For that reason, this kind of thing was a piece of cake for him.
Mizuki ran all the way through the night and soon arrived at the Forest of Death outside of Konoha. Iruka gnashed his teeth and pursued him relentlessly. The pain in his arm seemed like nothing compared to the shock and sadness that filled his heart.
"Mizuki! Stop it! Tell me the truth!"
Seeing that he was almost out of the range of Konoha Village, Mizuki suddenly stopped, landing on the branch of a large tree. Then, he took out a huge shuriken from behind his back and shot it fiercely at Iruka, who was still chasing him!
*Swish—*
The sound of it breaking through the air was deafening! But this time, Iruka was prepared. He suddenly dodged and leaned back, narrowly avoiding it. However, Mizuki had already launched a counterattack with a kunai in hand. It suddenly stabbed straight towards Iruka's heart!
"Go to hell, Iruka!"
Iruka was caught off guard and quickly lost the initiative. He then tried desperately to use a kunai to repel his opponent's fatal hand, but he was once again cut open by Mizuki, a large gash appearing on his chest. The bloodstain was extremely deep, and blood gushed out immediately!
"Ah—" Iruka screamed, and his body fell from the branch in an instant, collapsing to the ground in a mess.
Mizuki took the opportunity to jump down, and the kunai in his hand was already aimed at Iruka's throat. The sharp edge touched his body, icy and chilling! "Iruka, I've tolerated you for a very long time. Now you're interfering with my plans! It seems that I will have to get rid of you !"
In an instant, the cold light of the kunai suddenly pierced into Iruka's throat!
…
On the other side, Naruto finally returned to the door of his house after a heavy session of frog jumps. Just as he was about to go upstairs, a figure suddenly blocked his way.
"S-Third Hokage?!" Naruto suddenly shouted out, his voice laced with a guilty conscience.
Naruto looked at the Third Hokage, who had suddenly appeared, and couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. "Third Hokage-sama? W-why…are you here? I didn't do anything" Although he had "voluntarily given up" on stealing, he had just been about to do something very bad, and his guilty conscience was involuntarily reflected on his face.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked his pipe, his expression more serious than ever. "Naruto, I want to ask you a question, and you are not allowed to hide anything from me."
"Wh… what's the problem?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "What did Mizuki tell you?"
"Ah? Mizuki-sensei? He… he didn't say anything…" Although Naruto had guessed that this was the question, he subconsciously chose to hide it because he remembered that he had promised Mizuki-sensei that he would never reveal their conversation.
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a long puff of smoke. "Naruto, what Mizuki wants you to do is very dangerous. He is just using you as a pawn, and… I'm afraid he might have… betrayed the Leaf Village!"
Hearing the word "betrayal," Naruto couldn't help but be horrified! "what did you say? Mizuki-sensei…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded deeply. "So, you should understand the seriousness of the matter now. Tell me the truth!"
Naruto swallowed hard. "Actually, Mizuki-sensei said…" He told him everything that had happened before, and Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded as he listened. Sure enough, it was exactly as he had guessed!
"I'm sorry, Third Hokage. I… I just wanted to…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted his shoulder. "I understand, Naruto. Besides, you didn't really do anything. Didn't you reflect on yourself at the last moment and stop on your own initiative? That's already very thoughtful of you in."
Naruto couldn't help but sweat. In fact, it was the System that had forced him to stop. Otherwise, who knew what he would have done? He felt a wave of fear, but at that moment, he suddenly felt endless respect and gratitude for this strict system. "Third Hokage, I know I was wrong. Mizuki-sensei, where is he?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned for a moment, then coughed. "Ahem, don't worry, he can't get away. I've already sent the Anbu to chase him." He didn't want to tell Naruto the truth. Because, once Naruto knew that Iruka was going to chase Mizuki alone, given the bond between him and Iruka, he would definitely be reckless and impulsive, rushing to help.
However, things didn't go as planned. An Anbu member suddenly flew out of the darkness. "Hokage-sama! The Anbu troops are splitting into two groups and heading towards the Forest of Death to chase and intercept Mizuki. They should be able to catch up with Iruka soon!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face suddenly changed! When Naruto heard Iruka's name, he was even more shocked! "I-Iruka-sensei?! Did he… he also go after Mizuki?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly gave the Anbu member a sharp look. The Anbu understood, but it was too late to take back his words.
Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed. "Ahem, don't worry, Naruto. Iruka-sensei discovered Mizuki's whereabouts by coincidence, so he went to track him down with the Anbu. After all, he and Mizuki are friends who grew up together. With the Anbu here, Iruka-sensei will be fine. Once Mizuki is captured, I will tell you the results. Go home and wait for the news."
Naruto was extremely anxious and suddenly had an extremely ominous premonition. However, the more worried and frightened he was, the calmer he became. He smiled brightly. "That's good. Thank you, Third Hokage. I'm going home to continue my training!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned, but looking at Naruto's back as he went upstairs, he was speechless for a moment. He said to the Anbu, "Keep a close eye on Naruto. Don't let him slip away to find Mizuki and Iruka!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took one last look upstairs and saw that Naruto had turned on the light, so he was obviously at home. He breathed a sigh of relief and then prepared to go back to the Hokage's office to wait for news. The Anbu flew up in an instant, and after a few takeoffs and landings, he appeared on a high-rise building opposite Naruto's window. He stared at Naruto's figure meticulously and did not dare to slack off at all. And Naruto didn't seem to be anything unusual. He was still preparing his dinner as usual. He also breathed a sigh of relief.
…
*Whoosh—*
*Whoosh, whoosh!*
At this moment, Naruto's figure flew past at an incredibly fast speed in the thick, dark night, rushing madly towards the outskirts of Konoha! "The Forest of Death? That should be the forest outside Konoha Village. That jerk, Mizuki, how dare you lie to me? I will make you regret it! Iruka-sensei, please don't get hurt…"
Ever since hearing Iruka's name, Naruto had had a very ominous feeling in his heart. His heart was beating wildly, and he was filled with worry, so it was impossible for him to continue practicing properly. But he also knew that the Third Hokage would never allow him to participate in this. So, he calmed down and pretended that nothing had happened, thus deceiving Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In fact, the moment he went upstairs, Naruto had already used the Shadow Clone Technique in the dark corner of the stairs where no one could see him. The Naruto who had returned home was just a Shadow Clone. His real body had jumped out of the window behind the stairs, rushed out from the back of the building, and flown towards the outskirts of Konoha in a panic!
Iruka-sensei… he was the person Naruto respected the most and was closest to! Having grown up without a father or a mother, he had first received recognition from Iruka-sensei. To him, Iruka was a teacher, a friend, and more importantly… his only relative! He would never allow anyone to hurt Iruka! Especially since this matter was so closely related to him. He was afraid that it was because he had trusted Mizuki too much that all this had happened!
The sin, guilt, and regret in his heart, coupled with his deep worry for Iruka-sensei, caused Naruto's emotions to explode instantly, and he couldn't stop for even a moment!
[Dinner time for the host has been detected. Please go home immediately to prepare dinner and start tonight's training after eating! Otherwise, you will be baptized by the system's lightning release!]