"Sparkle, don't interfere with my mission!" Naruto fell flat on his face, but he turned around and lunged at her again.
"Looking at how hard you're working, you must be studying the ninjutsu written on there, right?" Sparkle crouched in front of Naruto. "Let me guess, someone said something to you. Like, you could graduate if you got the scroll or something?"
"Huh?" Naruto was stunned.
"Hmm, let me think. When I was talking to you this afternoon, there was a fly buzzing noisily nearby... Mizuki, right?"
[Detective Sparkle has arrived!] [So she did it on purpose this afternoon!] [Holy crap, she really gets it. I'm crying.] [There must be some insanely powerful ninjutsu on there, but Lady Sparkle doesn't care at all.] [What a waste! She isn't even looking!] [If you ask me, the ninjutsu in that scroll probably isn't anything special.] [This is such a classic Japanese trolling mindset. I have an invincible secret manual, but nope, I just won't read it. Die mad about it.]
"Naruto. Do you know?" Sparkle looked at the stunned Naruto. "The so-called Scroll of Sealing contains forbidden jutsu. In other words, techniques that violate common ethics, or techniques that harm the user. Which means that nothing on it is good stuff."
As she spoke, Sparkle copied down several techniques.
She might not have cared much, but a thief never left empty-handed. Since she was already here, how could she not grab a little something on the way?
Sure enough, it really did contain Impure World Reincarnation, as well as the Four Symbols Seal and Mutual Destruction Paper Bomb.
Besides those, there was also the Summoning Jutsu and Reverse Lotus.
Well... that was right. The Summoning Jutsu that summoned creatures was actually a forbidden jutsu. It had been that way in the original work too.
She wasn't that interested, but she still needed to memorize what she should.
I might not use it, but that doesn't mean you're allowed not to have it.
That was how it was.
"They told you to take the Scroll of Sealing and learn the ninjutsu inside. Naruto, do you think that's what a 'makeup exam' would involve?" Sparkle asked a soul-searching question.
"Then Teacher Mizuki..." Naruto might have been an idiot, but he wasn't intellectually disabled. After hearing Sparkle's words, he understood—Mizuki had deceived him.
"Naruto! Sparkle, you're here too! Great!"
After the Scroll of Sealing was stolen, the Third Hokage had mobilized the villagers to search for Naruto. Iruka had been called out as well.
When he found Naruto and saw the Scroll of Sealing in Sparkle's hands, he sighed in relief.
"Sparkle, give me the Scroll of Sealing, quickly. Naruto, you brat, how could you do something so reckless!"
As he spoke, Iruka walked toward Sparkle.
"Okay, Teacher Iruka, here's the scroll—"
Sparkle directly threw the scroll to the side.
Iruka's gaze was drawn to the scroll, but in the next instant, Sparkle had already darted forward, her kunai thrusting toward him!
Clang!
Metal struck metal, and "Iruka" was sent flying by Sparkle's attack.
"S-Sparkle?! Why did you attack Teacher Iruka?" Naruto froze when he saw that.
His brain simply didn't have enough capacity to tell him what had happened.
"Damn it, how did you know I wasn't Iruka..." "Iruka" crashed beneath a tree. His Transformation Jutsu failed, and after a puff of smoke, Mizuki's appearance was revealed.
"H-Huh?!" Naruto was completely dumbfounded.
Only then did the real Iruka emerge from the side, holding the Scroll of Sealing with a complicated expression.
Iruka had arrived before Mizuki. But after discovering that Sparkle was talking to Naruto, he had decided to observe for a while.
Sparkle had spoken loudly, clearly intending her words for him to hear.
Yet before Iruka could step out, another "Iruka" had arrived. Without a doubt, the one transformed into him was Mizuki over there.
"Why did this turn out like this?" Naruto was utterly confused.
"They just don't want you to learn the ninjutsu inside and undo your own seal. Let me tell you what's going on, Naruto." Mizuki leaped onto a tree.
"Bastard, don't say it!" Iruka panicked. He immediately realized what Mizuki intended to do.
But Mizuki stood high above them and wasn't afraid of Iruka rushing over. Besides, Iruka held the Scroll of Sealing, and he was afraid Mizuki would snatch it away.
Mizuki sneered. "Twelve years ago, the village established a rule. A rule that forbade anyone from telling you, Naruto Uzumaki, a certain secret."
"Only me? Why?!" Naruto's eyes widened.
"Don't say it, Mizuki!" Iruka threw a kunai, but Mizuki knocked it away with the giant Windmill Shuriken he carried.
Mizuki continued, "The rule was that no one could ever reveal Naruto's true identity as the Demon Fox—yes, Naruto Uzumaki, you are the Nine-Tails Demon Fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village!"
"Huh?"
The shocking truth plunged Naruto into silence.
"Naruto." Iruka wanted to go comfort Naruto, but Mizuki's eyes remained fixed on the Scroll of Sealing in his hands.
Iruka did not dare act rashly, lest Mizuki seize it.
Sparkle's act of tossing the Scroll of Sealing to Iruka had instead put him in a passive position.
"That Mizuki actually told him everything." The Third Hokage watched the situation through his crystal ball. But then he looked worriedly toward Sparkle.
Sparkle was one of Naruto's few friends. Now that she knew about this, would she distance herself from Naruto?
[Here it comes, that classic Japanese misplaced-blame mentality.] [Classic. So classic. It's already 4202, and we can still see such a classic plot.] [Don't call it classic. They still use it now. Every new anime pulls this routine.]
The scene fell silent, but the viewers watching from over there were discussing it fervently.
"Pfft."
A laugh broke the silence.
Sparkle laughed out loud.
"What are you laughing at?!"
Mizuki was getting anxious.
There were three people on the other side now: Sparkle, Naruto, and Iruka. The situation was deadlocked. Once more people arrived, his plan would fail.
If there had only been two of them, Mizuki would have dared to make his move. But the current situation was actually unfavorable to him. That was why he wanted to sow discord in Naruto. He didn't need Naruto to stand with him; Naruto merely needed to stand against Iruka.
Sparkle, on the other hand, was the troublesome one.
She had disrupted his plans again and again. It was almost as if she had done it deliberately.
"My, I simply find this clown show rather entertaining. Teacher Mizuki, you really do have a talent for being a clown."
Sparkle's voice was calm and unhurried.
Yes, that was right. She knew Mizuki was anxious, so she was doing it on purpose. She wanted to mess with his head.
"What?!"
It wasn't only Mizuki. Naruto and Iruka beside him also looked at Sparkle strangely.
"The villagers are merely ignorant and weak. Because the Fourth Hokage sealed away the object of their hatred, they no longer had anyone to hate. So they blamed their own suffering on an ignorant child and vented their hatred upon him, because a child... would not fight back. Ah, they're just like ignorant beasts. No, that's not right. Beasts... at least know to protect their children."
What is she talking about?
Naruto's brain was having trouble keeping up.
But he could vaguely tell that Sparkle seemed to be... speaking up for him?
Yeah, probably?
Naturally, Mizuki understood what Sparkle meant as well. But words like that could not break Mizuki. He smiled disdainfully. He had thought Sparkle would offer some lofty argument, but it turned out to be nothing special. A brat was still a brat.
"But you—are simply incompetent, aren't you?"
Mizuki immediately snapped.
"A Chunin taking the Scroll of Sealing would be meaningless. Forgive me for saying so, but you probably couldn't even understand the ninjutsu written on it. Even if the Scroll of Sealing were handed to you, you couldn't stir up anything. You are merely a clown. For someone as incompetent as you, there must be someone directing you from behind the scenes. But regardless, an errand boy like you will never end well. You are, in truth, a discarded pawn."
Mizuki directly hurled his giant shuriken. "Bastard!"
Naruto had not snapped yet, but Mizuki had snapped first.
"Sparkle!"
Mizuki's attack was extremely sudden. Iruka hurriedly rushed forward, but he failed to stop it.
"Sparkle!"
When Naruto saw the giant shuriken tear through Sparkle, he let out a scream.
However, Sparkle's figure vanished like a reflection in water.
Then Sparkle's voice came from another direction. "It's Genjutsu."
"What?!" Mizuki turned his head toward Sparkle on a nearby tree branch.
He was immediately shocked—when had Sparkle appeared over there?!
"I mean, during the Graduation Exam, I really did use Genjutsu. You didn't even notice that. Are you really a Chunin?" Sparkle smiled as she revealed the truth about the Graduation Exam.
"Just as I thought... I knew it!" Iruka covered his face.
Although Sparkle had not shown any obvious flaws, based on her usual behavior, Iruka had always felt something was off. Sparkle's mannerisms had been a little different from usual as well. Now it seemed that she had indeed been creating buzz back then. As for Mizuki... naturally, he had not noticed.
"Teacher Mizuki, you really are lower than maggots."
The Lotus techniques were actually all forbidden jutsu.
It was rather absurd that there was an anime episode where Kakashi taught the children the Summoning Jutsu, but according to the databook, that thing was a dangerous forbidden jutsu.
The only way to force an explanation was that after a period of development, the Summoning Jutsu was no longer dangerous and had become commonplace. Orz.
Thanks.
Chapter Eight, Part One Complete
[Good lord, she wrote a math problem on a Chinese exam and still got full marks.] [Question: Explain the significance of the author writing about two jujube trees here. Sparkle's answer: Solution...] [Why do I feel like Sparkle insulted everyone at once?] [Sparkle: I'm an egalitarian. I equally despise every last one of you, 233.] [Lower than maggots, 2333.] [Female brat approved.] [Ignorance—that was the essence of it.] [Naruto: Who am I, where am I, what am I doing?] [There was a clear, crystalline stupidity in Naruto Uzumaki's eyes.] [Naruto: Lady Sparkle is right! As for what she said, that doesn't matter!]
"Damn it!!"
The enraged Mizuki threw another giant shuriken.
But Sparkle once again turned into a phantom and vanished.
Sparkle standing atop the branch was naturally fake as well.
"Just as expected of Teacher Mizuki, lower than maggots. Didn't you notice that the branch I was standing on wasn't bent at all? My, my, you threw away all your weapons so easily. You really are... amusing."
Sparkle's voice came from another direction.
Only then did Mizuki realize the truth.
Mizuki carried a lot of ninja tools, but they were all kunai and small shuriken. The two giant shuriken on his back were his strongest weapons, yet under Sparkle's taunts, he had casually thrown both of them away.