Chapter 545: Mizuki's Scheme
The biggest news at the Ninja Academy recently was the upcoming graduation exam.
The second biggest piece of news was rather interesting.
Teacher Mizuki had apparently stopped teaching classes for quite some time.
However, not many people paid attention to it. Teachers at the Ninja Academy often rotated between duties. Some would teach for a while before returning to active service and taking missions again.
Overshadowed by the major event of the graduation exam, Mizuki's disappearance from the classroom was largely ignored.
After all, the graduation exam would determine whether many students could become ninja.
Although they would still need to pass the assessment given by their assigned jonin instructor, passing the academy's graduation exam essentially meant becoming a genin.
Because of that, many students continued diligently practicing the Three Basic Jutsu even during their breaks.
Strange looking clones could be seen running everywhere, while wooden logs kept appearing throughout the corridors whenever students practiced the Substitution Jutsu.
During lunch break, inside the cafeteria, Kenichi brought up the matter.
"Speaking of which, why isn't Teacher Mizuki teaching anymore?"
Kenichi was quite concerned about Mizuki.
He was not worried about the graduation exam at all. Under his guidance, Naruto could easily pass it now.
Naruto's greatest problem had been the Nine-Tails' chakra interfering with his own chakra, causing his ninjutsu to fail.
Kenichi had already helped him solve that problem.
"I don't know, but according to the rumors, Teacher Mizuki made some kind of mistake and is currently under investigation," Iruka replied.
Kenichi nodded thoughtfully.
It seemed the investigation into Mizuki was what had driven him into desperation, prompting him to steal Konoha's Scroll of Seals as a bargaining chip.
Whether he intended to join another faction or sell the scroll for money, it would still be an excellent asset.
Of course, that desperate plan had been completely useless.
Mizuki had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by the cunning Hiruzen.
Kenichi felt that even if Mizuki had successfully stolen the scroll, he would have immediately found himself surrounded by a group of jonin.
"Big brother, are you really that concerned about Teacher Mizuki?"
Naruto swallowed an octopus sausage and asked curiously.
Sasuke, who was sitting beside them, also looked over with interest.
After spending so much time with Kenichi, Sasuke had gained some understanding of his personality.
Kenichi was a rather peculiar person who did not normally concern himself with other people's affairs.
He showed no interest in gossip and never participated in it.
It was rare for him to inquire about someone like Mizuki.
"No. I'm just not worried about the graduation exam, so I became curious about Teacher Mizuki. His ninja tool classes used to be quite interesting."
Kenichi smiled and waved his hand.
Although Mizuki had never privately interacted with him, the man had been quite popular at the academy.
Many students believed Mizuki was a kind and gentle person.
Only Kenichi saw through him without saying anything.
"A lot of students really like Mizuki. I hope he'll be all right," Iruka said with a sigh.
He had a good impression of Mizuki.
Kenichi gave him a strange look.
According to the original story, you're about to be impaled by Mizuki's giant shuriken.
"Although ninja tools are useful, it's too difficult to become truly strong by relying on them."
Sasuke swallowed a mouthful of chicken and mushrooms.
He really liked the dish Kenichi made, oil-braised chicken with mushrooms. It tasted amazing, but Kenichi never brought much of it.
"And they're so expensive! How many bowls of ramen could you buy for the price of one explosive tag?"
Naruto added.
He seemed to calculate the value of everything in bowls of ramen.
Kenichi agreed with him on that point.
Only wealthy girls like Tenten could afford to fight primarily with ninja tools.
Of course, if someone asked who the richest woman in the Shinobi World was, Kenichi believed it had to be Konan.
The number of explosive tags she possessed was simply outrageous.
After finishing their meal, Kenichi took Naruto and Sasuke to the training ground.
Once they had rested enough, they began their daily training.
During this period, Kenichi had also adjusted Sasuke's training plan according to the changes in his physical condition.
Sasuke's physical fitness could not yet be described as exceptional, but it was at least much better than before.
Whenever Sasuke fought at close range now, his strength was considerably greater.
"You're challenging me again today?"
Kenichi looked at the panting Sasuke standing in front of him after completing his workout, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Mm."
Sasuke nodded silently.
Kenichi sighed.
Considering that Sasuke's entire family was dead, he decided not to complain.
Ever since Sasuke had started training with Kenichi every day, Kenichi had been forced to accept his challenges over and over again.
Sasuke truly possessed remarkable perseverance and an extraordinary desire to become stronger.
He had even expressed a desire to formally become Kenichi's disciple, which left Kenichi both amused and exasperated.
Still, Kenichi did have many ways to help Sasuke become stronger.
The simplest example was conducting an experiment to advance his Sharingan.
Perhaps it was time to speak with the Third Hokage.
Before the spar even began, Sasuke removed his weights and threw them to the ground, raising a large cloud of dust.
Naruto, who had been on his way to the restroom, heard the commotion and excitedly ran over.
What he enjoyed most was watching Sasuke get beaten up by his big brother.
"You came well prepared."
Kenichi looked at Sasuke.
Then he raised his left hand, pinched a shuriken between his fingers, and casually dropped it to the ground.
"Kenichi-sensei, be careful."
Sasuke immediately used Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
At the same time, two more Sasukes rushed in from the sides, kunai in hand as they aimed for Kenichi's waist.
However, when the Great Fireball and the kunai struck one after another, Kenichi's figure dissipated.
At the same moment, another figure flashed beside the Sasuke who had cast the Great Fireball Jutsu.
A handful of sand flew toward his face.
"It's useless!"
Sasuke quickly pulled down his goggles.
"What about this?"
As Kenichi spoke, a loud clang rang out.
Sasuke collapsed to the ground, his face twisting in pain as tears streamed from his eyes.
The two Sasukes holding kunai also disappeared.
Looking at the fallen Sasuke, Kenichi revealed a benevolent smile.
"Next time, remember to prepare something thicker. Otherwise, if the impact is too strong, it'll hurt even more."
Naruto shivered as he looked at his older brother's benevolent smile.
Then he turned toward Sasuke with sympathy.
He felt phantom pain just from watching.
Sasuke needed quite some time to recover.
Eventually, he slowly climbed to his feet and staggered toward the restroom.
Naruto watched Sasuke's retreating figure, and a sense of sympathy welled up inside him.
"Naruto, learning from your mistakes is a good habit, but it's no use if you learn the wrong lesson."
Kenichi shook his head as he watched Sasuke's desolate figure.
He truly could not understand why Sasuke had chosen to wear iron underwear.
It was completely useless.
Although Kenichi had ended their previous spar by kicking Sasuke between the legs, he had still been surprised when Sasuke brought out iron underwear this time.
The problem was that this was the Shinobi World.
A world where supernatural powers existed.
Ordinary steel could not provide meaningful protection.
Worse, it exposed the user's identity.
Kenichi had immediately recognized the Sasuke in front of him as the original because of the unusual bulge beneath his clothes.
Although Shadow Clones evenly divided the user's chakra, making them difficult to distinguish through ordinary methods, a Shadow Clone could not duplicate separate iron underwear.
Sasuke's defeat had therefore been inevitable.
Moreover, Kenichi had restrained his strength.
Otherwise, that kick alone might have forced Sasuke to restore the Uchiha Clan in an entirely different way, while Itachi would have gained a younger sister.
That would have been quite the joyous occasion.
Still, Sasuke's strategy had been rather interesting.
He had left his real body standing in place while pretending to be a Shadow Clone, then used his actual Shadow Clones to act like the main body and launch a surprise attack.
It had almost succeeded.
"Big brother, I understand."
Naruto looked at Kenichi, then silently lit a candle for Sasuke in his heart.
In Naruto's opinion, becoming his older brother's enemy was the worst possible decision anyone could make.
His big brother was not only powerful, but also fought using extremely ruthless tactics.
During this time, Naruto's feelings toward Sasuke had gradually changed from envy, jealousy, and resentment to sympathy.
Sasuke was simply too miserable.
Kenichi tormented him in all sorts of ways.
Yet Sasuke remained indomitable.
That made Naruto admire him a little.
If Kenichi tormented Naruto like that, Naruto felt he would have given up and run away long ago.
"Keep training."
Kenichi yawned, then continued refining and compressing the chakra within his body.
When the midday training session ended, Kenichi took Naruto and Sasuke back to the classroom.
Coincidentally, the first lesson that afternoon was ninja tool training.
It was originally supposed to be taught by Mizuki, but he had now been replaced by someone else.
The substitute was an unfamiliar female ninja with a striking figure, which caused some of the students to become restless.
"Today, I'll be teaching you about a very common ninja tool, the explosive tag. This type of ninja tool possesses tremendous destructive power, and if you aren't careful..."
The teacher lectured at the front of the classroom while Naruto stared blankly into space.
Suddenly, a wave of weakness washed over him.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and gripped the desk.
After taking a moment to recover, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
When he left home that morning, he had followed his big brother's advice and left a Shadow Clone behind to practice ninjutsu.
The technique he was practicing was the Rasengan.
The Rasengan naturally needed little introduction.
It was an A-rank ninjutsu with immense power, capable of producing different effects depending on the chakra infused into it.
In the future, Naruto would develop many variations of the technique, though the current Naruto did not know that yet.
Kenichi had taught Naruto this ninjutsu so that he could begin practicing it early and gain another method of attack.
After all, Kenichi also knew the Rasengan's basic principles.
Its essence was to make chakra rotate irregularly and continuously, compress it into a spherical shape, then stabilize it to form the completed Rasengan.
It required no hand seals, was convenient to use, possessed extraordinary power, and could be developed into many different variations later.
It was an excellent technique.
However, an A-rank ninjutsu was still an A-rank ninjutsu.
It remained extremely difficult for Naruto to master.
Fortunately, Naruto was diligent enough.
His dream of becoming Hokage constantly pushed him to keep improving.
"I wonder what kind of results I'll get after practicing for a year..."
Naruto yawned.
He looked at the explosive tag in the teacher's hand.
Naturally, it was a defective demonstration tag with no explosive power.
Naruto would definitely never use explosive tags himself.
They were far too expensive.
Soon, the day's classes ended.
Mizuki, the person Kenichi was most concerned about, never appeared.
This made Kenichi somewhat curious.
Was Mizuki planning to obtain the Scroll of Seals through some other method?
The possibility was not high.
After all, Mizuki knew about the Nine-Tails.
He also understood the Nine-Tails' importance.
While thinking about this, Kenichi walked with Naruto toward the academy gates.
The moment they arrived, he sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere ahead.
The parents waiting to collect their children were looking at Naruto with scornful eyes.
This happened every day.
The difference was that their hostility was particularly intense today.
"Tsk, that child is..."
"How terrifying. How can someone like that become a ninja? Does he even have the right?"
"He won't kill us all, will he?"
"Be good and remember to stay away from him. I heard your teacher say that he beats people at school every day, and he beats them so badly..."
Malicious glances and whispered conversations surrounded them.
Even when Kenichi walked past with Naruto, those people barely lowered their voices.
The disgust in their eyes was even more chilling.
Such words naturally had no effect on Kenichi.
However, after noticing Naruto's discomfort, Kenichi knew his younger brother still cared deeply about what these people said.
A violent emotion surged within him.
"Your mouths smell awful. Did you eat feces for lunch?"
Kenichi narrowed his eyes and coldly stared at the crowd.
The parents exchanged uneasy looks, but none dared to respond.
Kenichi's aura was extremely powerful and carried an overwhelming sense of deterrence.
He narrowed his eyes and scanned the people present.
There were no Konoha jonin among them.
Was that because they had already received a warning from the Third Hokage?
Naruto lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly.
His eyes had become slightly red.
After all, the current Naruto was still only a child.
The malice surrounding him still hurt.
Kenichi sighed and ruffled Naruto's hair.
Should I revive the Fourth Hokage in this world?
But doing so would require finding the Shinigami Mask first and releasing the Fourth Hokage's soul.
Looking at Naruto, Kenichi developed a suspicion.
Could this be Mizuki's scheme?
First, he would attack Naruto emotionally and strengthen his sense of inferiority.
Then he would find a way to manipulate Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals.
After thinking about it carefully, the possibility did not seem low.
And had these people not just claimed they had heard everything from a teacher at the academy?
Most teachers would not spread idle gossip like this.
But Mizuki might.
That man definitely had plans for Naruto.
.....
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