The Explosive Bomber had a blast force equivalent to 500 explosive tags and flew at supersonic speed. Mizuki had owned it for over a month but had been reluctant to use it.
But now, he couldn't hold back any longer.
Thinking back on yesterday still filled him with dread.
If he hadn't encountered Itachi on the way back from the Land of Waves, which instilled in him a wariness of Sharingan genjutsu; if he hadn't successfully taken Rock Lee as a disciple and received the Six Spirits Floral Water in return — yesterday he would have definitely fallen under Kotoamatsukami and become Danzō's puppet.
That would be worse than death.
He most wanted revenge on Danzō — to blow the Root base to smithereens. Unfortunately, he didn't know where it was, so he could only redirect his hatred toward the Third Hokage.
In any case, no matter whose fault it was, it was all Hiruzen's fault!
High in the sky, a paper airplane streaked into Konoha like a meteor, a Mach cone trailing behind it. It immediately caught the attention of ninja on the high walls.
But it was too fast — gone in a flash. No one could see what it was.
In an instant, the paper airplane passed through an invisible barrier. In Konoha's Barrier Team, Inoichi Yamanaka immediately detected the change.
As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha wasn't some backwater hamlet where travelers could come and go freely. The entire village was enveloped by a large-scale sensory barrier.
The barrier was bowl-shaped, covering Konoha from above and extending underground. Once an unfamiliar presence entered, the Barrier Team would immediately sense it, identifying whether it was friend or foe and assessing the threat.
"An unidentified object has entered the barrier from high above the village gate. No chakra signature detected. Likely a bird. Extremely fast. Low threat level."
Inoichi didn't pay much attention and had no intention of reporting it.
But just three seconds later, the ground shook. A deafening roar followed, and his expression changed drastically.
Inoichi expanded his sensory perception to the maximum and "saw" pitch-black smoke billowing from the Hokage's office.
The walls were covered in cracks, the windows completely destroyed. Broken bricks and tiles lay scattered below, along with several mangled corpses whose identities couldn't be determined yet.
"It's over, completely over!"
"The Third has been attacked and blown up!"
This was serious!
With the Hokage under attack, the village immediately entered maximum alert. The villagers were terrified, thinking the Nine-Tails incident from twelve years ago was happening again.
They didn't need to be organized — they instinctively headed to the shelters. Though they didn't know what was happening, seeking refuge was human instinct.
The gates at Konoha's entrance closed immediately. On the walls, ninja tensely watched outside the village, fully on guard. Ninja who were on leave rushed toward the Hokage Building at top speed.
Teachers and Genin from other villages participating in the Chūnin Exams were ordered to remain in their quarters. Violators would be killed without question.
When a large number of ninja had gathered below the Hokage Building, Hiruzen arrived late, his face dark.
"What happened? Who did this?" Looking at the destroyed Hokage office, he lost his composure.
The ninja breathed a sigh of relief when they saw he wasn't dead.
"Lord Third, the Barrier Team reported that an unidentified object flew into the village from the air. In just 3 seconds, your office exploded."
Hiruzen's face showed shock.
"3 seconds from outside the village to the Hokage Building — how is that possible?"
The Hokage Building sat in the center of the village, over a thousand meters from the perimeter. Crossing that distance in 3 seconds — what the hell was that thing?
Even a Tailed Beast Ball wasn't that fast!
That terrifying speed gave people no time to react.
Hiruzen felt fortunate — fortunate that he'd run to Danzō's house early that morning to check whether he was honestly staying home. If he'd been in his office, he'd probably be dead now.
"Where did the attack come from?" Hiruzen asked.
"Inoichi said it came from the direction of Konoha's main gate."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. Several suspects flashed through his mind.
'Sunagakure? Orochimaru?… Or perhaps, Mizuki?'
His brow furrowed deeply as dread rose in his heart. If this kind of attack came again, would he be able to dodge it?
"What are the casualties?"
"Three ANBU guarding the office, all killed. In the corridor, two staff members passing by — one dead, one critically injured. The office floor was blown through. In the mission hall downstairs, three clients were killed, including the Daimyō's wife. Of the staff issuing missions, two dead, two critically injured.
Bricks and stones falling from the windows killed seven villagers passing by and injured dozens more. The critically injured have been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, but we can't guarantee they'll all survive. All documents in the office have been completely destroyed."
Listening to these numbers, Hiruzen clenched his fists.
One explosion — 16 dead, with more critically injured whose survival remained uncertain. Even the Daimyō's wife was among the casualties.
His heart went cold. Since the Nine-Tails Night twelve years ago, Konoha hadn't suffered major losses. But today, disaster had struck.
"Immediately head to the gate area and search all suspicious persons, especially ninja from other villages. Strengthen security. We must prevent this from happening again."
With the Daimyō's wife dead, Hiruzen felt his time as Hokage had come to an end. But right now, what concerned him more was finding whoever did this and tearing them to pieces.
Inside the village, tension gripped everyone. Outside, there wasn't much impact.
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Several hundred meters outside Konoha, a merchant caravan felt the ground tremble, then heard a massive explosion from behind.
Everyone stopped and looked back. The high walls blocked their view — they couldn't see the Hokage Building reduced to ruins.
Mizuki leaped to the top of a large tree. His line of sight crossed over the wall to gaze from afar. He saw thick smoke still rising from the Hokage Building.
"Hmph!" Mizuki sneered, "Wonder if it killed that old man or not."
Best if he was dead. If not, it didn't matter.
At least the Hokage's office was destroyed, along with the documents and Ninjutsu Scrolls inside — enough to make Hiruzen's heart ache for a while.
"This Explosive Bomber really is quite useful."
He planned to get several more and blow up whoever displeased him.
"Mr. Mizuki, has something happened in Konoha? Do you need to go back and check?" the caravan leader asked.
Mizuki said, "The village has been attacked. As a Konoha ninja, I must return to protect the village. The mission is suspended."
Protecting the village was nonsense. He wanted to see if Hiruzen was dead. If so, he'd take out Danzō too. If not, he'd wait until after the Chūnin Exams.
Also, he wanted to enjoy watching Hiruzen rage.
The caravan leader agreed with Mizuki's suggestion and turned back toward Konoha.
At the entrance, he saw a large number of ninja rushing out of the village.
"What the hell?"
"Does the Third know I caused the explosion?"
Mizuki immediately went on guard. If they were coming for him, he'd have to fight and defect today.
But soon, he realized these ninja weren't coming for him. Only a few came to question him. The rest left the village and spread out in a fan-shaped search pattern.
'Worried for nothing. Almost thought I'd have to defect today.'
Kurenai arrived with Team 8 to question him. Everyone in the caravan was questioned, then cleared of suspicion.
"Kurenai-Jōnin, what exactly happened in the village?"
Kurenai Yuhi said, "The Hokage Building was attacked. The Hokage's office was destroyed."
Mizuki asked hurriedly, "Is the Hokage all right?"
Kurenai said, "The Third Hokage wasn't in the building when the explosion occurred, so he's fine."
Mizuki pretended to breathe a sigh of relief, "That's good! As long as the Hokage is all right!"
Hiruzen wasn't dead — he felt disappointed.
'If he's not dead, he's not dead. If not this time, then next time for sure.'
Since Hiruzen wasn't dead, the Chūnin Exams could proceed normally.
'I've taken on five disciples with potential, reaching the limit. I can't continue until one of them becomes a Chūnin.'
The three from Team 7, plus Rock Lee and Daisuke — though Daisuke didn't yet qualify for the Chūnin Exams.
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Lee would all participate. Without his intervention, none of them would likely pass.
The Chūnin Exams were held twice a year. If he missed this one, he'd wait until year-end. Six months unable to take disciples — Mizuki couldn't accept that.
'I need to improve their abilities. At least Sasuke, Sakura, and Lee have a chance of passing and becoming Chūnin.'
Naruto's theoretical foundation was too poor. The village wouldn't let him pass. After all, becoming a Chūnin meant leading teams on missions. At his level, he'd only lead them into a pit.
"All right, you're cleared and can leave. However, the village is tense right now. Try not to walk around the streets to avoid misunderstandings. As for Mizuki, you should go to the Hokage Building and await the Hokage's orders."
Just as Kurenai finished speaking, Hiruzen suddenly arrived.
"Mizuki, there's nothing for you to do in the village. Continue with your mission and escort the caravan to the Land of Tea."
Hiruzen had rushed over deliberately to make sure Mizuki left the village.
Kurenai was momentarily stunned and gave him a meaningful look.
Mizuki nodded, "Yes, Lord Hokage."
And so, the caravan left the village again.
'That old man's covering something up — it's obvious! There's definitely an ambush waiting on the road ahead. Otherwise, why would he send village ninja on missions at a time like this?'
Mizuki walked while pondering.
'He knows I have Body Swap. He knows I have the Rasengan. Yet he's still sending me out to be killed. That means whoever's waiting ahead is strong enough to finish me. Who could it be? Jiraiya? Or perhaps Itachi?'
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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!
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I'm currently translating another project (for $1.5) where the main character travels through various worlds, like Highschool of the Dead, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Darwin's Game, and many more, building a massive harem. It will have smut chapters (+18) and spicy images of the female characters. Check it out if you're interested! :)
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