Preemptive Strike

Inside Tsubaki's cabin on Konoha Mountain.

Uzumaki Menma, Naruto, and Neji were being hosted by Tsubaki.

Just as the three were eating the Flower Cakes Tsubaki provided, Neji's teacher from the Ninja Academy, Mizuki, arrived at the cabin.

And Uzumaki Menma sensed malice towards him from Mizuki.

Uzumaki Menma put down the Flower Cakes in his hand and squinted at Mizuki.

Seeing Uzumaki Menma not even eating his Flower Cakes and staring at the white-haired man at the door, Naruto asked curiously, "Menma, what's wrong?"

Uzumaki Menma threw half a Flower Cake into his mouth and said, looking at Mizuki, "I feel like doing something bad."

Naruto and Neji simultaneously looked at Mizuki, who was talking to Tsubaki: "Menma, did he provoke you?"

"No, but I sense he's up to no good, so I'm going to strike first before he does anything to me!"

Naruto said excitedly, "Menma, what do you want me to do?"

Uzumaki Menma shook his head and said, "I don't need you to step in just yet, let me handle it for now."

Hearing that he didn't have a chance to participate, Naruto instantly pouted, "What? I thought I could join in too."

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Neji, keep an eye on him for me at the Ninja Academy!"

Neji looked at Mizuki with some pity.

Anyone targeted by Uzumaki Menma wouldn't have an easy time.

Because Mizuki greatly disliked Uzumaki Menma and Naruto, he left directly after chatting with Tsubaki for a while.

After Tsubaki returned to the house, Uzumaki Menma nudged Neji with his elbow.

With so much tacit understanding over time, Neji immediately understood what Uzumaki Menma meant.

Neji's face darkened, why didn't he ask himself?

Neji sighed and asked Tsubaki, "Miss Tsubaki, what did Mizuki want from you?"

Tsubaki said puzzledly, "I'm not really sure. Mizuki said he came to me about Ninja Academy matters, but he didn't say anything about the Ninja Academy at all. Instead, he told me a bunch of nonsense. It's really strange."

"Miss Tsubaki, I'm gonna go pee!"

After saying that, Uzumaki Menma jumped off the chair and ran towards the outside of the house with his short legs.

Tsubaki reminded him, "Menma, the toilet isn't outside!"

"It's okay, I'll fertilize the flowers!"

Uzumaki Menma ran out of the cabin.

On the back of the cabin, Uzumaki Menma summoned Byakko.

Now, as Uzumaki Menma's control over chakra becomes more and more proficient, the size of the nine Nine Masked Beasts that Uzumaki Menma summons at the same time can be about the same as his size.

And if only one Nine-Faced Beast is summoned, its size will be normal.

"Nine Mask Svāhā! Byakko!"

From the chakra circle, a Byakko with a total body length of more than two meters emerged.

Uzumaki Menma reached out and touched Byakko's back, then instructed, "Find a white-haired male who is going down the mountain nearby, play with him, but don't kill him."

Uzumaki Menma patted Byakko's butt and said, "Go! Byakko!"

Byakko howled and rushed out.

Uzumaki Menma dug his ears and complained, "Why did it howl like that?"

At this time, Tsubaki walked out of the cabin and asked suspiciously, "Why did I seem to hear the roar of a tiger?"

Uzumaki Menma appeared in front of Tsubaki, scratching his head 'apologetically': "Miss Tsubaki, it was me. I felt so good peeing that I yelled."

"Is that so?"

Tsubaki was a little puzzled, how could a child yell like that from the comfort of peeing?

"Miss Tsubaki, are there any more Flower Cakes? I haven't had enough!"

"Of course, come in quickly, I'll get them for you."

Uzumaki Menma followed Tsubaki back into the cabin.

As soon as Uzumaki Menma sat down, Naruto and Neji whispered, "Menma? Did you send Byakko out?"

"Yeah."

Naruto and Neji had seen the real size of Byakko and knew how powerful Byakko was, so they were a little worried: "Will something happen?"

Uzumaki Menma patted his chest and assured, "Don't worry, I told Byakko in advance, it won't kill him."

Naruto and Neji exchanged worried glances.

Don't kill him, what if he's crippled?

Mizuki was on his way down the mountain, muttering "unlucky" under his breath.

Although Mizuki is called "teacher" by the students at the Ninja Academy, he isn't actually a teacher; at most, he's a teaching assistant.

Before working at the Ninja Academy, Mizuki killed his injured partner with his own hands during a mission in order to complete it, reporting the death as being due to a leg infection.

However, this incident cost Mizuki his qualification to be an academy teacher.

The only reason Mizuki is currently employed at the Ninja Academy is because his "friend" Iruka lobbied everywhere on his behalf, eventually allowing him to enter the Ninja Academy as a teaching assistant.

Mizuki and Iruka have been friends since childhood.

The reason Mizuki became friends with Iruka was because Iruka's parents were killed by the Nine-Tails, leaving him an orphan. Being friends with Iruka allowed Mizuki to feel superior to him, satisfying his twisted psychological needs.

But seeing everyone encouraging and helping Iruka made Mizuki very jealous.

The reason Mizuki came to find Tsubaki today is because he recently noticed that Iruka and Tsubaki were chatting very enthusiastically at the Ninja Academy.

This made Mizuki, who was already very jealous of Iruka, even more envious.

So Mizuki decided to pursue Tsubaki, taking a step ahead of Iruka and becoming Tsubaki's lover, so that he could disgust Iruka in front of him.

But unexpectedly, both Uzumaki Menma and Naruto were also at Tsubaki's house, which Mizuki had not anticipated.

Mizuki despises and hates Uzumaki Menma and Naruto, because he believes they are demon foxes.

Therefore, seeing Uzumaki Menma and Naruto at Tsubaki's house directly made Mizuki lose the mood to chat with Tsubaki, disrupting all his plans.

Mizuki's anger flared up just thinking about Uzumaki Menma and Naruto's faces.

Mizuki thought maliciously in his heart.

'Next year, you two guys will be coming to the Ninja Academy, right? Watch how I'll play with you! By the way, tomorrow when I go to the Ninja Academy, I'll pursue Miss Tsubaki directly in front of Iruka. I wonder what kind of expression Iruka will make, hehe.'

The thought of being able to play with Uzumaki Menma and Naruto next year, and disgust Iruka tomorrow, improved Mizuki's mood instantly, and even his steps became lighter as he went down the mountain.

Just as he reached the vicinity of the mountainside, Mizuki suddenly felt a sense of unease, feeling a gaze staring at him from behind.

Pretending that nothing was wrong, he continued to walk a few steps forward, then Mizuki suddenly turned around to look behind him.

Seeing the guy behind him, Mizuki's hair stood on end in an instant, and his scalp went numb.

A large white tiger!