimpressed. There were barely a few people nearby, mostly Anbu agents who got their gear straight from official supply depots anyway. They wouldn't be buying weapons on their own.
"It's all about attitude. As the only child of a big family, I've gotta keep an eye on everything. My dad's already started encouraging me to take more responsibility in running the business!" Tenten sighed helplessly. Being the only child in her family meant she would eventually inherit everything. Ever since graduating last year, part of the business had already been handed over to her.
"Just have your dad have another kid!" Sakura suggested. "Then you can rest assured and become a ninja while your younger sibling takes care of the business. Problem solved!"
"Sakura makes a good point. My family should consider having another child. Once Hanabi grows up, I plan to let her lead the Hyuga clan so I can rest assured and fully support her," Hinata added, nodding in agreement.
"I've actually been planning to bring this up with my parents the next time they're free. In fact, if they refuse to have another child, I'm even thinking about making them a potion that'll make them... spontaneously feel like creating one!" Sakura whispered conspiratorially.
"Me too. Give me a copy too—it'd be too awkward to bring it up directly with Mom and Dad. Better just slip them the potion and let them do the deed naturally!" Tenten's eyes gleamed as she quietly conspired with Sakura.
"That's terrifying..."
Sasuke silently edged sideways, looking at Sakura and Tenten like they were demons. What kind of people are these? Just for a little sibling, they're already plotting ways to slip their parents a love potion? It's best to keep a safe distance—for fear he might accidentally become their next victim someday.
"Enough of this! You guys are ignoring me!"
Mizuki was practically bursting with rage as he listened to Sakura and Tenten discussing how to give their parents a subtle nudge toward starting a new sibling. That feeling of being ignored again was unbearable.
Losing himself to fury, Mizuki raised his right hand and instantly flung out a Fuma Shuriken.
[White Fang Sword Technique – Slash!]
Sakura and the others had already seen Mizuki throwing the shuriken, but none of them showed any panic. Not until the Fuma Shuriken was nearly upon them did Sakura suddenly draw Starlit Night from her waist and slash straight forward.
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