"You're right, Zefrek. Orochimaru might not help us if we go empty handed. That's why we'll bring him the forbidden scroll. But I'm going to use someone else to steal the scroll."
The prisoner sarcastically smiled. "A patsy willing to steal the Forbidden scroll from the Hokage tower and give it to you? Who would be dumb enough to do that?"
"Oh I have someone in mind. Don't you worry about that."
Seeing the malicious grin on Mizuki's face Zefrek assumed it was someone the man hated. "Moving on, if you want my help then I need my strength back. The food in this prison keeps our chakra unstable and blocked. You got a solution for that?"
Mizuki nodded and took a small blue vial and a scroll from his pocket and gave it to Zefrek. "That drug will counteract the effects of the chakra destabilizing poison you're forced to take here. It will last till you eat the next meal. The scroll contains a few more vials, several weapons and a poison concoction."
Zefrek looked at Mizuki for a few moments before deciding to chance it. He drank the contents of the vial and within a few minutes began to feel the change in his body. 'My chakra is becoming stable and easier to circulate again.'
He stood from his spot and looked at the academy instructor. Killing intent began to fill the air. "I can feel it. My strength is returning. So then what's stopping me from knocking you down, killing that guard outside and escaping, huh?"
Despite being faced with the evil intent of a Jonin, Mizuki held his ground. "Nothing. You might be able to escape the prison but you won't make it out of the village alive. You've been a Jonin for a while. You should know that. And even if you somehow did, how long do you think you'll stay safe?"
Zefrek looked at the Chunin in front of him and his grin widened. "Hahahaha… Fine. We'll do it your way. I can wait a few more months."
"You should hide that scroll. This place has daily inspections, doesn't it?"
Zefrek made a few seals and slammed his hands down on the ground. A summoning seal spread and in a puff of smoke a small earthworm appeared.
Mizuki looked at the creature with narrowed eyes. 'So this is how he smuggled illegal items and stolen goods. His summoning creature isn't used for battle but for stealing. Interesting.'
"You said we'd be leaving on March 20th right?" Zefrek asked Mizuki just to make sure. After seeing the Chunin nod he turned to his small summoning creature.
"J'vaya. Keep this scroll safe and return it to me on March 20th early morning."
The small earthworm moved its body up and down and opened its mouth large enough to swallow the scroll. Once the scroll disappeared into his body, it burrowed into the ground and disappeared.
"By the way, how did you arrange our meeting?" Zefrek asked.
"Kirai has a vendetta against the person I'm going to frame. So he agreed to help me. I told him that on graduation day, I'd come here in disguise and hold him hostage and make the other guards release just you. Then have you kill the patsy and Kirai would arrive just in the nick of time to capture you before you escape."
"But that's not the plan, is it?"
"No. My plan to cause chaos in the village and escape won't work if it's just you. On that day, I want you to kill Kirai and the other guards and take control of this prison. You'll need to recruit a couple more people who'll come with us. There is strength in numbers after all."
Zefrek grinned and nodded. "I'll quietly poke around and see who's willing to join us."
Mizuki nodded. "I'll come by after the exams are done and I'll get you some gear so that we can blend in."
"Who exactly do you have in mind to take the fall for stealing the Forbidden scroll?" Zefrek was curious and asked.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
"The nine tails brat? You really think he'll go for it?"
Mizuki nodded with a dark gleam in his eyes. "Oh he will. I'll make sure of it."
"Haha… This is going to be fun."
"March 20th. I'll be coming by in the evening. Make sure you're ready."
At that moment Zefrek stepped forward and stood face to face with Mizuki. "You're awfully trusting. What if I betray you?" The man asked without concealing his vicious grin.
'I've come too far to stop now.' Mizuki didn't back down. He glared at Jonin and spoke in a chilling tone. "I won't let anyone get in my way. If you betray me or do anything to ruin my plan, it won't matter how strong you are, you'll pay. I'll make sure of it."
Both of them stared at each other with narrowed eyes and malicious intent. Suddenly Zefrek backed up and smirked. "Looks like I'm making the right choice. I'll see you on the 20th."
Mizuki nodded and soon left Zefrek to his thoughts. He had spent the next few months speaking with several people before finally deciding on two inmates that wouldn't betray him and exchange the secret information for reduced sentences.
Flashback End.
Zefrek smirked as he looked as he looked around the prison cells. He walked towards a dead guard and took the keys to the cells. He opened two cells containing his partners in crime. Haroshi and Seijo. Both of them, former Chunins of the Leaf village.
Both of them hated the village and wanted to escape. Zefrek learned that they were even willing to join Orochimaru. Early morning that day Zefrek got the scroll from his summon and retrieved the contents. He gave the blue vials to Haroshi and Seijo with the instructions to drink them after having their breakfast.
Seijo was an expert in using most weapons and Zefrek handed him the poison vial and a few needles. They waited the whole day and soon everything went according to their plan.
"So now what? We wait till he gets here?" Seijo asked Zefrek as he was the leader of the group.
The Special Jonin nodded. "Yes. He said he'd bring us gear. We need his help." 'For now anyway.'
Zefrek and the other two opened all the cells and the prisoners came out one by one.
"We'll be escaping soon. Who wants their freedom!?"
"YEAAHHH!"
—-
Around an hour later, Mizuki came to the prison. He entered and glanced at the dead bodies on the side. 'Sorry Kirai. But I couldn't let you live. But I'll make sure the demon brat dies today. It's the least I could do for you.'
"So is it done?" Zefrek came near the academy teacher and asked.
"Yes. That brat took the bait." Mizuki said and tossed a storage scroll to his partner in crime. "As promised. Weapons and ninja gear to blend in."
Zefrek opened and saw several sets of weapons and a few Jonin flak jackets. Several prisoners came nearby but only a few got to wear the Jonin jackets. The rest were forced to keep their prison uniform.
Once it was just the four main culprits, Haroshi spoke. "We got our chakra working and got some gear. So do we leave now?"
Mizuki shook his head. "Not yet. You all need to stay here for a few more hours. Without the Forbidden scroll in my hands this plan won't work."
Haroshi and Seijo frowned but since Zefrek was keeping quiet, they didn't argue anymore.
Mizuki told them the plan and instructed them not to leave the prison until the designated time. He gave them the meeting location and soon left the prison.
After Mizuki left Seijo turned to Zefrek. "Are we really listening to him? We can get out of here right now. We can use the rest of these guys as a distraction." He spoke in a low tone so as to not be overheard by anyone else.
Zefrek shook his head. "No. Even if we escape now, it won't matter if we don't have a strong backing." He glanced at the rest of the prisoners standing several meters away. "We need the Forbidden Scroll. Its power will greatly help us."
—-
Somewhere near the Leaf village.
Mizuki stood near the entrance of a small cave and looked around. He made sure this was the right location. 'This is it. It's inside here.'
He lit a small candle for light and began to slowly make his way inside. As he took each step he remembered the first and only time he met Orochimaru.
Flashback.
"HihihihihiHAHAHA… How fascinating…"
Mizuki looked around but he didn't know where the sound was coming from.
"I saw you… You killed your injured teammate. That's not something one sees that often. Especially amongst the Leaf shinobi…"
Mizuki's eyes widened as he saw a man emerge from the shadows. He instantly recognized him. "You're Orochimaru."
"Correct."
"Wh-what do you… want?" Fear was evident on Mizuki's face. His voice cracked as he failed to even speak clearly in the presence of the Snake Sannin. "I-I didn't do anything wrong…"
"Yes. It's true. You were merely completing your mission."
"That's right. It was my only choice."
"But I doubt the Leaf village will see it that way. They will become suspicious and soon after, they'll start to distrust you. They won't acknowledge you." The next instant a snake flew from Orochimaru's sleeve and bit Mizuki's hand.
"Aaaaahhh… Wh- what… did you…" The Chunin was on the ground screaming in pain as a tattoo formed where the snake bit.
"When you're ready, seek me out. Good luck…hihihi." The Snake Sannin vanished from Mizuki's senses.
Flashback End.
'It was just like he said. The village didn't trust me. I did what I had to do and yet I was treated like a criminal. They'll never help me… So this is why, huh… Orochimaru must have wanted to become more powerful and the Hokage stood in his way… It must have been why Orochimaru left the village. But even without the village's help he is one of the most powerful and feared ninjas in the world… I'm making the right decision. Leaving the village is the best choice.'
Mizuki soon reached a dead end wall inside the cavern. He carefully looked around and soon saw a small diamond shaped hole in the rock at the bottom of his feet.
'There it is.' Mizuki took a kunai and inserted it into the small stone opening. When the weapon was buried all the way to the hilt, a sudden click was heard and the ground slightly shook. In seconds the wall in front of Mizuki slowly started to disappear beneath the floor.
Mizuki stepped into the new circular room and looked at the stone bricks on the walls. 'The eight one from the right.' Mizuki pulled a slab of rock from the right wall and found a lever. Pulling the lever activated the mechanism that opened the floor and brought a special slab up to the surface.
The grey haired man smiled wickedly and took a storage scroll from his pocket. He opened it and laid out the ingredients and utensils on the table. 'The two places that had these special drugs were the Nara clan lab and the black market. It cost me my fortune but now that I have these I'll be invincible.'
Mizuki looked outside and saw the sign of the disappearing sun. 'I better get to work. There isn't much time left.'
He brought his hands together and made three seals.
Tatsu - Tori - Inu
The tattoo on Mizuki's arm glowed and writings appeared. They were names of various ingredients and herbs with measurements marked on it. The Chunin began to mix the drugs according to what was written on his tattoo and before long he poured four different colored liquids onto each designated slot on the special slab in the middle of the room.
"All the preparations are done. This is the moment my future is decided." Mizuki spoke to himself and pressed a small button on the slab. The four liquids flowed into different chambers and began mixing with each other and soon Mizuki had a small beaker filled with the final concoction.
"With this I'll be unstoppable. HahahaHAHAHAHA…."
A chemical that could replicate the power of Orochimaru's curse seal was now in Mizuki's hands.
—-
Near the Hokage tower.
It was night time and Naruto was hidden behind the leaves of a large tree. His gaze was on one of the most important buildings in the Leaf village. The Hokage tower. 'Alright. I just gotta sneak in, get the scroll and get out. Easy… right?'
Naruto slightly shook his head. 'Come on. You can do this. Don't quit now.'
Seeing the patrol guards get further away Naruto made his move. He kept to the shadows and made no sound as he infiltrated the tower. 'Time to find the scroll. Then I'll pass the special test and I'll be rookie of the year. Believe it.'
Naruto entered the Hokage tower without any problem but he didn't realize that there were several eyes already on him. Both from within the tower and from outside .