In a vast darkness, beautiful lights occasionally flickered across the void, glowing with an enchanting radiance that carried an unfathomable sense of mystery.
Time was the most unreliable measure. Completely unaware how long had passed, gradually, some vague noises began emerging from emptiness—annoying yet persistent. Suddenly, a speck of starlight rapidly approached and expanded, swallowing everything before consciousness could catch up. Then came an abrupt sensation of falling. In panic, he quickly steadied himself.
Just then, a hand reached out from beside him, catching him as he leaned forward. A voice followed: "Mizuki? Is that you? You seem really exhausted. Why don't you go rest for a bit?"
Slowly opening his drowsy eyes, he muttered, "Mizuki? Is that me? What an annoying name."
Using his left hand to prop up his chin and rub his eyes, then pressing gently on his temples to chase away sleepiness, he calmly replied, "I'm fine. I've just had trouble sleeping lately." He glanced at his companion beside him. "You're Iruka, right?"
Iruka laughed as he answered, "Mizuki, looks like you really are too tired—you can't even recognize me now. You were dozing off just now; if I hadn't caught you, your head would've slammed onto the table." He paused briefly. "Why don't you take a short break first? There aren't many students left anyway, and it won't take long."
"No need. Let's finish this exam quickly. Lord Hokage is waiting for our report. Anyway, the test isn't hard—it'll be over soon."
Iruka nodded thoughtfully. "Then let's continue the exam." He straightened the papers in his hands and loudly called out toward the door: "Next one~"
Mizuki curled his lips slightly, inwardly annoyed. So loud. Makes sense though—he definitely has the voice of a teacher.
Coming back to himself, Mizuki tried recalling his muddled memory. He'd only taken a short nap in a taxi—and next thing he knew, he'd become Mizuki. To be honest, he really didn't have the luck of a main character. In his previous life, he'd been an ordinary office worker—quitting after job frustrations, yet failing to find new employment for quite some time. I guess I overestimated my own abilities. Finally deciding to go out for a walk to clear his mind, he never expected that a brief nap would lead to a soul-swapping reincarnation. Had there been an accident or something? He couldn't remember at all. Truly cause and effect never fail—he recklessly quits his job, and the world responds by turning him into a reckless background character in another world. If he hadn't kept a cool head and reacted quickly just now, he might have blown his cover already.
Just as these thoughts passed through his mind, a certain energetic little brat with golden hair walked in, sporting strange whisker-like marks on his face—none other than Naruto Uzumaki, the chosen child of destiny for the Hokage. Mizuki silently confirmed the timeline of this world: exactly at the beginning of the story, where even Ichiraku Ramen owner and Onee-san Ayame had more presence than he did. The tragic background actor Mizuki was about to recklessly bring disaster upon himself without hesitation.
Naruto nervously walked toward the center of the examination room, looking tensely at Iruka. When Naruto was ready, Iruka said, "Whenever you're set, go ahead. To pass the exam, you need to create at least one perfect [Shadow Clone]."
"Seeing Naruto getting so nervous," he continued soothingly, "the Clone Jutsu is one of the most basic techniques. As long as you attend class regularly and practice carefully, it's not difficult to master."
Naruto frowned as he spoke, "But why did it have to be Clone Jutsu? Why test me on my weakest skill? My newly invented [Unnamed] Jutsu is super powerful!" Despite his complaints, Naruto obediently formed the hand seals, channeling chakra with full concentration before shouting loudly, "Clone Jutsu!" Out of the ninja smoke appeared a limp, collapsed body lying in a heap. Naruto looked at Iruka apologetically yet hopefully.
Iruka, however, became so furious that his eyelid twitched violently. He roared, "Fail!" Saliva sprayed several meters away.
Watching this eerily familiar scene, Mizuki couldn't help touching his face as if feeling splattered droplets. "Is it time for me to step in? What was my line again? Whatever, just get through this first, then think about how to save myself." Changing his mind, he realized this might actually be an opportunity—he should indeed emphasize his presence more, or else he'd remain too passive.
Turning to Iruka, Mizuki said, "After all, Iruka-sensei, Naruto at least created one clone. If we're being generous, could we consider him passing at a bare minimum?" These words sounded like heavenly music to Naruto's ears. He couldn't help looking at Mizuki with surprise and joy.
Iruka shook his head, though. "That won't work, Mizuki-sensei. Everyone else made at least three clones. Naruto only managed one, and it's practically useless. Being a ninja isn't that simple. Right now, Naruto just doesn't cut it."
When Naruto heard this refusal without hesitation, Mizuki could do nothing but give the utterly disheartened boy an apologetic glance, showing his helplessness.
Watching the gloomy Naruto walk out, Mizuki pondered instead about what to do next. From memory, the story would soon reveal his tragic fate, yet he lacked methods to cope—even basic resistance seemed difficult. This wasn't quite how he'd imagined: avoiding manipulating Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals after graduation didn't guarantee safety. The original Mizuki wasn't someone without flaws. Quite the opposite—he had committed acts contradicting Konoha's principles and had been caught red-handed. During one mission, when a teammate suffered leg injuries impairing mobility, Mizuki abandoned him to complete the task, suffocating the injured man to death. Upon returning, he reported that the teammate had died from poisoning. Later, Konoha grew suspicious, immediately excluding him from selection as a ninja academy instructor—a position even Iruka, who used to be inferior, had obtained. This bred intense jealousy within him. Moreover, Mizuki himself noticed the increasing scrutiny and suspicion from Konoha's higher-ups, which made him increasingly anxious.
If merely this, things wouldn't have become completely uncontrollable. After all, ninjas are professionals who complete missions for payment—this behavior might lightly be called ruthless, but wouldn't escalate to becoming a rogue ninja. Sakumo Hatake, the legendary White Fang of Konoha, once abandoned a mission to save teammates, only to be driven to take his own life by rumors, with even his rescued comrades failing to understand him. In this ninja world, perhaps many would sympathize with Mizuki's actions.
Unfortunately, Mizuki was stuck in Konoha, a village that emphasized the so-called Will of Fire and treated everyone as one big family. To make matters worse, he had failed to cover his tracks properly and left incriminating evidence behind.
However, even in the worst-case scenario, the punishment would probably amount to nothing more than two years behind bars. Take for example the brothers Futen and Raijuu—the two had killed their entire team over a mere food dispute during a mission, yet were only imprisoned within Konoha's high-security prison, where they still received decent meals and treatment. Considering Mizuki's actions weren't even close to such severity, it would be difficult to label him as having committed a serious crime. He likely wouldn't face heavy consequences. Moreover, the next few years promised chaos in this turbulent era; being locked up for a while might actually be beneficial—just wait quietly until the destined child seals away Kaguya Otsutsuki and then live out his life peacefully. As an outstanding chunin, survival wasn't an issue, especially with his loving fiancée, Chiharu Tsubaki—a genuinely charming and beautiful girl. Without any world-shaking power or special ability discovered, choosing a low-key lifestyle was definitely a smart decision. Avoiding battles he remembered from the future and remaining sheltered under the protagonist's shadow didn't sound too bad either. Unfortunately, at present, this peaceful dream seemed unattainable. Worse still, he already had murky ties with Orochimaru—a significant troublemaker—and the spy operating within Konoha, Kabuto Yakushi. Hidden in shadows, Danzo Shimura might also be monitoring his moves. At this point, Mizuki clearly found himself in an awkward position.
The following examination process was just routine. While continuously devising countermeasures, Mizuki completed evaluating all the students.
Iruka tapped the stack of forms lightly on the desk. "Mizuki, today really troubled you greatly. If you're not feeling well, please go home early—you seem preoccupied. Did something happen? Let me know if there's anything I can assist you with, since you've helped me quite a lot~"
Mizuki waved him off, "Really, everything's fine. You're worrying too much." He took the report form from Iruka cheerfully, saying, "Alright then, Iruka—go check on your adorable students now! Once they graduate, you won't see them often anymore. Hehe—I'll go submit my report now. The Third might visit the academy later; after all, several future big shots are among this graduating class!"
"You're right," Iruka sighed thoughtfully. "Unbelievably, we have this generation's Ino–Shika–Cho trio, plus kids from the Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Aburame clans all graduating together. More importantly, the orphaned survivor from the Uchiha clan is here too—it's truly a rare occurrence unseen for many years."
"Makes you work hard indeed, huh, Iruka," Mizuki said offhandedly, half-distracted. "Well, I'll leave it at that—I'm heading out first. See you again after school lets out."
"Sure, let's meet later."
After parting ways with Iruka, Mizuki headed straight toward the Hokage's office, knocked on the door, and called out loudly: "Chunin Mizuki reporting in."
"Enter," came a deep, firm voice, rich with age but full of vitality.
Mizuki pushed the door open, closed it behind him, and bowed. "The Third, this year's Ninja Academy graduation exam has concluded. Here are the results."
"Bring them here." No sooner had he spoken than a masked ninja appeared before Mizuki, took the documents from his hands, briefly inspected them, and handed them to the Third Hokage.
The Third flipped through the pages while asking casually, "What was the exam testing?"
"It was the Clone Jutsu, Hokage-sama."
"Ah, the Basic Techniques were the focus," he said indifferently. "How did they do?"
"Everyone passed — except Naruto Uzumaki."
"Hmm?" At the sound of that name, the Third paused instinctively.
Noticing the reaction, Mizuki feigned hesitation. "The exam focused on the technique Naruto struggles with the most. Still, he barely managed to produce one clone. I believe that could qualify as passing, but Iruka disagreed and insisted on marking Naruto as having failed." Seizing the moment, Mizuki decided to probe further about getting out of tonight's plan. "Should we do something about it? Or just grant him a pass?" He carefully observed the Third Hokage's response without revealing his intent.
After a moment's thought, the Third shook his head. "No, leave it as is." Setting aside the report, he told Mizuki, "You may go now. Later, I'll visit the Ninja Academy myself."
"Yes, sir." Mizuki could only accept and leave.
Guess taking shortcuts doesn't work after all. I'll just have to find another way. Looks like the big shots have everything figured out already, waiting for little clowns like me to play our parts for their amusement—damned bastards.
There was no doubt—he no longer had control over his fate. He needed to find a solution quickly. If Mizuki could survive tonight and hold out for a few more months until Orochimaru's attack disrupts the Chunin Exams, then with the chaos and the extra time he'd gained to prepare, he might make it through Konoha's destruction. Hopefully, someone insignificant like himself wouldn't matter enough to be manipulated anymore by then. The key was tonight. Originally, Mizuki had planned to steal the Scroll of Seals to offer to Orochimaru. Using Naruto's graduation exam as an opportunity to manipulate events hadn't gone as planned—it somehow ended up benefiting Naruto instead.
Thinking it through, how could the Scroll of Seals—the village's most treasured artifact—be stolen so easily by someone not even a ninja yet? And on top of that, he just happened to learn the [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu], the one most suited for him? It all seemed too orchestrated. Meanwhile, Mizuki had been the fool who unknowingly became nothing more than a pawn.
Back at the Ninja Academy, Mizuki idled away the time while thinking of alternatives. Eventually, the Third Hokage arrived before school ended. He met the graduating students and their parents, creating a lively scene.
From afar, Mizuki silently watched Naruto sitting dejectedly alone on a swing, enduring whispers and mockery. He pulled down his goggles, hiding the tears welling in his eyes.
"Wherever the leaves of Konoha fall, fire shall rise. The light of the Hokage will shine among them, and then the leaves shall sprout anew." She turned her head, glancing at the Third Hokage conversing with students and parents nearby. His dignified yet approachable manner, steady leadership, and warm charisma easily won people's hearts. "What a wonderful saying indeed. Perhaps my future depends on the Hokage's benevolence to save me. Konoha's spirit of love and justice has brought me to this point, and perhaps it is also my last bit of hope in this lonely struggle."
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