The news that Mizuki, a teacher at the ninja school, was severely injured after violating a forbidden technique spread in a small area.

As one of Mizuki's few true friends left, Umino Iruka also took the time to visit him several times.

Three days later, Mizuki was discharged from the hospital with his mobility largely restored.

Mizuki, who was extremely weak and had no previous energetic temperament, sat in a wheelchair and accepted the questioning of Sarutobi Hiruzen at the Hokage's house.

"Mizuki, I hope you understand that every ninja who violates taboos will not end well. You are lucky to have saved a life. Thanks to Togakushi Hinode-sensei for lending a helping hand and saving you with precious potions.

.”

"I understand, Sandaime, if I don't learn a lesson like this now, I would be very sorry for the people who care about me."

"It's not too late to find your way back. I hope you really realize your mistakes and can correct them."

The stern Sarutobi Hiruzen asked seriously,

"Nine months ago, when you were acting together with the Hanyu Team, Dazhi was unfortunately poisoned and died. How did he die? I hope you will think clearly before answering..."

Shuimu took a deep breath, and the sadness in his heart emerged, and was immediately suppressed.

"Dazhi... was indeed poisoned. The captain wanted to continue on the road with him who had become a drag. I lied to everyone. When Dazhi was left behind, he was actually not dead yet."

"really!"

A cold and stern look appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face,

"This time, you can still excuse yourself by saying that you put the overall situation first. So, five months ago, how should Nakano explain that the Kumo ninja took back the mission of border intelligence? It is uncomfortable to abandon the injured comrades, but you don't

It was time to take action in private and deliver a fatal blow to Nakano. Even if it was to strengthen the captain’s will and ensure the completion of the mission.”

After a pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to reveal the secret in a chilling tone.

"Don't use the excuse of preventing Nakano from being captured, tortured and leaking information to justify your actions. You have to do it as a last resort and use your companions as a shield. You must not abuse it."

"Yes, I realized my mistake, Sandaime. Unfortunately, there are some things that you can't turn back after you do them. In order to complete the task, we ninjas will do whatever it takes. We not only regard ourselves as tools, but others... even if they are...

My compatriots are not stingy when it comes to taking advantage of them.”

The so-called killing decisively and decisively to avoid future troubles is actually just an excuse for having to sacrifice his comrades because of his own incompetence.

"Then...what happened to your potion?"

"That's when I abandoned Nakano, and on the way back, I was targeted by Orochimaru. What's worse, Orochimaru saw everything I did. I even felt that the mastermind behind that mission was...

It's Orochimaru, otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence."

"Orochimaru...are you sure?"

Shuimu smiled bitterly and said:

"I used to be the hero of the village, and I would never admit my mistake. Later, he gave me the curse seal, and then pointed out this forbidden potion. I guess this was just a move he made out of whim, and I overestimated it.

understand their own importance.”

"So, you are just a victim of being bewitched?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who sounded a little bad, snorted coldly, thought for a while and then continued to ask,

"Where do you get those precious medicinal materials?"

"Major Governor Kosugi sold it to me. I made a request to him. In view of my dedication at Inaba Academy, that gentleman sold me the precious medicinal materials that are hard to buy for a lot of money at a more favorable price."

"Is that so?"

Orochimaru was already causing a lot of headaches, and now the Ancient Sugibo Water appeared, and Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt a little more troublesome.

"You will know later."

"that's it?"

"I'm sure I'm not hiding anything anymore, Sandaime! It's me who got into big trouble this time, and I'm willing to accept the punishment."

"Let's stop here today. I will ask someone to verify the matter. During this period, you just stay at home and rest, and don't go anywhere."

"I will obey your orders."

After Mizuki nodded sincerely and saluted, Xiaochun appeared and pushed the wheelchair out.

Soon after, in the office where calm had returned, an ANBU wearing a crow mask appeared and handed over a piece of information.

"What did Major Governor Gu Shan say?"

"There is no difference from what Mizuki said."

"In other words, it's purely an accident. The Furusugi family has nothing to do with Orochimaru?"

"Currently, there is no evidence pointing to a conspiracy between Orochimaru and the Gusugi family. The conclusion of the Jonin class also tends to be optimistic..."

"Shikaku also thinks it's just a coincidence!"

Since it was made by one of the best minds in Konoha Village, it should not be wrong.

That is, I always felt a sudden sense of panic in my heart. Sarutobi Hiruzen always felt that someone and something were seriously out of his control.

After waving his hand and asking the loyal ANBU to retreat, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long sigh.

The current situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly difficult to understand.

Several other great ninja villages silently licked their wounds after the Third Ninja War, hoping to regain their strength and challenge Konoha Village's dominance again.

The Furusugi family, which was originally inconspicuous, has become more and more active. Although its presence in Konoha Village is not too strong, those pervasive tentacles that extend in make it more and more difficult for Sarutobi Hiruzen to govern.

, no matter what you do, the resistance is relatively large.

It seems that there is an invisible force that is competing with the Hokage for control of the Leaf Village.

Gusugi Bosui is one of the more suspected ones, but there is no evidence. Konohagakure has secretly studied it several times and has not understood its operating mechanism.

On the surface, it seems that everything is for the good of Konoha Village, and it does provide a lot of convenience, but why is it getting worse and worse?

Is it just a coincidence?

The third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was unsure, so he could only suppress the unclear words in his heart for the time being, and focus on the matter of Mizuki.

"Orochimaru always seems to be haunted. Almost all the things that happened in the village in the past few years are directly or indirectly related to him. If I had known, if I had left him or even killed him, there would have been less trouble.

』

However, when the investigation reached this point, there was no need to make a big fuss anymore, because Mizuki no longer offered any resistance and confessed almost everything.

"Let Mizuki go to the torture department and undergo the "test" of Morino Ihiki and Yamanaka Kaiichi. Let's give him a small punishment but a big warning."

That’s all there is to it.

Except for not reporting his contact with Orochimaru, although Mizuki's actions were wrong, they are really not heinous.

Do nothing to save your compatriots.

Use lies to deprive your comrades of their last chance of survival?

It is indeed a bit hard to say it, but based on the moral considerations of ninjas, one really cannot blame him too much.

The former Hatake Kakashi was also such a person. In order to complete the task, he would do anything to complete the task. Although it did not cause worse consequences, it was not because Hatake Kakashi did the right thing, but because of his comparative strength.

Strong, besides completing the mission, he can also try to save the lives of his teammates. Mizuki's strength is average, he can't do more, and has no other choice.

For the same behavior, if someone is strong and has great merit, he will not be held accountable, but if his level is poor, he will be beaten and killed if he is rough. This is obviously unfair to Mizuki.

As for the other extreme, Hatake Sakumo, in order to save the lives of his teammates, he gave up the mission, but indirectly caused the loss of dozens of compatriots. Because of this incident, Hatake Sakumo was almost accused by thousands of people, and later committed suicide in shame and anger.

"Some things are difficult to handle!"

Especially for this kind of free mental evidence, there is almost no unified standard of evaluation.

Perhaps he realized that there was still room for redemption for what he had done, so he readily confessed everything. In any case, Mizuki had to bear a certain amount of responsibility, but that was all.

As for the contact with Orochimaru, the only victim was him, so there was no need to punish him.

correct……

"Also, the curse seal and the potion must be kept secret. Let the people in the medical team speed up their research to see what the consequences are."

A strong young ninja was devastated by the so-called "Tiger Curse Seal" and a potion in just a few minutes. If others could not withstand the temptation and embarked on this path, it would not necessarily be like this.

Lucky for you.

At the same time, Mizuki, who was pushed out of the Hokage's house in a wheelchair by Kochun, looked at the Iwa Ninja and Suna Ninja coming and going, and couldn't help but pull out a smile.

"They are all a group of poor people who are held in the hands of fate and cannot escape."

It was only now that Mizuki truly understood how the world works.

From a general perspective, except for a very few masters and geniuses such as the Five Kage, Sannin, Uchiha Itachi, Hatake Kakashi, etc., the struggles of most ordinary people have no significance to a big force like the Furusugi family.

What they value is the overall development context, and the general trend is what they pursue and utilize.

There are rumors outside that Gushan Bu Shui is so wise and powerful that he captured two famous S-class rebel ninjas. Through the dicotyledon seedlings that just broke out of the ground in his body, Shui Mu felt the terrible oppression behind the scenes that was as deep as the abyss.

, and came to a very surprising conclusion.

"That is simply not the power that humans should have. Only true gods can have such authority."

Mizuki had never experienced anything so terrifying from the Hokage or the Sannin.
To be continued...