Big Ball, Eat This!

"Smack, smack."

Iruka clutched his feet, glaring viciously at Naruto while noticing Uchiha Sen not far away.

That guy was here too?

Could it be...?

With no time to think further, Iruka spoke.

"Hey, Naruto..."

"Hehehe, you found out? I only just learned one ninjutsu."

Naruto scratched his head, looking a little bashful.

Uchiha Sen watched Naruto's expression and shook his head. Double-Zero Two was actually chatting happily with these native Muggles. Sure enough, stay around them long enough and you'd be corrupted by them.

Iruka's mind was in chaos. Faced with the three of them, he was rendered speechless.

[Detected a ninja in the forest with strong hostile intent]

[Analyzing target identity. Name: Mizuki. Strength: Chunin. Danger Level: 2]

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

Six kunai shot out of the forest, flying straight at Naruto.

"This is bad!"

As a fellow Chunin, Iruka sensed the danger in an instant and shoved Naruto beside him away.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Naruto was safe, but Iruka himself wasn't so lucky. A kunai embedded itself in his thigh.

"So that's how it is..."

Iruka looked at Mizuki, who was crouched on a tree trunk directly ahead, and an expression of realization crossed his face. This had all been Mizuki's doing.

Naruto still had no idea what was happening. Sitting on the ground, he cried out, "What... what's going on here?"

Sen crossed his arms with a disdainful expression. He had no intention of intervening in the native Muggles' mutual slaughter. On this trip, all he had to do was ensure Double-Zero Two's safety.

Iruka knew he was the only one who could stop Mizuki now. He pulled the kunai from his thigh, tossed it aside, and shouted at Naruto and Uchiha Sen, "Naruto, don't hand over the scroll even if you die! Take Uchiha Sen and get out of here!"

Mizuki sneered. "Naruto, Iruka's afraid you'll get your hands on that thing."

Naruto was thrown into confusion. He didn't know whom to trust, and he stiffly turned his head to stare at Iruka.

Mizuki then directly revealed Naruto's background as the Nine-Tailed Fox itself and mocked, "No one will ever acknowledge you!"

Azure chakra swirled around Naruto. At that moment, he was furious, continuously shouting, "Bastard!"

Spinning the Fūma Shuriken in his hand, Mizuki hurled it at Naruto.

"Die, Naruto!"

Seeing the massive black shuriken, Naruto collapsed to the ground in terror.

"Naruto, get down!" Iruka shouted, then rushed over and shielded Naruto beneath him.

At that critical moment—

With a crackling sound and a powerful radiance that lit up the forest, a massive sphere of energy appeared before them.

Mizuki was the most shocked of all, his face filled with disbelief.

"How is that possible...?"

The enormous blue energy sphere was as large as an entire single-story house. It completely shielded the three of them, and the shuriken was instantly ground into dust.

Naruto had already gone blank. For the first time, a thought arose in his heart... So Sen had been telling the truth all along. He really was an expert.

Drawn by the surrounding light, Iruka turned around to search for its source.

"My God..."

[Ding! An experience voucher has automatically been used for the host. The Ultimate Rasengan will dissipate in ten seconds. Please use it as soon as possible.]

"Yo, big ball, eat this!"

Uchiha Sen pressed forward with one hand. Mizuki, already extremely close, was instantly swallowed by the Rasengan, leaving not even bones behind.

At the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took in the entire scene.

"This is bad. Mizuki revealed everything, and even more frightening is Uchiha Sen. When did he learn that move?!"

The Third Hokage recognized at a glance that what Uchiha Sen had just used was the signature ninjutsu of the late Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—the Rasengan.

And it was clearly stronger. Judging by its sheer presence alone, it had already reached S-rank.

Could it be...?

After the Uchiha Clan massacre, the Third Hokage had thoroughly investigated Uchiha Sen's entire upbringing. The results had been unprecedentedly consistent: everyone had only two words to describe Sen—madman.

Still uneasy, the Third Hokage regularly sent sensory ninjas to search Sen's mind. Yet without exception, they found only wild, incomprehensible things.

Then there was only one possibility. Sen truly was a madman, and during his time with the Uchiha Clan, the rejection of his clansmen had caused no one to discover his astonishing talent.

Pulling out the old files, Hiruzen Sarutobi came up with an excellent idea just moments ago. Perhaps he could use this chance to add another fighting force to the village.

Before long, ninjas sent the injured Iruka to Konoha Hospital for treatment.

The next day, Uchiha Sen was summoned alone to the Hokage's Office.

Along the way, Uchiha Sen kept hurling insults, saying every ugly thing he could think of. Left with no choice, the ninjas carrying out the mission tied Uchiha Sen to a chair and stuffed a rag into his mouth.

At a glance from the Third Hokage, the ninjas on either side immediately understood and removed the rag.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! You despicable, shameless Muggles! Just watch me beat you all to death!"

Uchiha Sen struggled to move the chair, trying to ram into the ninjas on either side.

Creak~

The doors shut, leaving only Uchiha Sen and Hiruzen Sarutobi in the room.

Slowly rising to his feet, Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed his trademark smile and walked over at an unhurried pace. Leaning close to Uchiha Sen's ear, he spoke in a faint voice.

"Hole-Hole Monster, I'm Double-Zero Seven. I was the first warrior to arrive on this planet, but due to faulty intelligence, I only discovered after reaching the highest rank that this planet has more than one village, so I've been lying low ever since."

Uchiha Sen's body visibly relaxed. Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurried on.

"I've just received orders from the planet. Hole-Hole Monster and Double-Zero Two are to cooperate with me on the next mission, and Double-Zero Seven has been appointed the overall commander of this operation."

Hiruzen Sarutobi untied Uchiha Sen, then stood before him with a smiling face, quietly awaiting his response.

Heh heh! It's a little embarrassing, but one must teach according to the student's aptitude. As long as I can add strength to the village, what does it matter if I throw away my old dignity? Besides, there's no third person here. I'm truly too clever.

The Third Hokage secretly congratulated himself.

Uchiha Sen slowly stood up and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Since that's the case, the passphrase is: In ancient times, Guan Yu focused entirely on chess while scraping poison from his bone to cure himself. Give the response."

The Third Hokage was instantly dumbfounded. He'd never heard of such a thing! Before bringing Uchiha Sen here, he had specifically questioned Naruto, but that kid hadn't mentioned this at all!

Calm down, calm down! This sentence seems to have some kind of pattern...

Fill in words according to that pattern...

What exactly am I thinking...

Clearly, this kind of code phrase had to be answered with another phrase...

Hiruzen Sarutobi was on the verge of a breakdown...