"Hehehe, Iruka, have you come to die?"
"Then die!"
"Once I kill you, I'll kill those two brats!"
With his Cursed Seal active, Mizuki's mind was consumed by animal instinct. All he wanted was to kill everyone before him.
Iruka was utterly bewildered. What brats? Had someone else been here just now?
Iruka glanced at Naruto and was horrified to discover that he had already opened the Scroll of Seals!
"Naruto, close it, now! You're not allowed to read the Scroll of Seals!"
Iruka hurried toward Naruto, but the instant he turned, he found himself flying into the air.
He looked down and realized that Mizuki had grabbed him and lifted him up.
Mizuki hurled Iruka hard into a tree trunk, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto cried out in panic, sprang to his feet, and was about to rush over to save Iruka.
"Naruto, run! You're no match for him!"
Iruka got back up, trying to reach Naruto and protect him.
He had barely taken a few steps when Mizuki set his sights on him and charged.
Iruka threw several shuriken, hoping to disrupt Mizuki's attack.
Mizuki blocked every shuriken and kept charging toward Iruka.
Refusing to back down, Iruka gripped his kunai and charged at Mizuki as well.
The two clashed in an instant.
Even under normal circumstances, Iruka was no match for Mizuki, let alone Mizuki with his Cursed Seal active.
Within a few exchanges, Iruka had taken several punches, crying out and coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
As Zhou Cheng watched, he realized something was wrong!
Wasn't Naruto supposed to roar and then beat Mizuki senseless with the Double Shadow Clone Technique at this point?
Why was Iruka almost getting beaten to death while Naruto still hadn't done anything?
Could Iruka's shout earlier have stopped Naruto from learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique?
He looked at Mizuki again and understood immediately.
Mizuki had activated his Cursed Seal too early, changing the course of events.
Zhou Cheng knew he had to come up with something, or Iruka really would be beaten to death.
An idea forming in his mind, Zhou Cheng crouched on the branch, took out a kunai, and began drawing something on it.
Mizuki tossed the badly injured Iruka onto the ground and turned his bloodshot eyes toward Naruto, who was still in shock.
"Naruto, do you know why everyone in the village hates you?"
"Mizuki, don't say it!"
Even now, Iruka was still thinking of Naruto. He couldn't let Naruto learn that he was a jinchūriki!
"Still not dead!"
Mizuki kicked Iruka hard again, making him curl up like a shrimp in agony.
"Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto's eyes widened with fury, and he charged at Mizuki without a second thought, as reckless as ever.
Mizuki sent Naruto flying with a single kick. He rolled across the ground more than a dozen times before coming to a stop.
"Hehehe, die! All of you, die!"
Grinning savagely, Mizuki tossed his kunai up and down as he walked toward Iruka, who was closer to him.
Mizuki drove his kunai viciously toward Iruka, his eyes gleaming with murderous delight.
Deep despair filled Iruka's eyes. I should have brought more people with me. Naruto, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you!
Lying in the distance, Naruto stared wide-eyed, his mouth slightly open, frozen in shock. Iruka-sensei was killed?
It's my fault. I got him killed!
Mizuki's arm was fully extended, yet he hadn't felt his kunai pierce flesh. Puzzled, he looked down.
Iruka had vanished from the ground. All that remained was an unusually shaped kunai embedded in the earth.
He looked around and saw that one of the two masked brats from earlier had reappeared.
He was the one who had rescued Iruka.
"Brat... urgh!"
Mizuki had barely begun to speak when his pupils suddenly dilated and he clutched his neck.
A kunai was lodged in his throat. Blood gushed out like a spring, soaking the front of his clothes such a deep red that they looked purple!
"When... did... you..."
The light gradually faded from Mizuki's eyes, and strength drained from his body like an ebbing tide. He dropped to his knees with a thud.
His Cursed Seal vanished as well, and he returned to his original appearance.
Mizuki reached out with his other hand, trying to grab the masked brat who had suddenly appeared before him.
The moment he raised his hand, Zhou Cheng pulled out the kunai, drawing a spurt of blood that stained the ground red.
Mizuki collapsed, the light completely gone from his eyes. There was clearly no saving him!
Zhou Cheng let out a deep breath of relief. Good thing I made it in time. Otherwise, things would've gotten ugly!
He had been making Flying Thunder God Kunai up on the branch.
He had memorized more than half the ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals.
He had only had time to make two Flying Thunder God Kunai.
He threw one beside Iruka and the other a short distance away.
First, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear beside Iruka, then teleported with him to the second kunai.
Immediately afterward, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique again to return to Mizuki and drive his kunai deep into Mizuki's throat.
Whew!
That's Space-Time Ninjutsu for you. Just three uses, and my chakra was nearly gone!
He retrieved his Flying Thunder God Kunai. These were treasures!
Then he picked Naruto up and laid him beside Iruka. Finally, under Iruka's gaze, he placed the Scroll of Seals in front of him.
Zhou Cheng then leaped onto a branch and disappeared within a few jumps.
He sensed several shinobi approaching. He had to leave immediately.
Soon, he landed in his own courtyard.
He had kept his sensing ability active the whole way, avoiding every patrolling shinobi and slipping home unnoticed.
After he joined the ANBU, Uzuki Yugao had stopped keeping him under surveillance.
Sensing that Haku was already asleep, he jumped straight through the window into his room.
He quietly wiped himself down, changed into clean clothes, and slipped under the covers.
He had been on edge all evening, and only now could he relax.
As soon as he relaxed, a strange, deeply unpleasant feeling surfaced.
It was the nausea of having killed someone for the first time!
When he first entered the village and encountered those young bullies, Zhou Cheng was certain they hadn't died from his kicks.
As for how they had eventually died, Zhou Cheng didn't want to know.
He began reviewing everything that had happened that day.
Now that he had successfully become Kakashi's student, Zhou Cheng could begin pursuing his ninjutsu studies.
Given Kakashi's personality, he would never outwardly show concern for his comrades, but in truth, he was a very attentive and kind man.
It was only because Obito's and Rin's deaths had hit him so hard that he had become the way he was now.
Zhou Cheng's goal was to learn all Water and Earth Ninjutsu by the time he finished refining Guy's talent.
He would also try to eliminate one hand seal from his techniques every three days.
Combined with the talent original liquid he gained from refining Guy's talent, that would give his strength another substantial boost.
Most importantly, earning Kakashi's recognition was far more valuable than learning any ninjutsu.
At the very least, he now had a teacher-someone to back him up!