Walking unhurriedly over to the swings, Mizuki comforted Naruto Uzumaki, who was crying softly. "Naruto, are you still mad at Iruka-sensei? I don't think he was picking on you. Becoming a good ninja isn't easy, after all. Besides, you can go back to school and try the exam again next year."
Unfortunately, Mizuki's consolation had no effect.
Naruto lowered his head and protested, unwilling to accept it. "I know what you mean, Mizuki-sensei, but why am I the only one who failed? Why me? I worked so hard." His voice brimmed with frustration. For a lonely boy who had never been accepted by others, yet still kept his enthusiasm and longed for recognition, failing this exam was a devastating blow.
The adults nearby watched coldly. Every so often, cruel remarks drifted over from small groups: "Monster," "Serves him right. They should've kicked him out ages ago." The once cheerful, optimistic kid lowered his head even further.
This wasn't a good place to talk. Mizuki patted Naruto's hunched shoulder and said kindly, "Naruto, how about we go somewhere else? There's something I'd like to talk to you about. There's still hope for you to graduate. If you work hard, you might get a chance to retake the exam."
"Really, Mizuki-sensei? You're not lying to me?" Naruto was thrilled by the unexpected good news and looked at Mizuki with hope.
"Of course I'm not lying. It'll be difficult, but you do have a talent for being a ninja. You might even earn Iruka-sensei's approval and become one. But let's find somewhere quiet to talk."
"Okay, okay! Where should we go, Mizuki-sensei?"
"How about Kage Rock? The weather's nice today. Go on ahead. I'll be there shortly."
"Sure! I'll go first, then. Hurry over, too, Mizuki-sensei!"
"Yeah, I'll be there soon." Mizuki watched Naruto dash off toward Kage Rock. For an isolated child whom everyone shunned, becoming a ninja and earning recognition clearly meant a great deal. Perhaps he could make use of that someday. But at least for now, Mizuki wasn't someone Naruto longed to win recognition from. Mizuki couldn't help scoffing at himself. His place as a bit player hadn't improved. Even if today's business went smoothly, he still had a long way to go. Over the next few years, the Shinobi World's power levels would skyrocket exponentially. The major and minor bosses who dominated the early stages would all become cannon fodder later on. Given his current abilities, potential, and standing, he didn't even have a chance to build a town, farm, fight monsters, and level up. Someone with even a mediocre cheat ability might not survive, let alone him, who showed no sign of having one at all. For now, all he could do was take things one step at a time and worry about the rest later.
As the students were picked up by their parents and taken home, the Third Hokage left the school as well. After saying goodbye to Iruka, Mizuki also left and headed for Kage Rock.
As he walked there, Mizuki kept turning over the fundamental question of how he should define himself. The previous Mizuki had been an ordinary Konoha Ninja with a bit of cleverness. His abilities were average, though he stood out among the Chunin. His ninjutsu and genjutsu were unremarkable, and though he excelled at Taijutsu, his unimpressive physique held him back. He also knew a little Puppet Technique, and with his excellent tactical mind, he was already a capable backbone among Konoha's Chunin, at least in terms of strength. If he could master another impressive specialty, his promotion to Special Jōnin would hardly be surprising. Reaching that level at such a young age was an excellent outcome for a war orphan without even a surname. But his personality had glaring flaws: he was too jealous, and his desires far outweighed his strength and capacity. He pinned his hopes of becoming stronger on Orochimaru's charity, yet had nothing of value to offer in return. In the end, he overestimated himself and tried to steal the Scroll of Sealing as a gift to secure his allegiance. Then he was crushed by the child of destiny. No, this must have been the malice of the world. The people in power had silently watched him get suppressed as the first stepping stone, then let him serve his last purpose by helping the child of destiny grow stronger and learn a lesson. How convenient. With Mizuki's narrow-mindedness, how could he respect Iruka, whose strength had always been inferior to his own? And how could he believe that a useless dead last who couldn't even perform the Clone Technique properly could learn an advanced jutsu like the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in such a short time? For Naruto Uzumaki, with his astonishing chakra reserves, it was an incredibly suitable weapon. No wonder Mizuki had been beaten so badly under the weight of the whole world's malice. His predicament was much like Mizuki's own: mediocre talent, but an unwillingness to be mediocre. He had tried to struggle without thinking, only to realize he lacked the strength for it. With neither timing, geography, nor people on his side, a tragic ending had been all but inevitable.
Still, since he had arrived in this era, his advantage in information might let him carve out a sliver of a chance. Besides, he had no way back.
So where should he start? He needed to change his nature first. Mizuki himself had been ordinary, and so was he. Their temperaments were a good fit. Mizuki had also been a failed villain. He hadn't done anything especially wicked, but there was no doubt that he was deeply malicious. Xunzi's "Human Nature Is Evil" stated: "Human nature is evil; whatever goodness people possess is acquired." At a deeper level, this didn't mean that human nature was ugly and all good people were frauds. It meant that people shouldn't rely solely on their innate nature and neglect what they learned afterward. They needed to be taught through "ritual" and "righteousness" so they could become exemplary gentlemen. But in this war-torn world, where human life was cheap, expecting people to uphold the virtues of a gentleman was a pipe dream. A warrior spreading love and justice was a privilege reserved for the protagonist. He was nowhere near worthy of that yet. All he could do was take the words literally and pretend to be a gentleman for the time being. "Thus the sages transformed their nature and developed conscious effort. From conscious effort came ritual and righteousness; from ritual and righteousness came laws and regulations." He couldn't concern himself with matters that complicated just yet. The Hokage might barely qualify. A sage? A gentleman? He was neither, just an ordinary man scrambling to survive, with no time to worry about anything else.
Thinking about it this way, the troublesome matter seemed a little clearer. Everything hinged on how tonight's operation went and how he handled the details.
At last, he arrived at Kage Rock. Naruto, who had been waiting impatiently for a while, called out from a distance. "Mizuki-sensei! You're finally here. You took forever. I'm starving! Over here!"
"Sorry, Naruto, I'm late. But it's still early. We have time."
"Hey, Mizuki-sensei, what's the way to pass the exam you mentioned? Tell me already!" Naruto, who had been itching to know, hurriedly asked.
Mizuki smiled faintly. "Don't rush. Before we talk about that, there's something else I want to say." He looked at Naruto's hopeful face and spoke slowly. "Naruto, first of all, I don't want you to resent Iruka-sensei. He's the one who truly wants what's best for you. Iruka-sensei is an orphan too, so he understands what it's like to be lonely. Since the two of you have been through similar things, Iruka wouldn't harbor ill will toward you. You should trust your teacher on that. I've known Iruka-sensei for years, and I understand what kind of person he is."
Naruto puffed out his cheeks, clearly unconvinced and upset. "I know, but I just don't understand why he won't let me become a ninja. I've already decided I'm going to be the best ninja, and then I'm absolutely going to become Hokage so everyone will recognize me. If I can't even become a ninja, what am I supposed to do?"
"Becoming a qualified ninja isn't that simple, Naruto. It's completely different from playing ninja games. A ninja needs more than excellent jutsu and strength. They also need to be ready to make sacrifices."
"I know." Naruto clenched his fist and spoke with determination. "I'll definitely become a ninja. Keeping my word is my ninja way!"
"Is that so? I understand." Mizuki spoke as if he had expected that answer. "You're impressive, Naruto. But there's one big mistake in what you just said, and I have to correct you."
"What mistake?"
"You said you wanted to become Hokage so everyone would recognize you. That's a fine goal, but you've got the cause and effect backward." Mizuki looked Naruto in the eye. "It's not that everyone will recognize you once you become Hokage. Only someone recognized by everyone can become Hokage!"
"Cause and effect? Backward?" Naruto hadn't taken in a word.
It seemed he'd said more than he needed to. Mizuki felt a pang of disappointment. He had completely overestimated the kid's ability to understand.
"Hey, Mizuki-sensei, I don't really understand what you mean, but I do know one thing: I'm definitely going to become Hokage and get people to recognize me. So hurry up and teach me how to pass the exam and become a ninja!"
"Now that's a good kid. I believe you'll succeed." Mizuki sighed inwardly. Just as he'd thought. "Naruto, the reason you failed the exam is that you haven't mastered the Clone Technique. That's why Iruka-sensei won't let you become a ninja. A ninja needs powerful jutsu, so I think if you learn a strong, advanced technique, you should be able to become one."
"Really? Where can I learn an advanced jutsu?" Naruto was delighted and asked excitedly. "Are you going to teach me, Mizuki-sensei? That's great!"
"No, Naruto. I'm a Chunin, but I don't know any especially powerful jutsu. However, I do know where you can find an advanced one. It's even stronger than anything Iruka-sensei knows. Once you've learned it, I doubt Iruka-sensei will have any objections. He'll definitely let you become a ninja."
"Is there really one? Where? Hurry up and tell me, Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto was already bursting with impatience at the good news.
"There's a legendary Scroll of Sealing in Konoha. The advanced jutsu in it should be more than enough, Naruto."
Everything had gone as expected. Mizuki watched Naruto leave, satisfied.
"All right, the first step is done. The hero's set off on the road to leveling up, fighting monsters, completing quests, and unlocking skills. I should get ready, too."
Heroes were said to embody love and justice, and there were always like-minded people around them to join the cause. The other members of Konoha's Twelve Genin filled that role, didn't they? What role did he play? A sacrifice who would inspire the hero to unleash a finishing move and power up—a big boost to the hero's combat strength. Maybe that wasn't enough, but Iruka might just qualify.
"Next, I'll stick to the plan and wait for judgment. Now that I've inherited the will of the original Mizuki and an ordinary white-collar worker, maybe my luck will improve too. Even if one plus one doesn't equal two, it should still be greater than one, right?"
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