Chapter 144: The Heart of Jealousy

With time to spare and having woken up early in the morning, Mizuki naturally dozed off on the chair behind the counter since there weren't many customers around.

Half-woke, Mizuki vaguely aware that someone had entered the shop. A while later, he thought he heard someone calling him. Disturbed from his nap, he opened his eyes unhappily and saw Hinata Hyuga greeting him cautiously, with Kiba Inuzuka and the usually low-key Shino Aburame behind her.

"What's up?" Mizuki didn't interact much with these three genin. They were all from prominent ninja families, so he wasn't particularly close to any of them. He saw them around the Ninja Academy sometimes, but Iruka Umino was really the only one who hung out with them much.

"We want to go visit Teacher Kurenai, so we came here to buy some flowers..." Hinata spoke timidly.

"Buy flowers? Isn't this store kind of out of the way? Isn't Ino Yamanaka's flower shop closer? Why come all the way here?"

"Teacher Mizuki, you run a business—why are you trying to chase customers away?" Kiba, straightforward as ever, said what was on his mind. "It's too early; Ino's shop doesn't seem to be open yet."

"Too early?" Mizuki glanced outside. The weather was nice, visibility was good, and daylight already filled the sky. A flower shop should've been open by now. Then suddenly it dawned on him—the day before, Inoichi Yamanaka had apparently sustained some injuries during a fight with Tobi and was either in the hospital or resting at home. Naturally, when something like that happened, running the shop would have to take a back seat.

"So which ones did you pick? I'll wrap them for you…"

"No trouble necessary, Teacher Mizuki. We've already taken care of everything." Shino, trying to show off a little for once, actually spoke up. "We've already left the money."

"Hmm?" Mizuki rubbed his eyes and finally noticed several bills right in front of him.

『If you handled everything yourselves, then why wake me up?』

"Well then, anything else?" Mizuki tried his best to smile kindly—he wanted to keep up the air of a proper teacher.

"We heard that you, Teacher Mizuki, went on a mission outside the village with Teacher Kurenai and got seriously hurt, but you look fine now. We're just wondering how serious Teacher Kurenai's injuries are," Kiba questioned Mizuki. "When we ask others, they just tell us to wait patiently and stay calm without giving us any details…"

"That situation…" Worried feelings among these young ninja were understandable. "Jonin Kurenai Yuhi is stable for now—she's not in immediate danger. But predicting the future course of her recovery is difficult. It'll definitely take a long time to recover... longer than usual, I'm afraid."

"So does that mean for quite a while, she won't be guiding us anymore or taking us on mission assignments?" Quiet by nature, Shino was the brightest and most earnest of the group, immediately catching the hidden implications in Mizuki's words.

"Pretty much. You should prepare yourselves for that. However…" Mizuki changed tone slightly, continuing, "if there were better-trained medical ninjas to treat her, she might recover faster."

Mizuki wasn't ready to say for sure. If Tsunade came back, there might be better ways to treat her. Since he'd never seen her skills up close, Mizuki couldn't determine what level Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu really was.

"We understand the situation. Thanks, Teacher Mizuki. We'll take our leave now." Having learned the truth, the three Genin thanked him and left.

Watching them go, Mizuki gave a slight shake of his head. Aside from these three, no one else in Konoha probably cared who would lead Team 8 next.

Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka—all came from families with inherited techniques and possessed distinctive traits. Their ninjutsu training naturally fell under the guidance of powerful figures within their clans, instructors whose skills wouldn't be inferior to an outsider Jonin. In reality, what they needed wasn't a Jonin teaching powerful jutsu, but someone to guide them on how to become true Ninja. Their elders valued the latter far more than the former.

As a newly promoted illusion-style Ninja, Kurenai Yuhi didn't have much to teach Team 8 when it came to ninjutsu. However, as a driven new Jonin—and especially rare as a female illusionist—people naturally recognized her resilience and skill. Given Team 8's relatively relaxed needs, Kurenai was actually quite suited for the role. She was neither arrogant nor impatient, and she always maintained proper conduct. Over the past few months, she'd done a solid job—no small feat for a Jonin newbie.

But now that Kurenai was critically injured and temporarily unable to serve as team leader, finding a temporary replacement became necessary. With Konoha's deep resources, finding someone exactly like Kurenai would be difficult, but locating someone roughly comparable—or slightly less experienced—wouldn't be too hard. Still, none of this concerned Mizuki. Any Jonin assigned to lead a Genin team would at least need considerable patience. They'd probably be stuck playing nanny for another year until those kids made Chunin.

...

Disturbed by Team 8's visit earlier, Mizuki was mostly awake now. As time passed, more people began appearing on the streets. At this hour, even the laziest person should already be up and preparing for work. As expected, the number of customers kept growing steadily, leaving Mizuki little chance to slack off.

Although the Four Seasons Flower Shop run by Mizuki and Tsubaki hadn't been around for long, thanks to their own flower nursery and specially prepared life-saving pills, the flowers' growth rate had increased dramatically. The mutation rate was much higher than average. While most mutations turned out to be worthless failures, occasionally unique and extremely rare varieties emerged, drawing many flower lovers and ikebana (traditional Japanese flower arrangement) enthusiasts.

With business improving steadily, the shop became a decent source of cash for Mizuki. Without that income, covering his expenses would've been tough. Though he still wasn't rich, at least he no longer struggled like he did a few months ago.

After getting a bit more used to things, Mizuki was finally able to cope with this busy lifestyle. Compared to before—when he had no idea what he was doing and often became flustered by customers' questions—he'd come a long way. Still, it would take quite a while longer for him to fully adjust.

It wasn't until noon that the heat significantly discouraged many people from going out, allowing Mizuki a short break, waiting for Tsubaki to bring lunch.

However, before Tsubaki arrived, Sasuke Uchiha showed up first.

Noticing the complicated look on Sasuke's face, Mizuki instantly knew—he must've found out what happened yesterday.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Mizuki asked casually, "Is there something you need? Shouldn't you be having lunch at this hour?"

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Sasuke seemed both reluctant and dissatisfied that Mizuki hadn't told him the truth sooner.

"Tell you what? You mean Itachi Uchiha's return? And why should I get involved in your affairs?"

"I apologize; my manners were lacking." Sasuke realized his tone had been unfriendly. Questioning someone who had helped him like this—as though interrogating them—was inappropriate coming from a Genin addressing his former Chunin instructor.

"It's fine, Sasuke," Mizuki waved off the apology. "You remember most of what I told you yesterday, right?"

"Was that man really that strong?"

"That's all you remembered?" Mizuki sighed in disappointment at Sasuke's answer. "The sword-wielding warrior form you saw—that was just one of Itachi's moves. He didn't even use the sacred relics in his Susanoo yet. Whether he held back on purpose or just wasn't ready yet doesn't really matter—you only need to understand that Itachi can go even further."

"So now, I don't even have the qualifications to seek revenge?" Sasuke said in a despairing tone. "Is my persistence nothing more than a joke?"

"Enough, Sasuke. Didn't I ask whether you remembered what I said yesterday?" As a ninja instructor, Mizuki wouldn't lie to his former student. "Your future won't fall short of your brother's, but right now, you can't even accurately judge the gap between yourself and others. Especially when it comes to Itachi Uchiha—you don't even comprehend how vast the difference is between you."

"But then, what should I do? All these years of effort haven't narrowed the gap between me and that man—in fact, it seems wider than ever."

"If you keep thinking like that, you're heading into dangerous territory, Sasuke." From Mizuki's perspective, over the past few years, Itachi Uchiha had become immensely stronger—way beyond what Sasuke could even picture. And Sasuke was still just twelve years old—just entering the golden phase when ninjas grow strongest fastest. Itachi would turn eighteen soon; over just the last few years, how many shinobi do you think have outpaced his growth? Probably none.

"Even Naruto's gotten stronger than me now..."

"You're feeling a sense of crisis, aren't you? Like you're not improving fast enough?"

Sasuke Uchiha remained silent, implicitly confirming Mizuki's speculation.

Mizuki grinned faintly and said, "A month ago, you couldn't even fight back against Rock Lee. But one month later, during the Chunin Exams before everyone's eyes, you completely overwhelmed Gaara who had defeated Lee. Haven't I described it accurately?"

"But in the end, it was still Naruto who defeated him."

"Can't Naruto defeat Gaara?" Mizuki countered. "Is this really how you see your teammate, Naruto Uzumaki? A nobody his whole life? Someone who'll always be inferior to you? Greed and jealousy—you've made two mistakes. Don't you think Naruto is more than just a lucky guy who suddenly gained power?"

Mizuki's words left Sasuke speechless. If they were talking about talent, Sasuke believed he surpassed Naruto. Yet when it came to effort, he had to admit that he deeply admired Naruto's relentless determination and confidence.

"Go home and think carefully. Ask your teacher Kakashi more often—he is your actual squad leader..."

"I'm truly sorry for bothering you."

...

Watching Sasuke walk away, Mizuki couldn't help but feel pity for the young man's plight. Right now, Sasuke wasn't someone who could be convinced with just a few words. Without enough real-life experience, one couldn't easily grasp profound truths. Living in a world built on lies, coupled with his tragic fate, it was already remarkable that he hadn't broken under pressure. However, Mizuki also felt genuinely powerless to do much—only offering assistance when appropriate. The rest would depend entirely on Sasuke's own fortune. The current situation had already diverged greatly from the original storyline. As for what choices Sasuke might make in the future, everything hinged on Kakashi's guidance.

Among these developments, Mizuki felt the most significant change and potential risk regarding Sasuke recently happened yesterday—Itachi Uchiha didn't perform an important action as in the original plot. The Sealing Jutsu — Kotoamatsukami — was never used on Naruto Uzumaki. Originally, Itachi Uchiha sealed Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan into Naruto to ensure that Naruto would defeat Sasuke and permanently alter his mindset toward protecting Konoha. This ultimate objective ultimately failed. Instead, during the Fourth Great Ninja World War, Itachi used Kotoamatsukami to free himself from the Impure World Reincarnation technique and joined forces with Sasuke Uchiha to defeat Kabuto Yakushi, who had mastered the Snake Sage Art and challenged the entire ninja world alone.

Now, under Mizuki's influence, all those plans had crumbled into dust. Without Kotoamatsukami, should Sasuke eventually turn fully hostile toward the Konoha, then their last opportunity for reversal would vanish. As for the Fourth Great Ninja World War, Mizuki could only feel helpless—it was already drastically altered after just three months; looking three years ahead seemed even too distant to predict.

"Are you two not coming out? He's long gone already..." Today was full of unwelcome visitors, none of whom seemed interested in buying flowers.

Following Mizuki's words, Kakashi Hatake and Aoba Yamashiro appeared before him.

"Thanks for worrying about Sasuke's matter, Mizuki."

"Because of this matter, causing Mizuki trouble repeatedly, Kakashi felt somewhat embarrassed as well. Originally these were all his own responsibilities.

"It's nothing, really—I just did a little talking," Mizuki replied, then turned to Aoba Yamashiro and asked, "Why did you follow along too?"

"Well..." Aoba Yamashiro gave an embarrassed chuckle. "I accidentally let something slip, letting Sasuke find out that Itachi Uchiha had come back before. Then I saw Sasuke take off in a rush, so I got worried and followed him here."

"Turns out it was your fault all along," Mizuki said, vaguely recalling from the original storyline that this person had also blabbed things unintentionally. "No wonder he showed up here to blow off some steam."

"Huh? Mizuki, guests?" At this moment, Tsubaki finally arrived.

"My stomach's hungry too. Do you guys want to stay and eat something together?" Lately, Tsubaki had been making quite large meals, often more than she could finish herself.

"No thanks. Since Sasuke is okay, we'll take our leave first."

...

After having lunch with Tsubaki and finishing everything, Tsubaki looked around and saw no one else nearby. She then quietly handed a scroll to Mizuki, whispering, "Maybe you'd better talk in person in three days?"

"What's so urgent?" Mizuki accepted the scroll and unrolled it cautiously. "Tailed Beast Chakra? Did they discover something already this soon?"

As he read further, Mizuki's expression grew steadily more serious.

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