Chapter 547: The Changed Timeline
Mizuki spat out a mouthful of blood.
He stared at the calm Kenichi before him in shock.
Although he had known there was a considerable gap between their strength, he had never imagined it would be this vast.
Standing nearby, Iruka awkwardly put away his shuriken.
He had intended to stop Mizuki, but before he could even make a move, Kenichi had already beaten him into submission.
"How boring."
Kenichi sighed and glanced at Naruto.
That night, Kenichi had instructed Naruto to follow Mizuki's directions.
As a result, Naruto successfully stole the Scroll of Seals while the Third Hokage deliberately allowed events to unfold.
Originally, Kenichi had not intended to interfere.
Naruto was more than capable of handling such a minor situation.
However, Kenichi's presence had still caused certain changes.
Mizuki had actually activated the power of a Cursed Seal.
When Kenichi saw black, tadpole-like markings spread across Mizuki's face and watched Naruto get sent flying by a single blow, he finally stepped in.
While everyone else was still stunned, Kenichi showed no intention of stopping.
He slowly walked forward, planning to finish Mizuki off.
However, when Kenichi threw a punch, Mizuki suddenly vanished and turned into a wooden log.
Kenichi frowned.
The Substitution Jutsu was truly annoying.
But this was not the time to dwell on it.
Kenichi had already heard the sharp sound of something cutting through the air beside his ear.
He instinctively lowered his head.
A kunai sliced past and plunged into the exact spot where his temple had been a moment earlier.
At the same time, the ground began to tremble.
Mizuki actually knew Earth Release ninjutsu?
There was no grandly named Earth Release technique.
Instead, a sharp stone spear simply burst from the ground and thrust toward Kenichi.
At the same moment, Kenichi felt the earth beneath his feet becoming muddy.
Although it could not form a true swamp like Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld, the softened ground still restricted Kenichi's movements to some extent.
"Die!"
Mizuki laughed viciously in his heart.
At the same time, he lunged in from the side with a long sword, aiming directly for Kenichi's abdomen.
For a moment, Kenichi appeared trapped.
"Big brother!"
Naruto suddenly rushed forward and quickly formed hand seals.
A vast number of Shadow Clones appeared throughout the forest.
Several Narutos charged ahead and threw themselves in front of the stone spear aimed at Kenichi's chest.
Iruka stared at the countless Narutos in astonishment.
He had never expected Naruto to be capable of producing so many clones.
"Naruto has grown up."
Kenichi glanced at Naruto.
Although he could have dealt with the situation without Naruto's intervention, allowing Naruto to gain some real combat experience was not a bad choice.
Kenichi turned his attention toward the long sword thrusting at him.
His pupils contracted slightly.
Then he casually pushed off the ground.
Although the soil beneath his feet had become muddy, Kenichi still leaped upward and landed directly on Mizuki's sword blade.
He gathered chakra into his left foot and lightly tapped the blade again, like a dragonfly skimming across water.
The tremendous force instantly tore the sword from Mizuki's grip.
The weapon fell to the ground.
At the same time, Kenichi twisted his waist and whipped his right leg forward, kicking Mizuki directly in the face.
Mizuki was sent flying and crashed heavily onto the ground.
His face swelled instantly from the impact, and several of his teeth were knocked loose.
Kenichi looked at the fallen Mizuki with a bored expression.
Mizuki posed absolutely no threat to him.
"Hiss, that hurts..."
Naruto rubbed his chest.
After confirming that his big brother was unharmed, he released the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Did you forget that when Shadow Clones disperse, their memories return to the original body?"
Kenichi looked at Naruto with a half smile.
He had just witnessed one of Naruto's Shadow Clones being impaled through the chest by the stone spear.
"Hehe. I was worried about you, big brother."
Naruto laughed awkwardly.
Still, he firmly remembered this lesson.
The sensation transmitted back from the Shadow Clone had been truly unpleasant.
Strictly speaking, physical pain was not directly transferred.
However, the memory of experiencing the attack made the original body feel as if it had suffered the same injury.
The human brain was truly remarkable.
There was no need to elaborate on those old stories about people dying after believing their blood was slowly dripping away.
"Kenichi-sensei, did you arrive here early?"
Iruka looked at the unconscious Mizuki and shook his head.
Then he walked over and began tying Mizuki up while questioning Kenichi.
Iruka knew Mizuki's strength.
He himself would need to remain cautious when fighting Mizuki.
Yet Mizuki had survived only a few exchanges against Kenichi.
As expected of such a powerful Anbu ninja.
"Yes."
Kenichi nodded casually.
Just as Iruka finished restraining Mizuki, two Anbu ninja appeared as though by coincidence.
They located Naruto and Kenichi, then took Mizuki away along with the Scroll of Seals.
Naruto was also brought to the Hokage's office, where the Third Hokage gave him a stern lecture.
Naruto, however, began dozing off midway through the scolding.
Amused, Hiruzen eventually sent him home.
After all, the entire affair had merely been a trap designed to draw Mizuki out.
It had also served as a test of Kenichi's intentions.
Kenichi's performance had been satisfactory.
This mysteriously appearing and overwhelmingly powerful ninja truly seemed to harbor no ill will toward Konoha.
At least, not for now.
Now that Mizuki had been captured, it was time to interrogate him and determine the full extent of his connection to Hiruzen's former student.
Watching Naruto yawn as he wandered back home, Hiruzen pulled out the documents on his desk.
He examined the proposed team assignments.
Naruto passing the graduation exam would not be a problem.
He would undoubtedly become a ninja.
However, assigning him to a team was another matter entirely.
"These two brothers are extremely close. Separating them might not be ideal..."
Hiruzen studied the documents.
Although he had already reached a decision earlier, this concerned a Jinchuriki.
No amount of caution was excessive.
"Should I add this girl?"
Hiruzen looked at another file.
Sakura Haruno.
An ordinary girl from Konoha with respectable talent who appeared to possess considerable aptitude for genjutsu.
However, after considering how close Naruto and Sasuke had become recently, Hiruzen set Sakura's file down.
Then he placed Sasuke's file beside Naruto's.
What he needed was to encourage the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to form strong bonds.
Sasuke was clearly the best possible choice.
"In that case, it's the same as the previous arrangement."
Hiruzen shook his head.
Never mind.
He would leave the three of them to Kakashi.
Kakashi should be capable of guiding them properly.
It might also help Kakashi adjust his own emotional state.
At the same time, this arrangement could further test Kenichi's intentions.
The Ninja Academy graduation exam finally arrived.
Kenichi yawned lazily as he watched the students nervously step forward one after another to perform the Clone Jutsu.
It had to be said that there was truly very little happening in Konoha during this period.
Apart from the academy graduation exam, there were no major events.
Every day, Kenichi spent most of his time refining and compressing his chakra.
By now, his entire upper body had turned white.
He had also noticed that his body's metabolic activity was gradually decreasing.
Kenichi felt as if he were slowly turning into a vegetable.
Still, he was curious whether his interference would alter Naruto's team assignment.
If Naruto and Sasuke were placed on the same team, who would become their third teammate?
It could not still be Sakura, could it?
Kenichi glanced toward the other side of the classroom.
A group of girls sat there staring dreamily at someone.
Naturally, the object of their admiration was Sasuke, the so-called Second Pillar, who was sitting beside Kenichi.
"Why do you sit next to me every day?"
Kenichi glanced at Sasuke with a speechless expression.
"I want to become as strong as you."
Sasuke looked at him seriously.
He had trained consistently every day and could clearly feel his physical condition improving.
However, no matter how many times they sparred, Sasuke still could not defeat Kenichi.
Moreover, sparring with Kenichi had given Sasuke some extremely profound combat experience.
Protect the eyes.
Guard the crotch.
Watch the backside.
At first, Kenichi had thrown sand.
Now he had upgraded directly to lime powder, which caused unbearable pain if it entered the eyes.
Kenichi's kicks toward the crotch were also fast and ruthless, leaving Sasuke with unforgettable memories.
Sasuke had even compiled a combat journal recording every defeat he suffered against Kenichi and the reason behind it.
The journal had already become quite thick.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Sasuke was truly obsessed with becoming stronger to the point of madness.
Kenichi even felt there was a reason Orochimaru would target him in the future.
As long as Sasuke desired strength this desperately, being lured away by Orochimaru was almost inevitable.
"No. What direct connection does sitting next to me have with becoming stronger?"
Kenichi felt exasperated.
Merely sitting beside him would not increase Sasuke's strength.
He was not some awakened system that radiated a training aura.
"I want to understand how the gap between us is created."
Sasuke continued staring at Kenichi.
He wanted to see whether Kenichi possessed some unique training method.
However, Sasuke truly could not imitate Kenichi's movement techniques.
Kenichi rolled his eyes.
Anyone unaware of the situation might think Sasuke had been possessed by Genos.
Kenichi was not some bald hero wearing a cape.
What could Sasuke possibly learn merely by following him around?
He could not possibly learn...
Thinking of this, Kenichi remembered his former profession.
Sasuke's physical condition was now quite good.
It should be strong enough to support the awakening of his Sharingan.
The team assignments were about to begin.
Perhaps it was time to help Sasuke awaken his eyes and strengthen him so that he would not struggle so badly against someone like Zabuza.
Of course, Kakashi had handled most of that battle in the original story.
Still, Kenichi did not know whether his presence would trigger an even greater butterfly effect.
Judging from Mizuki's transformation the previous night, the butterfly effect had already begun.
His teacher in this timeline had helped Mizuki obtain the power of the Cursed Seal, nearly allowing him to kill Naruto and Iruka.
"Big brother, I'm up!"
Naruto's voice pulled Kenichi from his thoughts.
Hearing him, Kenichi nodded.
Naruto stepped forward to perform the Clone Jutsu.
For Naruto, who had already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, performing an ordinary Clone Jutsu presented no difficulty whatsoever.
After passing the exam, Naruto proudly used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu as well.
In an instant, the entire classroom was filled with Narutos.
Hearing his classmates exclaim in amazement, Naruto grinned proudly.
Then an irritated Iruka punched him on the head.
Sasuke stared at the large crowd of Narutos in surprise.
He could tell that it was similar to the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
But was that number not excessive?
"Uchiha Sasuke, come forward for your exam."
Iruka looked at the grinning Naruto with a smile as he placed a forehead protector on the boy's head.
Then he picked up the list and called the next name.
Sasuke stood.
Naruto stuck out his tongue and hurried back toward his seat, still grinning as he gave Kenichi a high five.
However, during the high five, Kenichi noticed Naruto's expression waver for a moment.
It quickly returned to normal.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto.
Seeing nothing obviously wrong, he continued toward the front of the classroom.
Today, Iruka and the female teacher responsible for ninja tool instruction were serving as proctors.
Mizuki was absent.
It seemed he had completely disappeared from the Ninja Academy, with only the occasional student still mentioning his name.
"The examination will be on the Clone Jutsu."
Iruka marked the form as he spoke.
He was not worried in the slightest that Sasuke might fail.
Sasuke was a genius capable of performing Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu before even graduating.
If Sasuke failed this exam, Iruka would suspect that someone else had used a Transformation Jutsu to impersonate him.
"Understood, Iruka-sensei."
Sasuke nodded with a faint smile.
Then he performed the Clone Jutsu properly and received his forehead protector from Iruka.
"Congratulations on graduating, Sasuke."
Iruka looked at him with satisfaction.
Sasuke was already very strong.
Although his mentality had once been somewhat concerning, Kenichi's guidance had helped him improve considerably.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
Sasuke looked down at the forehead protector in his hand.
A strange emotion suddenly rose within him.
He had lived in the Shinobi World for so long.
Yet the day he first entered the Ninja Academy seemed like it had happened only yesterday.
In the blink of an eye, he had already graduated.
He was now a prospective genin.
Next, he would need to take an official photograph for his records and wait for the assessment from his assigned jonin instructor.
"Next, Sakura Haruno. Please prepare..."
Iruka continued calling names.
Sasuke saw Sakura, the pink haired girl, stand and approach the front.
Her face was flushed, and she secretly glanced at Sasuke throughout the entire walk.
Sasuke descended from the platform with an expressionless face and passed directly beside Sakura.
He felt nothing else.
He only wanted to become the strongest avenger and take revenge for his murdered clan.
That was the sole meaning of his life in this world.
Kenichi rested his chin on one hand.
It was time to confront the Third Hokage.
....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03].