"Kamisato Tsukika?"
Mizuki narrowed his eyes at the figure standing protectively beside Naruto. His voice was laced with disbelief—this was not part of his plan.
The sudden appearance of Kamisato Tsukika had completely thrown him off.
"Tsukika?! Thank goodness—take Naruto and get out of here, now!" Iruka shouted, his voice urgent despite the pain.
He was kneeling at the very spot where Naruto had stood moments ago, blood soaking through his clothes. A giant shuriken was embedded in his back—the same one Mizuki had hurled at Naruto.
Iruka hadn't even hesitated. Whether or not Naruto would've been seriously injured, his body had moved on its own.
Because in Iruka's heart, Naruto mattered.
"Sensei, are you okay?" Tsukika asked, his voice calm but sharp. His gaze never left Mizuki, who still stood on the tree branch above them.
This was no time for fear.
Mizuki might be just a low-ranking Chūnin, but he was a real enemy—the first one Tsukika had ever faced with murderous intent.
He reminded himself of an old lesson:
"Even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength."
And so would he.
"I'm fine!" Iruka shouted, gritting his teeth. "You two need to go! I'll hold him off—Tsukika, take Naruto back to the village, now!"
But Tsukika didn't move.
"Go?" Mizuki chuckled coldly. "No one's going anywhere tonight."
He was growing desperate. Time was running out. If more Leaf shinobi showed up, it'd be over.
Without another word, Mizuki threw a second massive shuriken at Iruka and leapt down from the tree—kunai in hand—charging straight toward Naruto and Tsukika.
"Run!!" Iruka roared, forcing himself upright despite the pain. He staggered forward, desperate to protect them.
But it was already too late.
Naruto froze.
He could only watch Mizuki rush at him, eyes wide with fear. His body wouldn't move.
"Move! Damn it, MOVE!!" he screamed in his mind.
That's when he heard it.
"Gate of Wounding—Open!"
BOOM!!!
An explosion of chakra erupted from Kamisato Tsukika's body.
With a single thunderous step, he crossed the distance between them and Mizuki. His punch collided with Mizuki's face mid-charge—sending the Chūnin flying backwards at terrifying speed.
Before Mizuki even hit the ground, Tsukika was already there.
He struck again.
CRACK!!
SPLAT!!
Blood sprayed from Mizuki's mouth. His back arched unnaturally, like a bowstring pulled too far.
"Impossible…"
Mizuki's voice was a hoarse whisper. Eyes wide with disbelief, he crashed to the ground like a sack of stones.
His spine had shattered.
He would never move again.
Tsukika finally exhaled, deactivating the technique. His expression cooled, and he dropped to one knee, feigning exhaustion.
Iruka, who had just reached Naruto, stood stunned.
He stared at the sight before him—Mizuki, a trained Chūnin, defeated in mere seconds by a boy barely out of the Academy.
"Incredible…" Iruka whispered.
Even Naruto was speechless.
"That was awesome…" he breathed.
But then his joy faltered.
His thoughts were flooded with the things Mizuki had said.
The fox demon...
The Nine-Tails...
Was he really… that?
"Mizuki…" Tsukika's voice cut through the tension.
Naruto and Iruka turned to look at him.
"You said earlier that Naruto is a demon. Is that true?"
Mizuki, broken and bitter, suddenly let out a dry laugh.
"Heh… hahaha! Yes! Naruto is the demon fox—the Nine-Tails who destroyed Konoha and killed your parents twelve years ago!"
His words dripped with venom.
"Tsukika, you just protected the very creature who took your family from you. What would your parents think of that? Hah! Must be hilarious!"
He spat the words like poison, desperate to twist the knife.
"Tsukika, it's not like that!" Iruka shouted, panic in his voice. "Naruto—he's not—!"
But Tsukika raised a hand, stopping him.
"You don't need to explain, Sensei." His voice was calm.
He looked down at Mizuki, then over at Naruto—whose face was filled with confusion, fear, and pain.
"You said no one would accept Naruto," Tsukika said. "That Iruka hates him. That the village sees him as nothing but a demon."
He let those words hang in the air.
"But if that were true… would Iruka-sensei have taken a shuriken to the back for Naruto?"
"Would Uncle Teuchi at Ichiraku Ramen always pretend to save Naruto a bowl, waiting just in case he showed up?"
"Would Shikamaru—lazy genius that he is—skip school to hang out with Naruto? Would Chōji give up the last chip in his bag for him?"
He stepped closer to Naruto.
"My parents died in the Nine-Tails attack. That's true."
"But I don't see a monster in front of me. I don't see death, destruction, or evil in Naruto."
His voice strengthened.
"What I see is a boy—alone, rejected, hurting—but still trying to smile. Still trying to shine light for others, even if he's stuck in the dark."
He turned and stared Mizuki down.
"You were wrong, Mizuki." His voice was firm. Final.
"Naruto is not a demon."
"He is Uzumaki Naruto of the Hidden Leaf Village."
Silence.
Even Iruka was speechless.
His eyes glistened with tears as he looked at Tsukika standing tall under the moonlight.
Naruto—his face contorted with emotion—couldn't hold back. Tears streamed freely.
And Mizuki… for once, had nothing to say.
Even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen—watching everything through his crystal orb—sat in stunned silence.
This boy, Kamisato Tsukika, had said what no adult had dared to say aloud.
The forest was still.
But hearts were pounding like drums.
Suddenly—
"Who's there?!"
Tsukika spun around, taking a defensive stance. His sharp voice cut through the night.
Naruto and Iruka tensed again.
Then, a calm voice answered:
"Anbu."
From the shadows, three masked figures emerged—clad in the armor and cloaks of Konoha's elite black ops.
Two men. One woman.
The leader, a tall figure with flowing purple hair, stepped forward.