"Yeah, of course you did! Of course you did! Bwahahahaha!"
Mizuki snatched the Scroll of Seals with a face full of glee. He unrolled it slightly, saw the authentic ninjutsu recorded inside, and couldn't hold back his manic laughter any longer.
"Mizuki-sensei? What's wrong? Also... um, where's Iruka-sensei? How is my mission being graded?"
Menma put on a "confused" face.
"Menma-kun, you did very well. Really well. Iruka? Heh. He's not here. As for your mission grade? All you need to do is die, and everything will be perfect."
Mizuki's expression changed instantly, turning cold and sinister.
Swish!
With a flick of his right wrist, he produced a kunai.
Viciously, he stabbed it straight toward Menma's face.
Menma acted as if he had only just reacted.
His pupils constricted sharply, and he stumbled back a step.
He tilted his head to the side.
Whiz.
The kunai missed.
While Mizuki looked surprised that his strike had failed, Menma bent his knees and exploded backward, rapidly putting distance between them.
"Mizuki-sensei! What are you doing?!"
Menma looked at Mizuki with shock and disbelief. He had to play the role all the way through. Just now, Menma could have easily counter-attacked and killed Mizuki in one hit. But since Mizuki hadn't fully "exposed himself" yet...
Menma had to pretend to be clueless.
All his reactions had to look like pure instinct, right?
That fit the image of a twelve-year-old boy.
After all, Mizuki was his Academy teacher!
"What am I doing?! Didn't I just say? You need to die here for this story to be perfect! Menma Uzumaki."
Mizuki spoke with a sinister rasp.
"Die here? Why?! Mizuki-sensei, you...!"
Menma looked at Mizuki with a mix of shock and anger, acting as if he couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Why? Because you were tricked by me, obviously! Bwahahahahaha! Did you really think this was some special exam?! How stupid do you have to be to believe that? Let me tell you the truth, Menma. You were just a useful pawn I used to steal the village's top secret, the Scroll of Seals."
Mizuki looked at Menma with a delightfully mocking expression.
"What?!"
Menma stared at Mizuki in disbelief, his pupils trembling. He was fully immersed in the role now, feeling like he was back in his past life's high school drama club.
This kind of full-body acting might be far from Oscar-worthy, but it was realistic enough to fool most people.
Mizuki wasn't exactly a high-IQ villain. He was just a petty crook with a bit of cleverness.
As for the Third Hokage watching remotely from the tower...
The Telescope Technique had a top-down perspective and likely some distortion. No one could spot the flaws in Menma's performance from that angle.
Mizuki was thoroughly enjoying Menma's shock.
He looked at the boy with the expression of a sadist reveling in his work.
"Heh, did you really think this was just a scroll with slightly advanced ninjutsu for a prize? No, you brat. This records all the A-rank and higher forbidden jutsu and secret arts of the Hidden Leaf! Only the Hokage is allowed to see this! Stealing something like this... did you think it was just a test? No. This is treason. Oh, but the only traitor here is you. I'm going to kill you, the traitorous brat, and then this Scroll of Seals will belong to me! Hahahaha!"
Unrestrained laughter.
He was venting all his inner joy and arrogance.
Menma played along perfectly, his expression twisting into rage.
Internally, however, Menma was struggling not to laugh out loud.
This guy was too cooperative. Menma didn't even need to lead the conversation; Mizuki just spilled everything on his own, like a classic villain afraid no one would know his genius plan.
It was a textbook performance of "petty villain gloating."
Most importantly... you know this thing is the village's top secret, right? So why on earth would you think it would be so easy to steal?
Do you have no brain at all?
Menma almost pitied the guy.
No wonder he was just the tutorial boss.
"So, you're betraying the village?! Mizuki-sensei! And you lied to me?!"
Menma glared angrily at Mizuki. His clenched fists and the veins popping on his forehead showed he was fully in character.
"Heh, betrayal? I'm just pursuing the truth of the ninja: power. A mere village? What does that matter? And lying to you? Brat, what do you think you are? For twelve years, no one in the village has gotten close to you. Everyone rejects you. Haven't you ever suspected anything?"
Mizuki sneered, his face twisting into a demonic grin.
"This guy..."
Back in the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face changed when he heard Mizuki's words.
This was a development completely outside of his expectations.
However, the Third Hokage couldn't do anything right now.
He could only watch helplessly as Mizuki delivered the next line.
"Your true identity isn't human at all! You are the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon that destroyed the village twelve years ago, killed countless ninja and civilians, and murdered the Fourth Hokage!!!!"
Mizuki stared at Menma with a hideous, evil expression, his voice dripping with malice.
He intended to use these words to shatter Menma mentally.
But Mizuki didn't know that Menma wasn't the naive boy from the original story. These words didn't faze him in the slightest.
However, to support Mizuki's performance...
Menma widened his eyes. His body trembled slightly, and his lips quivered. His acting was truly penetrating to the bone.
Mizuki seemed to relish Menma's shaken state.
"Even Iruka... his parents died twelve years ago too. Did you really think he cared about you? No! He probably wants to kill you! You are the existence everyone in this village hates and despises, Menma Uzumaki!"
Mizuki laughed coldly.
Physical destruction was boring.
He wanted to destroy this brat mentally first, and then wipe him out physically.