Chapter 179: The Man Behind the Man Behind the Scenes

Chapter 179: The Man Behind the Man Behind the Scenes

Ninja School.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Akihara Kagura stood on high ground.

The Third Hokage and this young Hokage's aide sized up a group of graduating Genin, also noticing the disappearance of Mizuki, Umino Iruka, and Uzumaki Naruto.

"Are you all prepared?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen quietly asked Akihara Kagura.

"Yes."

Akihara Kagura nodded and continued, "If nothing unexpected happens, they should be on their way to steal the Scroll of Seals now. This time, I strictly followed the guidance of the Hokage. Neither the process nor the result should have any mistakes..."

"???"

Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brow.

What do you mean there won't be any mistakes!

It seems like something unexpected has already happened!

According to his own guidance, wasn't Mizuki supposed to lure Uzumaki Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals, and then Umino Iruka would go to stop Mizuki and Uzumaki Naruto?

Why did Umino Iruka go to steal the Scroll of Seals as well?

Of course.

If we're speaking seriously...

Actually, Umino Iruka, Mizuki, and Uzumaki Naruto weren't going to steal the Scroll of Seals, because they didn't need to sneak in or rob it from someone.

Perhaps this action should be called taking.

The group went to the home of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Umino Iruka was hesitating about whether to go along, but a word from Mizuki made it impossible for him to disobey.

"This is an order from the higher-ups."

Mizuki looked at Umino Iruka, smiling at him: "The village's higher-ups have ordered us to take Naruto to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique from the Scroll of Seals. We'll judge whether Naruto can become a ninja based on his learning results..."

"..."

Umino Iruka was in turmoil.

He had indeed received such an order, yet that technique is a forbidden jutsu that could endanger Uzumaki Naruto's life.

However...

Umino Iruka couldn't refuse.REaaD lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only

Along the way, the two of them, taking Uzumaki Naruto with them, almost effortlessly arrived at Sarutobi Hiruzen's home. A Root ninja guarding the Scroll of Seals handed it over to them upon seeing Umino Iruka and Mizuki arriving together.

"Chunin Iruka, were you ordered to retrieve the Scroll of Seals? Lord Kagura has instructed that it be handed over to you if you came for it."

"Yes."

Umino Iruka blankly accepted the Scroll of Seals.

"Then we'll be leaving now."

Mizuki, still smiling, greeted them, taking Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto away: "First, let's find a place for Naruto to learn the techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals..."

Inside a training ground in the Village of Konoha.

Umino Iruka, holding the Scroll of Seals, still felt uneasy: "Should we wait, isn't it unsafe for a child like Naruto to learn forbidden jutsu? After all, the techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals are very dangerous, should we..."

"It's okay, I can do it, Teacher Iruka!"

Uzumaki Naruto adjusted his goggles on his head, eager to learn the techniques from the Scroll of Seals and replace his goggles with a ninja headband.

"Hurry up."

Mizuki took the Scroll of Seals from Umino Iruka's hands, spread it out on the ground, and whispered, "The Scroll of Seals is a secret of the village. It was not easy for us to obtain it. I spent quite a bit of effort to get the Scroll of Seals..."

"..."

Umino Iruka suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

However, Uzumaki Naruto seemed to still be unaware, looking down at the Scroll of Seals, recorded with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, somewhat despondently said, "I'm not good at clone techniques to begin with, how could I possibly learn such a difficult technique..."

"It's okay."

Mizuki patted Uzumaki Naruto's little head, smiling warmly as he said, "If you can't learn it, we won't bother with it anymore. After all, you've already tried your hardest..."

"Huh?"

Uzumaki Naruto looked at Mizuki, curiously asking, "But if I don't master this technique, doesn't that mean I won't be able to graduate..."

"What a naive and adorable little guy!"

Mizuki chuckled gently, saying with a soft laugh, "After today, you'll be considered a criminal of the village. Why worry about graduating then?"

"Criminal?"

Uzumaki Naruto's face wrinkled in confusion: "What do you mean?"

"Naruto!"

Umino Iruka grabbed Uzumaki Naruto with one hand.

At that moment, Umino Iruka wasn't sure what was going on with Mizuki, but he was certain that something was off about him, and he couldn't let Naruto be in danger!

However, Umino Iruka's action was blocked, as Mizuki caught Umino Iruka's wrist. Umino Iruka, unwilling to give up, tried to fight back!

Mizuki's physical skills had become exceptionally good at some point, effortlessly defeating Umino Iruka's resistance and kicking him away!

"A criminal... indeed, a criminal..."

Mizuki then turned to a shocked Uzumaki Naruto, his smile gradually becoming more sinister: "Twelve years ago, you committed the same crime, Uzumaki Naruto..."

"Shut up!"

Umino Iruka charged towards Mizuki!

However, Mizuki flipped his hand, throwing several shurikens, severely injuring Umino Iruka!

"Let's continue our earlier conversation..."

"Twelve years ago, the Nine-Tails Fox inside you caused the Kyuubi calamity in Konoha, leading to significant losses for the entire village and also killing Iruka's parents..."

Mizuki squatted next to Uzumaki Naruto, speaking cruel words with a smile: "I've always been curious, what exactly motivated Iruka to treat you the way he does. I don't understand why he took such good care of you. Did he think the Nine-Tails inside you wouldn't go berserk?"

"So..."

"Of course!"

"I want to become the Hokage!"

"To become the greatest Hokage!"

Uzumaki Naruto's unyielding dream was to "become a Hokage who surpasses all previous Hokage! To be acknowledged by everyone!"

"So..."

Umino Iruka looked at Uzumaki Naruto, and said softly, "Are you prepared to sacrifice your life for this? Just like the Fourth Hokage did twelve years ago during the Nine-Tails' attack, sacrificing his life to save the village. Do you have such determination?"

"Yes!"

Uzumaki Naruto bit his lip with a resolute expression.

"Then... it's time..."

Umino Iruka looked at Uzumaki Naruto with an unprecedented seriousness: "Now, we must stop Mizuki from learning to break the seal. Did you see the technique of Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu? That's a powerful technique, capable of creating many clones..."

"If you can use that technique..."

"You can stop Mizuki from using you to cause the Nine-Tails' disturbance..."

"But..."

Uzumaki Naruto hesitated, doubting his own talent.

Umino Iruka looked at the student before him, and said solemnly, "If you want to steadfastly do something, you must be prepared to risk your life, believing that you can achieve it... Naruto, do you have the determination to protect Konoha at all costs?"

Besides learning that technique...

They really had no other choice!

Uzumaki Naruto's other techniques were not up to standard, only his physical testing and stamina were decent, but facing Mizuki, just a few shuriken could block his path of escape!

"Yes!"

Uzumaki Naruto gritted his teeth, raised his fingers, and struggled to recall the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu he had seen.

"Ninjutsu·Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Perhaps this technique was inherently compatible with him, or perhaps it was his resolve at the moment, but when Uzumaki Naruto raised his fingers and let the chakra flow within him, countless shadow clones appeared beside him!

"Naruto!"

A severely injured Umino Iruka's face lit up with joy!

Naruto succeeded...

This meant Mizuki's conspiracy had encountered an unexpected setback!

"Hm?"

Mizuki, as if just realizing what was happening, turned around only to see countless Uzumaki Naruto clones surrounding him, his body involuntarily trembling!

These numerous clones gave Uzumaki Naruto tremendous confidence, believing that so many could overcome Mizuki and resolve the crisis of the Nine-Tails' disturbance!

"Brat..."

"You... you think this will defeat me?"

"Let's see then!"

Countless clones pounced towards Mizuki!

With Mizuki being overwhelmed by a group of clones, the crisis that could have sparked another Nine-Tails' disturbance was destined to end – or rather, its outcome was predetermined from the start.

Outside the training ground.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, hiding nearby and holding a pipe in his mouth, looked on with rare satisfaction, nodding to Akihara Kagura beside him: "This time, it was indeed well done. But how did you convince Mizuki?"

"It was simple."

Akihara Kagura did not mention at all that he allowed Tendo Shisui to use shadows to manipulate Mizuki. Instead, he reached out and pulled out Mizuki's confession: "As long as he agrees to act well, I might consider leaving him a whole corpse, considering his mistake is serious enough to warrant interrogation..."

"This is..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, upon seeing the list of crimes written by Mizuki himself, had some predictions in his heart: "It turns out that the teammate Mizuki reported as dead due to injuries was killed by him. At that time, I thought disregarding a teammate's life and death already made him unfit to be a teacher, but I didn't expect him to go to such lengths, even killing his own teammate..."

As Sarutobi Hiruzen continued reading, when he saw the last part about colluding with Orochimaru, he sighed softly: "Orochimaru, this guy, indeed becomes the greatest danger to Konoha..."

"Yes..."

Akihara Kagura nodded, then suddenly said, "However, Teacher Jiraiya thinks Lord Danzo is the most dangerous..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent, unable to speak.

Both Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo are dangers to Konoha.

"Let's go."

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around and said, "Let's go back to rest early. Tomorrow we still have to discuss the division of these graduates and the selection of Jonin instructors..."

"What about the Scroll of Seals?"

Akihara Kagura looked at the Scroll of Seals, curiously asking, "What techniques are written in the Scroll of Seals? Are there stronger techniques?"

"No."

Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately dismissed Akihara Kagura's thought, saying solemnly, "The Scroll of Seals is just some forbidden techniques left by the Second Hokage. Its power is far less than the First Hokage's Wood Release. It's not worth your time to learn..."

The forbidden techniques not only have no learning value but might even lead Akihara Kagura astray. The techniques involve using living people as sacrifices, and Akihara Kagura is not particularly concerned about life.

Sarutobi Hiruzen plans to have Anbu come to retrieve the Scroll of Seals as soon as he returns. He doesn't want Akihara Kagura to see the contents of the Scroll of Seals.

However...

Akihara Kagura wouldn't care.

Because when arranging for the Scroll of Seals, letting his subordinates see the contents of the Scroll of Seals is enough, as long as the subordinates can recount the names of the techniques and their simple contents, without needing the numerous steps and even pictures for learning.

~~~

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