Under the clear, moonlit Gekko, two figures sped along a winding path.
"You're saying Mizuki-sensei tricked me? Why?"
Naruto's voice involuntarily rose several decibels, betraying his incredulous shock.
He stared at the girl's unusually serious face, a wave of nervousness rising within him as he unconsciously swallowed his dry throat.
"His target was only the scroll of seals behind you, which contains many forbidden jutsu. He used our friendship to incite you to steal the scroll, but in reality, it was just so he could get the scroll of seals himself and then frame you."
"How could that be? Mizuki-sensei..."
Mizuki-sensei in his memories had always been a gentle figure; compared to the strict Iruka-sensei, he preferred Mizuki-sensei, who was like an older brother.
But he never expected Mizuki-sensei to actually use him.
But... how did Chizhao know?
Unaware of Naruto's questioning gaze, Chizhao searched all around for other Ninja, but it was completely silent, not even a single patrol.
Damn it...
What was happening now was completely different from what she remembered.
She could no longer predict what would happen next.
Old Man Hokage, are you still watching this live remotely?
That's right! Iruka!
She had to find Iruka.
Just then, several sharp Shuriken suddenly whizzed from behind Naruto, one of them precisely cutting the string of the scroll, causing it to slip from Naruto's back.
"Ah! The scroll!"
Naruto whipped his head around, grabbing the scroll just before it hit the ground.
He looked up and saw Mizuki on a tree branch, glaring at him menacingly.
"You damned fox demon, give me the scroll."
The Mizuki before him exuded a terrifying killing intent, completely unlike the Mizuki-sensei in his memories.
What worried him even more was why he called him a fox demon.
Chizhao stepped forward, standing in front of Naruto, holding a gleaming blade horizontally before her.
"Naruto, run! Go find Iruka-sensei, and if you can't find Iruka-sensei, go find Old Man Hokage."
A dangerous aura filled the surroundings. Naruto frowned deeply, tightening his grip on the scroll.
"What about you? I won't leave you behind!"
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
As a teacher, Mizuki naturally knew the skill levels of his students, but when he saw Chizhao draw her blade, a hint of surprise still flashed in his eyes.
"I never thought such a delicate-looking girl would have such a hidden side."
Mizuki leaped down from the tree trunk, the two large Shuriken on his back clanging together.
He landed steadily, a playful smile on his face:
"You wouldn't be secretly practicing swordsmanship to find an opportunity to kill the fox demon behind you, would you?"
Naruto's azure pupils constricted, his heart pounding.
"You..."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"Naruto?"
Chizhao, who was about to retort, was interrupted by the agitated Naruto behind her.
He slammed the scroll upright on the ground, half of his face hidden in shadow, his azure eyes flickering with a chilling, fearsome light.
"If you dare to slander Chizhao again, I'll kill you."
Huh?
Did she just steal Iruka's scene?
"Hmph! You damned fox demon, die!"
"Watch out!"
Naruto pushed the somewhat stunned Chizhao away, and a huge Shuriken, carrying a strong gust of wind, swiftly sliced between the two of them.
Immediately after, a rain of Shuriken scattered towards Naruto.
Chizhao, quick-witted, flashed in front of Naruto, drew her cang luan blade, and blocked all of them with a series of clangs.
【Good Deed Progress +3】
"Tsk! You annoying brat."
Seeing that he hadn't harmed either of them in the slightest, Mizuki's resentment grew even stronger.
"Naruto, take the scroll and run!"
Naruto, unwilling to abandon Chizhao, was about to retort but was met with her unusually bright gaze.
"It's okay, my taijutsu is really strong, you know."
Naruto clenched his fists, finally making up his mind, and nodded. He then struggled to his feet, hugging the scroll tightly, and ran towards the edge of the forest.
He had to trust Chizhao, and he had to protect the scroll!
At the same time, he also needed to quickly find others!
"Hmph! Do you think you can escape?!"
Mizuki chased after Naruto, but several Shuriken shot towards him from the front, interrupting his advance.
He deftly leaped backward, and several Shuriken embedded themselves deeply into the mud on the ground.
"Mizuki-sensei, Miss Tsubaki has been waiting for you to come back! Don't be so stubborn anymore!"
At the mention of Tsubaki's name, Mizuki's body stiffened for a moment.
"You... how do you know Tsubaki?"
"If you want to know, why don't you give up the scroll of seals and we can talk properly?"
Mizuki pondered for a moment, the shock on his face gradually turning into an evil grin.
"I finally understand why Orochimaru-sama wanted me to kidnap you."
"What? Orochimaru?"
What exactly was going on?
Meanwhile, Iruka-sensei was anxiously searching for Naruto.
Suddenly, he collided head-on with the running Naruto, both falling to the ground, wincing in pain.
Naruto was the first to react. He quickly got up and ran to Iruka, his voice urgent:
"Iruka-sensei! Hurry and help Chizhao! She's in great danger right now!"
Iruka came to his senses, and seeing the scroll of seals in Naruto's hand, his expression immediately became serious.
"What exactly is going on? Did you really take the scroll of seals, Naruto!"
Misunderstood, Naruto quickly waved his hands: "No! Iruka-sensei, listen to me..."
"Yo! Iruka, I didn't expect you to find your way here."
Naruto and Iruka simultaneously looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Mizuki standing on a tree trunk, his eyes radiating coldness as he stared directly at them.
Mizuki... what is this...
"You bastard! What did you do to Chizhao?!"
Naruto, suddenly enraged, looked at the unharmed Mizuki before him, his surrounding blue chakra faintly surging.
"Just a child, easily dealt with."
"What?!" Iruka's eyes widened, unable to believe Mizuki would say such a thing.
However, what he found even more unbelievable was that Naruto, beside him, was emitting a chilling killing intent. He looked at him in shock.
He saw the six whisker marks on his face gradually becoming clearer, his blue pupils turning into evil vertical slits, and his clenched teeth subtly sharpening.
His mind instantly returned to the disastrous scene 12 years ago when the fox demon attacked the Village.
A cold sweat dripped down his back.
"Look, Iruka! He's the fox demon who killed your parents! Now he's revealed his true colors, hurry and kill him to avenge your parents!"
"Shut up, Mizuki! Don't say another word!"
Naruto, filled with murderous intent, handed the scroll to Iruka, gritting his teeth and glaring fiercely at Mizuki on the tree, his usually lively voice now low.
"Fox demon? Yes, that's what the kids in the Village call me."
"But so what?"
"Besides Chizhao, I don't care about any of them."
"But you, you bastard, hurt her?!"
Naruto, radiating killing intent, made a cross sign with his hands in front of his chest, glaring at Mizuki and growling:
"Then you die too! Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!!"
In an instant, smoke billowed around, and countless Naruto Shadow Clones appeared, stunning both Iruka and Mizuki.
All the Shadow Clones rushed at Mizuki, kicking up thick dust around them.
But unexpectedly, Mizuki, who had barely been beaten twice, suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished from his spot.
"Damn it! Was that a Shadow Clone?"
Iruka quickly grabbed Naruto, who was about to rush out, his expression serious:
"Naruto! Calm down! Mizuki must have been lying just now, otherwise he wouldn't have sent a Shadow Clone to chase you!"
"Let go of me, Iruka-sensei, Chizhao must be in danger right now!"
Seeing Naruto's pupils return to normal, Iruka finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Then I'll go with you!"