As soon as Mizuki stepped out of the hospital room, he came face to face with someone — a person with silver, medium-length hair, round-framed glasses, and a warm smile that made him look completely harmless.
Kabuto Yakushi!
Mizuki recognized him immediately.
In his previous life watching Naruto, the three characters Mizuki hated most were Danzō, Sakura, and Kabuto.
His dislike for Kabuto stemmed from the man's ruthless methods.
Of course, he was also pitiful. Having killed the orphanage director who loved him most — his adoptive mother Nonō Yakushi — with his own hands, he had lost all direction in life. He became cold-blooded, cruel, hypocritical, and pathetic.
It was Hiruzen and Danzō's fault.
Most of the tragedies in Naruto had the shadow of these two old men behind them.
Mizuki sized up Kabuto, but Kabuto pretended not to recognize him.
"I'm intern doctor Kabuto Yakushi. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Mizuki smiled, "There is something I need your help with. I just don't know if you'd dare."
Kabuto immediately realized that Mizuki recognized him and knew his true identity. But as an excellent spy, he had exceptional composure. Even knowing he'd been exposed, he remained calm, showing no unusual reactions.
"I'm just an intern doctor. I can't help with anything too complicated."
Mizuki said, "It's not complicated, and you'll definitely be interested."
Kabuto put on an interested expression, "In that case, please tell me what you need."
Mizuki looked around, "Not today. Next time!"
With that, he brushed past him.
Kabuto's eyes became momentarily dazed. By the time he came to his senses, Mizuki had already gone far. Turning to watch the departing figure, a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Itachi Uchiha joined the Akatsuki organization as a spy? Interesting! How very interesting!"
Mizuki had just cast a simple genjutsu on Kabuto and, within the illusion, told him about Itachi's identity as a spy.
His purpose was to spread this information through Orochimaru. He could spread it himself, but others wouldn't believe him. If Orochimaru spread it, the credibility would be much higher.
Since Itachi wanted to kill him so badly, he should at least show some response. If he couldn't kill him, creating trouble for him was always possible.
"Also, he knows genjutsu, and his skill level is probably quite high. I need to report this to Lord Orochimaru."
Although Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation could achieve eternal youth by switching bodies, each reincarnation damaged his spirit. This led to his resistance to genjutsu declining significantly.
Being defeated instantly by Itachi with just a look was for this reason.
Now that Kabuto had discovered Mizuki's genjutsu skills were considerable, he needed to notify Orochimaru to be on guard. After all, both parties had agreed to cooperate in the Land of Waves. It wouldn't be good if his partner stabbed him in the back.
Mizuki left the hospital and headed to the Hokage building, arriving at the temporary office to report the mission details to Hiruzen.
But he was told the Hokage wasn't there.
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In a conference room, people surrounded a rectangular table.
At the head sat the Fire Country's Daimyō, fan in hand.
Behind him, a maid held a small cat wearing a bow — Tora, the Daimyō's wife's cat.
Madam Shijimi had come to Konoha specifically to issue a mission to find Tora. Just after he was found, she was killed in an explosion.
The cat, however, survived completely unharmed!
To the Daimyō's left sat the Konoha delegation: Hiruzen Sarutobi, advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, and the Hokage's strategist Shikaku Nara.
To his right sat officials from the Daimyō's court, all adopting accusatory postures.
One official stood, "Third Hokage, for such a thing to happen to the Daimyō's wife in Konoha is an enormous blow to the Fire Country and to the Daimyō himself. As Hokage, your failure to protect the lady is utterly inexcusable."
The Daimyō nodded, "Indeed, quite inexcusable."
He had lost his wife, yet his face showed no trace of sadness. The marriage had clearly been troubled — perhaps he'd even despised her.
The official continued, "The perpetrator still hasn't been caught. Are Konoha's ninja all freeloaders? Is the military funding the Daimyō's court provides every year being fed to pigs?"
The official spoke without any courtesy whatsoever.
The four from Konoha looked grim. Fortunately, all four were older and well-composed. A younger person would probably have exploded by now.
"The perpetrator must be captured immediately and sent to the Daimyō's court for public execution to avenge the lady. Furthermore, as Third Hokage, you bear primary responsibility for her death. Prepare to resign in disgrace and let someone more capable take power."
Hiruzen stood and bowed deeply to the Daimyō.
"Lord Daimyō, I deeply apologize for this attack. I have already decided to resign as Hokage, but with the Chūnin Exams about to begin, it's inconvenient to transfer power now. Once the exams are finished, I will resign immediately and select a new Hokage. I've already sent people to bring back Tsunade. As the First Hokage's granddaughter and one of the Three Sannin, she is more than qualified."
The Daimyō nodded.
With the Chūnin Exams about to start, changing Hokage now was indeed improper. It was only a month at most — he could wait.
"And what about the perpetrator?"
Hiruzen said, "The primary suspect is Itachi Uchiha. He was near Konoha on the day of the incident. He came with his summoning beast — crows — carrying large quantities of explosive tags and charged directly into my office, causing a devastating explosion."
He actually wanted to say the perpetrator was Mizuki, then use it as an opportunity to move against him — to mobilize the entire village's forces to kill or capture him alive.
But it came back to the same problem: no evidence. The Daimyō and his court officials couldn't be fooled with just a few words.
You say Mizuki is the perpetrator — where's the evidence?
What, no evidence? Do you think I'm an idiot — that you can pin this on some random person and sweep it under the rug? Does Konoha not want its funding anymore? Does the Hokage building not want to be rebuilt? Do the ninja not want to eat?
But by blaming Itachi, the Daimyō had nothing to say. A rogue ninja attacking Konoha out of hatred — that reason was perfectly sound, wasn't it?
He did appear near Konoha. Surely he wasn't just wandering around for fun?
Sure enough, upon hearing Itachi's name, the Daimyō's expression immediately became serious.
"That rogue ninja who massacred the entire Uchiha clan? Only someone like that could successfully attack the Hokage building." He didn't doubt it at all — he directly identified Itachi as the perpetrator.
Hiruzen said with difficulty, "You know Itachi Uchiha's strength. Capturing him presents some difficulty, and with the Chūnin Exams imminent, the village can't spare the manpower. So please give us more time, Lord Daimyō."
The Daimyō said, "I don't care about the difficulties. In any case…"
Before he could finish, the conference room door suddenly pushed open. The sound drew everyone's attention, cutting off the Daimyō's words. He was quite displeased, but seeing who entered, he didn't dare say anything.
Danzō walked in, followed by two people — one large and one small.
"Danzō, what are you doing here? You've been relieved of your duties. You have no right to attend this meeting." Hiruzen rebuked.
But Danzō ignored him and looked at the Daimyō instead.
"Lord Daimyō, the Third Hokage is lying to you. The perpetrator of this explosion wasn't Itachi Uchiha at all, but a Special Jōnin from the village — Mizuki."
"Danzō, shut your mouth and get out immediately!" Hiruzen slammed the table and stood, shouting.
Danzō, who usually obeyed him, was disobedient this time.
Hiruzen had made such a grave error, and his prestige among the villagers had fallen to a historic low. Being blamed by the Daimyō and about to resign in disgrace — a Third Hokage like this no longer commanded Danzō's respect.
A Hokage about to step down wasn't worthy of his respect and obedience.
"Elder Danzō, you say the perpetrator is this Mizuki — do you have evidence?" The Daimyō asked.
Danzō smiled, turned, and pointed at the two people behind him, "These two are the evidence."
One was an orphanage director, the other was Daisuke.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $2 or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
I'm currently translating another project (for $1.5) where the main character travels through various worlds, like Highschool of the Dead, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Darwin's Game, and many more, building a massive harem. It will have smut chapters (+18) and spicy images of the female characters. Check it out if you're interested! :)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)