"I'd been suspicious from the start. Why was Kazeka acting so strangely...
He'd agreed with Mizuki's plan in front of Naruto, then claimed he'd already reported it to the Hokage, only for the information to get intercepted halfway...
So it had all been a lie..."
Unable to see what was happening, Iruka was furious:
"Kazeka's goal had been the Scroll of Seals from the very beginning!"
"But something doesn't add up..."
One of the shinobi who had arrived voiced his doubts:
"Kazeka certainly has the ability to pull this off, but he's always been a stickler for the rules.
That's why the Hokage never punished him too severely, even though he's always been reckless...
He wouldn't put himself in such danger by openly stealing the Scroll of Seals!"
"There's no point talking about that now..."
Iruka shook his head:
"No matter what, we need to find Kazeka first!"
"Iruka, you're badly injured. You should rest..."
The same shinobi spoke to Iruka with concern:
"Naruto and Mizuki still need to be handed over to Lord Hokage. Come with us."
"That's... probably for the best..."
Iruka knew how serious his injuries were. Even if he went looking for Kazeka, he wouldn't be able to move very fast.
Rather than that, he could take the place of one of the shinobi escorting Naruto and Mizuki, so after thinking it over, he agreed.
A huge crowd of shinobi had arrived in a commotion, only to disappear completely the next moment, leaving Iruka and another Chunin behind to escort them.
Actually, this escort detail was already more than adequate.
Naruto had suffered nothing more than a scare and had basically recovered;
Mizuki had been beaten until his face was swollen and bruised, leaving him almost unable to move.
The only reason they had left two shinobi behind was that Mizuki had hidden his true nature so well.
No one had expected the usually mild-mannered and humble Mizuki to have such grand ambitions. They were just making sure he didn't have another trick up his sleeve!
"Don't worry too much, Iruka..."
Aoki, a Chunin who was usually taciturn, noticed Iruka's furrowed brow and offered him some rare words of comfort, handing him a canteen:
"The main culprit, Mizuki, has already been captured. From the looks of it, Kazeka probably acted on impulse, so it shouldn't take us long to find him.
After we deliver Naruto and Mizuki to Lord Hokage, I'll keep looking for Kazeka too. There's no need to worry so much.
You're badly hurt. Once we've handed them over, you should get to the hospital right away."
"Today's events are too serious. How could I think about going to the hospital before everything's settled..."
Iruka didn't take the canteen. He only frowned:
"My wounds have already been treated as best they can for now. After we hand them over, I'm still going to search for Kazeka!"
"Chunin Iruka really does put the village first..."
Aoki praised Iruka, then spoke with some regret:
"With a teacher like you, I almost can't bring myself to make a move!"
"What!"
Startled by those strange words, Iruka sprang back from him and exclaimed in shock:
"You... You're Kazeka!"
"Teacher Iruka is as vigilant as ever. You didn't even drink the canteen I just handed you..."
With a puff of smoke, "Aoki" suddenly transformed back into Kazeka:
"What a waste of the Coma Potion I specially brewed. It's colorless and odorless, and incredibly potent. Coma Potions like this are always in high demand!"
"Kazeka, what did you do to Chunin Aoki!"
Iruka's eyes widened:
"What are you trying to do..."
"Oh, I fed Aoki a little bit of information I'd deliberately left behind and lured him far away. As for my goal..."
Kazeka's eyes fell on Mizuki:
"Teacher Iruka, I'm sure you've figured it out by now, right?"
"What have I figured out..."
Naruto was still utterly confused:
"I don't understand what you're talking about..."
"Mizuki! Mizuki was your target from the start!"
Unlike Naruto, Iruka looked as though he'd suddenly realized the truth:
"Stealing the Scroll of Seals was too risky. It didn't fit your risk-reward calculation.
But Mizuki is different. He dared to steal the Scroll of Seals, so he's already a rogue ninja and on the village's blacklist!
As a Chunin, Mizuki is an extremely valuable research subject for you.
And since he's a rogue ninja, even if you really did experiment on him, the Hokage would give you no more than a light punishment.
If you turned in some research results, maybe you'd even get the punishment pardoned!"
"Is... is that true?"
Hearing this, Naruto felt a cold sweat break out down his back:
"The village has strictly forbidden experimenting on its own people, hasn't it?
And something like that is so horrible. Grandpa Third wouldn't agree to it, would he..."
Although what Iruka had said sounded gruesome, he knew he wasn't wrong.
It was true that the Third Hokage opposed human experimentation, but once something had "happened," he wasn't so inflexible.
After all, he'd crawled out of the meat grinder of the battlefield. The Third might be kindly, but he was more than capable of underhanded tactics too!
"Kazeka, I can't approve of what you're doing..."
Iruka drew his Kunai and stood in front of Kazeka:
"Even if Mizuki has gone down the wrong path, he's still my friend.
I still want to try to save him. I can't hand him over to you.
Besides, Kazeka, I once heard someone say: 'When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.'
Human experimentation will gradually blacken your heart. I can't just watch you keep sinking further!"
"Heh heh heh..."
Seeing that everything had been exposed, Kazeka dropped the act:
"Teacher Iruka, give up struggling.
All the Chunins have been drawn away by the 'clues' I left behind. You're the only one left.
And in your badly injured state, you're no match for me!
Oh, right. You may not have drunk the water I handed you just now, but don't forget: I was the one who bandaged you up earlier!
It's easy to poison someone through a wound.
The reason I've been chatting with you for so long is to give the coma-inducing toxin time to take effect!"
"What? Oh no!"
Iruka's eyes suddenly flew open, but his body toppled to the ground against his will. A powerful wave of dizziness washed over him, and then his consciousness plunged straight into darkness!
"Y-you stay away from me!"
Seeing Iruka completely unconscious, Naruto watched Kazeka turn his gaze toward him and immediately shouted in fear.
Looking at Naruto, Kazeka narrowed his eyes:
"What you meant to say was that I shouldn't leave, right?"
"Y-yeah!"
At Kazeka's reminder, Naruto instantly came to his senses and stood in front of him too:
"Kazeka, I trusted you so much, and you went and set me up!
You've done all these dangerous things. No matter what, I'm going to stop you here!"
"Using a series of schemes to gain an advantage isn't just something a shinobi should do. It's one of the most basic things any person should be capable of..."
Kazeka yawned in boredom:
"Move aside. I don't have much time left for my experiment, so don't get in my way. Otherwise..."
Kazeka's eyes fixed menacingly on Naruto's crotch:
"When you were examined in my Laboratory earlier, did you really think all I did was examine you?
Don't make me activate my contingency plan and do something you'll regret for the rest of your life!"
Before you continue