11: Chapter 11 Iruka! The Advantage Lies With MeIn the space of consciousness.
Ichigo crossed his arms, pushed up his non-existent black-rimmed glasses, and grinned with an extremely irritating "I knew it" expression.
"Hmph hmph hmph~~~" He shook his head smugly, speaking in an almost chanting tone to the two equally petrified figures beside him:
"See!See!I knew it!How could you possibly find out the real village secrets so easily?This is definitely a smokescreen!A trap!"
"Maybe the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique described above is all fake!It's just a trick to catch stupid thieves like you!Hahaha!Idiot Naruto!You've fallen for it!"
Naruto covered his head and knelt on the ground, yelling, "Aaaaaah—!"
Little Luffy's stomach rumbled: "Uh.I'm hungry."
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Just as Naruto was standing there, devastated and questioning his existence, in the shadows on the outskirts of the giant forest, Mizuki was panting heavily, supporting his knees, drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with despair and rage.
"Damn it.damn it!"
He cursed under his breath, his throat so dry it felt like it was on fire."What happened?I've searched every nook and cranny, every tree hollow and bush in this forest where someone could hide!Where the hell is Naruto?"
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar!
Shui Mu felt a chill run down her spine and, like a startled rabbit, quickly retreated behind a giant tree, holding her breath.
Under the moonlight, Iruka, looking anxious and covered in sweat, rushed into the edge of the giant forest.
"Naruto!Naruto, where are you?Come out quickly!" Iruka's voice was full of worry.
Mizuki's heart leaped into his throat: 'Iruka?He actually found us so quickly?'
He gritted his teeth silently: 'No, I can't let him find Naruto and get the scroll first!'
But then a glimmer of hope flashed in Mizuki's eyes: 'Hmph!Even for him, finding Naruto deliberately hiding in such a vast forest won't be easy!I still have a chance!Just wait…'
Iruka paused for only a few seconds at the entrance to the Giant Forest, his gaze sweeping across the dark woods before he turned without hesitation in one direction—
It was right in the direction of the clearing in the center of the giant forest.He ran as fast as he could, shouting even louder, "Naruto!Answer me!Are you in there?"
Seeing this from behind the tree, Mizuki exclaimed, 'How could Naruto be stupid enough to stay in such an obvious place?Hmph, idiot!'
The next second!
A crystal-clear voice, tinged with surprise and an instinctive response, came from the heart of the giant forest:
"Huh?Iruka-sensei?"
The sound was like a bolt from the blue, shattering Shui Mu's soul!
"puff--!"
He almost spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Naruto.Naruto?You.you."
He was so angry that he was trembling all over, his fingers digging into the bark, wishing he could drag that blond idiot out and beat him up!
"You're really going to just stand there and wait to get arrested?You idiot!"
Shui Mu was so angry that her vision blurred and her chest heaved violently.
But soon, a hint of ruthlessness and determination replaced the anger.
"Damn it.damn it!"
He gritted his teeth, "Luckily, I was prepared!"
He touched the several giant shuriken strapped to his back, a sinister smile flashing across his face.
'Although I couldn't ambush them here beforehand to avoid arousing suspicion, I've hidden my weapons in several key locations throughout this forest!'
Mizuki's gaze was fixed on Iruka's retreating figure as he ran towards the center, and he thought of that idiot Naruto clutching the scroll.
'Iruka rushed here, he definitely didn't bring many weapons!And that good-for-nothing Naruto is just a hindrance!'
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, his eyes growing colder:
"Hmph!Two against one.no, it's using the terrain and traps, plus Naruto as a hostage and a burden!This is."
The advantage is in my hands!
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In the center of the giant forest, the moonlight was pale.
Iruka burst into the open space with heavy breathing, immediately locking onto the blond boy who was sitting cross-legged, scratching his head in front of the fake scroll.
"Naruto!"
The roar, filled with shock, anger, and unspeakable disappointment, instantly shattered the silence of the forest.
Naruto was so startled that he almost dropped the scroll from his hand.
He looked up and met Iruka's bloodshot eyes, which seemed to be spitting fire.
'Oh no!Why is Iruka-sensei here first?Mizuki-sensei is so slow!Is he constipated?'
Naruto mentally screamed, but quickly managed to squeeze out a mix of panic and grievance on his face.
"I.Iruka-sensei?"
He stammered, trying to hide the Book of Seals on his lap behind his back, his movements as clumsy as if he'd been caught stealing candy for the first time."I.I was just taking a walk here.because.I failed to get my ninja qualification, and I'm upset."
His gaze darted away, as if he dared not look Iruka in the eye, and his voice grew softer and softer:
"Then.then I saw someone sneaking around carrying this big scroll!I recognized it as the Book of Seals!"
"I.I fought with that traitor!I took it back from him!That guy is Mizuki-sensei!"
"Naruto!"
Iruka's voice deepened, carrying a heartbreaking weariness and profound disappointment.He approached step by step, casting a shadow over Naruto."Look at me!"
Naruto subconsciously looked up, and his heart skipped a beat when he met Iruka's eyes.
There was no longer any helplessness or blame, only a deep, betrayal-like pain.
"When.did you learn to lie?"
Iruka's voice trembled, each word like a heavy hammer striking Naruto's heart, "The Hokage already knows you stole the Scroll of Seals!The whole village is looking for you!"
Come back with me!Go apologize to the Hokage now, and perhaps.Perhaps there will still be a chance…
Naruto was as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof!"If Mizuki-sensei doesn't come soon, I'm going to ruin this whole performance!"
He racked his brains for an excuse to delay: "Wait!Iruka-sensei!Listen to me, that Mizuki, he."
Before the words were finished, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly rang out!
"careful!"
Two exclamations erupted almost simultaneously!
Iruka's pupils contracted sharply as he instinctively judged the direction from which the kunai was coming, and his first thought was to protect Naruto!
Without hesitation, he stretched out his hands, gathered all his strength, and shoved hard into Naruto's chest, trying to push him out of the kunai's attack range!
At the same instant, an alarm went off in Naruto's mind!
He saw that Teacher Iruka seemed to be lunging towards him—oh no, danger!
Luffy's power surged within him, and he suddenly stretched out his hands and pressed them against Iruka's body, trying to push his teacher away!
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