Chapter 141: The Name Doesn't Matter

Mizuki couldn't help but feel helpless as he looked at Naruto's awkward, goofy grin. Ninja like this—who kept throwing unexpected situations into the mix—were exactly the kind Mizuki hated dealing with the most, whether as enemies or allies. What should've been common sense always ended up blowing up into weird messes with him around.

Mizuki, who had excellent chakra control, had never worked with someone whose basics were as shaky as Naruto's. He hadn't even considered all the ways things could go wrong when Naruto used the Summoning Technique. Naruto's chakra was messy, unstable, and hard as hell to control—not to mention all his other problems. There were a dozen possible reasons he couldn't summon Gamabunta.

But none of that mattered anymore. Mizuki glanced toward Tobi, already performing hand seals nearby. The Wooden Giant technique was forming fast. Once it was finished, there'd be nothing Mizuki could do to stop it. Even if Tobi didn't have access to the full power of his later self's Wood Style techniques, the sheer difference in scale and power alone could wipe Mizuki's side out completely.

Still, the situation was dire, and Mizuki had no intention of blaming anyone. He wasn't about to throw his frustrations onto a twelve-year-old Genin. In the end, it was his own lack of foresight. He'd been careless, failing to predict all possible variables. It wouldn't be fair to blame a kid—especially not Naruto Uzumaki, who is known as the destined child.

Putting on a weak smile, Mizuki gave Naruto's shoulder a pat and said, "That's enough. After this, don't get too close to the battlefield, but don't stay too far away either. And whatever you do, don't charge in trying to play hero by yourself…"

He couldn't let Naruto get too close to danger. Without Gamabunta, Naruto just wasn't ready for a fight like this. But staying too far away was risky, too. With Obito Uchiha around and his space-based jutsu giving him insane mobility, one wrong move and Obito could pull Naruto away in an instant—and that'd be a nightmare.

"What should we do then?" Sasuke asked, hopping eagerly beside the two. Honestly, Sasuke hadn't done much of anything useful so far. Aside from that one warning shout earlier, he'd barely made his presence known during the whole fight.

"What do you think? Run," Mizuki replied bluntly. This wasn't the time for heroics. "Just follow me and run…"

If he ditched Naruto, nobody would probably care about him—at least not until all his valuable completed and half-finished research became public knowledge. Still, better to deal with the mess he started himself. After all, under normal circumstances, neither Naruto Uzumaki nor Sasuke Uchiha should've ended up in such a dangerous situation at this point. As long as he had energy left, he could help them out a bit.

"Run? But Teacher Mizuki, I was finally gonna show what I can do! Wait—I'll summon Boss Frog right now!"

"Don't say anything else, Naruto. Let's go."

"Sasuke interrupted Naruto. 'This isn't a fight we should get involved in.'"

Mizuki glanced at Tobi, who was forming hand seals to perform a jutsu. With a surge of chakra, spinning logs of wood intertwined, forming the shape of a giant wooden construct.

'No surprise there—without Yamato, White Zetsu's strength has dropped significantly. Creating a hundred thousand clones isn't something he can pull off so easily anymore, and his Wood Release techniques are no longer overwhelming.'

The Wood Release technique Tobi was using had an oppressive presence comparable to a powerful summoned beast. It might even fall short compared to the strength of tailed beasts. This level of power was undoubtedly formidable, but not yet enough to inspire total despair.

"If we stay, we'll just put those who haven't pulled back yet in danger. Follow me..." With that, Mizuki took the lead, sprinting toward Jiraiya's location with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki trailing behind him. According to the information obtained from the Artificial Jinchuriki clone, Kakashi and Might Guy had been defeated. Fortunately, they hadn't sustained serious injuries, though their condition wasn't great either. Might Guy had fared relatively well—he was caught in Amaterasu fire, but Mizuki intervened in time, preventing any real harm. Kakashi, however, was in worse shape. His chakra reserves were low and his physical endurance wasn't strong to begin with. After taking a Water Release attack from Kisame Hoshigaki, his battle readiness must have suffered a major blow. If they wanted to rely on these two, their only hope would be for Might Guy to open the [Eight Gates]. But Guy had just used it recently, and while he was about to finish off Kisame decisively, Itachi Uchiha suddenly interfered with Amaterasu, shifting the battle unexpectedly. The fully charged technique Guy had prepared never got a chance to be executed.

Even if it proved ineffective, the [Eight Gates] wouldn't spare Guy's body from damage depending on whether or not he landed a hit. Once activated, the physical toll could not be reversed anytime soon. Therefore, at this point, Jiraiya seemed more reliable—at least he wouldn't fail when trying to summon Gamabunta, the Chief Toad.

However, while Mizuki's plan was solid, whether it could succeed remained uncertain. Before they'd gotten far, a cluster of wooden constructs erupted from the ground, cutting off their escape route. In an instant, attacks made of Wood Release came crashing down from all directions, effortlessly scattering the trio's formation. Skilled as they were, Mizuki and Sasuke didn't fear such attacks—it just required extra effort to evade them. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't so lucky. Slower on his feet and less agile, he was caught by a wooden tendril wrapping tightly around his body.

"Help Naruto, Sasuke!" Seeing Naruto trapped, Mizuki urgently called out to Sasuke.

"Got it!" Sasuke nodded, quickly forming hand seals. Then, amid the chirping sound of a thousand birds, Sasuke vanished momentarily, reappearing after slicing through the wooden bindings that held Naruto.

Seeing Naruto freed, Mizuki relaxed slightly—but in that instant, their best chance to escape vanished.

'Aside from raw power, his combat intelligence and battlefield awareness are surprisingly sharp. As a clone, Tobi's strength is truly remarkable—even surpassing that of the original White Zetsu.'

"Sasuke! Naruto! Regroup with me!"

"It seems we won't break through the encirclement without taking drastic measures," Mizuki muttered under his breath, feeling things had gone from bad to worse. Not only had he failed to achieve his original purpose of bringing these two guys along, but they ended up becoming a burden in the end.

"Teacher Mizuki, let me handle this! I'll use the Shadow Clone Technique to cover our retreat!" Even Naruto Uzumaki, usually so thick-skinned, could tell how serious things had gotten.

Mizuki shook his head and rejected Naruto's proposal. Throwing more clones at Wood Release was pointless—it would just waste chakra. Without elite-level power, numbers meant nothing against Wood Release.

"Then what do we do?" Naruto stammered nervously. "I'm not even sure if I can summon Boss Frog right now..."

"Forget it, Naruto. Leave it to me." For someone like Mizuki, who relied more on brains than brawn at this stage, the last thing he needed now was something unpredictable—he couldn't afford surprises. Therefore, even if it wasn't particularly effective, at least this approach remained within his control, and the likely consequences were mostly foreseeable.

Once Mizuki decided to bypass Naruto's Summoning Technique-based combat power and take full command of the battle rhythm himself, he wasted no time—delaying the battle situation was simply unacceptable.

"Step back a little." Mizuki quickly took out a Summoning Scroll, spread it flat on the ground, and bit his fingers open.

[Kuchiyose no Jutsu!] Make your appearance now… Master Botai!

As the smoke of chakra dispersed, a giant bear came into view before the three people present. This enormous bear had a brownish body and stood nearly two stories tall on all fours. Its limbs were as thick as pillars, its long claws jutting out like daggers, and its bared fangs only adding to its terrifying presence.

"Pfft—" Naruto couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. Covering his stomach, he burst out laughing. "Teacher Mizuki, did you really just call him Master Botai?"

Even Sasuke, normally so serious, turned his head away—though Mizuki couldn't see his face, he could clearly notice the shaking of his shoulders.

"What? What's wrong with that? Isn't 'Botai' a perfectly good name for a bear?"

"But seriously, this looks like a wild beast, not some mascot! 'Master Botai' just sounds way too cute."

"Who set that rule? Why are you wasting breath? Just get on already…" Naming summoned beasts was such a pain in the ass. For lesser summoned beasts—mindless creatures that came in droves—like jellyfish, giving them names hardly seemed worth the effort. It was worth giving big ones names—though he knew they were still just trained wild animals that could die at any time.

『If it weren't for Tsubaki disapproving, it probably wouldn't be named Botai at all—he probably would have named it *Bear's Paw* instead.』

Once Sasuke and Naruto scrambled onto the bear's back and gripped on for dear life, Mizuki began directing the massive creature forward in a rapid charge. Bears were naturally strong creatures, but after Mizuki's cultivation and modifications, this one had grown even larger—and significantly stronger. To maximize its natural advantages, Mizuki had specifically focused his training efforts on enhancing its physical power to the fullest extent possible.

A bear the size of a freaking house tore through layer after layer of wooden barriers with its monstrous claws, leaving behind nothing but blood and splinters.

"Teacher Mizuki, this summoned beast... uh, Master Botai? Where did you find him?" Sasuke Uchiha had seen Gaara's tailed-beast form, Naruto's summoning technique, and even Jiraiya's Gamahiro earlier—those all stood up to the terrifying Susanoo. Summoning really was a fast track to power. He couldn't help but be jealous.

"Master Botai? I caught him in the Forest of Death," Mizuki answered Sasuke Uchiha's question. "Originally he wasn't nearly this big or this strong. Big bears pack some serious strength—it's just a pain in the neck keeping him fed. Usually, I just let him loose in the wild to hunt on his own."

This bear should've had a little history with Sasuke Uchiha—if not for being killed by him during an attack on Karin, costing it its life—and giving Sasuke the chance to play hero to her damsel-in-distress once before. But everything had changed now.

"Can you catch them in the wild too?"

"Of course—but turning wild beasts into qualified summons or combat partners isn't easy at all. Think about Kiba Inuzuka's Ninja Hounds or Shino Aburame's bugs." Anyway, during a getaway like this, casual chat didn't matter much. "To be honest, Sasuke, your path isn't through summoning. Your chakra reserves are nowhere near Naruto's."

Mizuki's meaning was clear—fast power growth required other methods.

"I understand." Sasuke nodded unwillingly.

"Watch ahead—charge!"

Despite its enormous strength, the bear lacked speed. Under interference from Wood Release techniques, it became even harder for it to fully break free from Tobi's threat zone. The Wood Style humanoid was huge and slow, making its awkward strikes easier to dodge than even the wooden spikes Tobi shot using Piercing Palm Jutsu. So far, Tobi hadn't used any nature transformation techniques with the Wood Style humanoid. Without Yamato, his true strength had clearly dropped significantly.

*Perfect—this will help us buy time.*

Meanwhile, Mizuki steered the bear left and right, dodging Tobi's attacks, deliberately steering toward isolated areas while avoiding crowded zones to minimize collateral damage.

With Sasuke's help, Mizuki saved a lot of energy and chakra. Whenever thick layers of wood entangled the bear, making breakout difficult, Sasuke's Chidori proved the best solution.

"This is already the fifth time you've used Chidori today," Mizuki couldn't help asking when he saw a panting Sasuke return atop the bear after another use.

"Exactly—the fifth."

"Hmm. That might almost be your limit." Mizuki squinted slightly. "Then stop using Chidori for now. Leave the rest to me..."

"Take it easy from here, buddy."

"Just as Sasuke Uchiha was running out of strength and Mizuki prepared to fight alone, a voice suddenly called out. Immediately afterward, a giant palm abruptly appeared, powerfully sweeping aside a row of Wood Release techniques blocking Mizuki's path and opening up the battlefield before his eyes. Choza Akimichi then appeared before Mizuki in a flash.

Seeing that Choza Akimichi had come for rescue, Mizuki finally felt relieved. The Ino–Shika–Cho trio usually moved as a team—where there was one, the other two wouldn't be far behind. With three Jonin here, the situation had improved significantly.

Sure enough, Yamanaka Inoichi with long hair in a ponytail directly appeared beside Mizuki, patting his shoulder. "Was it you who sent the signal flare? Never thought I'd run into Wood Release. That's quite the feat."

"I'm more interested in how you managed to survive an encounter with Wood Release and still brought along two brats," said Shikaku Nara, the man with two scars across his face, stepping forward from behind Inoichi.

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