Chapter 49
"That's the power Fox Sage used to protect me."
Naruto didn't hide it: "Just now, Fox Sage saw that guy cheating and temporarily lent me his power. If it was just the two of us, we definitely wouldn't have been a match for him right now."
Hearing this explanation, Sasuke's tense body relaxed slightly.
Borrowed power, huh….
Though he felt a bit unwilling, at least the reason made sense.
"What happened to that guy?"
Sasuke observed Mizuki on the ground, whose body was visibly shrinking, and murmured.
Naruto also noticed the change and looked toward Xuanming, who had reappeared beside him.
Xuanming gave a quick examination and formed a conclusion in his mind.
Using a curse seal to automatically absorb and regulate natural energy without active control—this kind of "convenience" came with no lack of side effects. The curse seal potion only granted him the opportunity for enhancement.
But the price still had to be paid by the user himself. If the physical foundation wasn't sufficient, the drug would only force rapid overdraft of the body.
In fact, the formula Mizuki used now was slightly better than the original version.
When the curse seal disconnected and power was lost, it wouldn't directly kill him.
Of course, it could also be because he lost too quickly—the curse seal didn't have time to completely burn him dry.
Mizuki's body had become extremely emaciated.
Though he looked like a sleeping mummified corpse, he still retained a faint thread of vitality.
After hearing Xuanming's explanation, Naruto relayed the information to Sasuke.
After listening to Naruto's summary, Sasuke roughly understood.
He continued speaking to Naruto: "Now we've found evidence of his connection to Orochimaru. When we get back, we'll call the Military Police ninja to come."
"After they take him away, the rest will be investigated thoroughly."
Naruto nodded, then quietly looked at Mizuki lying on the ground.
"It's really a shame for Iruka-sensei. He was fooled so badly by Mizuki!"
A guy like this was treated by Iruka as his best friend and even became a teacher at the Ninja Academy.
Thinking of that ugly, twisted face, Naruto felt his emotions stir.
Looked like his cultivation still wasn't deep enough.
But beating Mizuki did feel incredibly satisfying.
He signaled Sasuke to take out the bundle of steel wire they had brought. Together they tied Mizuki's limbs tightly.
The two hadn't come to this nighttime operation empty-handed—they were well-prepared.
"Someone's coming." Naruto's ears twitched.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several breaking-air sounds rang out.
Several Uchiha ninja wearing Konoha Military Police uniforms appeared instantly in the clearing.
Leading them was Uchiha Tekka.
Seeing the shattered warehouse ruins around them and the several-meter-wide crater in the center,
Uchiha Tekka's eye corner twitched.
This entire battle scene—was caused by these two little brats?
"Sasuke! Are you two alright?"
Uchiha Tekka reached Sasuke first and looked him over from head to toe.
After confirming the clan head's son was only dirty and hadn't lost any limbs, he finally relaxed.
"Brother Tekka! Perfect timing." Sasuke nodded.
"What happened?"
While asking, Tekka observed the shriveled figure bound in steel wire and unconscious on the ground.
He didn't recognize who it originally was.
"It's Mizuki-sensei."
Naruto pointed at the person on the ground: "He tried to kill us, but couldn't beat us."
"Then he drank some strange potion and got stronger, but I knocked him out anyway."
"The academy's Mizuki?"
Uchiha Tekka frowned. As an elite of the Military Police, he naturally knew quite a bit about various ninja.
How did he end up like this?
He stepped forward to check.
Uchiha Tekka noticed the remaining black curse seal patterns and abnormal body parts on Mizuki.
As an elite of the Military Police, he immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
This was no longer a simple case of a ninja academy teacher betraying and harming students.
"Restrain him first."
Uchiha Tekka waved his hand. Two Uchiha officers immediately stepped forward.
They took out special shackles and locked the unconscious Mizuki securely.
"Why did he try to kill you? Did you two discover something?"
Uchiha Tekka looked at the two boys.
Naruto pointed at the bottle on the ground not far away: "He said this power was given to him by Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru?!"
Hearing that name, Uchiha Tekka's pupils contracted sharply.
S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru? Here?
At the mention of the name, a faint rustle came from the other side of the trees.
Several masked Anbu ninja landed around them.
"Military Police members, you've worked hard."
The leading Anbu wearing a cat-face mask had already heard part of the earlier conversation.
Glancing at the miserable state of Mizuki, he spoke gravely: "The rest of this matter involves a Konoha missing-nin. This person will be taken over by Anbu."
Uchiha Tekka glanced at the Anbu uniforms.
The Military Police and Anbu had never gotten along well for years.
The Police Force handled internal village security—except for Anbu matters.
Anbu could deal with any criminal, including those captured by the Police Force.
This was one of the main points of friction between the Uchiha clan and the village.
But since a missing-nin was involved,
this indeed exceeded the scope of regular Police Force security management.
"The man on the ground can be handed over to you."
Uchiha Tekka stood up, positioning himself protectively in front of Sasuke. His tone was firm: "But these two students are victims, and the Military Police discovered them first."
"The Police Force will submit an investigation report on today's incident later, so they cannot be taken away by you."
According to standard procedure, everyone involved today would be taken by Anbu for questioning, cleared of suspicion, and released only after confirmation.
He absolutely could not allow Uchiha Sasuke to be taken to an Anbu interrogation room.
The Anbu team leader glanced at Uchiha Tekka, then at the two children with special status, and nodded.
"The Hokage-sama is already awake. If possible, bring them to the Hokage Tower later to meet with the Hokage-sama."
Once again, two departments had run into each other.
This time, responsibilities were clearly divided. Both sides began moving.
Anbu carefully examined the remaining evidence at the scene.
One Anbu picked up the "corpse-like" Mizuki on the ground and prioritized taking him away to be secured.
They would also call a medical ninja to check his condition—better not let him die in custody.
Another Anbu carefully picked up the bottle on the ground, sealed it, and prepared to send it for component analysis.
…
Hokage Office.
It was already deep into the night. Sarutobi Hiruzen—woken up in the middle of sleep—was inwardly displeased.
But upon hearing that the jinchūriki had used Nine-Tails power inside the village,
he instantly became alert, entered work mode, and dispatched Anbu to investigate the scene.
Not long after,
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the empty potion bottle presented by Anbu.
The medical team's preliminary examination report on Mizuki's body had also arrived.
After reading it, his face became terrifyingly dark.
"…Orochimaru."
The old Hokage took a drag from his pipe, uttering the name of the disciple he hadn't had the heart to kill years ago—the one who ultimately escaped.
He raised his head and looked toward the two boys standing in front of his desk.
Though Naruto and Sasuke had just gone through a major battle, both were still full of energy.
Especially Naruto—even now he was absent-mindedly looking at the portraits of past Hokage on the wall.
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