SEC Chapter 122, the first villain.
Chapter 122, the first villain.
That evening, after meeting with Satsuki's family and Iruka-sensei, Naruto returned to his small apartment building alone. However, as he went upstairs, he unexpectedly found a figure standing at his door.
A figure that he hadn't expected, yet seemed to appear according to some kind of "worldline convergence".
With a head of white hair and a seemingly warm smile on his face, he is none other than Mizuki, the first villain to appear in the Naruto story and one of the very few who was ultimately not tamed by "talk-no-jutsu".
"Hey, Naruto, are you free now?" Mizuki spoke up, his voice as gentle as ever.
"Oh! It's Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto immediately put on a surprised and polite expression. "Of course I'm free. Would you like to come in and have a seat?" Although he was inviting him, he subconsciously moved the backpack on his back a little further back.
Mizuki shook his head, his perfectly crafted "gentle" smile remaining unchanged. "No, I came to say something to you... First of all, congratulations on your graduation, Naruto. I'm sorry for the lateness of my congratulations; I saw you chatting happily with Iruka-sensei, so I didn't want to disturb you."
I have to say, this guy's acting skills are truly superb...
Naruto thought to himself, "This teacher-student relationship is so genuinely convincing, it's no wonder that even Iruka-sensei has been fooled by this guy since childhood."
The two exchanged a few more polite words at the door. Naruto's curiosity grew. This guy came to find me, surely to trick me into stealing the Book of Seals. But now that I've successfully graduated, what reason could he possibly have?
Sure enough, Mizuki changed the subject, his tone becoming more "sincere" and "earnest." "Naruto... you're truly amazing. I know there might still be some people in the village who are prejudiced against you, but your talent... I've seen it all. You'll definitely become a very powerful ninja in the future."
"Really? Well then, thank you for your kind words, Mizuki-sensei." Naruto gave a slightly shy and expectant smile.
Seeing this, Mizuki's smile deepened, and he continued, "But don't get arrogant. This is just the beginning. Actually, I'm here today with a special 'graduation gift' for you."
"A graduation gift?" Naruto feigned surprise at just the right moment. So that's what they were up to? Using a "gift" and a "secret" to lure me in?
Mizuki nodded solemnly. "Your talent is undoubtedly top-notch. However, from a teacher's perspective, I believe that... the knowledge you can learn at the Ninja Academy is ultimately limited and cannot fully unleash your true potential."
He leaned closer. "So, teacher, I know a... earth-shattering secret that can truly make you an outstanding ninja far surpassing your peers. How about it, will you accept this 'gift' from your teacher?"
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After "happily" accepting Mizuki's tempting "gift" and detailed "action plan" at the door, Naruto watched Mizuki's figure disappear around the corner of the street with just the right amount of excitement and anticipation on his face.
As soon as the door closed, Naruto's "innocence" vanished. The reason he agreed to Mizuki's persuasion was not for the so-called "secret," but because he had his own plans. First, the Book of Seals did indeed record many powerful forbidden techniques, especially the [Multiple Shadow Clone Technique], which was practically tailor-made for him.
He was determined to get this "cheat code." Secondly, it provided him with an excellent, unquestionable reason for a "fortuitous encounter" to properly master the Flying Thunder God Technique in the future as "Naruto Uzumaki."
More importantly, Naruto was absolutely certain at this moment that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was definitely observing everything here in real time through that crystal ball using the [Telescope Technique].
The Book of Seals contains numerous forbidden techniques collected and created by Konoha since its founding. It is the village's top secret, and its importance is comparable to the nuclear weapon codebook of the previous life.
How could the top secret of the number one ninja village in the ninja world be so easily stolen by a newly graduated "genin"?
It was less a success and more a case of the guards—the ANBU and elite ninjas—collectively "letting things slide." Their mission wasn't to stop Naruto at all, but simply to ensure that the Third Hokage's charade could proceed smoothly.
Naruto clearly analyzed the logic of the original work. This scene had two purposes. The first, and most important, was to make Naruto "accidentally" learn the [Multiple Shadow Clone Technique], which was extremely suitable for his enormous amount of chakra.
Secondly, this opportunity was used to induce the ever-scheming Mizuki to expose his plot, making it easier to purge his own ranks. The Third Hokage probably already suspected Mizuki.
However... Naruto thinks Mizuki was exposed simply because he was too stupid...
Naruto couldn't help but mentally criticize Mizuki's "glorious deeds."
During one of Mizuki's missions, one of his teammates injured his leg. Mizuki, fearing his teammate would slow down the mission and cause it to fail, actually killed him?!
I reckon Kisame Hoshigaki and Sakumo Hatake would both fall silent if they heard this.
Even more outrageous, he lied and claimed that his teammate's leg injury was beyond saving, and then smothered his teammate to death with his own hands... Did he think he was fooling the Hokage and the Anbu's intelligence system?
Then, this "god-like" operation was witnessed by Orochimaru, who was strolling nearby at the time. Orochimaru took one look and thought, "Wow! This kid is dark enough, has no bottom line, he's my type!" And then he was easily swayed by Orochimaru.
However, since Mizuki is still incorrigible and has come to his door, Naruto is happy to go with the flow. He can take advantage of this opportunity to get his hands on the first "cheat code" in the original work and help the Third Hokage get rid of this stupid and wicked guy.
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(There will be one more update today... The pace is a bit slow, but the author will try to speed it up.)
(Also, Sakura is still the third member of Team 7. Her feelings for Satsuki are admiration and respect, not camaraderie.)