The news that Mizuki, a teacher at the ninja school, was severely injured after violating a forbidden technique spread in a small area.
As one of Mizuki's few true friends left, Umino Iruka also took the time to visit several times. Three days later, Mizuki was discharged from the hospital with his mobility largely restored.
Mizuki, who was extremely weak and completely lacking his previous energetic temperament, sat in a wheelchair and was questioned by Hiruzen Sarutobi at the Hokage's house.
"Mizuki, I hope you understand that every ninja who violates taboos will not end well. You are lucky enough to have saved a life. Thanks to Togakushi Hinode-sensei for lending a helping hand and saving you with precious potions. .”
"I understand, Sandaime, if I don't learn a lesson like this now, I would be very sorry to the people who care about me."
"It's not too late to find your way back. I hope you really realize your mistakes and can correct them." The stern Sarutobi Hiruzen asked seriously.
"Nine months ago, when you were acting together with the Hanyu Team, how did Dazhi die of poisoning? I hope you think clearly before answering..." Mizuki took a deep breath, and the sadness in his heart emerged, and was immediately suppressed. Go down.
"Dazhi... was indeed poisoned. The captain wanted to continue on the road with him who had become a drag. I lied to everyone. When Dazhi was left behind, he was actually not dead yet."
"As expected!" A cold and stern look appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.
"This time, you can still excuse yourself by saying that 'the overall situation is the most important thing'. So, five months ago, how should Nakano explain that Kumo ninja took back the mission of border intelligence? It is uncomfortable to abandon the injured comrades, but you don't It was time to take action in private and give Nakano a fatal blow. Even if it was to strengthen the captain's will and ensure the completion of the mission." After a pause, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to reveal the past secret in a chilling tone.
rocky
"Don't use the excuse of preventing Nakano from being captured, tortured and leaking information to justify your actions. You have to do it as a last resort. Using your companions as a shield must not be abused."
"Yes, I realized my mistake, Sandaime. Unfortunately, there are some things that you can't turn back after you do them. In order to complete the mission, we ninjas will do whatever it takes. We not only regard ourselves as tools, but others... even if they are... My compatriots are not stingy when they should take advantage of them." The so-called decisiveness in killing and decisiveness to avoid future troubles are actually just an excuse for having to sacrifice comrades because of their own incompetence.
"Then...what happened to your potion?"
"That's when I abandoned Nakano, and on the way back, I was targeted by Orochimaru. What's worse, Orochimaru saw everything I did. I even felt that the mastermind behind that mission was... It’s Orochimaru, otherwise, it wouldn’t be such a coincidence.”
"Orochimaru...are you sure?" Mizuki smiled bitterly and said:
"I will never admit that I was the hero of the village. Later, he gave me the curse seal and pointed out this forbidden potion. I guess this was just a move he made out of curiosity, and I overestimated it. own importance."
"So, are you just a victim of being bewitched?" Sarutobi Hiruzen, who sounded a little bad, snorted coldly, thought for a while and then continued to ask,
"Where do you get those precious medicinal materials?"
"Major Governor Gusugi sold it to me. I made a request to him. In view of my dedication at Inaba Academy, that adult sold me the precious medicinal materials that are hard to buy for a lot of money at a more favorable price."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru was already causing a headache, and now another Gusugi Bu Shui appeared, and Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt a little more troublesome.
rocky
"You will know later."
"that's it?"
"I'm sure I'm not hiding anything anymore, Sandaime! I'm the one who got into big trouble this time, and I'm willing to accept the punishment."
"Let's stop here today. I'll ask someone to verify the matter. During this period, you just stay at home and rest, and don't go anywhere."
"I obey your order." After Mizuki nodded sincerely and saluted, Xiaochun appeared and pushed the wheelchair out.
Soon after, in the office where calm had returned, an ANBU wearing a crow mask appeared and handed over a piece of information.
rocky
"What did Major Governor Gu Shan say?"
"It's no different from what Mizuki said."
"In other words, it's purely an accident. The Furusugi family has nothing to do with Orochimaru?"
"Currently, there is no evidence pointing to a conspiracy between Orochimaru and the Gusugi family. The conclusion of the Jonin class also tends to be optimistic..."
"Does Shikaku think it's just a coincidence?" Since the judgment was made by one of the best minds in Konoha Village, it shouldn't be wrong.
That is, I always felt a sudden feeling of panic in my heart. Sarutobi Hiruzen always felt that someone and something were seriously out of his control.
He waved his hand and asked the loyal ANBU to retreat. Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long sigh. The current situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
Several other great ninja villages silently licked their wounds after the Third Ninja War, hoping to regain their strength and challenge Konoha Village's dominance again.
The Gushan family, which was originally inconspicuous, has also become more and more active. Although his presence in Konoha Village is not too strong, those pervasive tentacles that extend in make it more and more difficult for Sarutobi Hiruzen to govern. No matter what he does, there is greater resistance.
It seems that there is an invisible force that is competing with the Hokage for control of the Leaf Village. Gusugi Bushui is one of the more suspected ones. However, there is no evidence. Konoha Village has secretly studied it several times and has not understood its operating mechanism.
On the surface, it seems that everything is for the good of Konoha Village, and it does provide a lot of convenience, but why is it getting worse and worse?
Is it just a coincidence? The third generation Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, couldn't make up his mind. He had to suppress the unclear words in his heart for the time being and focus on the matter of Mizuki.
"Orochimaru always seems to be haunted. Almost all the things that happened in the village in the past few years were directly or indirectly related to him. If I had known it, if I had left him or even killed him, there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
』However, when the investigation reached this point, there was no need to make a big fuss anymore, because Mizuki no longer offered any resistance and confessed almost everything.
"Let Mizuki go to the torture department and have experienced the torture of Morino Ihiki and Yamanaka Haiichi.
"Test" means small punishments and big warnings. ’ That’s all we have to do. Except for not reporting his contact with Orochimaru, although Mizuki's actions were wrong, they were not really heinous.
He refused to save his compatriots. Use lies to deprive your comrades of their last chance of survival? It is indeed a bit hard to say it, but based on the moral considerations of a ninja, one really cannot blame him too much.
The former Hatake Kakashi was also such a person. In order to complete the task, he would do anything to complete the task. Although it did not cause worse consequences, it was not because Hatake Kakashi did the right thing, but because of his comparative strength. Strong, while completing the mission, he can also try to save the lives of his teammates. Mizuki's strength is average, he can't do more, and has no other choice.
For the same behavior, if someone is strong and has great merit, he will not be held accountable. If his level is poor, he will be beaten and killed if he is rough. This is obviously unfair to Mizuki.
As for the other extreme, Hatake Sakumo, in order to save the lives of his teammates, he gave up the mission, but indirectly caused the lives of dozens of compatriots.
Because of this incident, Hatake Sakumo was almost accused by thousands of people, and later committed suicide in shame and anger. "Some things are difficult to handle!"
"Especially for this kind of free mind, there is almost no unified standard of evaluation. Perhaps he realized that there was still room for redemption in what he had done, so he readily confessed everything. In any case, Mizuki had to bear a certain amount of responsibility, but that was all.
As for the contact with Orochimaru, the only victim was him, so there was no need to punish him.
By the way... "There are also curse seals and the potion. They must be kept secret and let the people in the medical class speed up their research to see what the consequences are."
』A strong young ninja was killed by the so-called
The "Curse Seal of the Tiger" and a potion were so destructive that other people might not be so lucky if they couldn't stand the temptation and took this path.
At the same time, Mizuki, who was pushed out of the Hokage's house in a wheelchair by Kochun, looked at the Iwa Ninja and Suna Ninja coming and going, and couldn't help but smile.
They are all a group of poor people who are held in the hands of fate and cannot escape. 』Until now, Mizuki truly understood the rules of how this world operates.
From a general perspective, except for a very few masters and geniuses such as the Five Kage, Sannin, Uchiha Itachi, and Hatake Kakashi, the struggles of the vast majority of ordinary people have no significance to a powerful force like the Furusugi family.
What they value is the overall development context, and the general trend is what they pursue and utilize. There were rumors outside that Gushan Bu Shui was so wise and powerful that he captured two famous S-class rebel ninjas. Through the dicotyledon seedlings that had just emerged from the ground in his body, Shui Mu felt the terrible oppression behind the scenes that was as deep as the abyss. , and came to a very surprising conclusion.
"That is not the power that humans should have at all. Only true gods can have such authority.
』From the Hokage and the Sannin, Mizuki had never experienced anything so terrifying. rocky
"Xiao Chun, although the method of realization is a bit different from what I imagined, I finally see a little hope. In that different sky, I wonder if there is a place for me."
"Huh?" Xiaochun responded without knowing why.
"Are you saying that the magnanimous Sandaime will pardon you? That would be great..."
"Although it's not all, it's almost the same." Mizuki smiled faintly, and he was still
The Konoha ninja with "roots and roots" just has one more object of loyalty. "Why didn't I realize before that this kind of gameplay exists in this world?
"No wonder the daimyo is the ruler of the Fire Country, and the Konoha ninjas are just mercenaries who obey the daimyo's orders under the leadership of the Hokage.
On the top floor of a high-rise mansion a few hundred meters away, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could see Togakushi Hinode near the Hokage's house. After burning and destroying the information in his hand, he couldn't help but reveal a helpless smile.
"Young Master always likes to recruit these inexplicable characters for his own use. I really don't see what is worthy of attention in this person. Just because he is connected with Orochimaru and has an incomplete curse seal on his body?"
"Possibility." Yasukawa Zaihara, who came from afar, stood beside Togakushi Hinode and whispered,
"Whether it is the ordinary version of the Curse Seal, the Heaven's Curse Seal or the Earth's Curse Seal, they are all perfect finished products. Perfection means there is no way to change it, it is rigid and has no expectations. Incompleteness and uniqueness are rare qualities. We all know that everything that exists has its own self-justifying existence. Incompleteness and peculiarity cannot exist alone. There must be something to fill it and make it 'round' and perfect." It's like a gardener pruning a potted plant, removing it every time Some branches, when they grow again, are different from the original ones.
rocky
"In the opinion of the young master, this kind of power actually has the magical ability to improve itself?"
"No, what the young master means is that as long as Shuimu survives, sooner or later the Tiger Curse Seal will show its value in another form."
"Are you sure this is what the young master meant?" Although it is not difficult to save the life of a Konoha Village chunin who is not very strong, it is not easy to do, especially when this guy has been under suspicion recently. There were not many people nearby who were staring at him openly or covertly.
If you want Mizuki to play any role, you must do something. However, how much can be accomplished under the eyes of the Leaf Village?
Neither Togakushi Hinode nor Yasukawa Zaihara have the same abilities as their young master. rocky
"Shui Mu is not easy to move, there are other directions."
"You mean, Ninja School?" In the final analysis, Gushan Bushui's goal is to master the fulcrum of Mizuki, and then influence the behavior of certain students in the Ninja School when necessary.
"As long as you understand, I'll leave it to you."
"Well, my former childhood friend who has been staying in Konoha Village is about to be inferior to a rising star like you." Yasukawa Zaihara chuckled: "Serving the Furusugi family cannot be said to be close or distant. You are the key person who always stays by Miss Xianglin's side to protect her safety, which shows the trust the young master has in you. As for me, if someone else does the job at hand, it won't have much impact." Indeed, it is possible. Only by substituting merit can we make important contributions and bring trust to the ancient cedars and divine water.
Togakushi Hinode smiled bitterly and said: "It's still early for Ms. Kosoki to start her career. I don't know what the ninja world will be like in a few years. I can't understand the young master's ambition more and more."
"Just keep up with the pace and contribute. Isn't this how our ancestors won the trust of their masters and stood out?"
"Yes!" When this topic was brought up, Togakushi Hinode was also full of emotion. The friendship in childhood established his current status, but it seems a bit difficult to go further.
"The only thing we can do is be loyal and not lose to others. When Miss Xiang Lian graduates, I wonder if the burden on my shoulders will be lighter. With Mizuki, can I share some of the pressure?" Yasukawa Zaiyuan laughed. He shook his head: "His mission target is someone else. I hope there will be no conflict by then. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are not fuel-efficient lamps!"
