Inside the Hokage's office in Konoha, the Third puffed on his pipe while listening to Kakashi's report. Advisor Koharu Utatane was also present. Homura Mitokado had not yet arrived, and strangely enough, Danzo Shimura had shown up too. It seemed the matter of the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and the Scroll of Seals had even drawn the attention of Konoha's shadow.
Mizuki stood before them with his head bowed low, waiting anxiously for judgment from these powerful figures.
After hearing Kakashi's report, the Third tapped his pipe, blew out a puff of smoke, and turned his gaze toward Mizuki.
"Mizuki, do you have any objections to what Kakashi has said?"
"No, Lord Third. Everything he said is true."
"So you admit your guilt in inciting Naruto Uzumaki to steal the Scroll of Seals?"
"Yes, I did everything."
"Then tell me your purpose—were you trying to obtain the Scroll of Seals?" The Third Hokage suddenly raised his tone, sternly demanding, "Or are you conspiring with others to betray the village?"
At this moment, Mizuki thought to himself, Here it comes.
"I have no interest in the Scroll—it contains powers beyond my control. I didn't conspire with anyone either. I acted entirely alone. And I hold no resentment toward the village—I have no thoughts of betrayal at all."
Koharu behind him couldn't hold back anymore. "Nonsense! If you weren't planning to become a rogue ninja, why would you do such a thing? Don't bother hiding anything—we Konoha have plenty of ways to make you speak the truth."
"My target was Iruka," Mizuki replied—a shocking answer no one had expected.
That's right. From the beginning, Mizuki knew that with his ambiguous suspicion hanging over him, he'd already missed his chance for redemption. There wasn't enough time to change the situation, so there remained only one way to resolve this—summarized as one principle: One crime won't be punished twice; minor crimes can cover major ones, then shift blame elsewhere. As long as the Third Hokage never discovered his connection with Orochimaru or his attempted escape, there would still be room to maneuver.
Mizuki glanced sideways at Kakashi. He thought: Perfect—you're here. That'll make things way more convincing. Saves me a hell of a lot of trouble.
The Third clearly wasn't satisfied with Mizuki's answer.
"You have issues with Iruka?" asked the Hokage. "If I'm not mistaken, aren't you and Iruka longtime friends? Could it be that you resented him for becoming the instructor at the Ninja Academy before you?"
"There was something to that."
"'Was'? So you're saying those feelings don't exist anymore?" Danzo, ever calculating, ruthlessly pointed out the implications in Mizuki's words. "Don't try using tricky rhetoric to minimize your guilt. If you don't reveal your real intentions and motives, we will take further action to extract the truth."
A blatant threat—one that openly pressured Mizuki without concealment.
"This is exactly why I had no choice but to do so many things I didn't want to do," Mizuki thought bitterly inside his mind.
Truthfully, when he first reincarnated into this world, Mizuki had considered confessing everything upfront—but where should he draw the line? What could be revealed, and what must remain hidden? If he confessed only about forging records during the mission to recover the classified documents, what would justify his confession?
Having already committed serious wrongdoings and lied in reports to Konoha, why would he come forward voluntarily now?
Could it be that he was forced to reveal things to Konoha under some kind of threat, just to cover up deeper issues?
If he admitted his connection with Orochimaru, things wouldn't stay simple. Colluding with an S-rank Rogue Ninja would definitely land him in the interrogation department. Surviving interrogation with only the willpower of an average office worker was practically impossible. Worse yet, there was also the Yamanaka clan's mind-reading techniques. If his identity as someone from another world were exposed, it wouldn't just result in imprisonment or interrogation. Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine. In a world ruled by overwhelming ninja abilities, secrets were impossible to keep without power.
Therefore, Mizuki orchestrated a performance—a plausible excuse fitting his status and position. He'd make a mistake, use it as an opportunity to admit certain things, and avoid further investigation. The key lay in manipulating how others perceived him. Under no circumstances should Konoha regard him as a Rogue Ninja or even an enemy. Rather, they should see him as a regular ninja who had committed harmful acts and made mistakes—mistakes that wouldn't allow others to seize the opportunity for greater accusations. Looking at the overall political situation among Konoha's upper ranks, such a goal was quite achievable—the existing tension between conservative moderates and radicals offered room to maneuver. This was a strategy only someone from another world could pull off—an advantage that came from absolute information superiority.
"Director Danzo, Third Hokage, once I was unhappy because Iruka surpassed me in every way and took away my teaching position, but after so long, I've come to realize that Iruka truly is more suited to being a teacher at the Ninja Academy. His patience and sense of responsibility toward a bunch of kids are far beyond mine. But what I want to prove isn't that~"
"What exactly do you want?" the Third interrupted.
"I want Iruka to understand that he's an excellent teacher at the Ninja Academy, but absolutely not qualified to be a proper ninja instructor. Lord Hokage, I firmly believe in this."
"Just for such a trivial reason, you incited the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to steal the Scroll of Seals? It's utterly unreasonable!" Koharu Utatane rebuked.
Mizuki didn't respond. Neither the Third nor Danzo spoke either. Silence filled the room momentarily.
After a while, Danzo asked, "So your plan was to let Naruto Uzumaki steal and learn [Kinjutsu] from the Scroll of Seals, then defeat Iruka—to make him admit his own misjudgment? To be surpassed by someone he considered talentless—that would indeed be the most convincing, right?"
"Yes," Mizuki admitted.
"Why did you oppose Iruka? Simply because of differing opinions? I remember when you came to report after the graduation exam, I already gave specific orders, yet you still went beyond them," the Third continued.
"I'm very sorry, Lord Third. I've always believed that for students at the Ninja Academy, once they graduate, they should be treated according to ninja standards, and childish games should stop. Unfounded idealism will only ruin these children's futures. Rejecting a child's path to becoming a ninja simply due to excessive worry over minor flaws is nothing more than indulgence and arrogance. Only true strength can be the greatest support on a ninja's path. Those who survive various missions deserve to be called qualified ninjas."
"Strength above all else? Mizuki, your viewpoint is dangerous."
"But this reason sounds too far-fetched," the Third said regretfully, shaking his head.
"It's not about strength first, but mission first. Strength is indeed an important part, but not everything."
"Your viewpoint isn't much different; it's just a matter of degree. After all these talks, you're still jealous of Iruka, aren't you?"
When the conversation reached this point, Mizuki felt slightly out of control, yet his goal hadn't been completely achieved. However, the current situation wasn't entirely unacceptable.
"While I don't fully agree, I can't completely deny it either, Lord Hokage."
"I see!"
After that, there was another round of silence.
"We're at an impasse. What should we do? Should we confess voluntarily or wait for another opportunity?"
Only the sound of smoking filled the room, as nobody spoke further. Just as Mizuki was about to break from the silence, the Third's voice came again.
"Mizuki, regarding your mission to recover the classified document last time, do you have anything to say?"
Finally, he asked. Mizuki barely contained his inner excitement, feigned an expression of astonishment, looked at the Third, hesitated, then lowered his head. As if making a firm decision, he said, "I lied, Lord Hokage."
"Explain the specific circumstances clearly."
"We weren't strong enough to complete the mission while escorting someone who couldn't move due to severe leg injuries. I'm sorry, Lord."
"So you killed your teammate?" the Third asked in shock.
"Yes." Mizuki answered.
Although he already suspected Mizuki and had begun investigating him for some time, hearing this firsthand was still hard to accept.
Beside him, Koharu Utatane angrily pointed her trembling finger at Mizuki, saying, "Unbelievable! Konoha actually has ninja who kill their comrades. Such lawlessness! This person doesn't deserve to be called a ninja."
Hearing this, Mizuki remained silent. Where did they put Kakashi Hatake's face? He really wanted to see what Kakashi's expression looked like now.
In truth, within Konoha, there were others besides Mizuki who had killed teammates during missions. The Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake himself was even more infamous. Moreover, Kakashi killing Rin Nohara directly caused Obito Uchiha's descent into darkness. However, the Hatake family was truly interesting. Kakashi sacrificed his teammate for a mission, whereas his father abandoned a mission for his teammates, ultimately committing suicide after being misunderstood by everyone.
Therefore, this matter wasn't as serious as it seemed at first glance. Although killing one's teammates was rare, it certainly happened more than once or twice. When missions went poorly, abandoning teammates—or even killing them to prevent capture and information leaks—was not uncommon, though seen as despicable in today's Konoha. On the other hand, attempts to avoid potential blame and punishment by filing false reports were considered far worse by the village leadership. Undoubtedly, such behavior would label someone as unscrupulous and unfit for important roles. After all, a ninja village is essentially a semi-militarized mercenary organization. No one trusts someone who deceives their superiors.
At this point, there was no need for further questioning. The Third Hokage ordered, "Kakashi, take Mizuki away."
"Get rid of the awkward Kakashi first. Then Mizuki was told, 'You go back now, but don't leave the village. Before disciplinary measures are decided, it's better not to do anything suspicious.'"
Kakashi and Mizuki obeyed and exited.
"Should we investigate further, Third?" Koharu Utatane asked.
"No need," the Third replied. "The matter has become clear enough. The investigation during the classified document recovery mission already revealed much truth; Mizuki's statements merely confirmed that. Regarding the Scroll of Seals incident, we indeed cannot find Mizuki's purpose or motive for wanting to steal the scroll, since many of the ninjutsu techniques recorded there are kinjutsu even I can't perform. Moreover, Mizuki's actions showed no indication of intending to steal the scroll. Observations through the Telescope Technique also found no signs of attempted defection. Iruka's account should be credible. Although Mizuki is still evasive about the specific reasons, this triviality isn't worth further pursuit."
"Even so, strict punishment is necessary—the impact was too bad."
"Hmph, I'll handle it."
"I believe ninja who commit such misconduct should be expelled. Such reckless behavior damages Konoha's reputation." Koharu persisted stubbornly.
Danzo interjected from the side: "Mistaken ninja are still ninja of Konoha, especially considering he completed his mission."
"But Mizuki lied—he deceived Konoha!" Koharu rebutted.
Danzo didn't argue further, merely glancing at the Third.
Caught in the middle, the Third inhaled deeply on his pipe, then sighed...
Outside the Hokage Tower, dawn had fully broken and the streets bustled with people. Though exhausted, Mizuki could finally breathe a true sigh of relief. Since he hadn't been immediately taken to the interrogation department, he probably escaped torture methods like tiger benches, chili powder, skinning, tendon-removal, or mind-probing scans. The matter concerning Orochimaru hadn't been exposed, preserving his identity as a transmigrant. The debts of his former self were cleared through this incident. Although he'd face significant backlash, being punished now would remove any future pretext for others to bring these matters up again. As time passed, the Hokage would die in battle within months, and Konoha would face severe personnel shortages—no one would even care about these past incidents anymore. Being downgraded from a suspect to just having a criminal record might actually be beneficial—restricted movements and surveillance amounted to a form of indirect protection. Recently important missions and tasks wouldn't be entrusted to him either. Most likely he'd just be assigned dirty, exhausting chores, which surprisingly might help him avoid certain dangers.
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