Didi——
Didi——
The alarm clock rang in the dark room. Through the gaps in the curtains, only a hazy light could be seen. It would still be some time before full dawn.
But the moment the alarm clock rang, the man opened his eyes from the bed and woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, his sleepiness completely disappeared.
He stretched out his hand out of habit and pressed the alarm switch, and silence returned to the room.
The man started from the bed board, lifted the quilt, got out of bed, turned on the light in the bedroom, and started dressing.
After finishing putting on his clothes, the man walked to the mirror in the closet and looked carefully at his current image.
He had shoulder-length aqua-blue hair, a handsome face, and his eyes were calm but sharp. But then, with a subconscious adjustment, the sharp color in his eyes disappeared and turned into a soft and friendly expression.
But this posture did not last long. The man seemed to notice something. He took out a kunai from his ninja bag, turned back and pointed the kunai in his hand to the corner of the room.
At some point, a young man several years younger than himself stood there.
The young man wore a pair of round-rimmed glasses and had a quiet and friendly temperament. He had a slight smile on his face and stood motionless staring at him.
"It's you, Kabuto. What's wrong with coming here so early?"
After the man recognized the person's identity, although he lowered his palm, he did not put away the kunai in his hand. He was obviously wary of the bespectacled young man.
"Don't be so cold. I just followed Lord Orochimaru's order and came here to express my condolences to you. There is no problem with you being alone in today's arrangements, right, Mizuki?"
Kabuto called out the man's name.
Konoha Chuunin, currently working at Konoha Ninja School, is an elite teacher.
As if feeling the distrust in Kabuto's tone, Mizuki quickly frowned and said, "If you don't believe me, you can take over my task at any time. I don't feel safe working with someone like you."
"Don't get me wrong, we all do things for Lord Orochimaru, and many times we can't help ourselves. Moreover, Lord Orochimaru takes this matter very seriously. You are the most suitable candidate."
Kabuto said with a smile.
"Then don't talk nonsense here. I'm being watched by ANBU people right now. If you don't want to expose your identity, don't keep too close to me."
"Knowing that you are being watched by ANBU, you still dare to act so boldly. As Lord Orochimaru said, you are a guy who likes to seek wealth in danger. However, I also remind you, don't think about betraying Lord Orochimaru, otherwise you understand your What’s the end result?”
"Oh, then I'd like to hear it."
Mizuki looked at Kabuto with a sneer.
"For example, I remember that you still have a fiancée in the village..."
laugh!
The kunai pierced the air and rested on Kabuto's neck.
Mizuki appeared in front of Kabuto, with a few hairs falling down.
Kabuto looked at Mizuki indifferently to the kunai on his neck.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean any harm. I just don't want you to do unnecessary things and end up implicating the people you value."
Kabuto looked at the cold murderous intent hidden in Mizuki's eyes and said this in a calm tone.
"Such words are not something someone like you should say."
Mizuki said coldly.
"Even spies like us who rely on deception to survive will still have things in their hearts that do not allow them to blaspheme. I can understand your situation because I have lost it, so for me now, Lord Orochimaru is everything."
"I just need power, the power to make fools like Konoha regret it. I am not interested in your past. Orochimaru and I are only in a cooperative relationship. Don't try to order me with a superior-subordinate attitude."
Mizuki seemed to see through Kabuto's underlying intention and sneered secretly in his heart.
"That's a shame."
Kabuto pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, the smile in his eyes disappeared, turned into a cold look, and looked at Mizuki.
The solicitation failed. He thought to himself.
However, this is also expected.
It's just a pity that such a good chess piece was lost.
After all, if Mizuki can complete this mission, his status in Orochimaru's mind will inevitably be elevated and move closer to his trusted members.
This is also the reason why he came to win over the other party.
Whether it's coercion or playing the emotional card, it doesn't seem to be very effective.
We can only wait for opportunities to arise in the future.
After all, there are too many people under Orochimaru who want to challenge his position and work hard for Orochimaru.
If you don't recruit your own tribe as soon as possible, you might be secretly killed one day and become a stepping stone for others to advance.
This may be the charm of Lord Orochimaru. Kabuto couldn't help but smile.
Just one word and one action is enough to make people crazy and work for him.
The fanatical attitude of despising worldly bad habits and pursuing immortality and truth makes people want to rely on him.
"If there's nothing else, hurry up and get out of here before I can restrain my murderous intention towards you."
Mizuki put down the kunai and turned around with an indifferent attitude.
"Okay, then I wish you good luck. Don't forget to put your things in the designated place. You should know the consequences of failing the mission. That curse seal is a double-edged sword that will enhance the power you have always desired. But it can also kill you.”
Kabuto took a deep look at Mizuki's back, formed a seal with his hands, and turned into a ball of white smoke and disappeared into Mizuki's room.
"What a nasty guy..."
It's not a personality incompatibility, but a professional conflict.
Being in the big dye vat of Konoha, I was already mentally exhausted.
As a result, he has to constantly compete with his 'peers'. Even he would want to abandon all distracting thoughts and relax his mind.
"Also, this curse seal is neither the curse seal of heaven nor the curse seal of earth. This is the limit of my ability."
Mizuki touched the spot where the curse mark was on his body and showed a self-deprecating smile.
Orochimaru's curse seal can enhance the power of ninjas, but there are also certain requirements for the quality of the 'sacrifice'.
If the quality is very high, you will be given two kinds of curse seals, heaven and earth.
If the quality is low, they will be given a semi-finished product with average amplification ability and a curse seal with strong sequelae.
Unfortunately, he is the kind of ninja with very low talent.
Obviously, he and Hatake Kakashi are about the same age, but the other person is already a big shot in charge of the situation, while he can only live in old age in the ninja school.
Whenever I see a talented student in school, I can't help but feel jealous. Why is my talent so useless? There is neither family secrets nor blood inheritance limits...
As a teacher, Mizuki is well aware of the unfairness of this world.
Some of it comes down to luck, some to human nature.
"well……"
It's not my style to be sentimental.
Mizuki has always been conscious of what he desires.
Get ahead and become the best among people.
For this reason, he kept climbing up. No matter whether he was jealous, whether he hated genius, or whether he was greedy for vanity in his heart, he just wanted to work hard to climb up.
In this kind of world, only by constantly climbing up can we obtain a better life and dignity.
He enjoys the feeling of being supported.
No matter Konoha or Orochimaru, they will only be stepping stones on his way to promotion!
At this moment, Shuimu's heart was as firm as ever!
◎
"Good morning, Iruka."
"Good morning, Mizuki."
At nine o'clock in the morning, Mizuki came to his office at the Ninja School and found that Iruka had already arrived early and was reading some student information there. He was probably worried about the students who were taking their graduation exams this morning.
So Mizuki came up and said hello.
Iruka is one of the few acquaintances he has a good relationship with, but unlike him who is uneasy with the status quo, Iruka seems to be very passionate about his job as a teacher. Compared with other seemingly good people, Iruka is more favored by the school. Colleagues and the love of students.
Although they were good friends, Mizuki was also jealous of Iruka.
Why is Iruka, who is weaker than himself, more popular than himself?
It was the same in the past.
Although he is obviously weaker than him, in every rating test, he gets higher scores than himself.
Although affinity is one aspect, before becoming a teacher, those rating tests should focus more on ability, strength and performance.
For a long time, Mizuki began to doubt himself whether he was not doing well enough in certain aspects.
Jealousy was the driving force behind his promotion.
He wants to be the best among people, even if his talent is only average, but he also wants to enjoy the glorious moment of being noticed by everyone, stand out, and take action for this.
As a result, Iruka outshines him every time.
Perhaps, I am born a despicable person.
Therefore, every time he meets Iruka, Mizuki's heart is extremely complicated.
Jealousy, envy, desire, and hatred!
But he won't show these openly. Mature people should learn to control their emotions.
Even if you don't like the colleague in front of you, you should try to control the negative emotions in your heart and don't bring them to work.
"Are you busy with the students?"
Mizuki glanced at the student information in front of Iruka and asked with a smile.
Iruka sighed, nodded and said: "Yeah, I'm not worried about other students, but Naruto... Although I accepted your suggestion, Mizuki, I gave Naruto extra tutoring last night, but the effect was still not good. Good. He is still not very good at using ninjutsu. And this year's graduation test is the transformation technique..."
In other words, Naruto, who had extremely poor ninjutsu scores, was sentenced to death in this year's graduation exam.
"Don't worry, I believe that Yoshito has his own destiny, and Naruto will successfully pass the exam today and become a genin."
Mizuki strives to be what a teacher should be.
Although he didn't like Naruto, a bad student who relied on pranks to attract other people's attention.
Not only is it irresponsible for oneself, but it will also affect the mood of other students in class and waste their precious time.
Moreover, he believes that some things can be said openly.
Unfortunately, considering the special nature of Naruto's identity, Mizuki also knew that this might be Naruto's only choice out of necessity.
He was obviously a Jinchuuriki, but in the end he was the only one who was concealed. Although not everyone in the village knew about it, except for the children, the adults were all aware.
So what's the point of such concealment?
Anyway, Mizuki didn't quite understand what the Hokage was thinking.
"I hope so."
Although he hoped that Naruto could pass the exam, Iruka also knew that this hope was really slim.
It was too difficult for Naruto to transform overnight.
Iruka was pessimistic about Naruto's ability to graduate successfully.
"Iruka, Mizuki, are here for a meeting. In half an hour, the exam time will come."
A bald man over fifty years old walked to the door of the office and shouted to Iruka and Mizuki who were talking about something.
Because it is the graduation exam, school time is delayed today. Sixth grade students only need to arrive at the corresponding classroom before nine o'clock.
The official time for graduation exams is nine-thirty.
"Yes, we understand. Come right away, Director Fujimura."
Mizuki nodded.
This bald man over fifty is his and Iruka's immediate superior, Taiga Fujimura.
A senior elite teacher who has been in the ninja school for thirty years, he can also be regarded as the leader of him and Iruka in the school.
Speaking of which, the other party is also a super celebrity in the ninja school.
After all, being able to teach three extremely terrifying S-class rebellious ninjas, whether they have a good reputation or a bad reputation, shows how extraordinary they are.
The students he taught have made many huge 'contributions' to Konoha over the years.
◎
"Today's graduation test question is about the art of clones. As long as you can summon two complete clones, you will pass the test. Okay, other teachers will come over later to take charge of order and call names in order. Those whose names are called Students, go to the classroom next to you to take the exam. If your name is not called, please wait quietly in the class."
Iruka walked into the class after the meeting and explained the contents of today's test and the order of the graduation test.
Then he glanced vaguely at Naruto, who was holding his head in distress, and sighed in his heart, but he didn't say anything more in the classroom. If Naruto is not capable enough, let him pass the graduation exam. This way , will only harm Naruto.
Iruka couldn't do this kind of thing.
After Iruka finished speaking, he left the class and went to the nearby classroom to set up the examination room.
After Iruka left, some students in the class were happy and some were sad.
Mastering the Three Body Technique is neither difficult nor easy.
For most students, this kind of test is no different than giving out marks.
But for a small number of poor students, the clone technique is not a basic ninjutsu that can be mastered so easily.
"What a boring exam."
Sasuke, who was sitting in the corner of the classroom, did not feel the slightest fluctuation in his heart regarding the content of the exam announced by Iruka.
But Sasuke had already expected this kind of thing.
The exercises I usually do are all related to the Three Body Techniques. In addition, they are the application of Taijutsu and Shuriken.
But that is something more basic than the Three Body Technique. It is a skill that every student needs to master, so it will basically not be included in the assessment.
Sasuke was more concerned about who his future team members would be than this.
He inspected all his classmates in the classroom and had already begun to estimate which two people would form a team with him.
First, eliminate the tail end of a certain ten thousand year crane.
Let’s not talk about whether the other party can successfully pass this graduation test. Even if he can pass this test, it is impossible for the other party to be placed in the same team as him based on his ability.
Rather than being like this kind of loser, he hopes that his teammates in the team are elites in the same class.
Sasuke glanced back and forth among the 'elites' in his class, trying to estimate which two of them would become his teammates.
◎
"Did you start looking for teammates so early? Sasuke is still so realistic."
Through the crystal ball opened by the Third Hokage, Kakashi noticed Sasuke sitting in the corner of the class, scanning the backs of his classmates in the classroom. Kakashi knew exactly what the other person was looking at.
During the genin period, there will be fixed teachers and teammates. For students, this kind of thing can be found out by just asking around.
Moreover, after following him for several years, Sasuke knew more information than ordinary students under the influence of his ears and eyes.
Therefore, Sasuke must have been looking for his teammates a long time ago.
For a student with outstanding abilities like him, his own strength is enough, so he doesn't want his teammates to hold him back.
Because the other party needs revenge.
Sasuke will not put his extra energy into taking care of others.
Kakashi knew this.
"This also shows how outstanding Sasuke is. After your teaching, his strength is obviously a level higher than that of his peers."
Hiruzen smiled with satisfaction.
The more powerful Sasuke becomes, the potential benefits to Konoha are obvious.
The only difficulty lies in the country of ghosts.
If Sasuke knew that there were still members of the Uchiha clan in a distant country, what choice would he make?
Because of this, he arranged for Kakashi to have a heart-to-heart talk with Sasuke and gain his trust.
To prevent this day from coming.
Not just to reassure Uchiha Itachi who was far away from Konoha.
Also because Sasuke will grow up one day, and his vision will gradually see the outside world.
Things about the Kingdom of Ghosts will not be hidden at all when the time comes.
In particular, the Kingdom of Oni plans to unite with the ninja villages of other major countries to hold the joint chuunin exam this year. When the time comes, with Sasuke's temperament, he will definitely sign up to participate.
Once Sasuke signs up to participate in this joint chunin exam, it means that he will definitely come into contact with the Uchiha clan of the Kingdom of Demons.
Perhaps, this is a good opportunity to test whether Sasuke can remain loyal to Konoha.
As for the grudges between the Uchiha clan and the higher-ups, this secret will forever remain in the endless abyss.
He believed that Itachi would definitely arrange this.
From beginning to end, Itachi stood firmly on the side of the Will of Fire and never let them down.
"He is too obsessed with revenge. Even without my guidance, he will do everything possible to become stronger."
The moment the other party survived with the belief of revenge, Kakashi could no longer treat Sasuke completely as a child.
After such a tragic incident, Sasuke's mentality was already out of tune with the students at the same time.
While students of the same age are still enjoying their childhood lives, the other party harbors hatred, is frightened by nightmares every day and is covered in cold sweat, and his mentality has long since changed.
Others need to 'open meat' in order to become real ninjas.
And Sasuke, I'm afraid, can quickly adapt to things like killing people.
"In any case, you still need to be personally responsible for Sasuke's later teachings."
Hiruzen had something to say.
Currently, only Kakashi in Konoha can stabilize Sasuke's mood.
He hoped that Kakashi would let Sasuke make the right decision at the right time.
This can be regarded as a promise to Itachi.
For Konoha, it can also gain a powerful Sharingan ninja.
To deal with the Uchiha clan in the Kingdom of Demons, Sasuke's ability is needed.
Only the Sharingan can better deal with the Sharingan.
If you can open the Mangekyō Sharingan, you will be more confident in dealing with the Kingdom of Demons.
"The work of ANBU..."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, although there were enough nails buried in the ANBU.
But suddenly, Kakashi felt a little uncomfortable with a new lifestyle.
If you think about it carefully, the Fourth Hokage has been working in the ANBU since he came to power thirteen years ago.
Among the ANBU, he can be regarded as a veteran-level figure.
Now he has to leave all this behind and walk into the sunshine. For Kakashi, it is a very long-lost experience.
I remembered some past events when I followed the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
"You don't need to hand it over completely to others. Some decisions still need to be made by you as the minister. For some trivial matters, just let Tianzang handle them on your behalf."
Hiruzen said.
"I understand. As for Tenzo, that's no problem."
The other party is a staunch supporter of the Will of Fire, possesses the Wood Escape Blood Succession Limit, and is one of the few loyal confidants of Hiruzen.
As a superior, he would not tie all the power of ANBU to one person.
As the ANBU minister, he originally got it by accident.
Tianzang is the best person to share his power.
And teaching Sasuke was just an excuse that he couldn't refuse.
Kakashi has long known that this day would come. It has nothing to do with trust, but with decentralization of power to better balance the power in the hands of subordinates.
As they talked, the school's graduation exam also reached an extremely critical moment.
The picture shown in the crystal ball was of Naruto standing in the classroom for the graduation exam with an uneasy look on his face under the solemn gaze of Iruka, Mizuki and other examiners.
It could be seen that Naruto did not have the slightest confidence in the upcoming Clone Technique test.
He formed the seals according to the order of the clone technique, and with a bang, a pale clone appeared next to him, his body wilted, like a dead fish lying on the ground.
"..."
Hiruzen slightly lowered the hat on his head.
Kakashi also looked away.
Several examiners in the crystal ball have black lines on their heads.
Although they had already expected that it would be difficult to pass this test with Naruto's ability, such a bad clone technique simply refreshed their lower limit knowledge of clone technique.
No matter how bad it is in previous years, there will be no comment.
Although it was not stated explicitly, the examiners' eyes conveyed this meaning.
"Sure enough, it would be better to wait until next year to conduct the assessment."
After a long time, Kakashi said these words.
One Sasuke is already troublesome enough, but if the Nine-Tails jinchuriki is also thrown into the mix, his work pressure will undoubtedly be even greater.
Hiruzen did not express his position on Naruto's matter, but said: "Next, keep an eye on Mizuki, he will definitely take action against Naruto, and then follow this line to find out the person behind the scenes."
He was very worried that the person behind Mizuki was the man who was extremely dangerous to Konoha - Chiba Shiraishi!
"yes."
Kakashi nodded and disappeared from Hiruzen.
