Danzō stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Inside the office, Hiruzen held his pipe, puffing out clouds of smoke, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
"When he deliberately didn't take the Scroll of Seals, I realized this person's cunning runs deep. But I never expected he would deceive everyone and hide such formidable strength. All these years, he's been willing to remain an ordinary Chūnin, even working as a poorly paid teaching assistant at the academy."
He pulled out Mizuki's file and examined it carefully.
Since becoming a ninja, Mizuki had completed over three hundred missions — 128 of them B-Rank combat missions.
"128 combat missions, and in every single one he performed mediocrely, never once revealing his hidden strength. Such scheming is terrifying!" Hiruzen was deeply shocked.
Of all the people he had ever encountered, no one else could hide their strength to this degree.
"This shows he has never had any sense of belonging to Konohagakure. Danzō is right — if we let him live, we will surely suffer."
Murderous intent blazed in Hiruzen's eyes.
"As for fabricating evidence to justify killing him… the Jōnin in the village aren't easily fooled. Konoha is facing a succession crisis right now. If I step down, there's no one to take my place. Of course, I can't be the one to do this. Danzō, it's up to you now."
Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Come in!"
A staff member from the mission hall entered, "Lord Third, Tazuna, the master bridge builder from the Land of Waves, has come to post a mission to escort him home. After investigation, we've discovered he has concealed certain facts. He posted this as a C-Rank escort mission, but our investigation revealed it will most likely involve combat and should be classified as B-Rank. However, he cannot afford the higher mission fee, so we must ask Lord Third to make the final decision."
A gleam flashed in Hiruzen's eyes, "A master bridge builder from the Land of Waves? I see. The Land of Waves is poor, so it's normal they can't afford much. But they have good relations with Konoha, so let's keep this mission classified as C-Rank for now. Additionally, I will personally arrange who takes this mission."
After the staff member left, Hiruzen was alone in the office once again. He pulled out a file and reviewed it carefully.
As an island nation, the Land of Waves relied entirely on maritime shipping for its economy. But the merchant Gatō had monopolized the shipping routes, leaving the nation impoverished. Now their only way out was to build a bridge connecting to the mainland, breaking this monopoly.
Tazuna was a renowned master bridge builder who had come to Konoha requesting protection while he built the bridge. Gatō would never allow the bridge to be completed and would send people to kill him.
"Intelligence has confirmed that Zabuza, the S-Rank missing-nin from Kirigakure, has been hired by Gatō as an enforcer."
Zabuza, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, nicknamed the Demon of the Hidden Mist, possessed Elite Jōnin-level strength and was renowned throughout the ninja world for his Silent Killing technique.
A smile appeared on Hiruzen's face. He had already thought of a way to get Mizuki killed.
"Have Mizuki take the mission to protect Tazuna. Once he reaches the Land of Waves, he'll inevitably face Zabuza. With Zabuza's strength and methods, Mizuki won't be a match for him. Having him die at his opponent's hands is an excellent plan. And even if by some chance he survives, his true strength will be exposed. Then the villagers will realize he has ulterior motives — they might even identify him as a spy from another village."
Having made his decision, Hiruzen immediately began making arrangements.
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At the same time, Danzō returned to Root, his expression grim.
"When we exterminated the Uchiha, you said we couldn't use force to suppress them — yet you hinted for me to act, ultimately forcing me to order Itachi to annihilate the clan. Today it's the same. You say we can't take forceful action, but your eyes practically scream for me to take Root and kill Mizuki by force. It's always like this. You present yourself as righteous and noble, kind and benevolent in the villagers' eyes. All the dirty work, all the evil deeds — done by me. All the blame falls on me. I've had enough!"
Danzō raged furiously, his eyes seeming to spit fire. He cursed and complained for ten minutes before finally calming down.
Once calm, a sinister smile appeared on his face.
"Heh heh, such days will finally end soon! The Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru — my chance to turn things around has come. The position of Fifth Hokage is within my grasp. I never want to stay in the darkness underground again. I want to walk on the surface, bathing in warm, radiant sunlight.
Hiruzen, your indecisiveness has made Konoha weaker and weaker. You are not fit to be Hokage. Only under my leadership can Konoha become strong again, restoring the supreme status of the First Hokage's era, dominating the Five Great Nations."
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After leaving the Hokage building, Mizuki immediately went to find Tsubaki.
First he went to her house but didn't find her. He asked the neighbors, who said they hadn't seen her for half a month. Then he searched all over the village, even going to the Hokage building.
This was all for show, of course. After all, his fiancée was gone — he couldn't show no reaction. To continue living in this village, he had to appear normal.
Faced with Mizuki's inquiries, Hiruzen could only say that Tsubaki had gone missing and the village was sending people to search for her. Both knew she was already dead. Both knew why she died and where she died. But they both pretended not to know anything.
Playing dumb while knowing the truth. Neither would reveal it, because doing so would hurt both parties.
After a symbolic few days of searching, Hiruzen announced that Tsubaki had been killed, her body completely destroyed.
Mizuki was "grief-stricken", drunk day after day, haggard in appearance, crying in sorrow.
Finally, Iruka took him to some pleasure houses a few times before he emerged from his "grief over losing his wife".
"That's enough!"
Putting on an act was exhausting. If he kept it up, even he wouldn't be able to stand it.
"Next, I should continue improving my strength."
Each disciple had three return opportunities per month. It had been over a month since Naruto and Sasuke's last returns — he could exploit them again.
"What should I give them?" Mizuki began pondering this question.
Ideally, whatever he gave would significantly boost his strength after the return. Granting jutsu would increase his strength the fastest, because the returned jutsu would be very powerful.
But the problem was, he knew very few jutsu to begin with — he had nothing good to give. Naruto and the others already knew the basic three jutsu. He'd already given Earth-Style Wall to Sakura. Stone Mirror Wall was returned by the system, so giving it away wouldn't trigger another return.
"If I give ninja tools, I'll get back stronger ninja tools, but I'm not particularly skilled at using them, so the improvement wouldn't be that great."
Mizuki pondered for a long while but couldn't think of what to give. So he left his house and walked onto the street, planning to look around and find some inspiration.
When he passed by a pharmacy, inspiration struck. He stepped inside and approached the counter.
"Shopkeeper, I want 10 food pills."
Food pills, also called Military Rations Pills, instantly restore large amounts of chakra when consumed by ninja. They can substitute for food, replenishing the body's energy needs. During missions or wartime, food pills serve as excellent supplies that replace regular meals.
He didn't know what would be returned, but having something that restored chakra was always useful.
"Ten food pills, here you are. That's 1,000 ryō total!"
Mizuki said, "Wait, I want to buy something else too."
The shopkeeper asked, "What else does the customer need?"
Mizuki, "Do you have medicine that strengthens the body and bones?"
The shopkeeper said, "Yes, but it's not taken internally — it's for external use. You soak in a bath and let the medicinal properties seep into your body to strengthen it. However, this medicine requires long-term use and doesn't show quick results. But if you persist, the improvement will be substantial. Your skin and muscles will become tougher, bone density will increase greatly, and your agility will surpass others. Those who purchase this are generally taijutsu specialists…"
Before the shopkeeper finished, someone rushed in from outside, shouting, "Shopkeeper, I'm here to pick up medicine!"
Mizuki turned to look — it was Rock Lee.
The shopkeeper smiled, "It's Lee! Your medicine has been ready for a while." He took out two packages, "One for Guy, one for you."
Lee grabbed the medicine and rushed out.
The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head, "Such dedication. Apart from missions, it's all training. Even when picking up medicine, he's in such a hurry."
Mizuki asked curiously, "The medicine he just picked up — is that the body-strengthening medicine?"
The shopkeeper nodded, "That's right. Among all the ninja in Konoha, Gai's taijutsu is the strongest. This is inseparable from my shop's body-strengthening medicine. Only with a strong physique can taijutsu be powerful."
Mizuki, "Well then, give me some body-strengthening medicine too."
The shopkeeper looked at him, "Are you a ninja who specializes in taijutsu?"
Mizuki shook his head.
The shopkeeper, "If not, then I'd advise you not to waste your time. Before using body-strengthening medicine, you must undergo high-intensity physical training to push your body to exhaustion. Only then can the medicine's effects be fully realized. You also need years or even decades of persistence to see obvious results. Since you don't specialize in taijutsu and won't persist in training, the medicine will have very poor effects on you. You might as well not waste your money."
Mizuki smiled, "It's fine, I have money."
The shopkeeper sighed helplessly, "All right then. If you insist, I won't stop you. But I'm telling you now — don't come to me if there are no results."
"Don't worry, I won't!"
The shopkeeper had no choice. He took out a package of body-strengthening medicine, "This is a one-month supply. Use it once per day."
Mizuki, "I want three packages."
The shopkeeper was at a loss for words, "Why do you need so much? Whatever, suit yourself. One package is 3,000 ryō, three packages are 9,000 ryō. Add the 1,000 ryō for the food pills, and the total is 10,000 ryō."
Mizuki paid the money, took the medicine, and left cheerfully.
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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 more chapters of this novel or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)