Chapter 47
From the side, Sasuke—who had already finished forming seals—took a deep breath.
He placed his fingers to his mouth. Chakra immediately surged out and turned into roaring flames.
A blazing fireball three meters in diameter howled forth.
Scorching heat rolled in waves. The timing was perfectly calculated—
covering exactly the path where Mizuki was about to fall.
"Damn it!"
Mizuki's eyes widened in terror. He rolled desperately on the ground.
He narrowly avoided the fireball's direct blast.
Even so, a huge patch of his clothing was scorched. The smell of burnt hair filled the air.
He looked disheveled and pathetic.
He leaped out of the combat zone, gasping heavily.
His eyes were filled with disbelief and deep self-doubt.
What was going on? Were these really students taught by Iruka?
Uchiha Sasuke was one thing—he was a genius from the prestigious Uchiha clan.
But that Uzumaki Naruto—the Nine-Tails demon fox hated by the entire village—could actually use this kind of taijutsu…
This wasn't something taught at the Ninja Academy at all!
"That's it?"
Sasuke's cold eyes fixed on Mizuki. His tone carried the signature Uchiha arrogance.
"No character, and not even much strength. Is this all you've got and you still dare call yourself a 'teacher'?"
Naruto also withdrew his stance. Looking at Mizuki, he said:
"Yeah, your movements are way too obvious."
Those two sentences stabbed like sharp knives
straight into Mizuki's sensitive, jealousy-filled heart.
"Haa… haa…"
Mizuki stared fixedly at the two unharmed boys before him. His mentality completely collapsed.
He had trained so hard for so many years, struggling on the edge of life and death through countless missions.
Only to barely reach a decent level among chūnin.
And these two brats were only seven or eight years old!
At this age, they could toy with a veteran chūnin like him?
"Why… why?!"
Mizuki's features twisted. His eyes were bloodshot with terror.
"Why can talented guys like you mock my hard work so casually?!"
"Iruka was like that, and now you two too…"
"I'm not willing! I refuse!!"
Intense jealousy and defeat swirled in Mizuki's mind.
He suddenly pulled a glass bottle filled with red liquid from his robes.
"As long as I have this… as long as I have the power Lord Orochimaru bestowed…"
Mizuki stared at the swaying potion in his hand, eyes flashing with sickly fanaticism.
The corners of his grinning mouth stretched to his ears: "I'll soon surpass you! Surpass everyone!"
"Not good! Stop him!"
Sasuke's instinct screamed that whatever was in that bottle was bad news.
Whoosh!
A shuriken flew from his hand, turning into a streak of cold light aimed straight at Mizuki's hand holding the potion.
Pfft!
The shuriken stabbed precisely into the back of Mizuki's hand. Blood sprayed.
But he seemed to have lost all sense of pain—didn't even flinch.
He threw his head back. Together with the blood streaming from his hand, he gulped down the red liquid in one go.
Gulp!
The transformation was frighteningly fast.
"Urrghhh—!!!"
The moment the potion entered his stomach, Mizuki let out a blood-curdling scream.
It was as though countless knives were twisting inside his body all at once.
Thump! Thump!
His heartbeat boomed like war drums.
Soon Mizuki's body and arms began to swell violently. Muscles inflated like air being pumped in.
His fitted ninja vest tore apart. Strange black patterns emerged across his face and arms.
The shuriken embedded in his hand was forcibly squeezed out by the bulging muscles.
It fell to the ground with a ding. The wound healed at a visible speed.
"What kind of chakra is this…"
Sasuke instinctively activated his Sharingan.
In his vision, those black patterns on Mizuki's body were forcibly drawing in and converting natural energy from the surroundings.
"So that's how it is."
Xuanming—who had been spectating—raised an eyebrow.
He could sense that the black markings were absorbing the omnipresent natural energy in a very crude manner.
The advantage was that it required no active harmonization or control.
It simply used the curse seal to forcibly convert natural energy into power.
"This is the power… the power Lord Orochimaru gave me!"
Mizuki felt the monstrous strength surging through his body and let out a manic laugh of delight.
The next instant, his figure vanished.
"Watch out!"
Sasuke had just shouted when a gust of foul wind rushed toward Naruto.
Mizuki's speed was now several times faster!
Naruto instinctively assumed a stance.
But while four ounces could deflect a thousand pounds, it absolutely couldn't deflect an oncoming truck.
Naruto only felt a massive force slam into him. His whole body was sent flying.
Fortunately he used a force-dispersing technique, rolling several times across the ground without taking serious injury.
"It's not over yet!"
Mizuki grinned savagely and turned toward Sasuke.
In the Sharingan's dynamic vision, Mizuki's movements were still traceable.
But Sasuke's body simply couldn't keep up with what his eyes saw!
"Damn it!"
Sasuke barely twisted aside, but the terrifying wind pressure from the strike still hurled him away.
He adjusted mid-air, using the momentum for a backflip and landing steadily.
Mizuki didn't immediately press the attack.
He stood in place, admiring his arms—now thicker than thighs.
In intoxicated rapture he shouted: "See this? This is power! Power is everything! This is what ninja should crave!"
Absolute superiority had inflated his ego.
Mizuki looked at the two students and remembered his original mission: "How about it? Join me in serving Lord Orochimaru. With luck, he'll grant you this kind of power too!"
"What do we do, Naruto?"
Sasuke's Sharingan remained locked on Mizuki. His expression was grave: "If this continues, it's really dangerous."
Mizuki's original strength was already stronger than any of the three Takigakure ninja.
In a one-on-one fight, he couldn't beat Naruto and Sasuke together.
But now, with this pure "might makes right" brute force,
technique was losing its effectiveness.
"Stop playing around, Naruto. Use my power."
Xuanming—still spectating—spoke directly to Naruto: "Fighting this version of Mizuki is honestly a bit beyond you two."
"Besides… there are two malicious presences watching from deep in the forest."
His perception caught faint malice from far within the trees.
One source matched the white snake in the warehouse.
Clearly Orochimaru and Kabuto were observing from afar.
His full Nine-Tails body wouldn't fear Orochimaru.
But while the main body's malice wasn't fully controlled, he wouldn't rashly let Naruto unseal it.
So having Naruto face Orochimaru directly wasn't feasible.
If the purified chakra ran out, he'd have to use chakra tainted with malice.
That would truly harm Naruto.
But right now, Orochimaru probably didn't dare show his face in Konoha.
He still lacked the strength to challenge the entire village.
After Xuanming's warning, Naruto straightened up and dusted himself off.
Though a bit battered, he showed no fear.
"No worries."
In front of Sasuke, he could never quite stay completely calm.
Naruto walked toward Mizuki. The corners of his mouth curved up.
With a hint of show-off in his tone, he said to Sasuke: "Watch closely, Sasuke. I told you—Fox Sage will protect me."
"What?" Sasuke blinked.
The next moment, his Sharingan spun rapidly.
"This… this is… so… so much chakra."
In the Sharingan's view, a massive surge of chakra erupted from Naruto's abdomen.
Xuanming had released purified Nine-Tails chakra.
Naruto's entire body was instantly enveloped in a red-golden chakra cloak.
Nine-Tails Chakra Mode – Tailed Beast Cloak form.
A single chakra tail danced behind him.
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