To confirm Mizuki's guilt, Hiruzen brought many people with him, including all four members of Guy's team.
Mizuki had built a fire to create smoke and attract the villagers. For what was about to happen, the more witnesses the better.
Soon, villagers noticed the smoke and came to investigate. By the time Hiruzen arrived with his group, a dozen or so villagers had already gathered.
'He didn't run away — instead he created smoke to draw villagers here. What's the meaning of this?' Hiruzen was puzzled.
But no matter what, Mizuki had killed someone. That much was certain.
"Apprehend the murderer Mizuki!" At Hiruzen's command, two ANBU members instantly appeared behind Mizuki and restrained his arms.
Mizuki immediately shouted, "Lord Third, wait! I didn't kill him — he committed suicide out of fear!"
Hiruzen snorted coldly, "Complete nonsense."
"Please, let me explain the situation." Mizuki said.
Hiruzen gave him no opportunity, "What's there to explain? Take him away."
Mizuki called out loudly, "Lord Third, I came here to fish. I wasn't carrying any ninja tools. How could I have killed him with a kunai? Or are you going to arbitrarily find a scapegoat just because he's an ANBU ninja with a noble status?"
At these words, the surrounding villagers immediately began discussing among themselves, pointing and whispering.
Hiruzen's expression changed.
"Fine. If you say you didn't kill him, I'll give you a chance to explain. But don't claim you weren't carrying ninja tools or that the kunai aren't yours — what if you took them from his hands?"
Mizuki sneered inwardly, then began his explanation.
"I was fishing here when a fish bit. I suddenly heard movement behind me. Without thinking, I used the Substitution Jutsu. When I turned back, there were already three kunai stuck in the wooden log I'd used for my substitution. Everyone can see it — it's right there. Then this ANBU member jumped down from the tree and said, 'I couldn't even ambush and kill an ordinary Chūnin. I'm so useless — how can I face Lord Orochimaru now?' Then he inserted a kunai into his own throat and committed suicide."
He looked at Hiruzen.
"I never touched these kunai. If you don't believe me, check for fingerprints."
Hiruzen didn't believe a single word. He only wanted to convict Mizuki immediately and execute him.
But the villagers were staring at the wooden stake with three kunai stuck in it, and the discussion grew louder.
Hiruzen needed to maintain his image as Hokage. He couldn't convict someone with just a word — he needed evidence. So he summoned medical ninja to test for fingerprints.
Soon, the results came.
"Lord Hokage, all four kunai only have the deceased's fingerprints. Mizuki's fingerprints are not present, and there are no traces of tampering. Mizuki never touched the kunai at all."
At these words, the way the villagers looked at Mizuki completely changed. All suspicion vanished from their faces.
The corner of Hiruzen's eye twitched. The evidence showed that this person really had committed suicide, but it made no sense. Would a Root ninja commit suicide for no reason?
'Mizuki only knows the Three Basic Jutsu and doesn't know Genjutsu at all. Moreover, even the Sharingan couldn't achieve a Genjutsu that makes someone commit suicide.'
He was completely confused and had no idea what had actually happened.
He glanced at Might Guy beside him, anger rising inside. If Team 3 hadn't knocked on the door at that critical moment, he wouldn't be in this situation — clueless about what had transpired.
The ANBU had checked the surroundings several times. They found no evidence that Mizuki had killed anyone. Instead, they found evidence that a Root ninja had been hiding in the shadows, ambushing him.
Hiruzen had nothing more to say.
'Damn it!' he cursed inwardly.
First, he cursed Danzō for being foolish — the subordinate he sent was utterly useless. Second, he cursed Mizuki for being cunning — even in this situation, he couldn't be convicted. It was truly unreasonable.
But things had come to this point. Being angry was useless. He could only publicly announce that Mizuki was innocent.
How frustrating!
"The matter is concluded. Everyone, disperse!"
Everyone dispersed, and Mizuki no longer dared to continue fishing.
Hiruzen had resorted to assassination, which showed how determined he was to eliminate him. From now on, he couldn't come to this kind of remote, deserted place to fish — or even be alone.
Recalling today's events, it was truly dangerous. He had nearly lost his life. Fortunately, there was only one Root ninja. If one more had come, dealing with them wouldn't have been so easy.
Relying on the Body Swap Technique to kill people had too many limitations. If the enemy started with Taijutsu right away, he could only preserve his life but couldn't kill anyone.
Additionally, this jutsu consumed too much chakra — he couldn't use it more than a few times.
'My actual strength is still insufficient!'
❊❊❊❊❊
At the Hokage building, Hiruzen was dejected.
"Lord Hokage, should the body be sent to the Interrogation Department and handed over to the Yamanaka clan to probe his memories from before death?" an ANBU member asked.
Hiruzen said, "Mm, send it over."
An ANBU member hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder and headed toward the Interrogation Department. But at that moment, the office door pushed open. Danzō walked in with a cold expression, leaning on his cane.
"Put down the body. Everyone else, get out. Hiruzen and I have matters to discuss."
Several ANBU members glanced at Hiruzen. Seeing his signal, they withdrew, leaving the body on the floor.
"Danzō, what kind of trash did you send? They couldn't even handle a single Chūnin." Hiruzen questioned him directly.
But Danzō struck back first, "Hiruzen, you want to send the body to the Interrogation Department and have the Yamanaka clan discover that I ordered Mizuki's assassination, don't you? You want to ruin my reputation. You're afraid my prestige will surpass yours and I'll take your position as Hokage, aren't you?"
His intentions called out directly, Hiruzen didn't care. He countered, "What's this? The Root of Konoha, the darkness hidden beneath the sunlight, is afraid of a bad reputation?"
"You…!" Danzō was furious.
I don't care about reputation, but when you so openly want to ruin mine like this, do you have any ninja ethics?
"You're just afraid. Hmph! I'm taking the body. All my Root ninjas have curse seals. Even if you send it to the Interrogation Department, you'll get nothing."
Hiruzen replied, "Only Inoichi Yamanaka, the current head of the Yamanaka clan, can probe the deceased's memories. Taking the body back to dispose of it yourself would be a waste. I order you as Hokage to remove the curse seal, then send him to the Interrogation Department. I need to know what he experienced before his death. I want to know what secrets Mizuki is hiding."
Danzō snorted, "Remove the curse seal and let Inoichi probe his memories? Then all of Root's secrets will be exposed. The Yamanaka clan's loyalty to you will be compromised. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio advance and retreat together. If the Yamanaka clan becomes disloyal, the other two clans will be affected. Aren't you worried that without Ino-Shika-Cho's support, your position as Hokage won't be secure?"
These words had merit. Hiruzen frowned, smoking his pipe while weighing the pros and cons.
Danzō continued, "Besides, he's just a Chūnin — a commoner at that. What secrets could he possibly have? I'll send someone else. When we kill him, we can have Inoichi probe him then. Won't we know all his secrets?"
Hiruzen set down his pipe and sighed, "Very well, let's do as you say."
Danzō said, "Don't worry. I won't let that Mizuki live past three days."
Hiruzen shook his head, "No. The villagers are all discussing today's events. If Mizuki is killed within three days, it will cause unrest in the village. Besides, after today's assassination attempt, he'll be on high alert. It'll be difficult to find another opportunity when he's alone. Here's what we'll do — in a few days, once the villagers have forgotten about today, I'll arrange for him to leave the village. When he dies outside the village, there won't be any repercussions."
Danzō had no objections.
❊❊❊❊❊
The next morning, Mizuki was summoned to the Hokage's office again.
"Mizuki, now that the Ninja Academy is on vacation, you're idle all day — even going fishing. As a ninja, this is unacceptable."
Mizuki said helplessly, "But I don't have anything else to do."
Hiruzen replied, "Enough. As a tool of the village, a ninja cannot be too idle. Starting today, the village will assign you missions. Furthermore, you still haven't paid off the 100,000 ryō compensation you owe the village. Execute more missions and earn money."
Mizuki cursed inwardly — damn old bastard, truly relentless, determined to see me dead.
"Yes, I will do my utmost."
Hiruzen nodded, "Good. Go to the mission hall and accept missions yourself."
From that day on, Mizuki began accepting missions.
Hiruzen didn't make it too obvious. At first, the missions were all D-rank tasks: weeding, cutting trees, eliminating wild boars for villagers. Simple tasks that didn't require leaving the village.
What was infuriating was that the mission payments never reached his hands — they were all withheld by Hiruzen toward that 100,000 ryō compensation.
Mizuki was working for the village for free. None of this mattered, because he knew the real storm was yet to come.
Half a month passed, and Hiruzen began to make his move.
Mizuki received a new mission, completely different from his previous ones.
C-rank mission: Travel to the eastern border and eliminate the bandits on the mountain.
Executor: Mizuki alone.
"The bandits on that mountain are all ordinary people. There are no ninja among them. If you're careful, you'll have no problem handling it alone. Mission payment: 80,000 ryō. Depart tomorrow morning and return to the village as soon as you've completed it."
Mizuki accepted the mission, urgency rising within him. Clearly, this mission was a trap designed to get him out of the village to his death.
Walking out of the mission hall, he ran into Team 7 coming to turn in a mission.
"Senior Kakashi, and Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura — haven't seen you in a few days. You all look well."
Naruto pouted, "Mizuki-sensei, not well at all! Every day it's boring missions like weeding, catching cats, and babysitting. I'm sick of it."
Mizuki smiled, "I'm leaving the village tomorrow to execute a mission. I probably won't be back for a while. Tonight I'm treating everyone — Ichiraku Ramen. Will you come?"
❊❊❊❊❊
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! (-‿◦)