What's going on? Where's Mizuki? Isn't Iruka still here?
Right after Satoru grabbed a few items from the system, he realized Mizuki—who had just been circling around making threats—had suddenly vanished.
Whoosh!
A figure dropped down from above and landed right in front of him. Startled by the eerie entrance and familiar voice, Satoru looked up.
"Hey, Naruto!"
With just a glance at that distinctive scarred nose and voice, Satoru instantly recognized the man—it was Iruka Umino. Strangely enough, while Mizuki had been searching blindly, Iruka had managed to track him down so easily. Was this some kind of NPC tracking ability?
Satoru immediately understood what was happening.
"Heh… You finally found me, Iruka-sensei! I just learned a new ninjutsu!"
He scratched his head sheepishly, putting on an awkward smile like Naruto always did.
According to the plot, Mizuki should be hiding in the trees just behind Iruka right now, observing.
That brief disappearance earlier? Mizuki must've noticed Iruka tailing him and gone into hiding!
Satoru narrowed his eyes, studying Iruka carefully. From the look on his face, it was clear: the Third Hokage and the Anbu hadn't told Iruka that Mizuki was targeting Naruto.
Iruka looked confused. Naruto was claiming he was out here practicing ninjutsu? In this kind of place?
"Iruka-sensei, let me show you a super powerful jutsu! If I master it, will you let me graduate?"
Iruka's confusion deepened. Graduate? Who told him something like that? Since when could someone just perform a jutsu and skip the rest?
Satoru leaned fully into the role, putting his acting skills to work.
Even the Third Hokage, watching through the crystal ball, was puzzled.
Mizuki was chasing him just a moment ago. Now he's talking about ninjutsu like nothing happened? Is he trying to fool Iruka? Or... has he been hiding his intelligence all this time?
The old man stroked his beard and frowned.
If this kid keeps playing dumb like this, it might really complicate things.
"Who told you that you could graduate just by performing a jutsu?" Iruka finally asked, suspicion creeping into his tone.
"It was Mizuki-sensei!" Satoru replied brightly, practically bouncing with energy. "He told me where to find this scroll, said that if I learned a technique from it and showed it to you, I could graduate!"
He waved the Scroll of Seals excitedly, his arms flailing in animated gestures.
Iruka's eyes went wide in shock. This is bad! Mizuki had set Naruto up—and this kid had fallen for it completely, even stealing the Book of Seals!
"Behind you!"
Right then, Satoru gave a perfectly timed warning.
Iruka's instincts kicked in immediately. The moment Naruto mentioned Mizuki's name, something had felt off. That sudden warning only confirmed it. Every hair on his body stood on end.
Without hesitation, Iruka shoved Naruto aside.
Just as he moved, a sharp whistling sound sliced through the air behind him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kunai rained down. Iruka managed to dodge most of the critical strikes—but there were too many, and the ambush had come too fast. One kunai pierced his thigh, and several more slashed into his hand.
Still, none of them hit vital points.
Just like in the original plot—Iruka was wounded, but still standing.
It was real.
Satoru let out a silent sigh.
The Naruto System is definitely authentic—the plot matches the anime perfectly. But now that I've transmigrated into this world, there's no way everything will unfold exactly the same.
"Mizuki!"
Iruka gritted his teeth, shouting the name of the man who appeared before them.
Perched casually atop a tree trunk, Mizuki looked down with a smug, condescending grin. Twin oversized shuriken were strapped to his back, their edges gleaming under the moonlight.
"Iruka, didn't the brat tell you I was chasing him earlier?" Mizuki sneered. "Hmph. That's what fox demons are like—always hiding the truth."
"I thought the one following us was an Anbu at first… But it was just you." Mizuki chuckled darkly. "Well then, Iruka—you and the demon fox are both going to die here tonight. And the Scroll of Seals… that's mine."
His voice was full of murderous intent. From where he stood, Iruka—injured and bleeding—and a half-trained Academy student like Naruto were no threat to him at all.
After all, Iruka had taken several kunai to the leg and arm in Mizuki's ambush earlier. As for Naruto? The kid hadn't even graduated from the Academy. He was just dead weight with a chakra level barely worth mentioning.
"Naruto, give me the scroll. After I deal with Iruka, I might let you live," Mizuki said, his expression twisted with greed.
"I see how it is..." Iruka grunted, pulling a kunai from his thigh and tossing it aside. Blood ran down his leg, but he forced himself to stay upright.
"Naruto, don't give him the Scroll of Seals! That scroll contains dangerous forbidden techniques—jutsu that could destroy the entire village if misused. Mizuki tricked you! He only used you to get the scroll!"
Iruka's voice was firm despite the pain. "Even if it costs you your life, don't hand it over! Not to him!"
Satoru rolled his eyes inwardly.
Yeah, no kidding I'm not giving it to him!
Brother, can you stop narrating like it's a TV drama? Just hurry up and block the next attack so I can use Shadow Clone Jutsu to finish him off! This guy's acting like a final boss, and I'm this close to cringing myself to death.
"Don't listen to him, Naruto!" Mizuki cut in sharply. "Iruka's the one lying to you! He's been keeping secrets from you your whole life!"
With a twisted smirk, Mizuki decided to drop his big revelation—the kind that could shatter a young boy's world.
...
TN:
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