The So-Called Killing

Awe-inspiring sharpness, an intense aura.

At this moment.

In Naruto's pupils, the scene seemed to become incomparably clear in an instant.

Facing the Mizuki charging straight at him.

This time.

Naruto did not choose to dodge, but instead met the attack head-on.

"Zzzzzzt."

The massive shadow drawing near, the terrifying aura rushing toward his face.

A flash of electricity suddenly streaked across Mizuki's body.

The lightning attached to that Kunai.

Naruto's pupils constricted sharply, his breath hitched, and he almost failed to react in time.

The next moment.

"Clang!"

As the two Kunai collided once again, a sharp bolt of electricity suddenly flashed, and Naruto felt a stinging numbness wash over him.

Although it was not strong.

It did, however, cause Naruto's body to stiffen for a split second.

Crap!

"It's over!!!"

As Mizuki stood his ground, a blood-red glint flickered in his eyes.

Sshhh!

A faint, hissing thunderclap echoed through the air.

With a twist of his afterimage.

Mizuki swung his arm with great force, knocking Naruto's right hand aside.

The fierce edge of the blade.

At this moment, Mizuki unleashed every last bit of his remaining chakra.

"Die!!!"

This strike—he, Mizuki, was determined to land it!

Can I dodge it!? Should I dodge it!?

No!!!

This is my only means of victory!!

In the blink of an eye.

Within Naruto's pupils, that golden halo grew increasingly intense.

In his somewhat frenzied eyes.

Naruto wore a look of utter resolve.

At that moment.

It made Mizuki's heart tremble uncontrollably, as if he had seen something terrifying.

It stirred a sense of dread deep within Mizuki's heart.

And it was this hesitation, seemingly brief yet extremely fatal!

It granted Naruto that fleeting but crucial gap of a few tenths of a second.

Naruto twisted his body, shifting his angle slightly, and instead of dodging, he threw himself directly into the path of the strike.

"Puchi!"

It was the sound of metal piercing flesh.

The Kunai, accompanied by lightning, easily stabbed into Naruto's chest, just slightly off-center.

Because of that brief pause.

Naruto decisively seized the opportunity to pull himself free. At this close-quarters moment, the murderous intent between his brows was unmistakable.

Enduring the intense pain radiating from his entire body to his nerves.

Naruto gritted his teeth.

A battle decided in a second.

He gripped Mizuki's body with his left hand, holding on with all his might.

Using his own Kunai, amidst Mizuki's look of shock and fury, Naruto struck with pinpoint precision, driving it deep into the left side of Mizuki's chest.

"Squelch."

"The one who's going to die is you!!!"

With cold, unwavering pupils, Naruto's lips twitched slightly.

A frigid voice rang out.

A precise and ruthless strike.

Naruto's Kunai pierced through Mizuki's left chest even more accurately and swiftly than Mizuki's own.

"Aaaah!!!"

Just as Mizuki let out a cry of pain.

Before he could react in any way.

Naruto pulled back a step ahead of him, feeling the secondary agony caused by the Kunai's extraction, which made Naruto's own expression twist in extreme distortion.

With his right hand gripping the Kunai even tighter, he frantically twisted the blade within the wound.

"Aaaaaah!"

The pain was incredibly intense.

It made Mizuki's screams sound utterly shrill.

Immediately afterward.

"Bang!"

With a powerful kick, accompanied by one final, forceful twist and yank of the Kunai from Mizuki's heart.

Mizuki's body flew backward rapidly.

He slammed heavily onto the ground.

A second of silence.

The chest wound where the Kunai had been extracted was already a mess of blood, with crimson fluid gushing out uncontrollably.

"How... how is it... possible..."

In that moment.

The strength in his entire body ebbed away like a receding tide.

Mizuki cast an unwilling glance at Naruto, who had collapsed not far away, the light in his pupils gradually dimming until he finally sank into total darkness.

Did I actually die at the hands of a brat who hasn't even graduated? My ambitions, my future... they just...

This was the final shred of consciousness Mizuki left in this world.

Soon after, his arm went limp.

Mizuki's last breath vanished along with it.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The twisting motion had prevented Mizuki's strike from truly piercing Naruto's heart, but even so, that blow, combined with his previous injuries, had taken its toll.

While he was not yet at the point of death.

Naruto had already entered a state of critical injury.

At this moment, Naruto no longer had the slightest bit of strength to move.

If Naruto had been here alone, he likely would have died from excessive blood loss.

Fortunately, Iruka was still nearby.

The clash between Naruto and Mizuki had lasted only a few seconds.

Before Iruka could truly process what was happening, the battle had already ended.

"Naruto."

Although Iruka's own injuries were not light, he was in much better shape than Naruto, and having rested briefly, he had regained some ability to move.

He dragged his wounded body over to Naruto's side.

He couldn't even spare a thought for his own injuries.

He looked at Naruto's battered and bruised form with a heart full of pain.

He hurried to provide some simple bandaging for Naruto, at the very least, to stop the bleeding.

"Cough... Iruka-sensei... I... I took that guy out..."

Looking at Iruka, who was bandaging his wounds with an anxious expression.

Naruto managed to pull off a slightly difficult smile, speaking to Iruka in broken sentences. The faint smile at the corners of his eyes made Iruka's heart ache uncontrollably.

It was a shudder and a pity that originated from the depths of his soul.

"Don't talk anymore, Naruto. Sensei is taking you to the hospital right now!"

Iruka quickly cut Naruto off.

At this moment.

Iruka truly loathed himself, wondering why he was so weak.

To think he would need his own student to protect him.

His own powerlessness.

He had felt it once twelve years ago.

And now, he felt it all over again.

That time, he had watched his parents leave, only to receive news of their deaths; this time, watching his student—an existence akin to a younger brother—nearly die right before his eyes, he felt pity for Naruto and even greater hatred for himself.

For Iruka.

This was truly, truly a detestable feeling!

"Cough, cough, I'm fine, Iruka-sensei..."

It was just as Naruto had said.

As Iruka bandaged Naruto's wounds, although Naruto's complexion remained poor, it was no longer as deathly pale as before. A hint of color had returned, and his wounds were healing much faster than an ordinary person's. While it wasn't some bug-like instant recovery, the visible repair of his flesh, combined with Iruka's simple bandages, meant that Naruto was no longer bleeding profusely as he had been before.