Just after leaving the pharmacy, Mizuki ran into Naruto wandering the streets.
"Are you off today? Why aren't you on a mission?" Mizuki asked.
It was daytime, and the village's Genin should all be out executing missions.
Naruto complained, "It's all because of Kakashi-sensei. He left the rest of us behind and went off on some special mission by himself. Without our team leader, we can't take on any missions. No missions means no money. No money means I can't even afford ramen. I'm so hungry! Mizuki-sensei, have you eaten? How about we go get some ramen together?"
He looked at Mizuki expectantly.
Mizuki, "…"
You're quite the little schemer!
Although Mizuki wasn't short on money, he couldn't treat Naruto to ramen right now. The boy would eat three bowls at once, and then the system would return it all as chakra — a huge loss.
While it's true that for shinobi, the more chakra the better, Mizuki's current chakra was already more than eleven times Kakashi's — plenty to spend freely.
What he needed was a qualitative change, a substantial increase in strength. Using his give-and-return opportunities to exchange for chakra noodles would be wasteful. What he needed most now were offensive Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu.
"I still have things to do, so I'll skip the ramen. This medicine is for you. Use one small packet each day — boil it, then pour it into your bathtub and soak for half an hour every night. Consistent use will strengthen your constitution. Oh, and this food pill — try it and see how it tastes."
Naruto scratched his head, "Mizuki-sensei, why are you suddenly giving me all this?"
Mizuki, "Why so many questions? I'm your sensei, and if I give you something, just take it. It's not like I'm going to hurt you. Alright, I still have things to do. Bye!"
He turned and left, afraid that Naruto would drag him to Ichiraku Ramen.
He hadn't gone far when an ANBU suddenly appeared before him.
"Chūnin Mizuki, the Third Hokage is looking for you. Please proceed to the Hokage's office immediately."
Mizuki was startled. Why is that old man looking for me? Another new plan to kill me?
"Understood, I'll go right away." Mizuki headed toward the Hokage building.
In his ears, the system's notification had already begun.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Naruto Uzumaki one Body-Strengthening Medicine, triggering a 666× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained one High Body-Strengthening Medicine! ]
〖 High Body-Strengthening Medicine: Using this medicine for just one month will double the host's strength, speed, endurance, neural response, resistance to impact… all based on current levels. 〗
Mizuki's eyes lit up with excitement.
Worth it!
But it wasn't over yet.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Naruto Uzumaki one Food Pill, triggering a 6,666× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained one Super Food Pill! ]
〖 Super Food Pill: After consumption, recovers 10 Kakashi units of chakra within one minute, maintains full stamina for three days without food or water, and permanently gains a chakra recovery rate of 0.3 Ka/minute. 〗
{T/N: Since the MC has about 11.1 Ka of Chakra, after consuming this pill he can fully recover his Chakra in 37 minutes everytime now.}
'Good heavens! The system is too powerful — it can even permanently increase chakra recovery speed. It's like carrying an inexhaustible power bank.'
These two exchanges brought Mizuki enormous gains.
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Soon, he arrived at the Hokage building. He suppressed his excitement and entered Hiruzen's office.
"Hokage-sama, what did you need me for?"
Hiruzen said, "Mizuki, you've been very proactive in executing missions lately, with a hundred percent completion rate. Your performance has been excellent. So I have a more important mission to assign you."
Mizuki sneered inwardly. As expected, this damned old man had a new plan. To kill me, he really spares no effort.
"Please give your orders, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded, "This year's newly formed Team 7 consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, with Elite Jōnin Kakashi as their instructor. However, Kakashi has an important mission outside the village for the next few days. Team 7's three Genin cannot take on missions without their instructor present.
After much consideration, I've decided to appoint you as Team 7's temporary instructor. Until Kakashi returns, you'll lead the three of them in accepting and executing missions. This will slow down your mission completion rate, but rest assured — the village will provide additional compensation."
This left Mizuki puzzled.
Making me Team 7's instructor — what's the meaning of this? Aren't they trying to kill me? Surely they're not counting on the Nine-Tails inside Naruto going berserk to kill me?
Mizuki couldn't see through Hiruzen's intentions. Of course, he wouldn't refuse this appointment — nor would the other party allow him to refuse.
This wasn't a request. It was an order from the Hokage.
"I've already sent someone to notify Naruto and the others. At one o'clock this afternoon, gather at the mission hall in the Hokage building to begin accepting missions."
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After leaving the Hokage building, Mizuki remained puzzled, unable to figure out what game Hiruzen was playing this time.
After thinking it over, he could only tell himself: When soldiers come, block them with generals; when water comes, cover it with earth.
That afternoon, Team 7 assembled. Mizuki, as temporary instructor, began taking the three youngsters on missions. He remained vigilant, but for several days in a row, everything was calm.
Hiruzen surprisingly made no moves.
One day, the wife of the Land of Fire's Daimyō posted a mission to find her beloved cat, Tora. D-Rank mission, with a reward of 10,000 ryō.
The appearance of this mission made something click in Mizuki's mind — he suddenly realized what was happening. Tora was caught and held tightly in Madam Shijimi's arms, being hugged and kissed while crying out, struggling, and helpless.
"Team 7's next mission is to help Lord Nakanaka babysit his children, run errands to the neighboring village, or help dig up sweet potatoes…"
Before Hiruzen could finish, Naruto exploded.
"No way! No more of these missions, please! I want to do something more impressive — give me something else!"
Iruka stood up and shouted, "You idiot, Naruto! You're nothing but a rookie who just started. Everyone begins by accumulating experience with low-level missions."
Naruto refused and began throwing a tantrum.
Finally, Hiruzen sighed, "Alright, I understand. Since you insist, I'll give you a C-rank mission. You'll be protecting someone."
Naruto was overjoyed.
Mizuki stood to the side, watching coldly. He had completely understood the old man's intentions.
'So you want to use Zabuza to kill me? What a fine calculation.'
The Hidden Mist Technique blocks vision. Combined with Kubikiribōchō and Zabuza's Silent Killing technique, it was extremely troublesome.
To break the Silent Killing technique, one would need powerful sensory abilities, large-scale Wind Release jutsu to disperse the thick fog, or — like Kakashi — keen-nosed canine summoning beasts.
Mizuki had none of these. The best option would be to kill Zabuza before he could deploy the Hidden Mist Technique.
But this wasn't foolproof. He couldn't guarantee the Demon would, like in the original story, announce himself before attacking.
'The Third really is black-hearted and ruthless. To kill me, he doesn't even care about Naruto and the others' safety. Isn't he afraid Zabuza will kill the three kids first?'
Naruto was very excited, urgently asking who they would be protecting.
"Naruto, no need to be so anxious. I'll introduce you right now." Hiruzen smiled, then called out, "Please come in!"
The door opened, and master bridge builder Tazuna walked in. Team 7 officially accepted the mission to protect him.
Hiruzen urged, "Since you've accepted the mission, depart as soon as possible."
Mizuki said, "This is Naruto and the others' first time leaving the village — they need to prepare. Besides, it's already four o'clock. If we leave now, we won't reach the next town by nightfall and will have to camp in the forest. The forest at night is dangerous. What do you say, Tazuna-san?"
Tazuna immediately replied, "Right, right! We can't sleep in the forest. Let's depart tomorrow morning instead."
The client had spoken. Hiruzen couldn't say more, only giving Mizuki a deep look.
Walking out of the mission hall, Mizuki announced:
"Tomorrow morning at six o'clock, gather at the village entrance. Don't be late." Then he added, "Everyone else can go. Sasuke, come with me."
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Mizuki brought Sasuke to Training Ground No. 3.
"How far have you trained your chakra control?"
Sasuke extended his right hand. Blue chakra gathered in his palm, then formed into the shape of a cat. Although crude, it showed his chakra control had reached a high level.
"Great progress, but keep working hard."
Sasuke frowned, "This level still isn't enough?"
Mizuki smiled and extended his right hand, also forming a cat with chakra. But his cat, compared to Sasuke's, was worlds apart — lifelike, with even the whiskers clearly visible.
"Body Swap is a space-time ninjutsu. If your chakra control isn't good enough and you rashly try it, it's dangerous. Moving through space, one careless mistake and you'll lose an arm or a leg."
Sasuke was unwilling, but he understood. He made up his mind to train even harder.
"I asked you to come today because there's another training project."
Sasuke asked, "What is it?"
Mizuki said, "Listening to the wind to determine position! Human eyes have a visual range of about 230° horizontally and 150° vertically. Beyond this range, the eyes can't see — like attacks from behind. The Byakugan is an exception, of course. So shinobi cannot rely solely on their eyes, because there will always be attacks they cannot see.
Listening to the wind to determine position trains your hearing. Your ears can hear sounds from all directions — there are no blind spots. Hearing has enormous potential. Train it to a certain level, and you can hear any sound, even an enemy's breathing and heartbeat."
The more Mizuki spoke, the brighter Sasuke's eyes became.
"So how do you train hearing?"
Mizuki smiled, "Very simple. Blindfold yourself and become a blind person."
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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! (-‿◦)