"Kuso! How dare you insult Orochimaru-sama, you bastard!"
The moment Uchiha Souji teased Orochimaru, Mizuki reacted like a furious cat whose tail had been stepped on. His eyes widened, his expression twisted, and pure rage oozed off him. Souji could practically see Orochimaru's name carved into Mizuki's heart like the idol of a delusional fan club.
Souji smirked.
"So? What now? Are you planning to kill me and defect for real?"
As he spoke, Souji pushed the hilt of his Third Academy sword forward just a little. The air instantly turned deadly. A powerful killing intent surrounded them like a tightening noose.
Souji understood something very important:
To tame a talent, you must first terrify the talent.
Just like weight training: you strengthen weak muscles by overwhelming them first. Similarly, to make a person obedient, you must demonstrate overwhelming strength before offering kindness. A stick first, a sweet date later.
And Souji had an extra motive.
Digging away Orochimaru's loyal followers?
That was fun.
Killing Orochimaru now was impossible.
But stealing his pawns?
That was absolutely doable.
If Orochimaru had a problem, let him come back to Konoha and talk to the Third Hokage about it.
The next moment, Mizuki ripped the giant shuriken off his back.
With a swift motion, he spun it using both arm and wrist, turning the weapon into a whirling helicopter blade. He then hurled it at Souji with frightening force. At the same time, Mizuki drew a kunai from his waist and dashed behind the shuriken, using it as cover.
This was no sloppy attack.
This was textbook Chūnin combat—precise timing, correct momentum, and a well-trained throwing technique.
People reading stories might think ninjas could casually fire off ninjutsu like fireworks. But in reality, chakra was limited, especially for civilian-born ninjas. Only those with clan-level bloodlines had abundant chakra.
So a Chūnin like Mizuki rarely used high-level jutsu.
Instead, he used weapons, traps, and timing.
The giant shuriken reached Souji in an instant—
And Souji did not move.
Mizuki's heart leapt.
He thought Souji had frozen in fear.
Perfect.
If he could kill the guy who "shamed" Orochimaru, then maybe Orochimaru himself would accept him as a disciple. Defecting meant nothing to him—Konoha offered him no future anyway.
But the next instant—
Souji drew his blade.
A single flash.
A clean sound.
He sliced the spinning giant shuriken in half.
Like cutting tofu.
Mizuki's eyes bulged.
Souji didn't even sheath his sword. Instead, he simply turned his wrist and caught the kunai Mizuki stabbed toward his waist, holding it effortlessly in place.
Souji smiled faintly.
"Ah. A waist stab. Just like your idol, Orochimaru."
Mizuki's face twisted with shame and fury.
Souji tilted his head.
"If this is all your strength, then even if you throw yourself at Orochimaru's feet, he won't want you."
His tone was completely calm.
That calmness enraged Mizuki more than anything else.
"Shut up, you bastard!"
Mizuki pulled out a second kunai and slashed toward Souji's neck. Souji casually blocked it using the scabbard in his other hand.
Then—
Three kunai flew from the tree behind, each attached to a thin, almost invisible wire. At the end of the wire burned a shimmering explosive tag.
Souji's eyes narrowed.
He used Mizuki's momentum, pushed off with his feet, and jumped backward just as the tags ignited.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Smoke burst outward.
Before Souji could speak—
Two more giant shuriken burst from the smoke, followed by dozens of kunai. They rained down like a metal storm aimed to shred Souji from all directions.
Souji chuckled.
So that's what you prepared.
Mizuki wasn't attacking recklessly earlier. He was stalling for time, waiting to activate this trap. His first attack, the conversation, even the shadow clone that confronted Souji—they were all part of a carefully planned setup.
Because yes—
The Mizuki who jumped from the tree earlier was a Shadow Clone.
Shadow Clone Technique wasn't forbidden, only Multiple Shadow Clone was. But even using one shadow clone consumed a chunk of chakra. Civilian ninjas had very small chakra pools, but Mizuki had used his resources wisely.
Souji analyzed everything in a heartbeat.
Mizuki used minimal chakra.
He used one clone to test my strength.
He hid his real body and set up traps.
He timed his ambush with precision.
Souji's lips curled upward.
"Sure enough… promoted during the Third Ninja War. He really is a talent."
War shaped people differently. Soldiers brought up on battlefields developed instincts that academy students could never hope to acquire.
Mizuki had miscalculated Souji's strength, but his preparation was impressive.
Too bad.
Souji raised his sword.
"Dragon Nest Flash!"
A burst of white sword light erupted.
Souji moved his blade with blinding speed, slicing through incoming kunai, shuriken, and even the tied explosive tags. The sky lit up with sparks as metal clashed with chakra-enhanced steel.
Dragon Nest Flash wasn't a fancy technique.
It was simply incredibly fast sword swings empowered by chakra and perfect muscle control.
Fast enough to break any barrage.
Fast enough to overwhelm untrained eyes.
Mizuki, hidden behind Souji, grinned viciously.
"Little brat… you're still too green."
His voice came from behind Souji.
"You should never reveal your abilities so openly. A ninja never shows all his cards. Be careful—"
"—in your next life."
Twelve years of malice condensed into that whisper. Mizuki lunged from behind, aiming a brutal grab at Souji's lower body, planning to immobilize him in one decisive strike.
But Souji was already smiling.
Mizuki thought he had Souji cornered.
But Souji had been waiting for this moment—
Waiting to see how far Mizuki would go.
This was no longer just a fight.
This was a talent evaluation.
And Souji had found exactly the kind of person he needed.
A perfect pawn.
A perfect subordinate.
A perfect villain template.
Mizuki was, without question—
A true talent.
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