Malphegor
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Ch. 172: Graduation: Mizuki
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 01:23:22 +0000 UTCOn the swing set in the ninja academy's playground, Naruto sat alone, quietly swinging back and forth. He watched the children being joyfully picked up by their parents.
Today was the graduation exam for the senior students at the Ninja Academy. All the parents had come to personally celebrate their children's successful completion of the exam and their advancement to becoming true shinobi.
Watching the warm interactions between other families, and hearing the occasional whispers and finger-pointing directed his way, he lowered his head, fiddling with the goggles on his forehead.
As he wallowed in his loneliness, a tall figure approached him.
"Naruto."
Hearing someone call his name at a time like this, he quickly lifted his head, filled with hope.
Standing beside him was an Academy assistant teacher who often chatted with him, his face always carrying a warm smile.
"Mizuki-sensei!"
His face lit up with surprise and delight upon seeing him.
"Naruto, why are you here, sitting on the swing all by yourself?"
Mizuki leaned casually against the large tree behind him.
"No one's here to celebrate with me, and I'm the worst in the class. I couldn't even pass the graduation exam. So of course, I'm just here, swinging alone."
Finally, having someone willing to talk to him, Naruto poured out all the frustration and sadness he had bottled up. Throughout it all, Mizuki maintained his smile, serving as the perfect listener.
When Naruto finally finished venting, he began to speak.
"Iruka is an orphan, just like you. He's definitely not trying to make things difficult for you on purpose. Maybe he just wants you to become truly strong."
"But... I really want to graduate," Naruto muttered in a dejected tone, idly kicking at the pebbles on the ground with his foot.
"In that case, you'll just have to work hard and try again at the next graduation exam," Mizuki said lightly. "By the way, I wasn't assigned as an invigilator for your exam this time, but if I had been, I would've put in a good word for you."
Mizuki's tone was casual and reassuring, but his words reminded Naruto of another teacher, who had spoken up for him during the exam, only for Iruka to ignore it.
If Mizuki tried to advocate for him...
"It probably wouldn't work either," Naruto muttered under his breath.
"What did you just say?"
"Naruto."
Just as Mizuki was about to press Naruto about his murmured comment, another voice interrupted, calling the boy's name. Both Naruto and Mizuki turned toward the source of the voice, only to see the new academy teacher approaching them.
"Motoki, do you need Naruto for something?" Mizuki asked first.
Motoki nodded slightly with his expressionless, sunglasses-shrouded face. "Yes, I have something to discuss with him."
"Then, I'll leave Naruto to you. I'll go check on other things."
Mizuki didn't try to compete for Naruto's attention and turned to leave, but not before giving the boy a meaningful glance.
Naruto instantly recognized the look. Mizuki would sometimes give him this exact signal to meet secretly on a specific rooftop for private chats. Understanding the gesture, he flashed a mischievous grin before standing up to follow Motoki.
Leaving the lively school entrance behind, he trailed Motoki back into the Academy building.
Inside the empty teacher's office, Motoki walked to his desk and pulled over a chair for the boy, seating him across from him.
Naruto, initially nervous, thought he might be in trouble, but was surprised to be treated with such respect.
"Naruto, what did Mizuki say to you on the playground just now?"
His direct question stunned Naruto.
Naruto hadn't expected Motoki to summon him so seriously just to ask about his earlier conversation with Mizuki.
What a strange habit. People who wear sunglasses really are weird.
Out of respect for the quiet and reserved teacher, he recounted his earlier conversation with Mizuki honestly. Of course, he left out the subtle signal Mizuki had given him—something only the two of them could have noticed.
After listening to Naruto's account, Motoki nodded in relief. He paused to think for a moment before speaking.
"Naruto, the truth is, you've never seen Mizuki's real nature."
Naruto looked puzzled.
"The reason I say that is because Mizuki and I were in the same cohort. Though we weren't in the same class, I've heard some things about him."
"He has a... unique way of obtaining power, and he's good at achieving success. If you were to seek power from him, you'd likely succeed."
"But do you know why he is only an assistant teacher and not a formal instructor?"
Naruto shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"It's because he once harmed a teammate during a mission. Although it was to complete the objective goal, it cost him the chance to ever become a full-fledged teacher."
Naruto nodded absentmindedly. "Got it, got it. Can I leave now?"
Motoki's slow and measured way of speaking had completely drained his patience. On top of that, the nature of the explanation had left him bewildered.
When Motoki mentioned Mizuki's "real nature," he thought he might spill some juicy, embarrassing secrets about Mizuki—like wetting the bed, forgetting toilet paper, or getting scolded for being late to class.
But instead, Motoki started talking about Mizuki's methods of gaining power.
And as for who was an official teacher versus an assistant teacher, he didn't care in the slightest.
However, Motoki's warning had sparked Naruto's curiosity. He now wanted to leave as soon as possible and ask Mizuki about this supposed method of becoming stronger.
But just as Naruto's seat was halfway out of the chair, Motoki reached out and pressed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to sit back down.
"Wait, Naruto. I still have more to say."
Naruto glanced at the hand on his shoulder. A few small bugs leisurely crawled across Motoki's hand, a sight that sent shivers down Naruto's spine. Too freaked out to resist, Naruto settled back into the chair.
"Naruto, the truth is, in this world, ninjas are not the most powerful beings."
"Human understanding is extremely limited. We are actually living on a small island of the known, surrounded by a vast, dark ocean of the unknown."
"In that endless ocean, there exists an eternal secret garden. It is a place no human, not even a ninja, has ever set foot in or could set foot in. It's…"
"A hall of miracles."
"A throne of glory."
"And in that place, there exists an unimaginably powerful being. Its name is—"
At this point, Naruto noticed that Motoki's typically calm and steady tone had become labored, his breathing heavier. Motoki tilted his head slightly upward, as if he wasn't even talking to him anymore.
The surreal words had once again exhausted Naruto's patience.
"Motoki-sensei, what are you even talking about?" he interrupted.
Motoki snapped out of his trance-like state, startled.
"Nothing... nothing at all."
"You may leave now."
---
Under the sunset on the rooftop, Mizuki and Naruto sat at the edge, their legs dangling in the air.
"Mizuki-sensei, do you know how to gain power?"
"Who told you about this?"
Mizuki looked shocked. He hadn't even begun using his persuasive skills to guide Naruto, yet here the boy was, delivering himself straight to him.
"Motoki-sensei told me," Naruto said innocently.
Mizuki nodded. Although he didn't know why Motoki would say such a thing, it certainly worked out in his favor.
"Power, huh..."
"Actually, Motoki-sensei wasn't wrong. I do know a method to gain power."
Hearing this, Naruto immediately put on a pitiful expression and begged, "Mizuki-sensei, please tell me how to gain power. I want to become a strong ninja, just like you!"
The boy's words brought a bitter smile to Mizuki's face. He couldn't understand why Motoki had claimed he possessed power, as he was far from a powerful ninja.
At 27, he was still a chunin, having been promoted later than most of his peers, with little hope for further advancement. As for power? He didn't even know where to begin.
But if he could obtain that thing, he could gain power—and even align himself with someone even stronger.
"Well, there's no choice. I'll tell you a big secret. In Konoha, there's a certain place where a statue is sealed."
"This statue contains an incredibly powerful genjutsu, one so strong that even jonin cannot resist it. This is a secret very few people in the village know. But now I'm telling you."
"What's more, I can tell you how to obtain this statue and learn the genjutsu within."
"But you have to..."
As Mizuki spoke, Naruto's eyes grew wider and wider.
---
Late at night, a sneaky orange figure climbed the stairs of the village's shadowed wall and arrived at the entrance of a building constructed against it.
Naruto opened the door and entered. Inside the archive's library, he found a hidden chamber.
Opening the chamber door, Naruto saw it was filled with various items. Most were books and scrolls, but some were objects covered with black cloth, their contents unknown.
"The statue, the statue..."
"Where is the statue?"
He anxiously searched through the countless items for the genjutsu statue Mizuki had mentioned.
Though still an academy student and unsure of what genjutsu really was, he had heard Iruka say it was an advanced form of ninjutsu that few could master.
In Naruto's mind, this formed a simple equation:
In his mind, mastering genjutsu was the same as learning advanced ninjutsu. And learning advanced ninjutsu meant becoming awesome. Being awesome, of course, meant everyone would admire him—especially Sakura.
With that thought, his imagination ran wild, picturing Sakura clinging to his arm, coyly giggling by his side.
And Sasuke could only look up at him with admiration and awe.
"Ha ha ha, don't be like that, Sakura..."
"There are other students around."
Lost in his fantasies, he accidentally kicked something hard. The collision between the tough surface and his exposed toes brought him back to reality with a sharp pain.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Looking down, he found an object about knee-high, covered with a black cloth.
Lifting the cloth revealed something that left Naruto utterly stunned.
It was a green statue, with the head of a bloated octopus.
At that moment, his mind was entirely consumed by the statue.
Its image expanded infinitely in his head, and from the statue's form, invisible tendrils seemed to extend, devouring all the pleasant fantasies that had filled his thoughts just moments before.
This was a terrifying and eerie statue. In its presence, anything beautiful seemed to wither and decay.
Naruto stared blankly at the statue for what felt like an eternity before finally snapping out of it. He hurriedly covered the statue with the black cloth again.
"So this is the statue Mizuki-sensei mentioned?"
"It's so scary. How could such a statue exist?"
To Naruto, statues were meant to commemorate beautiful images.
Just like the Hokage faces carved on Konoha's mountain wall. Although Naruto often graffiti-ed on them as a prank, he knew the title of Hokage was reserved for the strongest ninjas in the village—heroes who protected Konoha, especially the Fourth Hokage.
But what was this statue? It looked part octopus, part human, with bat wings sprouting from its back—an outright monster in appearance!
Despite his confusion over the statue's form,he decided, after a moment of thought, to take it with him.
As soon as he moved the statue, a thick scroll that had been propped behind it rolled onto the ground, freed from the statue's weight.
The scroll unrolled naturally as it tumbled, like a roll of toilet paper. Out of habit, he rushed forward to gather it up.
While rolling it back, his eyes inadvertently caught sight of the text on the scroll.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
Reanimation Technique... Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
Naruto didn't recognize the other techniques, but when he saw "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique," his eyes went wide.
Because if you removed the "Multiple Shadow" part, wasn't this the Clone Technique—the one he was worst at?
If he could master this technique, wouldn't Iruka finally let him graduate?
With that thought in mind, he slung the massive scroll onto his back, grabbed the statue in his arms, and left the building.
---
Since the Uchiha clan's massacre, this forest had become a desolate and rarely visited place.
Near an abandoned Uchiha cabin, Naruto sat on the ground, engrossed in the stolen scroll. Beside him lay the statue, still covered by its black cloth.
Mizuki had claimed the statue held a powerful genjutsu. But for some reason, aside from how scary it looked, Naruto hadn't discovered anything particularly useful about it.
In contrast, the scroll he had picked up seemed much easier to learn. Within half an hour, he felt he was close to mastering the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Just then, a figure jumped into view and landed in front of Naruto. Looking up, Naruto immediately recognized the person.
"Mizuki-sensei!"
"Hmm, did you find the statue?"
"Right here! Right here!"
Naruto patted the statue beside him, causing Mizuki to smile in satisfaction.
In truth, Mizuki had a reason for sending Naruto to steal the statue.
Over the years, he had learned through village intelligence that the genjutsu statue possessed immense power. A single glance at it was said to trap one in a never-ending illusion, making it an extremely dangerous artifact.
By having Naruto steal it, Mizuki avoided any risk to himself.
However, seeing the statue now, it didn't seem as mystical as the legends suggested—after all, it hadn't bewitched even a little kid who hadn't graduated from the Academy.
At that moment, he noticed the large scroll lying open next to Naruto. Curious, he asked,
"Naruto, what's this?"
"Oh, I found it in the same place as the statue." Naruto's excitement flared as he mentioned the scroll.
"Mizuki-sensei! This scroll is amazing! It contains loads of super powerful jutsu! I've already started learning the first one!"
Mizuki hurriedly approached and picked up the scroll. The moment he saw its contents, his face froze in shock.
The Scroll of Seals?!
But wasn't it stolen by Orochimaru many years ago?
