Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A barrage of kunai shot toward Naruto, slicing through the air from a tree behind him. Only a frantic shout from Menma saved him—Naruto threw himself to the side, barely dodging the volley.
"Who's there?!" Naruto yelled, scrambling to his feet, shock and anger warring on his face.
He spun around to find Mizuki perched on a branch, a cruel sneer plastered across his face.
"Mizuki-sensei?! How did you get here?"
"Hadn't I told you I'd take it tomorrow?" Mizuki snapped, his eyes narrowing into slits.
The mere fact that this near-genin brat was mocking him made Mizuki's rage boil over. He was a chunin, yet he'd been tricked by a kid. If word got out, he'd be a laughingstock for life!
"You think you can pull tricks like that and get away with it?" Mizuki hissed. He leaped down from the branch, landing silently.
"Hand over the Scroll of Seals," Mizuki said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Do that, and I might let you walk away."
Though he claimed he'd spare him, the killing intent radiating from Mizuki was suffocating. He clearly wanted to play a game of cat and mouse to vent his frustration before finishing the job.
"Heh! No way!" Naruto retorted. "This is the village's treasure! I'm not handing it over to a spy like you!"
Thanks to Menma's warning, Naruto knew exactly who he was dealing with. His anger quickly hardened into focus. He mimicked Menma's advice perfectly, made a face, and bolted with the Scroll of Seals tucked under his arm.
Mizuki laughed, a sound devoid of humor. His face twisted into a mask of icy fury.
"You wretched little trash! I'll show you what real ninja skills look like!"
He unhooked the massive shuriken from his back and threw it. The weapon screamed through the air, the terrifying whoosh of its blades closing in on Naruto in an instant.
But Naruto had already anticipated the move. He sidestepped casually, letting the shuriken thud into a tree trunk.
Meanwhile, in Naruto's Mindscape…
Menma glared at the image of Mizuki, his expression venomous. "Let me out, Naruto. You're outmatched."
Naruto's trust in Menma had risen to 33%, but it was a fragile number. One wrong move and it would plummet back to zero. Besides, Naruto was terrified of what Menma might do with his body—specifically, killing someone.
"I don't need you," Naruto insisted from within his own mind. "I'm used to being chased. He can't catch me!"
"Besides," Naruto added, his mental voice firm, "we're in this together. If I can't beat him, you can't either. Once I shake him off, I'll learn the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu and bring the scroll back."
As Naruto thought this, Mizuki closed the distance with ease. Being a chunin, catching up to a genin was child's play.
"You demonic fox!" Mizuki snarled. "I'm taking your left hand for this!"
He lunged, kunai flashing toward Naruto's arm like lightning.
Naruto faltered for a split second. He reached out, grabbing a nearby tree trunk to anchor himself, stopping dead in his tracks.
Mizuki, carrying too much momentum, couldn't stop his lunge. He stumbled forward, skidding a few feet past Naruto.
Naruto didn't waste the opening. "Hahaha! You're pathetic! Is that the best a chunin can do?"
Usually, it took a squad of chunin just to corner Naruto during a prank. With only Mizuki on his tail, evasion was a cakewalk.
"You damn fox! Disgusting demon!" Mizuki roared, his face flushing with rage.
"Fox?" Naruto taunted, backing away. "Mizuki-sensei, have you lost your mind? Are you hallucinating because you can't catch me?"
He stuck his tongue out. "Come and catch me if you can!"
This time, however, Mizuki didn't take the bait. He stopped chasing and watched Naruto retreat with a chilling, calculating smile.
"Hehehe..." Mizuki laughed softly. "You know, Naruto, I just remembered... you don't know the truth yet, do you?"
Naruto froze in his tracks. A wave of dread washed over him, cold and sharp, as if the next words Mizuki spoke might shatter his world.
Corruption Points +2
Corruption Points +2…
"Oh? Is it starting?" Menma murmured in the mindscape, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
Mizuki moved forward slowly, like a venomous snake slithering through the grass.
"Because," Mizuki drawled, savoring every syllable, "you are the fox demon from twelve years ago."
"What... did you say?"
Naruto's body locked up. His small frame began to tremble like a leaf in a storm. Confusion and terror flooded his mind.
Corruption Points +20
Corruption Points +30…
"I... I'm the Nine-Tails?" Naruto whispered, his voice barely audible.
He collapsed backward, hitting the dirt with a thud. His eyes went wide and lifeless.
He had heard the stories—of the Great Fox Demon rampaging through the Hidden Leaf twelve years ago, destroying everything in its path. Now, the way everyone looked at him suddenly made a horrible, sickening sense.
"No... it's impossible!" Naruto choked out. "I'm not a fox demon... I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"
Mizuki was already sprinting toward him, a twisted look of joy on his face. He didn't stop the barrage of insults.
"If you weren't the demon who destroyed the village, why does everyone hate you? Why do they fear you?" Mizuki shouted. "If you weren't the demon, why has no one ever told you who your parents are?"
He pointed a finger at Naruto's face. "Look at yourself! Can you honestly say you don't feel those whiskers on your cheeks?"
Corruption Points +40…
Mizuki was already standing over Naruto. One hand clamped around Naruto's throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. With his free hand, he easily snatched the Scroll of Seals from Naruto's grasp.
"You disgusting beast! The village raised you, the Third Hokage raised you—and all just to use you as a weapon!" Mizuki spat. "Even Iruka, who acts so kind to you, had his parents killed by you!"
Mizuki leaned in close. "Think about it. Why was he being nice to you? He was probably thinking, 'Disgusting fox, if it weren't for the Hokage's orders, I'd tear you apart.' Or, 'Why won't this damned monster just die?'"
Corruption Points +50…
"No... that's not true... I'm not a monster..." Naruto whimpered, his expression completely shattered.
Looking at Naruto's broken state, Mizuki's face twisted with vengeful pleasure. "Wake up! Everyone wants you dead. So..."
Mizuki slung the scroll over his shoulder and drew a kunai with his free hand.
"You'll soon fulfill everyone's wish. Die!"
He raised the kunai high, aiming directly for Naruto's forehead.
Current Corruption Points: 3920
"System," Menma's voice cut through the cold silence of the mindscape, sharp as a blade. "Switch personality."
[Primary personality emotional collapse. Host can perform personality switch at any time.]
In the real world, a small hand shot up and clamped around Mizuki's wrist like an iron vice.
The kunai stopped an inch from Naruto's skin.
Mizuki's eyes widened in shock as the boy's eyes—once filled with tears and despair—suddenly changed. The fear vanished, replaced by a cold, dead calm.
"Oh?" The voice that came out of Naruto's mouth was different—lower, colder, laced with dark amusement. "Who exactly did you say wanted to die?"