The more Naruto thought about it, the more he felt something was off.
'Since Grandpa Hokage already knows the cause of this incident, why would he cooperate with me on one hand, and then publicly arrest me with great fanfare on the other?'
'Is he perhaps putting on a show?'
'Then who is he performing for?'
'Is it for me, or for the Ninjas in the Village?'
"Swish swish swish~"
Just as Naruto was deep in thought, three Kunai suddenly flew out from the nearby bushes.
"Be careful."
Iruka, fearing Naruto would get hurt, took a step forward and used his back to shield Naruto from the attack.
"Iruka Sensei... you."
Seeing Iruka get injured protecting him, Naruto was deeply moved.
"What a touching display of teacher-student affection."
Clapping his hands, Mizuki slowly emerged from the bushes with a sinister smile.
"Mizuki, what exactly do you want to do?"
Iruka struggled to his feet, shielding Naruto behind him, and angrily questioned Mizuki.
"What do I want to do? Isn't it obvious?"
Clearly, Mizuki didn't take the two of them seriously; his eyes were full of mockery.
Right.
In Mizuki's eyes, Iruka was a good-for-nothing, at best an elite Genin in terms of strength. If it weren't for his teaching talent, wanting to become a Chunin? That was simply dreaming.
As for Naruto?
A brat who couldn't even use the Clone Jutsu properly, was there any need to fear him?
"Naruto, I'll hold Mizuki off for a bit, you take this chance to escape quickly."
"Iruka Sensei... you."
"Mizuki is just a Chunin, and Sensei is also a Chunin, so Sensei will be fine."
"Iruka Sensei, that's enough, actually..."
Naruto generally knew Iruka's strength, or rather, he could roughly imagine the strength of the Ninja Academy teachers.
If these teachers were truly powerful, they wouldn't have been assigned to teach at the Academy.
Moreover, Iruka was injured; he would definitely not be Mizuki's opponent.
So, Naruto originally wanted to say that he would deal with Mizuki.
However, before he could finish speaking, Mizuki roared, "Want to run? No way."
With that, Mizuki took out the large shuriken from his back and threw it directly at Naruto and Iruka.
Facing the incoming large shuriken, Iruka leaped with all his might, barely dodging the attack.
"Oh no."
Only after he dodged the attack did he realize that Naruto was behind him.
Thinking of this, he quickly turned his head to look, only to discover a surprising sight.
"What?"
In his line of sight, Naruto stood still, holding the large shuriken that had attacked them, looking at Mizuki with a serious expression.
"Naruto, you..."
Iruka was puzzled; even at his peak, he wouldn't dare catch such a large shuriken with his bare hands.
He never expected that Naruto, the student he had failed in the exam, would actually catch this large shuriken head-on with his bare hands.
"Iruka Sensei, leave the rest to me."
Naruto smiled at Iruka, then flicked his right hand.
"Here you go."
The large shuriken flew back towards Mizuki in the direction it came from.
Just as Naruto had expected, the Ninja Academy teachers' strength was indeed not great.
Facing his own shuriken's attack, Mizuki made the same choice as Iruka, directly flashing away to dodge it.
"This brat..."
Mizuki was extremely shocked that Naruto could catch his large shuriken with his bare hands.
But now there was no time for him to be shocked, because Naruto had already charged over.
"Die, Mizuki."
"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill."
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill is said to increase one Dragon and one Elephant's strength with each perfected layer. After ten layers, one possesses the immense strength of ten Dragons and ten Elephants. Of course, in reality, it doesn't grant strength as great as actual Dragons and Elephants, but each strike still weighs nearly a thousand jin, making its power incomparable.
Compared to the similarly fierce Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill doesn't have as many intricate Moves.
It only has one characteristic.
That is: Recklessness.
"Trying to fight me, a Chunin, with Taijutsu? You're practically asking for death."
Facing Naruto's attack, Mizuki looked utterly disdainful.
Just a mere Ninja Academy student, daring to challenge him in Taijutsu, simply seeking his own demise.
With that, Mizuki also threw a punch, intending to crush Naruto directly with his Chunin strength.
Then... Mizuki was sent flying by Naruto.
Just kidding, with Naruto having mastered the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, as long as he had enough Chakra, no one could contend with his strength except Tsunade.
For trash like Mizuki to dare to exchange punches with him, that was truly seeking his own demise.
"Pfft!" ´ཀ`
"Impossible, how can your strength be so great?"
Sent flying by Naruto's punch, Mizuki felt a heavy blow.
This blow was not only physical but also mental.
"There's a lot you don't know, Mizuki. What else do you have to say?"
"Hehehehehe, ahahahahaha."
Mizuki struggled to his feet, looking at Naruto who hadn't pursued the advantage, first letting out a Yagami-style laugh, then continued, "Now, Sensei will teach you another thing: don't start spouting nonsense just because you think you've won..."
With that, Mizuki quickly pulled out a smoke bomb from his Ninja tool pouch and slammed it onto the ground with a 'pop'.
The moment the smoke bomb exploded, Mizuki flashed away from his spot, fleeing towards another direction in the forest.
"Fool, to let me leave so easily. Students are always students, they can never surpass their teachers."
"Too bad I didn't get the scroll of seals. I wonder if Lord Orochimaru will accept someone like me."
"Hmm, I am a Chunin, and I can teach. I am very useful, Lord Orochimaru should not refuse my allegiance."
Mizuki had chosen this location precisely because it was very close to the Konoha Village exit. Even if things were exposed, he could force his way out of the Village, serving as a retreat.
Now, this retreat came in handy.
"Mizuki Sensei, where are you going?"
Just as Mizuki was rapidly fleeing, focused on how to get Orochimaru to accept him, Naruto's voice suddenly came from his left.
Mizuki quickly looked to his left, finding that Naruto had caught up to him at some point, less than two meters away.
"Mizuki Sensei, where are you looking?"
When Mizuki looked to his left, Naruto's voice also appeared on his right.
He quickly turned his head to look, and indeed, there was another Naruto on the other side.
"Shadow Clone?"
Mizuki was stunned. How did a guy who couldn't even perfectly use the Clone Jutsu learn a B-rank Ninjutsu like Shadow Clone?
"Are you surprised I can learn Shadow Clone?"
At this moment, Naruto's voice also came from in front of Mizuki.
Hearing this, he said nothing, but quickly adjusted his steps and charged towards the front left.
"This way is blocked."
There was a Naruto Shadow Clone in front and to the left, so he adjusted again and charged towards the front right.
"This way is also blocked."
If he couldn't break through the front, then he would run backward.
"Hehe, you have one behind you too."
Naruto's Shadow Clones were everywhere—front, back, left, and right. Mizuki was completely surrounded.
Standing on a giant tree, Mizuki stared blankly at the dense multitude of Naruto Shadow Clones around him; he had completely fallen into despair.
"One Thousand Narutos, here we come!"
"Mizuki, surrender!"
"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, One Thousand Naruto Barrage!"
Mizuki: "Ah~ Don't come any closer!" ´༎ຶД༎ຶ`
Facing the attack of one thousand Narutos, Mizuki completely broke down.