First Battle

Moreover, for the time being.

As a Chunin, Mizuki's raw strength was definitely superior to his own.

On this point.

Naruto had a very clear understanding.

Don't look at how the original protagonist seemed to finish off Mizuki in a few quick moves; that was thanks to the power of the Multi Shadow Clone, using a sea of people to crush Mizuki to death. Furthermore, Naruto felt it was because Mizuki had underestimated him, giving him the chance to weave hand signs. Otherwise, without using the Multi Shadow Clone, Naruto didn't think he would hold any advantage. Besides, the current situation was vastly different from the original story. Mizuki and Iruka were too close. If he used the Multi Shadow Clone now, weaving the signs wouldn't be a problem, but he couldn't guarantee Iruka's safety. Those two or three seconds could directly decide Iruka's life or death. Naruto didn't want to take the risk. He would get a little closer and, at the absolute limit, deliver a fatal blow!

A glimmer of brilliant light flashed in Naruto's azure pupils.

His right hand turned slightly, and a Kunai appeared in his palm. Naruto gripped it firmly, feeling the cold texture of the weapon. Suppressing his presence as much as possible, he moved toward Mizuki's flank.

At this very moment, the two figures on the scene seemed completely unaware of Naruto's approach.

Both of them had all their attention focused on each other.

Mizuki was still calmly wiping the Kunai in his hand, a faint, cold expression lingering on the corners of his mouth that was truly chilling.

"Iruka, you aren't suited for the ninja world..."

"Since we were once friends, let me send you on your way!!!"

Words filled with killing intent.

The awe-inspiring aura that radiated from him.

With a flicker of Mizuki's figure, leaving only a residual image behind, he rapidly closed in on Iruka.

A tenth of a second of thought.

Iruka's pupils contracted violently. He tried to rise and dodge, but the pain radiating through his entire body caused his form to stiffen, leaving him unable to change his posture in time.

"Farewell! Iruka!"

Within his line of sight.

The incomparably grim face reflected in his eyes.

The incoming Kunai.

It struck straight toward the left side of Iruka's chest without hesitation.

The position directly in front of him.

It was as if time and space had frozen.

At this moment.

A cold sensation seemed to strike, instantly spreading throughout Iruka's entire body.

That bone-chilling cold.

It was as if it had been carved directly into the depths of Iruka's soul.

In an instant.

Iruka felt the fear of death directly.

This was the second time Iruka had felt the scent of death at such close range, aside from that one night. In that moment, in that second, all the memories of the past twenty-plus years flashed through the depths of Iruka's mind like a slide show, with many familiar faces appearing.

"Father... Mother... Iruka is coming to find you..."

"Naruto, I'm sorry..."

There was no time to react at all.

Or rather, he was simply unable to react.

The thrusting Kunai.

"Puchi."

The sound of metal piercing skin rang out. The cold sensation of the metal instantly seeped into the depths of Iruka's marrow, and he felt a sharp, intense pain.

Is this the end?

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Bastard!!!!"

Just as Iruka was about to close his eyes and wait for his death, and just as another figure in the surrounding trees was about to move.

At that moment, Mizuki's furious roar and another familiar voice rang in his ears.

The next instant.

A familiar golden figure appeared directly in Iruka's line of sight.

Immediately after.

The Kunai that he thought would be fatal did not pierce him as expected; instead, with a flicker, it slashed past Iruka's chest once more.

"Clang."

Following that, a harsh, sharp sound of metal clashing rang out.

"Thud."

A dull, booming sound rang out.

"Hah!"

This was followed by a familiar, sharp shout.

Before Iruka's eyes, Mizuki's figure was sent flying by a kick, slamming heavily into the ground and kicking up a violent cloud of dust that filled the air.

"Are you alright, Iruka-sensei?!"

It felt like only an instant.

Yet it also felt like an eternity; Iruka, who had been teetering on the edge of death, felt the intense pain in his left chest.

While the pain made Iruka knit his brows and gasp, it at least served as proof that he was still alive.

He looked up.

The familiar golden figure came into view: Naruto Uzumaki, wearing an expression of anxiety and concern. He was the student Iruka cared for most, the one he regarded as a younger brother.

That's right, Naruto saved me...

This was Iruka's first reaction, but the next moment, he snapped back to reality.

"Naruto!? Why are you here? Hurry! Run back now! Mizuki is lying to you; he has betrayed the village! The Scroll of Sealing he made you take is the village's top secret—a secret only the Hokage is permitted to see! Go back immediately, I'll hold Mizuki off!"

Iruka forced himself to stand despite his injuries. Seeing Mizuki beginning to rise from the dust out of the corner of his eye, his expression shifted, and he spoke to Naruto in a frantic tone.

Before Naruto could reply:

"Run!? Today, neither of you is getting away! You're all going to die here! I'll personally send you on your way!"

On the other side, the dust had completely cleared, revealing Mizuki's disheveled figure. His expression had turned increasingly vicious, and combined with the bloody scratches from his intimate contact with the ground, he looked truly savage.

"Let's end this game right here!"

As Mizuki stood tall, to the shock of both Iruka and Naruto, he quickly pulled a syringe from his robes. Under their shrinking pupils, he jammed it into his left arm and pressed his thumb down, injecting the green liquid into his flesh. In less than a second, Mizuki's body began to swell, and his aura became far more massive and brutal than before.

Then came Mizuki's icy words.

Iruka's expression changed, and he immediately turned to shield Naruto behind him.

This movement, however, aggravated his injuries. As the bone-deep pain struck, Iruka's eyebrows twisted together. He already had many minor wounds, and although Naruto's intervention had prevented the previous blow from piercing his heart, the tearing of his wounds had only added injury to injury.

Fight?

At this moment, even just moving was a struggle for Iruka.

This realization caused Iruka's heart to sink to the bottom of a valley, and his expression turned grim.