Kakashi's single eye narrowed, his gaze sharp and knowing.
Hiruzen had targeted Mizuki repeatedly. Anyone with eyes could see he wanted Mizuki eliminated — how could Kakashi not know?
Besides, when Mizuki mentioned treating them to ramen, he clearly wasn't included.
"I have something to do tonight, so I won't intrude." He refused decisively but didn't stop the three youngsters.
Naruto cheered, "I'm going, I'm going! Free ramen — Master Mizuki is so generous!"
Sasuke and Sakura agreed.
"Let's meet at Ichiraku Ramen at seven tonight."
Mizuki knew Hiruzen's plan to send him out of the village was meant to get him killed. Danzō would dispatch at least two people this time, filling him with unease.
"The Body Swap Technique has likely been exposed, but that's not the issue — the issue is chakra consumption. As long as I have enough chakra, I'm not afraid of however many come. I could kill them all."
This was why Mizuki wanted to treat Team 7 to ramen.
Sakura had two gift-return opportunities left. He planned to give her a bowl of ramen to boost his chakra reserves. If one bowl wasn't enough, then two.
Whether she could finish two bowls wasn't his concern. He just needed to give the gifts — after all, giving meant getting returns.
'But this still isn't enough!'
Leaving the Hokage building, Mizuki headed straight for the orphanage.
Over the past two weeks, he'd visited whenever he had free time, bringing food and donating money. He'd grown familiar with the director and the children.
Taking those children as disciples might be hasty, but he couldn't wait any longer. There might not be another chance.
"Hiruzen is determined to kill me. If I stay in the village, the danger will only grow. Better to defect now. The ninja world is vast — there must be somewhere for me. With the system, I'll rise quickly, and then this measly Konoha can be destroyed with a wave of my hand."
This damn village was unbearable. He had to defect. No one could endure this treatment.
"Before I leave, I need to exploit the system one last time."
The Konoha orphanage sat on the village's edge, remote and forgotten. The building was dilapidated and old, long neglected.
Mizuki was still far away when the children playing at the entrance spotted him.
"Look, Uncle Mizuki is here!"
"Uncle Mizuki! Uncle Mizuki!"
The children crowded around him, enthusiastic, their faces beaming with joy.
Mizuki smiled and lifted what he was carrying, "Today I brought dumplings — three skewers per person. Natsu, you distribute them."
"Yay! Yay!"
"We get to eat dumplings! Uncle Mizuki is the best!"
The children cheered. The orphanage director emerged, along with several uncles and aunties who cared for the children.
"Mizuki, you're spending money recklessly again. In the past two weeks, you've spoiled these children. You don't earn money easily either — don't do this anymore." The director complained.
Mizuki laughed, "Director, I'm just doing what I can. Besides, it doesn't cost that much. I came today because there's something I want to discuss with you."
Seeing his serious expression, the director knew this wasn't a small matter, "Go ahead."
Mizuki spoke frankly, "I want to take them as disciples and teach them the chakra extraction method and the basic Three Academy Techniques. Orphans are easily bullied. If they master ninjutsu, they'll at least have some ability to protect themselves."
The director shook his head, "It's no use. The village chief already sent people to examine them. Those with good talent have all been sent to the ninja academy. These children are here because their aptitude is extremely poor. Even if you let them train, they'll never become ninja — not even the weakest Genin."
Mizuki smiled, "I'm not hoping they'll become ninja. I just hope they'll have some ability to protect themselves — at least not be bullied by ordinary people."
The director shook his head, "Do as you please."
Mizuki smiled. As long as the director didn't object, things would be easy.
Soon, he gathered the children together. There were 24 in total. If he took them all as disciples, he would immediately have 72 gift-return opportunities.
"Children, today I'm going to teach you the chakra extraction method. After you learn it, you'll be able to extract chakra. If you train hard, you might become ninja in the future. Do you want to learn?"
The children said in unison, "Yes!"
They looked at Mizuki, their eyes full of longing. Their thoughts were simple: become ninja so they wouldn't be bullied anymore.
As orphans, their lives were filled with tragedy. Without father or mother, bullied by village children, powerless to resist. But they knew that once they became ninja, no one would bully them again.
Mizuki said, "Good. Each of you, call me Sensei."
The 24 children stood before Mizuki one by one and respectfully called him Sensei. Before long, he had gained 24 disciples.
"Next, I'll teach you how to extract chakra. Everyone sit down, listen quietly, and memorize the method."
The chakra extraction method wasn't difficult. Under Mizuki's explanation, the children quickly memorized it.
Of course, memorizing the method was one thing — actually extracting chakra was another. For the first extraction, even those with good aptitude would need three to five days to succeed. Those with poor aptitude might take half a month. Those without any ninja talent might never extract chakra in their entire lives.
Mizuki didn't expect them to succeed. He was only responsible for teaching. His purpose was the system's returns.
[ Ding! ]
The system's voice rang out.
[ You have granted your disciple Natsu the Ordinary Chakra Extraction Method, triggering a 0.1× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained the Super Garbage Chakra Extraction Method! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Sanji the Ordinary Chakra Extraction Method, triggering a 0.1× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained the Super Garbage Chakra Extraction Method! ]
…
Mizuki: "??"
What the hell? 0.1x return?
'System, what are you doing? Why are all the return multipliers so low?'
[ You have granted your disciple Zenitsu the Ordinary Chakra Extraction Method, triggering a 0.1× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained the Super Garbage Chakra Extraction Method! ]
The response was still the 0.1x return notification. He was going numb from hearing it.
All he could think about now was: could it be that he couldn't exploit the system like this?
Just then, a distinctly different notification made his spirits lift.
[ You have granted your disciple Daisuke the Ordinary Chakra Extraction Method, triggering a 100× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained the Advanced Chakra Extraction Method! ]
〖 Advanced Chakra Extraction Method: Chakra extraction speed is 100 times that of Ordinary Chakra Extraction Method. 〗
Soon, all 24 return notifications finished. Except for Daisuke, the other 23 children all had 0.1x returns.
Mizuki was thoroughly dejected. What is going on?
The system explained.
[ The higher a disciple's aptitude, the higher the return multiplier. The reverse also applies. **Among these 24 children, except for Daisuke who has some talent, the other 23 have no ninja talent whatsoever, so naturally the return multipliers are very low. ]
Mizuki was stunned. 'There's such a thing? Damn…'
He immediately realized his decision to defect might have been hasty. Where could he find people with good ninja talent?
The major ninja villages. Once he left the village, trying to find talented people would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.
'This is troublesome!'
He couldn't blame the system for not explaining clearly. The main issue was that his first few disciples — Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura — all had excellent talent, and the return multipliers were high too. This led him to mistakenly believe that return multipliers had nothing to do with talent.
'At least one has slightly better aptitude, so my expectations weren't completely dashed.'
The Advanced Chakra Extraction Method, with 100 times the extraction speed — pretty nice.
Next, he took out 24 shuriken.
"This is a gift for you. You can use them for training, but remember — never throw them at your companions."
Each child received one, and the system's return notifications began again. As expected, all were 0.1× returns, each returning one wooden shuriken.
Except for Daisuke.
[ You have granted your disciple Daisuke one Shuriken, triggering a 300× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained Telepathic Shuriken ×1! ]
〖 Telepathic Shuriken: Can be controlled by will to freely dance, turn, accelerate, and attack. Requires blood binding. 〗
Mizuki's eyes lit up — what a treasure!
Psychic control, similar to Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword.
'With this in hand, I won't even need to aim when throwing it.'
One last return opportunity remained. Mizuki pulled out a stack of explosive tags.
The orphanage director, observing from a distance: "…"
"Mizuki, what are you trying to do?" He shouted.
Mizuki, "Don't worry, Director. This is a gift for them, not to harm them."
The director's eye twitched. Good grief, giving kids explosive tags — was he finding their lives too peaceful and wanting to send them to the Pure Land early?
"No way. This is too dangerous. I don't agree."
Mizuki smiled, "Don't worry. Although I'm giving them to the children, the explosive tags will be kept in your custody from now on. We'll give them to the kids after they become ninja."
The scene that unfolded: Mizuki handed each child an explosive tag, and after receiving it, the children turned and handed it to the director.
The system's return notifications began again. Same familiar formula, same familiar flavor. Except for Daisuke, the other 23 still had 0.1× returns.
[ You have granted your disciple Daisuke one Explosive Tag, triggering a 500× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained Explosive Bomber ×1! ]
〖 Explosive Bomber: This bomber has explosive power equivalent to 500 explosive tags, flies at supersonic speed, and once a target is selected, will pursue relentlessly until death. 〗
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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 to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (on that website with P)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)