"I can do whatever I want," I say, my voice dropping into a dangerously low register. My words hang in the air, heavier than the humidity before a storm.
I push off from the tree and take a step toward Mizuki. My hand drops lazily to the hilt of my Uchiha-tō. "And don't annoy me, Mizuki. Or you'll feel the power of the Uchiha clan."
For a split second, I narrow my eyes and activate my chakra. A full Sharingan doesn't manifest in my pupils, but a flash of crimson sparks within them. I feel my blood heating up. It's an intoxicating sensation of power—the legacy flowing through my veins. To me, Mizuki is just another pawn, a Chunin who teaches children, while I am destined for far greater things.
Naruto freezes, looking from one to the other. He's never seen me threaten a teacher like this.
"M-Mrož? What are you doing? He's a sensei!" Naruto blurts out, terrified that I'll be expelled before I've even started.
Mizuki's friendly smile freezes. For a moment—just a tiny, almost invisible moment—his face hardens into a mask of pure rage and contempt. He sees my stance and my hand on the Uchiha-tō. My Taijutsu and Speed are at a level he can't ignore. If he attacked me here and now, it would create too much noise and attract patrols, causing his plan with the scroll to crumble.
Mizuki takes a deep breath, and his face relaxes back into a (now somewhat forced) smile.
"Oho... strong words, Mrož," he says, raising his hands in a defensive gesture. "Don't threaten teachers; it could cost you your career before it even begins. But... I see you have the fire in you. Typical of the Uchiha clan."
He turns to Naruto, ignoring me as if I were just an annoying insect that can't be stepped on without getting his boots dirty.
"Naruto," Mizuki says quietly, but loud enough for me to hear. "Mrož is right about one thing. You are on your own. But if you really want to know the secret... come find me later. When there isn't... an 'audience'. Or study this note." He steps toward Naruto and hands him a slip of paper.
Mizuki gives me one last, piercing look.
"Good night, Mrož. Watch that pride of yours. Sometimes it's more dangerous than a kunai," he says and walks away.
"Later, Uzumaki. I'm heading out too," I say, and I leave, following right behind Mizuki.
I decide on the most annoying strategy possible to kill my boredom. Mizuki moves, and I move with him. I don't hide in the shadows, and I don't use any sound-suppression jutsu. Quite the opposite.
My sandals hit the roof tiles with a rhythmic clap-clap-clap. My silhouette is clearly visible against the moon, hands in my pockets, headband around my neck, acting as if I'm on a Sunday evening stroll—except ten meters above the ground and on the heels of a traitorous instructor.
Mizuki lasts exactly three blocks. He stops on the flat roof of one of the taller buildings. He spins around sharply, a kunai gripped firmly in his hand. His face is shrouded in shadow, but I can feel his irritation.
"Mrož, stop following me. Immediately," he snarls.
I stop about five meters from him and look right through him, as if he were made of glass. My gaze wanders to the chimney behind him.
"Hmm, that chimney is a bit crooked," I say aloud, completely ignoring his existence. "Construction standards in Konoha are really going downhill."
Mizuki's eye twitches. "I'm talking to you, brat! What do you think you're doing?"
Slowly, I shift my weight to the other leg, still looking "through" Mizuki.
"Did I hear something?" I ask myself, tapping my ear. "Probably just the wind. Or stray cats. Some of them are really loud and annoying."
Mizuki takes a step forward, his patience snapping.
"I have an important mission. If you don't disappear, I'll consider this obstructing a Chunin in the line of duty," he says.
I yawn—a long, theatrical yawn. "Boring," I mutter. Then I turn my back to him and start admiring the moon. "The moon is nice tonight. Perfect for... standing on a roof and doing nothing."
Mizuki stands there with clenched fists. I am a threat. If he attacked me, he'd have to kill me or seriously injure me, and the noise of the fight would attract patrols just like back at the swing.
Suddenly, the silence of the night is shattered.
HUUUUUUUUUU! HUUUUUUUUUU!
Sirens go off. Alarm lights flare up around the Hokage building. An urgent voice booms from the speakers:
"ALARM! ALARM! NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS STOLEN THE SCROLL OF SEALS! ALL AVAILABLE NINJA, FIND HIM IMMEDIATELY!"
Mizuki's face changes. His irritation is replaced by a devilish smirk. The plan worked; Naruto believed the note he gave him. Now, I don't matter. Everyone will be looking for Naruto, not him.
"So, here it is," Mizuki says, no longer trying to hide his intentions. He looks at me with disdain. "Keep playing deaf, Uchiha. But things just became... deadly serious."
Mizuki's hand blurs, and he throws a smoke bomb at his feet.
PUFF!
Thick purple smoke envelops the roof. My quick reflexes allow me to jump back instantly, and I instinctively place my hand on the hilt of my Uchiha-tō. I channel chakra into my eyes, hoping my Sharingan might catch something. But through the thick smoke, I see almost no movement. Mizuki used the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) combined with the smoke bomb. He's gone.
But even so, I managed to catch something—the direction he fled.
He vanished to find Naruto and take the scroll. I stand on the roof alone while dozens of Chunin and Jōnin race through the village. I see them jumping across roofs, flashlights cutting through the dark.
"Stole the Scroll of Seals?" I say aloud, this time without the act.
My mind is already connecting the dots. Mizuki wanted to be alone with Naruto, then gave him a secret note, and now Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals. So Mizuki wants something with that scroll? Maybe he's Naruto's accomplice.
'This might actually cure my boredom,' I think with cold excitement.
I don't wait a second; my chakra surges into my legs, and I kick off the tiles with such force that I leave a crack behind. My speed is abnormal for a Genin—the wind whistles past my ears, and the world turns into a blurred streak of colors.
I fly over the walls of Konoha and dive into the dense forest surrounding the village. The trees here are massive, and the shadows are deep. To an ordinary person, it would be a maze, but I move along the branches with the confidence of a predatory cat.
Thud. Swish. Thud.
After a few minutes of frantic running, I hear voices not far away. I slow down to avoid making noise and silently move to a thick pine branch, giving me a view of a small clearing illuminated by the moon.
I'm met with a sight I didn't expect.
Down on the ground is Naruto, with the massive Scroll of Seals on his back. He looks exhausted but defiant. Opposite him stands Iruka-sensei. He's injured; a kunai is sticking out of his shoulder, and he's panting.
And on the tree opposite me, just a few meters lower, stands Mizuki. He's holding two massive Fūma Shuriken, and his eyes are glowing with madness.
I arrive just as Mizuki's voice cuts through the silence.
"Naruto!" Mizuki screams, his voice dripping with venom.
"Iruka is just trying to scare you so you won't get that scroll! But I'll tell you the truth. The truth the whole village has been hiding from you for twelve years!"
Iruka cries out desperately, "No! Mizuki, stop! It's forbidden!"
Mizuki laughs diabolically, ignoring Iruka.
"The law was created only to protect you, Naruto. So you'd never find out what you truly are. Twelve years before this day... the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked Konoha."
My eyes sharpen. I know about the Kyuubi attack; every Uchiha does. It was the night the Uchiha clan fell into the village's disfavor because they were suspected of controlling the fox.
"The fox was killed..." Mizuki continues, savoring every word, "...but its spirit was sealed. Inside you! You are the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto!"
Naruto freezes, and the scroll almost slips from his hands. His face twists in horror and confusion. Red, bubbling chakra begins to surge wildly from his body.
"Everyone hates you for that very reason! Iruka hates you most of all because you killed his parents!"
Mizuki winds up. The Fūma Shuriken in his hand starts to spin. He wants to kill Naruto while he's in shock.
"Die, you monster!"
I watch this from the shadows. My mind quickly connects the facts. Naruto is a Jinchūriki; that's why he has that massive chakra reserve and why he's unable to control it. But Mizuki... Mizuki is attacking the village right now by trying to kill its "secret weapon" and stealing a forbidden scroll.