Chapter 109 - 9

Chapter 9: The Embrace, Mizuki's Purpose![Current target favorability: -55]The popsicle in Naruto's hand had long since melted completely, sticky syrup dripping onto the dirt.He expressionlessly tossed the wooden stick aside.Mizuki's eyes flickered slightly: This kid, why isn't his reaction what I expected—crying excitedly and being overwhelmed with gratitude?Having shattered the naive filter of the past, combined with the system's favorability "lie detector," Naruto could see the calculations beneath this "kind" face before him clearly.Only when mentioning the "scroll of seals" did that malice slightly recede—This damn old geezer was purely using him as a tool to steal the book!"Hey, Mizuki-sensei..."Naruto suddenly looked up, a bright, dependent, and moved smile blooming on his face, his big eyes blinking, "Are you really... really willing to help me like this?"Mizuki was stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief, sneering internally: Just a brat after all, he was probably just scared silly earlier.He immediately nodded in response: "Of course! Sensei will always be Naruto's partner!"[Current target favorability: -67]"Wuwuwu~ That's great! Thank you, Mizuki-sensei!"Naruto opened his arms, crystalline tears welling in the corners of his eyes, pouncing over like a small beast seeking an embrace."No need to thank me, this is what a teacher should do..."Mizuki's eye twitched slightly, he curled his lip, and also opened his arms, preparing to pull this "innocent" brat into his embrace to properly "comfort" him.Calculating his next step in his mind—once Narutosteals the scroll of seals...Just at the moment the two were about to make contact—"Crack—!!!"A teeth-gritting, explosive sound suddenly burst out!Naruto's seemingly moved embrace had actually crushed a hard wooden log, which had been swapped in at some unknown point, into fragments flying everywhere!Naruto let go, wood shavings falling rustlingly.He slowly turned his head, his cold gaze precisely cast toward the branch of a large tree to his side and rear, where Mizuki's figure was appearing in a disheveled state, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his hand holding the tree trunk trembling slightly."Mizuki-sensei... what are you doing?"Naruto tilted his head, his tone terrifyingly calm, "Aren't you my 'partner'? Why did you have to use the Body Replacement Technique to dodge when partners are just getting close?"Mizuki's heart hammered wildly, filled with lingering fear.In that instant just now, the life-and-death intuition honed from years of being a Ninja had frantically sounded the alarm; he had almost instinctively used the Body Replacement Technique!Looking at the pile of wood shavings on the ground that looked like they had been crushed by immense force, he had no doubt that if it had been him embraced just now, most of his bones would already be shattered!"Damn it... what exactly is going on with this brat?!"Mizuki roared in horror internally, but forced himself to remain calm on the surface, even squeezing out a "hurt" expression: "Naruto! Why would you attack your teacher? I genuinely wanted to help you!""I've had enough."The smile on Naruto's face completely vanished, his voice cold, "Mizuki, save your lies. Answer me, who exactly are my parents?"The silence lasted for three seconds."Hahaha... Hahahaha!" Mizuki suddenly laughed up at the sky, the laughter echoing in the night forest, startling a few roosting birds, "As expected of the Fourth Hokage's son! This keenness... it's truly disgusting!"He stood up, the moonlight stretching his shadow, casting it at Naruto's feet: "Since you aren't obedient—" he crossed his hands in front of his chest, cold light flashing between his fingers, "Sensei will teach you what it means to respect your teacher!"Before his words had even faded, Mizuki flung his hands rapidly!"Swish, swish, swish—!"Seven or eight shuriken tore through the air, covering Naruto's vital points in a fan shape, their cold glint particularly piercing under the moonlight!Naruto didn't dodge or evade, just casually raised his left hand and gave a light wave forward."Whoosh—!"An invisible yet powerful wave of air generated out of thin air, pushing out flat like a transparent wall!"Clang, clang, clatter—"All the shuriken shooting toward him hit this wall of air and lost all their momentum, falling powerlessly to the ground with crisp sounds."What?!"Mizuki's pupils shrank, "Seal-less Wind Release?! That's impossible!"Since when did the dead-last Naruto from the academy master such a technique?Surprise aside, Mizuki's attacks did not stop."Snake - Ram - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Tiger!"His hands formed seals as fast as an illusion! The moment the final "Tiger" seal was completed, Mizuki's chest puffed up exaggeratedly! He inhaled so much air that even the surrounding fallen leaves were swept toward his mouth!"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!""Boom—!!"A visible, grayish-white, fan-shaped shockwave, like a bursting flood, roared out from his mouth!Where the air wave passed, the earth was plowed into a deep trench, gravel and dirt swept into mid-air; bowl-thick trees snapped upon impact, branches and leaves torn and shredded by the violent wind force, emitting scalp-numbing sounds of breaking!The Ninjutsu hit Naruto squarely!Countless invisible wind blades continued to cut at Naruto's relatively small figure, tearing his old jacket and the fishnet undershirt beneath it into tatters, cloth strips flying everywhere.Mizuki maintained his exhalation posture, his mouth curling up.It's over... even if there's something weird, it's impossible to survive under a B-rank Ninjutsu...The wind stopped.The dust slowly settled.The moonlight shone down again, revealing the figure in the center of the storm—"Wha...t?!"Mizuki's smug, ferocious grin froze completely on his face, replaced by boundless fear and disbelief.Naruto was actually... completely unscathed!He casually tore off the tattered cloth strips from his body and threw them aside, revealing clearly defined, noticeably bulging muscles.The slight white marks left by the Wind Releasecutting were fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.Naruto twisted his neck, emitting a slight "crack" sound, raised his eyes to look at the dumbfounded Mizuki, his tone carrying a hint of mockery:"Did you not eat? Mizuki-sensei, I thought you were just cooling me down?""This is impossible! You must be bluffing!"Mizuki staggered backward, his spine hitting a tree trunk.Illusion? Yes, it must be Genjutsu!He bit his tongue, intense pain and the taste of blood spreading in his mouth—no change! That monster was still standing there!How could his own Ninjutsu not even have scratched a layer of this brat's skin."Now, it's time for my 'after-class questions'!""Boom!!!"With an explosive sound, Naruto vanished from his spot, leaving behind only a depression covered in spiderweb-like cracks!"So fast!"Mizuki's pupils shrank slightly, his hands waving repeatedly, instantly summoning dozens of Kunaiand shuriken, while simultaneously forming seals again!"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"The gale, carrying densely packed sharp iron weapons, formed a nearly 180-degree death storm of metal in front of him, attempting to block Narutofrom approaching!