Naruto's meteoric rise shook the entire academy.
But there was one man who watched it all with not pride, but a gnawing, uncontrollable jealousy and irritation.
Mizuki—chunin instructor at the academy.
From the office window, Mizuki stared at the training field below. Naruto, surrounded by classmates, was trading moves with Sasuke. A dark chill pooled in Mizuki's eyes.
His plan was in ruins.
In the original script, Naruto was supposed to be the perfect stepping stone for Mizuki's climb.
By that script, Naruto should have been the "demon fox" despised by the whole village—a dead-last starving for recognition, insecure and alone.
Mizuki would be the only teacher to show him "kindness."
Wearing a gentle mask, he'd earn Naruto's trust. On the eve of graduation, he'd whisper a "shortcut to glory" into Naruto's ear:
Steal the Book of Seals from the Hokage's office.
Once Naruto risked everything and succeeded, Mizuki would snatch the scroll, kill Naruto, defect from the village with the scroll of countless forbidden arts in hand, and pledge himself to Orochimaru.
A perfect plan.
Use a naive child to do the most dangerous part.
But now the script had been torn to shreds.
The Naruto before him was no dead-last.
He was the Fourth Hokage's son, the Namikaze family's second young master, a peerless prodigy adored by all—even Uchiha Sasuke had to go all-out to chase him.
He had powerful parents, a mysterious elder brother, and a crowd of friends.
He was confident, sunny, and open.
Insecure? Lonely? Desperate for recognition?
Not a shadow of those things clung to him.
Trying to bait him with the old spiel would be pure fantasy.
Mizuki's fist clenched.
Give up?
Give up on the Book of Seals—his ticket to real power?
No.
He refused.
Why could Namikaze Minato return from death? Why did his son have everything, while he—Mizuki—languished as a no-name chunin teacher, forever looking up at them?
Jealousy coiled like a viper and bit deep into his heart.
He needed a new angle.
If he couldn't exploit Naruto's "inferiority," he would exploit his "genius."
A genius must have pride that surpasses the common crowd—a craving for greater power.
Mizuki began his new plan.
Under the banner of "special instruction," he kept Naruto after school each day.
Unlike Iruka-sensei, he didn't stay at the basics.
He started giving Naruto a private "advanced track."
"Naruto, your talent is the greatest I've ever seen," Mizuki said with a warm, appreciative smile. "Ordinary training is already holding you back. You need deeper knowledge."
He talked about the history of ninjutsu, the origins of forbidden arts.
"Tell me, why are some techniques labeled as forbidden?" he coaxed.
Naruto scratched his head. "Because… they're too dangerous?"
"No." Mizuki shook his head, voice low and hypnotic. "Not because they're dangerous—but because they're too powerful. So powerful ordinary people have no right to use them. Only true prodigies—people like you, like the Fourth Hokage—can master them."
"Rules exist for the mediocre. True geniuses break rules and create miracles."
With careful flattery, he fed Naruto a subtle poison: forbidden arts are stronger; rules are shackles.
Naruto only half understood, but Mizuki seemed to know so much, and it all sounded… strangely convincing.
A few days later, Mizuki decided the time was ripe.
Casually, he nudged toward his real goal.
"Naruto, do you know where Konoha's strongest techniques are stored?"
"In the Hokage's office—the Book of Seals."
"It records every supreme forbidden art since the First Hokage. The First's Wood Release, the Second's Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) and Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation)…"
He painted the Book of Seals as a sacred vault of ultimate power.
But he didn't tell Naruto to steal it.
He just planted a seed of curiosity.
With Naruto's temperament, he believed the boy would eventually be unable to resist, and try to sneak a peek on his own.
All Mizuki needed to do was wait in the shadows for the fruit to ripen.
He thought his plan was seamless.
He didn't know that every word he spoke was repeated verbatim by a certain boy's "mouth" to someone else's ears.
The Namikaze living room.
Dinner time.
"Dad, Mom, big bro! Guess what—Mizuki-sensei gave me special lessons again!" Naruto said between huge mouthfuls of rice, face bright with excitement.
"Oh? What did he teach today?" Kushina-san asked with a smile.
"He told me tons of stories about forbidden jutsu! He said they're actually super awesome! He also said the Book of Seals has Gramps First and Great-uncle Second's strongest techniques!" Naruto's eyes shone.
At that, Minato and Kushina traded a glance and merely smiled.
They figured it was just a teacher using legends to inspire a prodigious student.
They didn't think much of it.
But Shinju, quietly eating at the side, paused for a heartbeat when he heard the words "forbidden arts" and "Book of Seals."
The same old pitch.
From the same foolish man.
After dinner, Shinju returned to his room.
He opened the [Valhalla System].
"System, pull the recent info stream on academy instructor 'Mizuki.'"
[Command received.]
[Generating weekly emotional-fluctuation keyword report for target 'Mizuki'…]
A light screen unfurled before Shinju.
[Target: Mizuki]
[Linked Event: After-school conversations with 'Naruto']
[Emotional Keyword Analysis]:
[Jealousy: 92% (High)]
[Greed: 85% (High)]
[Coercion/Manipulation: 77% (High)]
[Resentment: 68% (Moderate)]
[Killing Intent (Faint, Concealed): 35%]
Scanning the crisp report, Shinju confirmed his guess.
Exactly as expected.
Combining Naruto's daytime recap with the system's analytics,
Mizuki's petty malice lay bare before him.
The snake was coiling to strike.
His target, without doubt, was the Book of Seals.
Shinju drummed his fingers lightly on the desk.
Should he deal with Mizuki now?
Simple.
He only had to tell Minato. With Minato's current sway, making a chunin vanish without a ripple would be easier than crushing an ant.
But…
Letting him die so easily felt too cheap.
And too wasteful.
A strategist's chill gleamed in Shinju's eyes.
Mizuki's clumsy scheme offered a perfect opening:
A chance for Naruto to experience "betrayal" and "battle" with his own hands—and truly grow.
A chance for the Namikaze family to show the village once more that "family is not to be touched."
And a chance to draw out the Book of Seals—so that Namikaze Shinju could, with impeccable justification, "peruse" its contents.
"Mizuki… Mizuki…"
Shinju murmured.
"If you're so eager to see the Book of Seals, I'll oblige you."
"I only hope a little snake like you can withstand the Namikaze family's wrath."
His mind was made up.
Turn the plan back on its maker.
Let Mizuki's plot become a stepping stone on Naruto's path.
And let Mizuki's greed become his one-way ticket to hell.
(End of Chapter)
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