There was no voice from Mizuki as his body was laid on the ground, defeated by Suzuki's jutsu combination.
Yet, even so, everyone could feel the scorching heat from Suzuki's jutsu, which gave them a chill, knowing they would be dead in front of his fire.
"Amazing..."
Naruto thought he was amazing for being able to create so many copies of himself, yet in front of Suzuki's fireball, he knew they would all be scorched and burnt.
Still, at this moment, Suzuki knew that he would definitely enter the eyes of everyone, and he couldn't stay low-key, yet it was fine, as he wished to be the center of attention, or rather, he wanted to be in the eyes of Hiruzen.
Regardless, he couldn't help but look at the aftermath of his jutsu. The intense heat, combined with the wind pressure, flash-melted the ground into jagged, blackened glass. All the air had also been burned away, leaving a suffocating, smoky silence where the only sound was the hiss of melting stone.
All of this was done by a boy who had just graduated from school, and he did it after he got the "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" jutsu from Hiruzen a few days ago.
Then, as expected, Suzuki was called by the anbu to meet Hiruzen.
"Suzuki!"
As for Naruto, he was brought somewhere along with Iruka, who was hurt and needed to go to the hospital.
"What's wrong, Naruto?"
"I..." Naruto took a deep breath, then said, "I will definitely become a ninja! I will become a hokage! So, watch me!"
"I will." Suzuki nodded. "Don't give up, Naruto."
"I WILL!"
As Naruto roared, Suzuki didn't feel surprised by Naruto's reaction as he knew well that as the shounen manga protagonist, this is how Naruto acted be, yet he had to say, being too positive was just... a horrible trait somehow, as it felt like Naruto would close his eyes to anything that would make him bad, and just pretend nothing had happened, or probably, the Asura within him would make him forget all the bad things.
Yet, without a doubt, Suzuki had to think about how to answer Hiruzen first.
"Suzuki-kun, are you okay?" Hiruzen looked at Suzuki worriedly.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Suzuki quickly thanked Hiruzen, "If you weren't there, then I don't know what would have happened to me, especially if you didn't give me that wind jutsu..."
"No, everything is due to your hard work; you should reward yourselves more, as you have defeated Mizuki, who can become the Special Jonin."
Yes, despite how Mizuki appeared, he had a chance to grow as a Special Jonin, as he wasn't weak, and frankly, if Mizuki hadn't been so cunning and had abandoned his comrades during the missions, then there was a high chance for him to have his rank raised.
Unfortunately, Mizuki walked into the path of evil.
"...." Suzuki.
"No, the jutsu that you gave me earlier is all the reason why I am okay now, Hokage-sama."
Still, Suzuki insisted.
"Suzuki-kun..." Hiruzen sighed, yet was also happy with Suzuki's words, as if he hadn't done the wrong thing, especially when he did nothing when he saw Mizuki had grown stronger, and might even kill Suzuki.
"......"
Still, Suzuki wasn't sure what Hiruzen was thinking, but he knew he was in a weak position, and instead of trying to hide everything, he told Hiruzen about his combination jutsu.
For others, it was a secret that they had to keep to their death, but for him, it was an investment, so he could get something even better!
"But, that jutsu of yours was a bit different."
"Yes." Suzuki nodded. "I don't know, but I feel like I can combine my fire jutsu and wind jutsu together."
"...." Hiruzen.
"Hmm... It's hard to explain, but somehow, it feels like a BBQ shop."
"BBQ shop?" Hiruzen tilted his head.
"In the BBQ shop, usually, the owner or the staff will fan the charcoal so the amber can become stronger, right?"
"Well, that's true." Hiruzen thought for a moment and nodded.
"I thought that if I combined my fire jutsu with the wind jutsu that you had given to me, it would create a similar effect to how the charcoal fire will grow stronger as you fan it, and fortunately, it is successful."
"....."
This... this... Hiruzen wasn't sure what he should say, yet he knew that Suzuki wasn't lying, as he knew that Suzuki also owned the charcoal shop, but unexpectedly, Suzuki would create a new jutsu, or a combination jutsu, which he often used, too.
Despite how old and weak Hiruzen appeared, he was known as the "Professor." He could use all types of jutsu as easily as he breathed, and even combined them. Yet it was all due to his experiences, so when he saw how Suzuki could do it in a moment of feeling, he realized the birth of a genius that might match that of the young man who had given his life for the village.
"Suzuki-kun..."
Hiruzen took a deep breath and said, "You know that your action is dangerous, as you might fail, but even so, you still released that combination jutsu. Can I ask you the reason?"
"It's for Naruto and Iruka-sensei, Hokage-sama."
"...for Naruto and Iruka?"
"Yes." Suzuki nodded. "I might have a chance to run away, but if I do, I will abandon them, and Mizuki might kill them. I can't let that happen, so I decided to bet everything on that moment to defeat Mizuki. I know that I am reckless, yet I am glad that I have done it, as I can see that those two are alright now."
Was he lying?
Was he telling the truth?
Frankly, it was half-half, as he had to admit that it would make him uncomfortable if something happened to Iruka and Naruto, especially when his appearance might cause a butterfly effect, which might hurt them.
Still, due to his words, Hiruzen suddenly hugged Suzuki.
"Hokage-sama?" Suzuki was startled and about to smash his fist into Hiruzen, but he held back, and Hiruzen didn't mind, thinking Suzuki was just tense, startled by his action.
"Thank you for saving those two..."
"No, it's fine, Hokage-sama... they are all the people I care about, so this is what I should do..."
"Even though Naruto is the Demon Fox?"
"...I don't know why Mizuki said those words to Naruto, but in my eyes, Naruto is Naruto. He is that loud, stupid, yet my dear friend."
As the night passed, the sun was about to rise, and at that moment, his figure seemed to glimmer, like he was the hope of the decaying Konoha.
Hiruzen felt like he was about to cry again, yet it was also because of that, he suddenly gave Suzuki something.
"Here, for you, Suzuki-kun."
"...what?" Suzuki was startled and quickly refused Hiruzen's reward. "No, please don't, Hokage-sama. I don't do this for a reward. I only want to save my friend!"
"No, accept this! This is my original jutsu, and because of that, I felt that you are suitable for it."
"No, no. I am afraid that I will disappoint you if you give me that jutsu."
"Take it!"
"..."
Suzuki might have reluctantly accepted the reward, but inwardly, he laughed, as he had succeeded!
"Unlike me, I think that you might be able to make this jutsu shine, so use it well, Suzuki-kun."
"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama..."
Suzuki felt like he was about to cry in happiness, and Hiruzen was satisfied, yet when he saw his reward, he was speechless since he got the most iconic of Hiruzen's jutsu, the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
"......" Suzuki.
What the heck could he do with this jutsu?