In this situation, could Yoruha still leave peacefully?
The answer was obvious.
Not unless everyone outside forgot what they had just seen.
Yoruha stood calmly before the shattered clearing, his expression utterly indifferent as he looked toward Mizuki atop the tree branch.
Moonlight filtered through the forest canopy.
The atmosphere grew strangely heavy.
“Mizuki-sensei,” Yoruha asked flatly, “are you planning to become a rogue ninja?”
Mizuki’s face immediately darkened.
“You brat…”
His lips twitched with anger.
“What kind of attitude is that?”
“I’m your teacher!”
Even now, he instinctively tried using his authority as an instructor to pressure Yoruha.
Unfortunately—
The pressure of a mere Chunin meant absolutely nothing before someone who inherited the willpower of Sakazuki.
Yoruha’s eyes remained calm.
“So you really intend to betray Konoha.”
Mizuki’s patience finally snapped.
He drew a kunai sharply.
“You little bastard…”
“Blame your bad luck for living here tonight.”
Behind Yoruha, Iruka Umino shouted anxiously:
“Yoruha, run!”
“You’re no match for him!”
In Iruka’s eyes, Yoruha was still merely an academy graduate who barely passed with average scores.
Even if Mizuki was not an elite ninja, he was still an official Chunin who possessed real combat experience.
An academy student facing a Chunin alone usually died instantly.
But Yoruha did not move.
Instead, he asked once more:
“Mizuki-sensei.”
His voice became colder.
“I’ll ask one final time.”
“Are you truly abandoning the village and becoming a rogue ninja?”
Mizuki frowned deeply.
He could not understand why Yoruha kept emphasizing that question.
Then irritation exploded completely.
“Yes!”
“I’m becoming a rogue ninja!”
“What are you going to do about it?!”
“Arrest me?”
The moment the words left his mouth—
Yoruha nodded slightly.
“That’s enough.”
A terrifying chill suddenly crawled across Mizuki’s spine.
His instincts screamed.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
Before Mizuki could react—
BOOM!!
The ground exploded violently.
A sonic boom erupted throughout the clearing.
Iruka’s eyes widened.
Naruto’s pupils shrank.
Yoruha vanished.
No—
Not vanished.
He had moved so fast that neither of them could follow his motion.
Mizuki only felt a blur appear before him.
Then—
An overwhelming fist smashed directly into his abdomen.
BANG!!!
The impact sounded like a cannon blast.
Mizuki’s entire body bent unnaturally.
His eyes bulged outward.
Blood sprayed violently from his mouth.
The force behind the punch completely shattered the tree beneath him before launching him downward like a meteor.
RUMBLE!!!
The earth collapsed instantly upon impact.
Massive cracks spread outward across the forest floor.
A gigantic crater over several meters deep appeared in the clearing.
Dust exploded skyward.
The shockwave alone uprooted nearby vegetation.
At the center of the crater lay Mizuki.
Motionless.
His body was drenched in blood.
Several bones had visibly collapsed inward from the terrifying impact.
One arm twisted unnaturally.
His eyes rolled backward instantly.
Unconscious.
Or perhaps only barely alive.
Steam slowly rose from Yoruha’s fist.
The heat radiating from his body subtly distorted the surrounding air.
Yet his expression remained calm from beginning to end.
As if he had merely swatted away an insect.
Without even glancing at Mizuki again, Yoruha turned around and walked casually toward his house.
Silence filled the clearing.
Only the sound of collapsing trees remained.
Iruka and Naruto Uzumaki stood completely frozen.
Their brains struggled to process what they had just witnessed.
By the time Yoruha reached the doorway and closed it behind him—
Iruka finally regained consciousness.
“…Yoruha…”
His voice trembled slightly.
“That… was Yoruha?”
He stared blankly at the enormous crater.
At Mizuki’s mangled body lying inside it.
Iruka understood immediately what happened.
Taijutsu.
Pure physical force.
No ninjutsu.
No complicated techniques.
Yoruha simply crossed dozens of meters instantly and nearly killed Mizuki with one punch.
Iruka’s scalp turned numb.
Even most Chunin could not achieve that level of speed or destructive force.
No—
Not even ordinary Jonin could necessarily do this.
Beside him, Naruto’s mouth remained wide open.
After a long moment, he tugged Iruka’s sleeve weakly.
“Iruka-sensei…”
“…That was really Yoruha?”
“The quiet guy from class?”
Naruto’s mind was in chaos.
Back at the academy, Yoruha never stood out.
He was quiet.
Average.
Forgettable.
Even during sparring practice, he never displayed anything remotely close to this level of strength.
Naruto swallowed nervously.
“Or… maybe Mizuki-sensei is just weak?”
If Mizuki were conscious enough to hear that sentence, he would probably vomit blood again.
Iruka shook his head slowly.
“No.”
“Mizuki isn’t weak.”
“It’s Yoruha who’s terrifying.”
Iruka’s expression grew increasingly serious.
“He completely hid his true abilities at the academy.”
“Maybe…”
Iruka paused.
“…he simply didn’t think the academy was worth taking seriously.”
Naruto stared again toward the shattered crater.
Cold sweat slid down his face.
One punch.
Just one punch caused this level of destruction.
Naruto instinctively imagined himself receiving that attack.
His body immediately shivered.
“Nope.”
“I definitely can’t let him punch me.”
For the first time in his life—
Naruto genuinely understood fear.
Previously, because of the Third Hokage’s protection, most villagers only scolded him verbally no matter how outrageous his pranks became.
Even angry ninja could do little against him.
So Naruto never truly understood the danger shinobi carried.
But now—
Looking at Mizuki’s blood-covered body—
Naruto suddenly realized something terrifying.
People in this world could really kill each other.
Meanwhile, Iruka gradually approached the crater while enduring the pain from his own injuries.
He lifted Mizuki onto his shoulder carefully.
No matter what, Mizuki still needed to be taken back for interrogation.
And more importantly—
Yoruha’s existence had to be reported immediately.
Iruka’s thoughts were simple.
A monster possessing this level of strength absolutely could not be treated as an ordinary graduate.
If Konoha assigned him to an average Jonin instructor based on his academy records, it would be ridiculous.
As Yoruha’s teacher, Iruka genuinely wanted the village to recognize his talent properly.
After adjusting Mizuki’s unconscious body, Iruka looked toward Naruto.
“Let’s go.”
“We’re taking the Scroll of Sealing to the Hokage.”
Naruto glanced nervously toward Yoruha’s house one final time.
Even now, he still had not fully recovered from the shock.
The image of Mizuki being smashed into the ground replayed repeatedly in his mind.
Without saying another word, Naruto hurried after Iruka while carrying the massive scroll.
Soon afterward—
Inside the Hokage’s office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the heavily injured Mizuki with a grave expression.
Then he looked toward the bloodied Iruka.
Instinctively, Hiruzen assumed Iruka defeated Mizuki after a difficult battle.
His gaze shifted toward Naruto.
“Naruto.”
“Do you understand how dangerous the Scroll of Sealing is?”
“It contains forbidden techniques collected and sealed by previous Hokage.
It absolutely cannot leave the village.”
Naruto, however, remained distracted.
His mind still replayed Yoruha’s punch endlessly.
The Third Hokage frowned slightly.
“Naruto.”
“Were you listening?”
Naruto jumped.
“Huh?!”
“Grandpa Third, what did you say?”
Iruka quickly intervened awkwardly.
“Hokage-sama… Naruto was frightened by what happened tonight.”
Hiruzen nodded slightly.
He naturally assumed Naruto was traumatized by Mizuki’s betrayal and attack.
“Sigh…”
“Once you become a ninja, these things are unavoidable.”
Naruto swallowed nervously.
“Grandpa Third…”
“…Will I meet monsters like Yoruha in the future?”
The Third Hokage blinked.
“…Yoruha?”
He turned toward Iruka with confusion.
The name meant almost nothing to him.
Yoruha’s academy performance had been completely ordinary.
No clan.
No bloodline.
No remarkable records.
Iruka immediately explained everything that happened in the forest.
The more Hiruzen listened—
The more stunned he became.
“A fresh academy graduate…”
“…defeated Mizuki instantly?”
“And neither of you even saw the movement clearly?”
Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed sharply.
That was impossible.
Or rather—
It should have been impossible.
According to Iruka’s description, Yoruha displayed physical abilities already reaching at least Jonin level.
And not ordinary Jonin, either.
Pure taijutsu capable of crushing a Chunin instantly with overwhelming force required monstrous physical conditioning.
Even Konoha’s taijutsu specialists could not casually produce that kind of destructive power at twelve years old.
The Third Hokage slowly fell silent.
For the first time—
He became genuinely interested in this inconspicuous academy graduate named Yoruha.