"How is this possible?" Mizuki looked shocked. His attack had been blocked—and worse, it felt like his opponent had already seen it coming, lying in wait for him.
"It's a pretty common tactic," Sakura said as she turned around, pointing with her finger at the tanto blade mere centimeters from her face, then gesturing toward Sasuke, Hinata, and Neji who were holding it together. "Shadow clones distract the enemy while the real one hides to deliver the finishing blow. Only you apparently forgot—right under your nose!" she added with a smirk.
Hinata and Neji's temple veins bulged, their eyes glowing pure white. Meanwhile, Sasuke's eyes burned crimson red, two pitch-black tomoe swirling within. Every single move Mizuki made was crystal clear to all of them.
"Damn those Kekkei Genkai!" Hatred filled Mizuki's face. Why did they get such bloodline limits? Why could they grow stronger without effort, while he had trained so hard yet still got ignored?
"You're jealous, aren't you?" Sakura caught the look on his face and gave a cold laugh. "To you, people with Kekkei Genkai seem like they don't have to try to become strong. I guess that's just wishful thinking on your part. You only see the genetic gifts of Sasuke and Hinata but ignore all the sweat and work they put into training. People like you? No wonder you'll never make anything of yourself!"
In both her past and current life, Sakura deeply hated people like Mizuki—those who spent all day long envying others but refused to see the effort they'd made. Just like how some claimed Naruto succeeded just by talking—he could convince others because he truly understood their pain too. Attributing other people's success purely to natural talent meant you'd never achieve anything yourself.
"What do you know? Do you even understand—" Mizuki roared furiously, his eyes blazing with rage and malice.
"I don't know, and frankly, I don't care about whatever sad story you have. Nor am I in the mood to hear about it. All I know is you tried to set my friends up—and that's plenty reason enough."
Sakura cut him off bluntly. Did this guy seriously think he was someone like Nagato or Obito—people truly broken by the world? He was just a troublemaker driven by jealousy, and she had no interest in listening to his sob story.
"You..."
Mizuki was practically choking on his anger, trembling all over.
"Let's just finish this," Sakura impatiently stepped back. "We've got team placements tomorrow morning early."
With that, Hinata and the rest closed in, forming a circle around Mizuki.
"This specially-designed spiked club from the Tentsuzan Armory might be heavy, but it works great in battle!"
Tenten unrolled a sealing scroll, releasing a pile of spiked clubs onto the ground. She handed one to each person, not forgetting to mention that this was another specialty of the Tentsuzan Armory.
Iruka, whose wound had already stopped bleeding, along with the anbu beside him, instinctively took a few steps back, their faces filled with terror. That spiked club was studded with wicked spikes—wouldn't even one swing kill someone?!
"Tenten, no! This is overkill! Sakura shouted. "Grandpa Third said to leave him alive and just throw him in jail!"
Cold sweat dripped from Sakura's brow. If that thing hit Mizuki head-on, wouldn't it flatten him for good?!
"Aww, I was really hoping to test how effective this spiked club is," Tenten muttered in disappointment as she put the weapon away and pulled out another scroll. Unfolding it, more than ten sturdy baseball bats tumbled out.
"How about these? These are solid wood baseball bats wrapped in a thin layer of iron sheeting. If we're slightly careful, we shouldn't kill him."
"Seems pretty decent to use!"
Hinata swung the bat around a couple times before lazily tapping it against her palm. Watching from the Hokage Office, Hiashi Hyuga turned green with fury.
"Everyone, Grandpa Third said we just can't kill him!"
Sakura remarked meaningfully. Instantly, the group sneered coldly and closed in tighter. Their menacing laughter made Mizuki's face twist with fear.
Chapter 97: Tigger-Mizuki [Part 1]
"Smash him to bits!"
Twelve baseball bats rained down directly onto Mizuki. He tried dodging but found himself completely surrounded by Sakura and the others, leaving absolutely no escape route. He attempted using kunai for defense, but those tiny palm-sized kunai were utterly no match for nearly-meter-long baseball bats. Helplessly, Mizuki could only watch as the bats came crashing down on him.
"You damn brats! I'll rip you apart piece by piece!" Mizuki curled up on the ground, shielding his head and other vital areas with his arms, yet still yelling viciously.
"He's still threatening us? Keep going, don't stop!"
Sakura raised an eyebrow. The group exchanged glances and picked up the pace of their strikes.
"N-no more, it hurts! I'm sorry!"
Minutes later, Mizuki was almost crying, his voice cracking with sobs. Yet, buried beneath his arms, his eyes burned with deep resentment.
"Oh look who suddenly learned how to apologize! Weren't you super scary a moment ago?"
After pausing briefly, Hinata half-squatted and gently prodded Mizuki's waist with the baseball bat, making his body involuntarily shudder twice.
"I-I'm sorry, I surrender!"
Terrified of being attacked again, Mizuki quickly caved in cowardice. If they kept beating him, he'd probably end up paralyzed.
"Tch! What a spineless guy!" Hinata muttered under her breath. Who knew Mizuki was both weak *and* spineless?
Watching silently throughout, Iruka felt chills run down his spine hearing Mizuki's piercing screams. His students were genuinely terrifying—he could tell Mizuki was really feeling the pain from those screams.
Inside the Hokage Office, everything was quiet. The Third smoked calmly from his pipe while Inoichi Yamanaka borrowed a cigarette from Asuma, lighting it and sitting silently, puffing away.
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