Preparing to Court Death, Mizuki

In the midst of the darkness, beautiful lights flickered from time to time. Occasionally, a mesmerizing, infinite fluorescent glow would streak across the field of vision, exuding an incredible sense of mystery that left one intoxicated.

The sense of time is the most unreliable crutch; having no idea how much time had passed, a faint, noisy clamor seemed to emerge from the void, irritating and impossible to shake off. Suddenly, a speck of starlight approached and expanded rapidly, swallowing everything before there was even time to react, followed immediately by a violent sensation of sinking. In a panic, I hurriedly steadied my body.

Just then, a hand reached out from the side to support my tilting frame, and a voice followed: "Mizuki-sensei, are you alright? You look exhausted. Would you like to go take a rest?"

I slowly opened my sleepy eyes. "Mizuki-sensei? Is that calling me? What an unpleasant name."

I rubbed my eyes with my left hand while resting my chin on it, pressed my temples to slowly dispel the drowsiness, and replied calmly, "It's nothing, just a bit of insomnia lately. Hmm?" I sized up the companion beside me. "You're Iruka, right?"

Iruka laughed and replied, "Mizuki-sensei, it seems you really are too tired if you can't even recognize me. You were dozing off just now; if I hadn't caught you, your head would have hit the desk, haha." He paused. "Why not take a break? There aren't many students left anyway, it won't take long."

"No need, let's finish the testing quickly. The Hokage is waiting for the report. The test isn't difficult, it'll be over soon."

Iruka thought about it and agreed. "Then let's continue the exam." He straightened the forms in his hand and shouted toward the door, "Next~"

Mizuki curled his lip, feeling secretly annoyed. Why shout so loudly? It's deafening. Such a loud voice really is suited for a teacher.

After regaining his composure, Mizuki sorted through his muddled memories. He had only been taking a nap in a taxi, and in the blink of an eye, he had become Mizuki. He really didn't have the makings of a protagonist; in his past life, he was just a mediocre white-collar worker who quit after work went poorly, only to find himself unable to land a new job. It seemed he had overestimated his own abilities. He had finally decided to go out for a walk to clear his head, never expecting to transmigrate after a short nap. Was it a car accident or something else? He had no memory of it. It was truly retribution—he had quit on a whim, and the world had returned the favor with a whim-filled transmigration as a bit-part player. If he hadn't used his usual calm head and decent reflexes to fool Iruka, he wouldn't have known what kind of mess he would have made.

Just as he was thinking this, a spirited blonde brat walked in with strange whisker-like marks on his face. It was the child of destiny of the Hokage—Uzumaki Naruto. Mizuki couldn't help but secretly confirm the timeline; this was exactly where the story began, and the beginning of the end for the tragic bit-part player Mizuki, whose existence was less significant than even the ramen shop owner Ichiraku or his daughter Ayame.

Naruto walked to the center of the exam room with a nervous look, watching Iruka tensely. Seeing that Naruto was ready, Iruka said to him, "Naruto, start when you're ready. To pass the exam, you are required to produce at least one perfect clone." Seeing Naruto's extreme nervousness, he comforted him, "The Clone Technique is one of the three simplest basic techniques. As long as you listen in class and practice diligently, it isn't hard to master."

Naruto said in a conflicted tone, "But why the Clone Technique? Why test me on the one I'm worst at? My self-invented ** Technique is clearly very powerful." Grumbling aside, Naruto still obediently performed the hand seals one by one. After channeling his chakra with all his might, he shouted, "Clone Technique!" Amidst the ninja-art chakra smoke, a limp, collapsed heap of a body appeared. Naruto looked at Iruka with a hopeful yet apologetic expression.

Iruka's eyelid twitched in anger, and he roared, "Fail!" His spit flew several meters away.

Mizuki watched this familiar scene and couldn't help but touch his face where the spit might have landed. Is it time for me to step in? What were my lines again? Forget it, I'll just bluff my way through this and think of a way out later. Let's get this over with and figure out how to save myself. But then he thought, This seems like an opportunity. I really should emphasize my presence, otherwise, I'll be too passive.

Mizuki turned his head and said to Iruka, "Come to think of it, Iruka-sensei, Naruto did at least produce one clone. Strictly speaking, could that be considered a pass?" These words were like music to Naruto's ears, and he couldn't help but look at Mizuki with surprise and joy.

However, Iruka shook his head. "That won't do, Mizuki-sensei. Everyone else produced at least three clones. Naruto only has one, and it's useless. Being a ninja isn't that simple, and Naruto is completely failing at the moment."

Hearing the unhesitating refusal, Mizuki could only look apologetically at the devastated Naruto, signaling that there was nothing he could do.

Watching the dejected Naruto walk out, Mizuki thought about what to do next. His memories revealed his tragic ending, but he lacked a way to deal with it; even basic struggling was difficult. It wasn't like he imagined—not instigating Naruto to steal the Scroll of Sealing didn't mean he was safe. The former Mizuki was not a man without flaws. On the contrary, he had not only acted against the philosophy of Konoha but had also been caught red-handed. During a mission, because a teammate had a leg injury and was immobile, Mizuki, in order to complete the mission, had actually abandoned the injured teammate and smothered him to death. Upon returning, he reported that the teammate had died from a highly toxic poison. He hadn't expected Konoha to catch on later, which led to him being excluded from the selection of ninja academy teachers, fueling his jealousy toward Iruka, who had always been inferior to him. Moreover, Mizuki himself had discovered that the higher-ups in Konoha were investigating and suspecting him, making him even more irritable and uneasy.

If it were only that, it wouldn't be irreparable. After all, ninjas were people who took money to complete missions; this behavior could be called "doing whatever it takes," which didn't necessarily rise to the level of a rogue ninja. Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, had abandoned a mission to save his teammates, only to be driven to suicide by rumors, with even his teammates failing to understand him. In the current ninja world, there might even be many who identified with Mizuki's actions. Unfortunately, Mizuki was in Konoha, an era that emphasized the so-called Will of Fire and the idea that Konoha was one big family. Furthermore, he hadn't done it cleanly and had been caught.

Even in the worst-case scenario, it would only mean a couple of years in prison. Look at the dim-witted brothers Fujin and Raijin; they had killed all their teammates during a mission just because of a dispute over food, yet they were only locked up in Konoha's high-security prison, well-fed and cared for. His own level of wrongdoing was hard to even define as a major error, so he probably wouldn't face a very severe punishment. Besides, the coming years would be an era of chaos and war; going to prison to hide for two years might actually be a good thing. Waiting for the child of destiny to seal Kaguya Otsutsuki and then living a peaceful life wouldn't be bad. As a competent Chunin, life wouldn't be a problem, especially since he already had a fiancée who loved him—Tsubaki Chie, a woman who could be considered delicate and beautiful. With no "golden finger" or special abilities discovered so far, playing it safe was a good choice. Avoiding some of the battlefields from his memories and sheltering under the protagonist's halo was actually not bad. However, for now, this remained a dream difficult to achieve. The worst part was that he had an unclear relationship with Orochimaru. With this troublesome figure involved, plus Konoha's spy Yakushi Kabuto and the hidden Danzo Shimura likely observing his every move, he was already in a position where he couldn't back down.

The rest of the exam process was trivial, and Mizuki finished evaluating all the students while lost in thought about countermeasures.

Iruka stretched and tapped the organized forms against the table. "Mizuki, I've really troubled you today. If you're not feeling well, go home early. You've been thinking about something the whole time. Did something happen? If you can, please let me help; after all, I've received a lot of care from you~"

Mizuki waved his hands quickly. "There's really no problem, you're overthinking it." He reached out to take the forms Iruka handed over. "Alright, Iruka, hurry up and go see your lovely students. Once they graduate, you won't be able to see them as often. Hehe~ I'm going to report now. The Third Hokage might come to the school later; after all, there are several future big shots among this graduating class."

"That's true." Iruka couldn't help but sigh. "I didn't expect the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, as well as the children of the Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Aburame clans, to all be in this batch. More importantly, the last survivor of the Uchiha is here too. This is a situation rarely seen in many years."

"Then that must be hard on you, Iruka, hehe." Mizuki said absent-mindedly, "I won't say more, I'm leaving first. See you after school."

"Yeah, see you later."

After parting with Iruka, Mizuki went straight to the Hokage's office, knocked on the door, and said in a clear voice, "Chunin Mizuki reporting as ordered."

"Come in." A voice, old but full of vigor, came from inside.

Mizuki pushed the door open, closed it behind him, and bowed. "Lord Third, the graduation exam for the ninja academy is complete. I have brought the results for your review."

"Bring it here." As soon as he finished speaking, a masked ninja appeared before Mizuki, took the documents, checked them, and presented them to the Third Hokage.

The Third took the documents and, while flipping through them, asked unhurriedly, "What was the exam subject?"

"The Clone Technique, Lord Hokage."

"Oh, testing the three basic techniques." His tone was noncommittal, and he continued, "What were the results?"

"Everyone passed except for Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hmm?" Hearing that name, the Third couldn't help but pause.

Seeing the Third react, Mizuki feigned a probe. "The exam happened to select the technique Naruto is worst at. And he did manage to produce one clone, so I thought it could barely be considered a pass, but Iruka disagreed and insisted on failing him." Having said that, Mizuki decided to push further to test the possibility of avoiding tonight's events. "Do you need us to do anything? Or should we just pass him?" He watched the Third Hokage's reaction calmly.

The Third thought for a while and shook his head. "No need, leave it as it is." He put down the report and instructed Mizuki, "You may go first. I will go to the ninja academy to take a look later."

"Yes." Mizuki could only accept his fate and leave.

It seems the attempt to take a shortcut won't work. I'll have to think of another way~ It looks like the big shots have already arranged everything, just waiting for a clown like me to perform for them. Damn bastards.

Without a doubt, he had absolutely no chance of controlling his own destiny. It seemed he needed to find the key to breaking the deadlock as soon as possible. As long as he survived tonight, in a few months, Orochimaru would attack the Chunin Exam venue, causing total chaos. With the few months of preparation he had gained, he should be able to survive the chaos of the Konoha Crush plan. By then, not many people would be plotting against a small fry like him. The key was tonight. Originally, Mizuki had planned to steal the Scroll of Sealing as a gift to defect to Orochimaru, using Naruto's graduation exam as a setup, but he hadn't expected to end up helping Naruto instead.

Actually, thinking about it carefully, the possibility that the Scroll of Sealing—the most important item in Konoha—could be stolen by a reckless child who wasn't even a ninja, and that he would happen to learn the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, looked like a setup. Only he had been like a fool, acting as a stepping stone.

Returning to the ninja academy, Mizuki killed time while thinking of countermeasures. The Third Hokage finally arrived at the school before dismissal, meeting the graduating students and the parents who had come to pick them up; the scene was lively.

Mizuki watched quietly from afar as Uzumaki Naruto sat alone on a swing, enduring the mockery of rumors, pulling down his goggles to cover his teary eyes.

"Where the leaves of Konoha flutter, fire will ignite. The Hokage will shine upon it, and then the leaves of Konoha will sprout once more~" He turned to look at the Third Hokage not far away, who was talking to students and parents with a demeanor that was dignified yet kind, seasoned by high office and full of charisma, easily winning people's hearts. "What a nice sentiment. Perhaps my future depends on the mercy of the Hokage to save my life. The spirit of love and justice that Konoha promotes is the reason I've reached this point, but it's also the last shred of hope I have in my isolation."

"However, the feeling of powerlessness in entrusting one's fate to the mercy and forgiveness of others is truly frustrating!" Even so, Mizuki had to deal with Naruto to fulfill his fated mission. "There's really no way in the short term. If I can't get past this hurdle, there's no point in talking about the future." Thinking this, he firmed his resolve and walked straight toward Uzumaki Naruto. "The story is about to begin. I'm ready, are you? Child of destiny, I hope you like this fated gift~"