No one in the arena was more shaken than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This wasn't my doing. Konoha doesn't possess anything even close to this.
Even so, not a trace of that turmoil showed on his face. A man who had sat in the Hokage's seat for so many years would never let his thoughts show so easily.
Beside him, the "Fourth Kazekage"—Orochimaru in disguise—kept his eyes fixed on the floating ranking, his expression grave.
No one understood Konoha better than he did.
Which was exactly why he knew this had nothing to do with the village.
With Konoha's current level of technology, something like this simply should not have been possible.
And that made it all the more unsettling.
For the first time, even Orochimaru hesitated.
Should he still proceed with the Konoha Crush?
In the stands, Ren Kazuki watched everything with quiet composure.
He knew perfectly well what had caused this upheaval.
The ranking system.
He had activated it himself.
Then, just as the tension in the arena peaked—
Boom—!
Another deep, bell-like peal rang out from the golden scroll in the sky.
The whole world seemed to shudder.
A blinding white light erupted, washing over the entire shinobi world before fading as suddenly as it had appeared.
When the light finally receded, the golden ranking scroll had changed. It was now divided into several sections, and at the very bottom, three bold words slowly emerged.
Sinister Ranking!
For a moment, everyone froze.
Sinister Ranking?
What was that supposed to mean?
A ranking of the most vile and treacherous people in the entire shinobi world?
Confusion swept across every corner of the world.
Ren Kazuki, however, only smiled faintly as his eyes drifted toward Orochimaru on the high platform.
This was going to be fun.
After all, a man who had murdered his own teacher was almost guaranteed to have a place on that list.
Then the ranking flared with light again.
Under countless stunned gazes, a single name gradually appeared at the very bottom.
[Sinister Ranking — Rank 10: Mizuki]
The moment the name appeared, a sharp burst of white light exploded from the ranking.
Whether in the world of the living or in the Pure Land, everyone saw the same scene unfold before their eyes.
[A busy street appeared. The Ninja Academy and the hospital stood on either side, while clean roads stretched beneath the shade of lush trees.]
[The forehead protectors worn by the people passing through made it obvious.]
[This was Konoha.]
In the Pure Land, Tobirama's eyes lit up at once.
[Tobirama Senju: Big brother, do you see that? That's my Konoha!]
[Hashirama Senju: Has Konoha already developed this far? Excellent… truly excellent!]
[Tobirama Senju: Of course. The village is under the leadership of my finest student, Hiruzen Sarutobi. How could it possibly lag behind?]
[Tobirama Senju: And he has my other students supporting him as well—Danzō, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and the rest. They are all my finest disciples, especially Hiruzen and Danzō.]
[Tobirama Senju: I have no doubt they will inherit the Will of Fire, protect the village, and lead it into prosperity.]
Tobirama spoke with unmistakable pride, his chin lifted slightly.
[Hashirama Senju: Mm. Then your students have done well. Your judgment truly is dependable, Tobirama!]
[Tobirama Senju: Naturally, Big Brother!]
The image shifted.
[A young man had just accepted a mission and set off with complete confidence.]
[His bangs covered part of his forehead, and a giant shuriken was strapped to his back.]
[His mission was to retrieve a scroll.]
[That young man was Mizuki.]
The scene changed again.
[Midway through the mission, Mizuki's teammate was injured by an enemy and suffered a minor wound to the leg.]
[Mizuki walked over.]
[Moved by what seemed like concern, the injured shinobi weakly said, "Don't worry about me… go finish the mission…"]
Then everything changed.
[Mizuki stepped closer.]
[In the next instant, he clamped both hands over his teammate's mouth and nose.]
[Ignoring the frantic struggle, he suffocated him to death.]
The vision shifted once more.
[After the mission ended, a shinobi in charge of investigating deaths questioned Mizuki about what had happened.]
[Wearing a grief-stricken expression, Mizuki replied, "H-He died because of the leg injury… sob…"]
The moment the scene ended, the crowd exploded.
Everyone was furious.
Disgusted.
They had chosen the path of a shinobi, risking their lives on dangerous missions, all for the sake of the village, their comrades, and the people they wanted to protect.
And yet Mizuki had murdered his own teammate over nothing more than a leg injury, simply because he did not want to be slowed down.
"Damn it! I'd never team up with someone like that!"
"What a coward! Thank goodness this ranking exposed him, or who knows how many more people would've died because of him!"
"Disgusting! Someone like that deserves to die!"
"A minor leg injury, and he killed his own comrade for it? He's worse than a beast!"
The entire arena erupted in curses and outrage.
Not far away, Kakashi Hatake's gaze turned icy.
He would never forget what had happened to his father.
Sakumo Hatake had abandoned a mission in order to save his comrades, only to be condemned for it and driven to death.
And now here was Mizuki—
a man who had done the complete opposite.
He had killed a comrade rather than risk being delayed.
He lied.
He deceived.
He betrayed.
There wasn't a shred of humanity in him.
A cold fire burned in Kakashi's eyes.
Nearby, the other Konoha genin were just as furious.
Naruto clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, his eyes locked on the name displayed across the ranking.
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