Naruto: Mizuki The Savior

Chapter 229: The Thoughts of the Big Shots

Hearing Mizuki's evaluation, the ANBU captain known by the codename "Ken" nodded. "Has no one ever raised this issue before?" he asked.

"Of course they have," Mizuki replied. "But when the rule of the 'Bloody Mist Village' ended, Terumi Mei had to take risks. She was desperate to change the state of Kirigakure."

Fortunately, there had been no major wars in the shinobi world for the past two or three years—it was the calm before the storm. That lull gave Kirigakure a good opportunity to recover.

Unfortunately, no one could truly predict the future. Not even Mizuki could confidently say that the current peace would last three more years. Just in his personal experience, shocking changes had already occurred: Sasori of the Red Sand was dead, Orochimaru was gravely injured, Uchiha Sasuke was still in Konoha—though whether he'd eventually defect was now uncertain even to Mizuki himself.

Kirigakure's dilemma was simple: they had ambition, but not the strength to support it. They had overreached.

Captain Ken understood Mizuki's assessment and asked, "Aside from that, any other weaknesses?"

"Well…" Mizuki thought for a moment, then decided to be honest. "There's one thing that stands out—in an unpleasant way. The so-called teachers here? In Konoha, they'd have been dismissed already."

"What?!" the captain exclaimed. "But these are our best and brightest! Their strength is unquestionable, their loyalty absolute, and they're some of the most passionate young ninja we have!"

Mizuki shook his head. "If being a teacher only required strength and enthusiasm, it'd be the easiest job in the world. What I'm saying is—they don't even understand what it means to be a teacher. Especially when it comes to guiding young children from scratch. If I'm not mistaken, a number of these so-called instructors haven't even completed their own training yet."

"How could you tell?" the ANBU asked, shocked.

Mizuki chuckled but didn't answer. It was too easy to see. These were mostly newly promoted chūnin in their twenties, with limited mission experience. Many were still under the supervision of their mentors. And now they were being asked to teach? Aside from their hot-blooded enthusiasm, they brought little else to the table. Without a proper, systematic academy structure to support them, expecting them to sustain a ninja school was overly optimistic.

The ANBU captain, clearly hit in a sore spot, sighed. "As expected from a well-trained Konoha shinobi. Your teaching experience is deep, and your insight keen. We've clearly embarrassed ourselves before a master craftsman."

He glanced at the children practicing in the distance, then said sincerely, "Would Konoha be willing to offer some support in this area?"

The Mist shinobi were well aware that their reliance on master-apprentice transmission left them poorly equipped to build a standardized educational system. Attempting it alone meant years of trial and error.

"I really don't have the authority," Mizuki replied, tactfully declining. "It's not the kind of issue that can be addressed with a few casual suggestions. And without permission from my village, I don't have the right to comment further."

"But," he added kindly, "if you truly need help, you can speak to Jiraiya-sama—or contact the Hokage directly."

"I appreciate the advice," the ANBU captain said, bowing respectfully before heading off to report to the Mizukage.

Watching him leave in a hurry, Mizuki didn't concern himself further. Even if complications arose, none of it would fall on his shoulders. After all, he was a jōnin now. Giving a few honest observations wasn't a crime—especially since the Mist had clearly known about these issues already and were just using Mizuki to confirm them and find an excuse to ask for help.

…

Kirigakure had a slower pace than Konoha and a much more rigid approach to getting things done. As Mizuki wandered the village streets that morning, he saw the signs of a place in the midst of recovery. The roots of a great ninja village were still intact. The legendary Water Shadows of the past and the fearsome Seven Ninja Swordsmen still cast a long shadow—enough to keep would-be aggressors cautious. And given the village's poverty, there wasn't much worth stealing anyway.

By noon, Mizuki finally returned to their lodging, only to find that everyone else was already getting impatient waiting for lunch.

"Mizuki, you're late."

"Sorry, Kakashi." Mizuki looked around. "Where's Jiraiya-sama?"

"Who knows? He woke up late and said not to wait on him," Kakashi replied.

Naruto, clearly annoyed, grumbled about how lazy Jiraiya was—especially considering how little effort he'd shown in teaching Naruto any new jutsu.

After lunch, Kakashi pulled Mizuki aside.

"Did you say something to the Mist-nin today?" he asked.

Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "Why? Did I cause trouble?"

"Not exactly," Kakashi said. "But the Mizukage formally requested our cooperation."

"Cooperation, huh? What's in it for us?"

The two villages had been enemies in the last two ninja wars. Their relationship was far from warm, and their interactions were minimal. Forming an alliance was already a major step. Additional cooperation? There had better be benefits.

"That's not the problem," Kakashi said, rubbing his temples. "The issue is… Tsunade-sama seems very interested."

"Of course she is," Mizuki said with a shrug. "That's how the big shots are—they always dream big, never thinking about how hard it is for the people below to actually execute. But it's not our problem. At most, it means some other personnel will be sent over to guide things, or maybe some Mist-nin will visit Konoha for observation. What's that got to do with us?"

The ones who'd end up burdened were the actual academy instructors and mid-level administrators. It had nothing to do with jōnin like Mizuki, who were already leading genin teams.

"Well, the issue is with me right now," Kakashi sighed. "I'm the one responsible for finalizing the agreement. And dealing with that Mizukage… she's not simple."

---

Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb

{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}

*Thank you*.