Naruto froze for a moment at Mizuki's words. He blinked, then asked:
"Mizuki-sensei, what... what do you mean by that?"
Mizuki's mental state looked strange, unnervingly off, like he was under some kind of hallucinogen. There was something sinister about him.
Honestly, even though Naruto had prepared himself, seeing Mizuki's face appear so suddenly still gave him a shock.
"Tomorrow is the Ninja Academy graduation exam, isn't it?" Mizuki asked.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded.
"Then Naruto, are you confident you'll pass?" Mizuki squinted, his gaze half-smiling as he studied Naruto.
"Well, you know me, Mizuki-sensei." Naruto scratched his head, pretending to be embarrassed. "Looks like I'll be held back again this year."
"Then, Naruto, do you want to become stronger? By chance, I know a secret — one that will guarantee you pass the exam."
Naruto's eyelid twitched.
If Mizuki knew he had scored full marks on the Three Basic Techniques test this afternoon, he wouldn't be saying this.
But come to think of it, Mizuki hadn't shown up at the Academy all day. So it made sense he didn't know. Which also meant he hadn't checked with Iruka — he had come straight to Naruto.
So anxious. Something must have gone wrong, forcing Mizuki to rush and try to trick him into stealing the Scroll of Seals.
The problem was, the Scroll of Seals was nothing more than a stage trap set by the village itself.
Naruto couldn't help but find it absurd.
Now they cared about the jinchūriki's mental state? Now they were afraid he might grow hatred for the village?
Only now, after so much delay, they wanted to run a show about "bonds" and "recognition" to brainwash him?
The thinking of Konoha's leadership was like it came straight from the sewers.
If they really wanted to protect the secret, why suppress the fact he was the Fourth's son, yet let slip the rumor that he was the Nine-Tails' vessel?
Keep his parentage hidden, but let villagers call him a fox demon? What a blatant double standard. Kicking him down into the mud.
Even capitalists wouldn't play it like this. No compensation, just manipulation. They let the villagers target him, then expected him to swallow it all and still be brainwashed into protecting the village. The nerve.
The stage was set, the actors in place, and the grand play of "Will of Fire brainwashing the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki" was ready to begin.
All he had to do was nod. Mizuki would rush off to Iruka, claim Naruto had stolen the Scroll, and Naruto — of course — could easily take it.
What madness had seized Mizuki, to believe so naively a kid could steal something as important as the Scroll of Seals, on par with the Nine-Tails itself?
Yet from his eyes, he truly believed it.
Naruto had no intention of agreeing. The Scroll of Seals didn't interest him. At best, he could learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu from it — and with the System at his side, that wasn't a big deal.
More importantly, he didn't want to walk into this pre-scripted tearjerker, forcing himself to act "moved." That would feel worse than death.
If it was about protecting those who treated him as an equal, he could accept that. But to protect the village as a whole? Hard to believe.
Why should he repay hatred with kindness?
No way!
Just as Naruto was about to refuse, the System panel popped up again.
[Option 1: Refuse Mizuki's offer and tell him to scram before he disturbs your fishing spot. Reward: Max-Level Fishing.]
[Option 2: Accept Mizuki's offer and steal the Scroll of Seals. Reward: Impure World Reincarnation (Incomplete).]
Naruto glanced once and made his choice immediately.
Sure, stealing the Scroll would give him the Shadow Clone Jutsu and a broken version of Edo Tensei.
But... what was the point of a broken Edo Tensei? It required living sacrifices. Tasteless to use, a waste to ignore.
And right now, he had no one he especially wanted to revive.
The Shadow Clone was tempting, but it came with messy complications he didn't want.
"Mizuki-sensei, I refuse." Naruto's voice was calm.
"What?" Mizuki was stunned.
He hadn't expected Naruto to reject him. In his mind, Naruto was always a brainless, impulsive dead-last.
"Why? Naruto, this is a rare chance. If you give it up, you'll regret it forever!"
"There's no need to waste your breath." Naruto gave him a sidelong look. "My mind's made up. More words are meaningless."
"Don't you want to grow stronger, Naruto? Don't you want the village to recognize you?" Mizuki pressed desperately.
"Eh, recognition? Sounds like a pain." Naruto said casually. "Since I was little, people in the village never liked me."
"Keep pushing, and they'll only hate me more, right?"
Mizuki faltered, speechless for a moment.
Then...
"Naruto, don't you want to know why the villagers treat you that way?" His voice came again, sly and coaxing.
"You want to say I'm the Nine-Tailed Fox, don't you?" Naruto's voice was flat. He lazily gripped his fishing rod. "The monster that destroyed the village and killed villagers?"
"You! How did you know?" Mizuki staggered back, shocked.
"Please. I'm twelve, not three." Naruto turned to stare at him. "Mizuki-sensei, I have ears."
"I grew up here. From the time I could remember, people avoided me. Shopkeepers always glared. Villagers too."
"I wanted to buy fresh vegetables. I wanted to live under the sun like anyone else. But I was forced to huddle in the shadows, watching kids my age go home to warm meals."
"Mizuki-sensei, you've been ostracized before, haven't you? You should understand. Suffering isn't treasure, it's just something unavoidable."
"I was bullied, and no one spoke up for me."
"But so what? I'm not the fox. None of it has anything to do with me. I'm just me. Uzumaki Naruto."
Mizuki gaped. "Why? You know everything! Don't you resent the village?"
Naruto looked back to his rod, the hook glinting beneath the moonlit water, ripples circling outward.
He didn't know if the one asking was Mizuki himself, or the hand pulling his strings. Resent the village?
Of course he resented it. But he couldn't say so. At least, not now.
After a long silence, the System's mechanical voice chimed in his head.
[Max-Level Fishing activated]
A grass carp tugged free of the water just as Naruto reeled it in. His calm voice followed, blending with the night wind.
"No."
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