Ding!
[Dear Host, congratulations on selecting Mission C: Kill Mizuki and prepare to defect from Konoha.]
[Note: This mission is under a countdown. The Host must defect from Konoha within two years. Failure to do so will result in automatic death with no chance of resurrection.]
What the hell?! A time limit?!
Are they afraid I'll just ignore the mission?
Satoru was speechless. Defecting from Konoha? How hard could it be?
Even a Genin like Sasuke ran off with just a Chidori and a brooding attitude. And I'm someone with a system in hand! Running away is beneath me.
I'll leave through the front gates—no, I'll blow the gates off and walk out with style!
Mission accepted. Time to stop pretending.
(Author's note: For convenience, the MC Satoru has taken over Naruto's identity. From here on, Satoru is Naruto. Satoru is no more. Now begins the legend of the most badass ninja, Naruto!)
"Oi, Mizuki, are you done monologuing yet? You talk too much. If you're finished, come over here and die already."
Naruto stretched his arms and rolled his neck, the crisp crack of his joints breaking the silence.
Iruka lay nearby, a massive shuriken embedded in his back, blood trickling as he clung to life. Tears welled in his eyes, his expression filled with regret and sadness.
"Naruto..." he whispered hoarsely. "Run... You're one of the best students I've ever had. Don't listen to Mizuki's lies. I'll cover for you—just get out of here. Reinforcements will be here soon..."
Naruto rolled his eyes. NPC behavior at its finest.
Big bro, the reinforcements are already watching. That peeping Third Hokage is glued to his crystal ball. There's no way the Anbu aren't stationed nearby. You really bought into the old man's drama?
"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said casually. "Even if there were ten Mizukis, I wouldn't flinch. Besides, you can help me test out a new ninjutsu—let's see if it meets the graduation standards!"
"You damn brat!" Mizuki shouted. "Still acting cocky after you ran off with your tail between your legs? And you're calling me a fool?!"
"You damn Nine-Tails! Prepare to die!"
With a snarl, Mizuki flicked his wrist. Several kunai flew from his sleeves, sharp and fast.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!
He reached behind him with his other hand, grabbing another giant shuriken—hexagonal and deadly. With a spin of his arm, he launched it with a sound like ripping wind.
Snap!
The massive shuriken cut through trees like a buzzsaw, splinters raining down as it carved a destructive path straight toward Naruto.
Kunai from the front, shuriken from behind. A perfect pincer attack.
Mizuki sneered. Dead from both sides. Classic.
Kill Naruto. Finish off Iruka. Take the Scroll of Seals. Disappear.
When I come back after training with Lord Orochimaru, who in this pathetic village could stop me?
Orochimaru-sama will be pleased with this gift.
Wahahahahaha!
Mizuki laughed maniacally in his mind.
As the saying goes: When people go mad, disaster follows. When the weather goes mad, rain falls.
But before Mizuki could savor his victory—
He froze.
Where Naruto should have been—shredded to bits, body torn apart—there was only...
Poof!
A puff of green smoke.
The Naruto he attacked vanished like a scrap of paper caught in the wind.
"This… this isn't a Substitution Technique!"
Mizuki's face twisted in disbelief. The Substitution Jutsu—Kawarimi no Jutsu—always left behind a replacement, usually a log or another object. But this?
This one vanished into smoke.
His eyes widened.
"Shadow Clone…?!"
Yes. Only the Shadow Clone Technique—Kage Bunshin no Jutsu—dissipates into smoke when hit.
Before Mizuki could fully process that thought, a voice suddenly rang out from the nearby bushes.
"Hey, idiot Mizuki! You think I'd go down that easily? Today, I'm going to beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you!"
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" — Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!
The moment Naruto shouted the words, the underbrush exploded with movement.
Bushes rustled. Tree branches swayed.
One after another, yellow-haired boys in bright orange jumpsuits stepped out, each with the same cocky grin, same determined eyes.
In an instant, the entire area—tree trunks, forest floor, hillsides—was filled with Narutos.
Thousands of them.
A sea of yellow and orange. As far as the eye could see, the woods were overflowing with shadow clones.
Mizuki turned, eyes darting, heart pounding. Everywhere he looked—Naruto.
"W-What the hell?! So many clones?! How is this even possible?!"
It had taken only a few breaths. In mere seconds, Naruto had filled the entire clearing with what had to be three or four thousand clones.
Mizuki was stunned.
What just happened? A moment ago, I was on the attack—how did I become the one surrounded?!
Urgent question for the forums: What do you do when surrounded by several thousand Narutos?
Best answer gets my life savings.
Naruto stepped forward, arms crossed, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Oi, Mizuki! Weren't you just yelling about killing me? Well, here I am. What are you waiting for? Come on, try it!"
"Go on, don't be shy—kill me if you can!"
Thousands of Narutos echoed him, mocking, taunting. Their jeers came from all directions, overlapping in a wave of pressure that made Mizuki's knees buckle slightly.
But Naruto didn't attack yet.
He didn't need to. The prey was already on the board, and no one could save it now. Not the Anbu. Not the Hokage. Not Orochimaru.
If anyone thinks they can stop me, step up and try.
Mizuki clenched his fists, his voice trembling as he roared back:
"You damn fox brat! Don't think just because you learned Shadow Clones you've won! There are people in this world who could kill you with a single finger!"
Although Mizuki's eyes were filled with fear, he still tried to save face by shouting in defiance.
"Tch! Damn it! You were running away just now, and I didn't even get serious. What, now that the tables have turned, you're still yapping threats?"
Naruto's expression darkened the moment he heard that.
Oh, I know who you're talking about.
That scumbag.
Say his name. Go on, I dare you. I'll beat the crap out of him too, once I'm done with you.
The front row of Narutos cracked their knuckles, grinning as they approached Mizuki.
"Oi, dumbass! Are you gonna kill me or what? If not, then I'm killing you!"
Snarling, Mizuki drew a kunai from his sleeve and lunged at the closest clone.
Bang!
The kunai hit a target—but the Naruto clone vanished in a puff of green smoke.
Bang! Bang!
Two more. Gone just like that. No resistance. No blood. Only smoke.
From all around, Naruto's voice echoed mockingly:
"Ooh, nice one! That's three of me down! You're really making progress!"
"Only about 3,000 or so left—keep stabbing, Mizuki! Don't stop now!"
"In fact, I don't even have to fight back. I'll just let you exhaust yourself stabbing them one by one. You'll drop dead from overwork before you finish!"
Naruto looked at him like he was watching a fool juggle knives over a pit.
Honestly, what kind of moron tries stabbing Shadow Clones to death?
The last guy I remember doing something this dumb was Danzo...
Using a kunai to poke Susanoo. Now Mizuki's using a kunai to poke through three thousand clones.
What's the difference?
None. Both are just bottom-tier brain activity.
Naruto shook his head slowly.
Man… are people in this world just naturally low on IQ?
Off to the side, Iruka still hadn't moved. He lay on the ground, stunned, the huge hexagonal shuriken still sticking out of his back like a broken wing. He hadn't even thought to pull it out.
He stared at the scene, speechless.
Was this really Naruto?
The same dead-last prankster who couldn't even make a proper clone in class?
This... This was unreal.
...
TN:
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