In Mizuki's home.
Mitchell performed according to his memories of Mizuki — his speech, expressions, habitual movements, catchphrases. He made everything identical to the original.
He was exhausted. Mentally exhausted!
His mind was tense, terrified that he might do something wrong and arouse Tsubaki's suspicion.
But the result was good. She couldn't possibly imagine that the person before her was no longer her fiancé. The body was the same, but the soul had been replaced.
Finally, Tsubaki finished the bowl of rice on the table.
Mizuki breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it was over. Once she left, he wouldn't have to keep up the act anymore.
But he was thinking too much. Tsubaki showed no intention of leaving. She took the initiative to wash the dishes, clean up, make the bed, and urged him to take a bath. In the room, even the lighting became intoxicating, and an ambiguous atmosphere was rising.
Mizuki immediately checked his memories, and his expression turned unpleasant.
In his memories, Mizuki and Tsubaki had gotten engaged half a year ago and registered at the Hokage building. This was equivalent to obtaining their marriage certificate. Although they hadn't held the wedding ceremony yet, they were already legally husband and wife.
Since then, the two had no reservations, going at it once every day or two — even several times a day when they had free time. Ninjas have strong stamina, making them even better at such things. Both had become seriously addicted.
Now, the real Mizuki was gone, and it was Mitchell's turn.
What... what should I do? Refuse or accept? He was struggling internally.
If he accepted, he'd enjoy nightly pleasures and get a wife for free. Absolutely fantastic.
But he wasn't the real Mizuki. Acting was fine for a short time, but over time, it would be easy to expose himself. It was exhausting. He'd even be on edge while sleeping at night, afraid of revealing his identity through sleep talk.
In short, if he accepted, troublesome matters would follow. But if he refused, such out-of-character behavior would immediately make Tsubaki suspect his identity.
Never underestimate any suspicion. As a tool of the village, a ninja would report directly to higher-ups if they had even the slightest suspicion about someone. Once she reported to the Hokage's office that she suspected he was a fake Mizuki — a spy from another village — the Third Hokage would immediately order his arrest. They'd drag him to the interrogation room for severe torture, or even directly probe his brain. At that point, his identity as a transmigrator would be exposed, and it would be completely over.
The village treated defectors and spies differently. If they suspected someone might defect, they wouldn't act immediately — without evidence of an actual defection, they couldn't make an arrest.
But spies were another matter. The slightest suspicion was enough to drag you straight to the interrogation room.
Refusing would raise immediate suspicion, but accepting buys me time. So the best choice is to go along with her for now?
He lamented inwardly.
Have I really fallen so low that I must sell my body to survive?
What a sin!
He wished desperately that something — anything — would happen outside to give him an excuse to leave this room.
"Mizuki-kun, why haven't you gone to take a bath yet? Could it be you want to bathe together with me?"
Mizuki's face flushed red as he stammered, "This... that..."
Tsubaki covered her mouth and laughed, "What are you embarrassed about? It's not like we haven't bathed together before. Wait for me a moment. Once I finish changing the sheets, I'll join you in the bathroom. Oh, and don't forget to be safe."
Mizuki, "..."
What could he do? He was completely out of his depth.
Just then, urgent knocking sounded at the door. Mizuki felt like he'd received a pardon — his chance had come.
But on the surface, he pretended to be annoyed, cursing, "Who is it in the middle of the night!"
Iruka's voice came from outside, "Mizuki-sensei, emergency situation. Sasuke stole the Scroll of Seals from Naruto's house and has hidden somewhere unknown."
Mizuki, "??"
What the hell?
Did they get the name wrong? Why was it Sasuke who stole the Scroll of Seals instead of Naruto? And why was the Scroll of Seals at Naruto's house?
He hurried to the door and asked, "Iruka-sensei, what exactly happened?"
Iruka said, "I don't know the specifics. The message was spread by an ANBU member. Half the village knows by now. We must find Sasuke and retrieve the Scroll of Seals."
Mizuki was stunned.
This plot seemed familiar. Wasn't it exactly like the anime, where Mizuki schemed to have Naruto steal the Scroll of Seals?
In the anime, Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, then spread the news throughout the village. Clearly, that ANBU member was working the same scheme.
"The First Hokage's Scroll of Seals is the village's most precious ninjutsu scroll. For Sasuke to commit such an error is unforgivable. Does he want to defect with it?"
Iruka said, "As the orphan of the Uchiha, Sasuke's heart is full of hatred. He may have been deceived into stealing the scroll because he wants to become stronger. But once he obtains it, the deceiver will explain its importance. After learning this, he'll fear the village's punishment and choose to defect. Right now, we need to split up and search immediately. We can't let him escape."
Mizuki nodded, "Alright, I'll set out once I change my clothes."
Iruka left first.
Mizuki turned back into the house and explained, "Tsubaki, urgent mission. I'm afraid it'll be very late tonight."
Tsubaki said, "Mm, the mission is important!"
Mizuki changed into his Chūnin outfit. Instead of heading outside the village like Iruka, he rushed toward the Uchiha compound.
At this point, Sasuke hasn't encountered Orochimaru yet, so he shouldn't defect. More importantly, that scroll is definitely fake. Once he opens it and discovers it's fake, he won't defect.
This was his judgment. As for whether it was right or wrong, he'd have to wait and see.
Originally this had nothing to do with him, but since he'd encountered it, he decided to get involved. His purpose was to take Sasuke as a disciple and gain more mentorship return opportunities. To take on a disciple, he first needed to make contact.
He leaped across rooftops, moving quickly toward the Uchiha compound.
In the village, many ninjas were also searching for Sasuke. But they all thought he was defecting and searched outside the village. Only Mizuki went against the grain.
Soon, he arrived at the Uchiha compound.
On the empty, deserted street, all was silent. Two figures, one large and one small, were locked in confrontation.
"Sasuke-kun, the Scroll of Seals is Konoha's most important treasure. You stole it, and Konoha will kill you. Right now, your only path is to defect. Lord Orochimaru was once one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha — incredibly powerful. The Sound Village he established welcomes you with open arms. Once you arrive, Lord Orochimaru will personally teach you. Your cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds, and in just a few years you'll have the strength for revenge."
Sasuke looked at the masked ANBU member before him and asked directly, "Can Orochimaru kill Itachi Uchiha?"
The other person's breathing caught, their movements freezing.
"Heh!" Sasuke sneered, "Orochimaru can't kill Itachi Uchiha, yet he claims he can train me to have the strength to kill my enemy. What a joke."
Sasuke's character had always been like this.
In the anime, when he encountered Orochimaru in the Forest of Death and experienced his power, he still had no intention of defecting. But after the Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru, he realized Orochimaru's true strength and began considering it.
When Kakashi was instantly defeated by Itachi with a single glance, he realized that continuing to train under Kakashi would never make him Itachi's match. So he abandoned his sensei and defected.
"Besides, this isn't the Scroll of Seals filled with forbidden jutsu. It's a prank replica that Naruto — that dead-last — made. Tonight's events are nothing more than a joke between Naruto and me. I won't be defecting."
The ANBU member smiled, "Since you're unwilling, I'll knock you out and take you by force. But first, I need to deal with the little rat hiding in the shadows."
Three shuriken flew out like lightning toward a corner wall.
At the corner, Mizuki watched the shuriken already before his eyes, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Just as he was about to be hit, a thought flashed through his mind. With a poof, white smoke flashed. With a clang, a piece of wood fell to the ground. At the critical moment, he'd dodged the attack using the Substitution Jutsu.
"Hm? Substitution Jutsu — when did he form the hand seals?" The opponent was shocked.
Mizuki crouched in the tree, recalling the sensation when he'd used the Substitution Jutsu. He already understood something.
Sasuke had already taken advantage of the opening to hide inside a building. The ANBU member paid no mind. Instead, he turned his head to look around, searching for Mizuki's position.
"You're well hidden, but that's useless against me."
A snake emerged from his sleeve, its forked tongue flicking in and out. It hissed once toward Mizuki's location.
"Found you!"
Before the words had finished, a kunai shot toward Mizuki.
This time Mizuki was much calmer. Watching the kunai reach him, the Substitution Jutsu activated again. With a poof, white smoke appeared.
Within the white smoke, the sound of a kunai piercing flesh rang out. When the smoke cleared, the ANBU member was in the bushes, a kunai embedded in his throat.
Meanwhile, Mizuki appeared at the position where the ANBU member had just been standing. The two of them had swapped positions in that moment.
"So this is the mutated Substitution Jutsu?"
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)