"What? How is that possible? Mizuki-sensei gave me such precious gifts and even treated me to ramen. There's no way he'd defect."
Team 7 gathered together. As soon as Kakashi explained the mission, Naruto was the first to object.
Sasuke agreed, "I think this is a mistake too. He doesn't seem like someone who cares about money."
If he were really greedy, why didn't he accept when I offered him one million ryō to buy his jutsu?
And yesterday morning, he even gave me one hundred thousand ryō as an apprenticeship gift. He's clearly not short on money. How could he possibly steal?
Kakashi said, "This is the Third Hokage's order. We must carry it out. Whether or not he actually stole money and defected, once we find him, we'll know the truth."
Soon, Team 7 and Team 8 assembled at the village gate and departed in pursuit.
At the Hokage building, in Mizuki's office, the doors and windows were tightly shut. Suddenly, a figure dropped down from the ceiling — it was Hiruzen.
He pulled out a key, his expression calm. To make the theft charge stick, he had to ensure the safe was empty. If it was empty, everything would be fine. If it was full, he would take all the money.
Either way, the result would be the same: empty.
"I publicly claimed there was only one key to the safe precisely for this moment."
But when he walked behind the desk, bent down, and prepared to unlock it, he froze.
Three locks hung on the safe.
"Has he already detected my intentions? It seems his constant withdrawals were a show for me." He reached out and shook the safe lightly. It didn't budge — clearly quite heavy, meaning it was full, "As expected, he didn't take it."
But this didn't affect Hiruzen's resolve.
"In the end, he's still too young. Does he think two extra locks can stump me?"
He gripped the two new locks, and wind release chakra surged forth. With two clicks, both locks were destroyed from the inside and forced open.
He took out the key, preparing to open the final lock. But at that moment, a hissing sound came from beneath the safe.
"Explosive tags?" Hiruzen's expression changed, and he retreated rapidly.
With a thunderous boom, the entire Hokage building trembled.
The desk was blown to pieces, and the safe was sent flying, crashing into the ceiling before falling back down and smashing onto the floor. Because it was designed to store money, it was well-built. But the locks were blown open, and stacks of bills flew out, scattering across the floor.
Hiruzen was furious.
"Cunning Mizuki."
The explosion was loud. Outside, footsteps rang out as people rushed toward the area.
Hiruzen had miscalculated. He never expected Mizuki to set explosive tags that would detonate at the critical moment, drawing attention. The frame-up plan had completely failed.
Reluctantly glancing at the money on the floor, Hiruzen disappeared with a poof. It was a shadow clone.
Soon, multiple ANBU members burst in, along with Asuma and several other jōnin following close behind. Hiruzen also arrived, putting on a show.
Asuma and the others glanced at him but said nothing. Anyone with eyes could see that the theft charge against Mizuki could no longer stand. The defection charge would likely be dropped as well.
"It seems the tip I received was false. Mizuki has been wrongly accused." With things as they were, Hiruzen had no choice but to abandon the frame-up plan.
❊❊❊❊❊
In the forest, Team 7 and Team 8 — eight people in total — leaped rapidly forward, stepping on tree branches.
"Hinata, you're in charge of scouting the target's position." Kurenai called out.
But Hinata didn't respond.
"Hinata?"
Hinata let out an "Ah", snapping back to her senses as she withdrew her gaze from Naruto, "Kurenai-sensei, I'm here."
Kurenai: "…"
"Use your Byakugan to check the target's position. Shino, use your parasitic insects to scout the surroundings in case someone is secretly supporting the target and attacks us."
"Yes!" Hinata and Shino responded.
Countless small black insects flew out from Shino's body, dispersing in all directions and giving Naruto and Sakura goosebumps.
Hinata activated her Byakugan, looking north. She saw Mizuki sitting by a river. He'd lit a campfire and was roasting fish. Beside the fish sat an iron teapot brewing pine needle tea.
"This… this is defection?" Hinata was stunned.
Anyone with a brain would know defection shouldn't look like this.
"Hinata, what did you see?" Kurenai asked.
Hinata, "Um, the target is by the river roasting fish and brewing tea."
Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged glances.
Kurenai, "So relaxed — either it's a shadow clone, it's not a defection, or Hiruzen is playing us."
Kakashi, "As far as I know, Mizuki is just an ordinary Chūnin. The only jutsu he knows are the basic three academy techniques. He hasn't mastered the shadow clone technique."
Naruto immediately said, "See, I told you! Mizuki-sensei would never defect. Who ever heard of a defector leisurely roasting fish on the road?"
Kakashi, "We can't let our guard down. It could still be a trap. We should be careful."
When they approached Mizuki, they stopped.
Hinata continued observing with her Byakugan while Shino's insects spread out over a large area, searching every corner.
"Well?"
Shino shook his head, "No suspicious targets detected."
Hinata also said, "Within a three-kilometer radius, aside from us, I only see the target alone."
Naruto immediately jumped out and shouted, "See, see, see! What did I tell you? There's no trap at all. Mizuki-sensei hasn't defected. The old man Third must have gotten it wrong."
Kakashi and Kurenai conferred briefly, then said, "Let's go to him. Whether Mizuki has defected or not, we'll know once we return to the village."
But in their hearts, both had already sentenced Mizuki to death.
By the stream, Mizuki flipped the fish over the fire to ensure even heating. He leaned in and took several deep sniffs.
"Ah, it smells so good!" he couldn't help but exclaim.
Hiruzen had summoned him early that morning, and he hadn't eaten breakfast. Roasting a fish along the way shouldn't cause any delays.
Just then, his ears twitched, and he turned his head, "Who's hiding there? Come out!"
As his words fell, Mizuki saw a familiar figure tumble down from a tree. It was Naruto.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?"
Naruto stood up with a large bump on his head, embarrassed, "Um… well… I came out on a mission and got separated from Kakashi-sensei and the others."
Mizuki, "You can't even lie properly. The Hokage building is closed today — no one's issuing missions. What mission are you on? Isn't that right, Kakashi-senpai? And Sasuke? Sakura? Hmm, it seems it's not just Team 7. There were strange bugs flying around earlier — that must be Shino. Team 8 is here too?"
Kakashi, hiding behind a tree, couldn't help but slap his forehead.
Sasuke and Sakura both cursed, "Idiot Naruto, you exposed us!"
The four members of Team 8 were shocked, especially Shino. Are my parasitic insects' characteristics that obvious? How did he know it was me?
The group came out from hiding.
"Mizuki, you're suspected of theft and defection. We're here to arrest you." Kakashi said, getting straight to the point.
Mizuki thought to himself: Just as I expected. Good thing I prepared in advance, or I'd really be done for.
"Theft? Defection? Who told you that? I don't know anything about it." He feigned surprise.
Naruto said, "Mizuki-sensei, the old man Third must have made a mistake."
Sasuke also said, "There must be some misunderstanding here."
Kakashi waved his hand, "Whether it's a mistake or not, please come back to the village with us for investigation."
Mizuki, "Alright, I'll go back with you."
He didn't resist in the slightest.
The group of nine quickly returned to Konoha and arrived at the Hokage building.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen announced that this was a misunderstanding — Mizuki had not committed theft, had not defected, and was innocent.
"Third Grandpa, you've gone too far." Naruto said loudly, "You don't even have evidence, yet based solely on someone's report, you wrongly accused Mizuki-sensei of theft and defection. I, Naruto Uzumaki, won't accept this!"
Hiruzen said, "Once news of a ninja's defection emerges, the village takes it seriously. Whether there's evidence or not, bringing the person back first must be done. Now the misunderstanding has been cleared up. This matter ends here."
Naruto shouted, "No! Mizuki-sensei was wrongly accused and suffered tremendous mental and emotional damage. This was your mistake, Third Grandpa. You must compensate Mizuki-sensei for his losses."
Hiruzen: "…"
He glanced at everyone present — whether ANBU or jōnin, all were silent. Even Kakashi didn't step forward to stop Naruto.
Everyone knew Hiruzen had orchestrated the setup himself, ordering Mizuki's capture without solid evidence and saying his life or death didn't matter.
This approach was unfriendly to the village's ninja. No one knew whether this might happen to them in the future.
Hiruzen looked at Mizuki, seething with hatred. This man had dealt a massive blow to his prestige as Third Hokage today. He knew he had to make a public gesture now, or his authority would crumble.
But as Hokage, he still had his methods.
"Mizuki, today's events were indeed unfair to you. It was my mistake that led to you being wrongly accused." He pulled a scroll from his drawer, "This Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall training scroll shall be your compensation."
"Thank you, Lord Third." Mizuki quickly took it.
He lacked jutsu, so he accepted whatever came his way.
Hiruzen nodded, then changed his tone, "Now, let's talk about the explosive tags at the bottom of the safe."
Mizuki, "Lord Third, I set up the explosive tag trap purely out of concern — after all, there's quite a bit of money in the safe."
Hiruzen said coolly, "What's there to be concerned about inside the Hokage building? Because of your concern, the desk was destroyed, and both the floor and ceiling were damaged. The village won't cover these costs — you need to compensate. Preliminary estimate: total damages of 100,000 ryō. You have one week to deliver this to my office. Furthermore, given your poor security awareness, starting today, you no longer need to come to the Mission Department as an assistant."
❊❊❊❊❊
Leaving the Hokage building, Mizuki breathed a sigh of relief. He'd successfully gotten through today's ordeal.
But walking this tightrope made his heart race with fear. One misstep, and he could plunge into the abyss.
"My strength is insufficient. I need to hurry and take on more disciples. Hiruzen is determined to deal with me, and today he lost face again — he'll surely want to eliminate me even more. I must gain enough strength to protect myself quickly. Otherwise, before the Chūnin Exams arrive, I might kick the bucket first."
❊❊❊❊❊
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 to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)