Hey guys! What's up? Well as for me, I'm running from a high fever on this very fine day, thank you for asking though.
And thanks for all the reviews and PM's, I really appre-'Achoo!'...ahm, sneeze of appreciation from yours truly (yeah, I'm sick -.-) Now without wasting further of your (those who do read A/N's lol) time, let's get on with the chapter-
Chapter-10-Kage Bunshin Failed?
"Alright Naruto, you know the drill. You have to form atleast three perfect clones of yourself. Good luck," Iruka spoke with a warm smile while Mizuki, who was smiling on the outside was inwardly planning for tonight.
'I really hope you pass Naruto. I know you've done your hardwork, show me what you've got!' Iruka thought as Naruto walked to the center before crouching down a bit.
Iruka's and Mizuki's eyes immediately widened when they felt some kind of pressure suddenly washing over them while a purple glow, invisible to both the chunins now covered Naruto's form.
'Alright, let's get over with this sucker!' he thought with determination overflowing through his system as he formed the special hand seal for the shadow clone making both the chunin's eyes widen in shock.
'Is that...'
'There's no way that demon could...'
Both of them thought with an expression of disbelief on their faces while Naruto had a serious expression on his face.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)," he spoke in a normal tone when his eyes suddenly widened.
'W-What's this feeling...so sinister...' were his last thoughts before the blonde executed the technique resulting in around twenty puffs of smoke.
Meanwhile Iruka and Mizuki had a stunned expression on their faces, not because that Naruto was attempting a forbidden technique, but due to something evil they had felt; a tiny amount of...
'The kyuubi's chakra!' Iruka thought in horror as he gazed at perplexed expression on Naruto's face while Mizuki gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists in anxiety.
'I was right! This boy really is a demon...I can never forget that feeling, that hatred, the evil...,' he thought with anger bubbling inside him.
"W-What the..." he was snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Naruto's surprised voice to notice around twenty deformed corpses laying in front of him.
"N-Naruto..." Iruka stuttered in disbelief as he gazed at the wide eyed blonde who was staring at his clones.
'What's happening? This technique is a child's play for me, then why all of a sudden? My chakra was perfectly stable this time, but...what was that sudden feeling, like there was some external source of something else meddling with my chakra control,' Naruto thought with gritted teeth in annoyance as he dispelled all the clones this time.
"Naruto, I don't know where you even came to know about the shadow clone technique, but you should know that it's a forbidden technique and a genin can't possibly use it. I'm amazed that you're even standing right now," Iruka explained, coming out of his initial daze while Mizuki nodded with him.
"NO!" Iruka's eyes widened when the blonde screamed with primal ferocity in his oceanic blue eyes, now having black slits in his pupils making both of the chunins feel a bit...scared? They couldn't help but feel fear while looking in those eyes.
"I can't fail! Not when I've trained so hard!" he exclaimed in frustration, and was that a hint of desperation in his voice? Slamming both of his hands into a ram seal, he again started to build up chakra while Iruka just sat there wide eyed with Mizuki scowling at the blonde.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he exclaimed loudly this time when a thin red line of chakra appeared along the faint blue shroud of his chakra.
'There it is again!' Iruka mentally noticed along with Mizuki as plums of smoke now almost filled the room.
'C'mon c'mon! Why is this happening to me now? I've been doing this jutsu for a week now! What is this feeling inside of me?' Naruto thought frantically as he prayed to whoever diety was watching over him to pass him.
"Please..." he muttered in desperation as the room was now silent while the excessive smoke slowly lifted to reveal...
"I already told you Naruto, it's no use," Iruka spoke with a sigh as those same corpses littered the wooden floor around a stunned Naruto, who currently was looking at the dead clones with widened eyes- as if unable to come to terms with the reality.
'No...it can't be. Why me? What's happening to me? I can't let it end this way, Ayame-chan, Oji-san, jiji, Rangiku-chan, Shiroi-chan...Anko-chan, all of them have worked so hard to train me. I don't care if something is messing with my chakra, I have to pass!' he thought when Iruka began to speak.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't pass you like that. It was good thinking from your side to try something different as you're not able to do the clone technique. It is clear that you have extremely high chakra reserves as compared to any other genin or academy student, but you still need to practise to perfect the shadow clone technique. It's not that simple y-"
"No sensei! I can do this technique! I don't know what's happening to me, but I CAN do this technique," Naruto spoke in a pleading voice, as if trying to ignore what had happened making the chunin sigh at his stubborness.
"Hey Iruka, why don't we postpone his exams a bit, give him some time to master the shadow clone technique?" Mizuka asked with fake concern in his voice for his 'student' while the blonde just narrowed his eyes.
"I'm afraid that's not possible Mizuki, I can't pass him. He also can't do the clone technique, even if I do want to...I can't pass him," Iruka spoke with a serious expression as he gazed at Naruto with sadness in his eyes.
'I have to talk to Hokage-sama. I think the seal is getting weak and the influx of a little bit of Kyuubi's chakra in his coils is interfering with his chakra control. I can't possibly pass him right now. At this stage, if he becomes a ninja...he would be a danger to his comrades as well as to himself. The seal needs to be checked immediately, I have to contact sandaime-sama!' he contemplated while Naruto was gritting his teeth as he clenched his fists tightly.
"I'm sorry Naruto, you fail," Iruka spoke in a dejected tone as the blonde continued to stand there while inwardly Mizuki was smirking at the frustrated expression on Naruto's face.
Not wanting to accept it...no, not being able to accept it, the whiskered blonde again started to build up chakra.
"I can't fail! I've trained so hard! I could easily do this jutsu before, and I will do it now!" he spoke loudly while Iruka, who was greatly saddened by his most favourite student failing; couldn't help but grow a little irritated at his stubborn proclaimation. It was clear that kyuubi's chakra was interfering with his chakra and that the blonde wouldn't be able to pass. It also did not help that he couldn't explain to the boy about what was happening to him; it angered the chunin that the boy had to suffer so much. Naruto had been so desperately trying to pass all these years, it annoyed Iruka to no end that the blonde had to endure such burden with no support whatsoever.
The pineapple haired chunin was snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing the puffs of smoke to again notice those same clone corpses while Mizuki too patiently sat there with a calm expression.
"Damn it!" Naruto exclaimed with an angered expression as he stared at his clones while Iruka sighed again.
"Naruto that's enough, you can leave now," he spoke quietly with a somber expression when the whiskered blonde cursed.
"No, again!" clearly Naruto was getting more desperate as now beads of sweat formed on his face as he began to raise his chakra levels again.
"I can still do it! I know I can, Iruka-sensei just y-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH NARUTO! YOU FAIL!"
Iruka screamed in frustration as Naruto gazed at him with wide eyes while Mizuki's lips curled upwards just a little bit.
"You can try again next year Naruto, now go to the class and wait for me. I have to call others for their exam too," Iruka said in a tired voice as the blonde lowered his head, his eyes now shadowed.
Not uttering another word, he started to walk towards the door. Exiting the examination room, he walked through the corridors to reach his classroom; which was actually the nieghbouring room.
Just as he was about to slide off the door, the blonde suddenly stopped.
"Hey did you hear Iruka-sensei yell just now?"
"Yeah, seems the deadlast failed again."
"HA! I won the bet, I think you owe me some money man."
"Damn that idiot! How could I have thought that he would pass this time, it cost me my monthly pocket money!"
"It's your fault in the first case, who told you to bet on that jerk?"
Not able to take it anymore, Naruto gritted his teeth as he kept his head lowered.
'Fuck it!'
And then he dashed away from there, exiting the academy while the other students continued to celebrate for passing the exam.
One Hour Later:
"Hey Ayame-chan, where's Naru-kun? I thought he would be the first one to crash through that door with a big grin on his face," Rangiku said in a bit of concern as they stood in a corner, waiting for the blonde to give them the good news while other children were celebrating there with their parents and relatives.
"I don't know Rangiku-chan. What do you think Anko?" Ayame asked in a concerned voice, turning to the kunoichi who had her back against the wall while she ate dango. They had been waiting for him for the past fifteen minutes and still couldn't find their favourite blonde.
"Meh, the gaki must have ran off to somewhere else to celebrate by himself," Anko shrugged as she discarded the dango stick but Ayame could detect the small amount of worry in her voice.
"That's mean Anko-chan! How could you say that? I know Naru-kun would never celebrate without us!" Matsumoto exclaimed with a pout making the snake mistress roll her eyes.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just why is that gaki taking so long? I have a plan as a way of saying congratulations!" she spoke with a sadistic glee making Ayame blink in confusion.
"Oooh! You gotta tell me what you're planning Anko-chan, it has to something great!" the blonde lieutenant chirped when Anko grinned. Pushing herself off the wall, she slung her arm over the busty tokubetsu jounin's shoulder before whispering something into her ear. A sly grin crept upon Rangiku's face upon hearing Anko's 'plan'.
"Oh hehe...this is gotta be fun Anko-chan. You're a genius!" she exclaimed with a bright smile making the purple haired kunoichi grin back at her while Ayame just sweatdropped at their antics as they again began to whisper something in the corner, a light shade of pink on their cheeks.
'Sometimes I really suspect if they were long lost sisters,' she thought when suddenly her gaze fell on the incoming form of Iruka and Hiruzen in his Hokage robes.
"Iruka-san, where is Naruto-kun?" she immediately asked in confusion. The only response she got was Iruka averting his gaze while Hiruzen had a grim expression on his face.
"He failed Ayame-san," Iruka spoke with sadness making her eyes widen in surprise while Rangiku and Anko, who too had heard what he said were blinking owlishly.
"Is this some kind of a joke?" Ayame spoke with a smile while Hiruzen and Iruka remained serious. Anko and Matsumoto were equally stunned too.
"How the hell could he fail? Last time I checked, which I remind you was yesterday Hokage-sama, he was at the skill level of a low chunin roughly," Anko spoke seriously, their auras having immediately taking a complete one-eighty turn.
"L-Low chunin?" Iruka stuttered with a baffled look on his face. What was she saying? If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, he really would've thought that it was one of her crazy pranks.
"Iruka, you can go now. I will explain to them," Sarutobi spoke with a sigh making him nod. Bowing to them, and glancing towards the trio somewhat apologetically, he shunshined out.
"What's happening Hiruzen-san?" Rangiku asked with a dead serious expression on her face, somehow taking the rest of the four by a bit of surprise. They knew how much she had come to care for Naruto over the past month, it's like both of them had formed a special bond. Most of the day they could be seen goofing around together in the village, and Ayame was ashamed to admit...but she was getting jealous. The way Rangiku had wormed into his heart, gaining a special place so quickly, it angered her. But she hated this feeling, this feeling of jealousy; it was eating her from the inside!
'Stop, I can't be thinking like that. They are just friends, besides Rangiku-chan is way older than Naruto-kun, there's no way she would be interested in him,' Ayame thought with a light scowl as he put her palm on her heart lightly, a sigh escaping her lips while Anko did not fail to notice her uneasiness.
"First let's go to Teuchi-san's home, we can discuss the matter there safely. Also Ayame-chan, is Teuchi-san home right now?" Hiruzen asked with a serious expression while the other graduates along with their families were starting to leave the premises.
"I'm afraid not, just today morning he left to meet him," Ayame spoke making the blonde and the purple haired kunoichi look at her in confusion while the Hokage nodded.
"But where is the gaki right now?" Anko interrupted with a frown making Matsumoto and Ayame blink. Yeah, where was Naruto right now?
"I think he needs to be left alone for a while. It must have hit him hard to fail like that, he really did work hard. But that's beside the point, you three don't worry; I myself know how strong he is so as the Hokage I will pass him tomorrow. But there's one little bit of information that Iruka told me, it could pose a serious danger to Naruto," he stated, confusing them; but nevertheless the trio was now dead serious.
"Do not worry, I can feel his reiryoku in Konoha, he's safe right now," Rangiku said while Ayame too checked by closing her eyes, nodding with Rangiku. Anko however was thinking on what Hiruzen had said just now.
"Is it because of..." the purple haired kunoichi trailed with widened eyes, pointing a finger towards her stomach making the sandaime nod. This elicited concerned faces from both Ayame and Rangiku.
"Is the seal breaking or something?" the blonde asked in worry when the old Hokage shook his head.
"No, nothing has happened to him...yet. But let's first get out of here," he uttered making them nod with a sigh as they left the area, either via shunpo or shunshin.
Konoha: Unknown Training Ground
"Shit! What happened back there? Why does this happen to me?" Naruto cursed as he punched a training post in frustration, his eyes closed as he was currently gritting his teeth. Opening his eyes slowly, the blonde stared at his hands with narrowed eyes.
Forming the hand seal again, he exclaimed loudly.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" his eyes widened this time as several puffs of smoke appeared around him.
"W-What's happening?" he asked in disbelief as now ten perfectly formed clones were standing around him, all of them staring at him in confusion.
'Why didn't they form before? Was someone interfering with my chakra, this time however I didn't feel that sinister...thing inside of me,' he thought in confusion when his lips began to curl upwards.
"If I show this to Iruka-sensei right now, of course he would pass me! I will ask Teuchi-oji about this strange thing later on," Naruto murmured to himself with a smile, inwardly sighing with relief.
"Wow! So you really can do the shadow clone technique, that's really impressive Naruto," snapping his head back, the blonde's eyes widened in surprise.
'How could I have not sensed his presence? I shouldn't be so careless,' he mentally chided himself with narrowed himself as the silver haired chunin approached him with a smile while the blonde dispelled his clones.
Naruto didn't know, but for some reason he never liked Mizuki. Even though the chunin didnot seem to hate him, but the blonde never liked the aura he emitted; call it his sixth sense or whatever.
"Mizuki-sensei?" he asked in surprise.
"Why didn't you do it right during the exam Naruto?" Mizuki asked with a fake smile making the blonde sigh.
"I don't know. But it looked like something was interfering with my chakra, but now I can do it. I was planning on showing this to Iruka-sensei right now, but since you're here now; I pass right?" the whiskered blonde asked giddily, excited at the prospect of finally passing.
"I'm afraid not," the silver haired chunin spoke with a sigh, faking a sad expression as he shook his head.
"Why not?" he asked with some anger inadvertantly seeping into his tone.
"You see Naruto, you couldn't do it when you were required to do the technique. Imagine if you're on a high ranking mission, even the slightest slip up like today earlier would easily cost you your life. We can't pass you if there's a risk of you getting killed, now can we?" Mizuki replied before continuing seeing as the blonde was about to object.
"But, there is a way you know," he verbalized with a smirk making Naruto look at him in confusion while inwardly he was getting suspicious of the chunin.
Several Hours Later: Forests behind the Hokage's Monument
It had been two hours since Naruto had taken the forbidden scroll from the Hokage's tower. It was pretty easy as he had just slipped in with his shinigami form.
'It was pretty odd of jiji to not be in his office, it's not that late actually,' Naruto thought as he laid on the ground panting, the scroll laying besides him. Sitting up a bit wearily, he gazed at the three techniques on the scroll he had been practising/learning for the past two hours.
'It's a shame I still can't do the Shadow Possession Technique, the sucker requires some serious chakra control...atleast for me,' he thought as a cold breeze swept through the area while he wiped the sweat off his brow.
Standing up, Naruto slung the scroll on his back as he turned around with a serious expression.
'Here comes Iruka-sensei,' he thought, having sensed the chunin's reiryoku when the said person suddenly landed in front of him.
"Naruto! What do you think you're doing with the forbidden scroll?" Iruka asked loudly with a deep scowl on his face when the blonde spoke seriously.
"Tell me Iruka-sensei. Would you have passed me if after failing today's test, I would have come to you a few hours later and successfully executed the shadow clone technique?" the chunin could only adopt a confused expression at that.
"This is no time for jokes Naruto! You've co-"
"JUST tell me sensei," the blonde interfered with a calm tone making the pineapple haired shinobi sigh.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. I would have to consult Hokage-sama first," he answered with a sad expression knowing that what he said had a double meaning.
'Not because of the rules concerning passing a candidate Naruto, but because of the Kyuubi. It's clear that the fox is meddling with your chakra flow,' he thought afterwards with a melancholic expression on his face, not liking that they were hiding such a big fact from the blonde; but it was probably for his own welfare.
"Heh, I see. So you felt that evil chakra before too huh? Then I presume it is the part of the reason why the villagers hate me so much, ne sensei?" the twelve year old blonde said with a smile making Iruka's eyes widen considerably in shock before he composed himself.
"N-Naruto, wha-what are you talking about? I never sa-"
"So you're still gonna lie to me Iruka-sensei?" Naruto intervened with a somewhat pained smile taking the chunin by surprise. Lowering his gaze, Iruka sighed to himself sadly...
"I...I'm sorry Naruto. But I can't tell you the reason people hate you," a sigh escaped the blonde's lips before he formed a single shadow clone making Iruka's eyes bulge in surprise.
"But that feeling, clearly it is disturbing my chakra circulatory system. Then I think the reason you are still reluctant to pass me is because I may get killed during a mission if it happens again, or that I may pose a danger to others due to that chakra, right?" Iruka could only nod dumbly making him chuckle before it turned into a full blown grin.
"Don't you worry, I wouldn't get killed so easily! I'll prove it you sensei!" he exclaimed making the academy instructor smile at the blonde's exuberance.
'Seeing Iruka-sensei agree further proves my theory right. Since he agreed that the evil feeling was chakra indeed, then that means there has to be a living source in me whose chakra leaked into my coils earlier today. And if it 'leaked' today of all other days since I was born, then that means the living chakra source was sealed inside me. And considering the brief expressions of fear that crossed both Iruka-sensei and Mizuki when I myself felt that chakra only cements my suspicion. Now the only thing left to find: who or what is the chakra source sealed inside me?' Naruto contemplated on the inside as he continued to grin when both of them heard a familiar voice.
"I see, just like all those times in the past, Iruka has a knack of winning the 'Find the demon brat' contest," Mizuki spoke with a chuckle.
"Mizuki?" Iruka questioned with a confused expression on his face while Naruto continued to stand there calmly. Ignoring Iruka, the silver haired chunin spoke.
"Alright Naruto, you've passed the test, now give the scroll to me so I can return it to Hokage-sama!" Mizuki uttered loudly making the blonde's oceanic blue eyes narrow as he balled his fists.
"Test? Mizuki, what are you talking about? Naruto, what is going on here?" Iruka asked with growing confusion as his patience grew thin while the blonde just stood there.
"What are you waiting for Naruto? Give the scroll to me!" Mizuki yelled while Iruka found himself lost, but he didn't like the vibe coming off his fellow chunin. The pineapple haired instructor though turned his head when he heard Naruto besides him chuckle.
"Yo Mizuki-sensei! Since I pass my test for graduating, let's see if you pass your test for the forbidden scroll!," the blonde yelled back as his voice echoed throughout the forest while Mizuki gritted his teeth in anger whereas Iruka just looked on in confusion before he spoke.
"Naruto, give me the scroll," a serious expression now on his face while the whiskered blonde just turned his head slowly to smile at his sensei.
"Bakudo no Ichi: Sai! (Way of Binding: Restrain)"
"Agh!" Iruka exclaimed in surprise as he suddenly found himself on his knees with both of his wrists tied behind his back by some invisible force. Struggling to get free, he turned his head back to see the previously made clone of Naruto, his index and middle fingers were currently pointed at him before it puffed out.
"No use struggling sensei, you can't get out of this," the blonde spoke in a serious tone. Iruka's eyes were currently widened as snapped his head back to stare at Naruto in shock.
"Naruto, what is this? Why are you doing this?" he yelled as the chunin found himself unable to move while Mizuki, who currently was perched on a branch; to say the least- was shell-shocked.
'What was that jutsu just now? I've never seen or heard such a thing, he didn't even do any handseals! Does the demon have a special bloodline?' were the thoughts currently rampaging his mind when Naruto turned to face him, a cold look in his frosty electric blue eyes while his face was sporting a calm expression.
Shaking himself out of his initial shock, the silver haired chunin spoke loudly, "Give the scroll to me Naruto! You pass the test, there's no need to show any more techniques, we know how strong you are!"
"I may keep grinning like a goofball, I may act like a clown, I may have failed the graduation exams three times in a row, I may be the dead last….but I'm NOT an idiot Mizuki!" the blonde growled with such ferocity in his voice that both Iruka and Mizuki found themselves thinking if he really was a twelve year old boy. His cold calculating eyes, indicated maturity far beyond his age; it's the look you normally see in a veteran experienced shinobi, not a boy like Naruto they used to know.
"Wh-What are you talking about? Just give me the damn scroll you idiot!" Mizuki shouted as he found himself somewhat intimidated by the aura the blonde was currently emitting. This was ridiculous; he was only a twelve year old brat to say the least!
"Oh I will give the scroll to you alright. I even know that you had planned for me to steal it. Then placing all the blame on me, you would flee from the village with the scroll right?" Naruto spoke calmly making Iruka's eyes widen in shock while Mizuki too found himself unnerved by this.
'I knew something was wrong here! So it was Mizuki all along, he must have manipulated Naruto somehow,' the pineapple haired chunin thought before his eyes suddenly widened in shock again.
"Naruto! What do you mean you'll give him the scroll?" he asked, a small amount of fear dripping from his voice while Mizuki too found himself confused.
Ignoring Iruka's shout, the whiskered blonde unslung the large scroll from his back before setting it down on the ground with a 'thud'.
"Here's a sweet deal for you Mizuki-sensei! I'm tired of all the villagers treating me like crap and the fact that no one is gonna help me become a ninja here has led me to a decision- I'm gonna leave Konoha!" a creepy silence followed his declaration as both Mizuki and Iruka stared at him wide eyed. Leave the village?
"NARUTO! What are you saying? You can't leave the village! What about your dream of becoming the Hokage?" Iruka yelled as he struggled to break free of the binding while the blonde just stood there facing Mizuki with a serious expression.
"Now about the deal or the test to say of sorts- you tell me the reason why the villagers hate me so much and I'll give you the forbidden scroll, as simple as that."
"NO NARUTO! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Iruka's yell however fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to stare at a stunned Mizuki. The silver haired chunin had never thought that things could turn out this way, but it did make sense. It was only a matter of time before the blonde would've snapped under the shitty treatment he had been receiving since he was born.
A dark smirk slowly formed on Mizuki's face as he began to chuckle softly.
'I can't believe my luck! Oh well….I myself was about to tell this demon the truth, he seems more eager than me,' he thought before standing up on the branch.
"Alright Naruto, I'll tell you," he spoke with a smirk while Iruka's eyes widen in horror.
"MIZUKI! DON'T YOU DARE!" he knew however that there was no stopping it now.
"Twelve years ago, when the nine tailed fox attacked Konoha, the yondaime Hokage couldn't kill it. SO he did the next best thing by sealing that monster inside of a baby," he paused while Naruto stood there in shock as Mizuki's words registered into his mind, immediately connecting all the dots.
"S-So…the K-Kyuubi's sealed into me?" the blonde asked uncertainly as his pupils began to tremble while Mizuki sneered.
"YES! That monster was sealed inside YOU! You're the demon that attacked our village twelve years ago! You're the abomination that everyone hates so much and de-" Mizuki however paused abruptly when he noticed a smirk form on the blonde's face.
"What's so funny brat!" he yelled while Iruka too stared at Naruto flabbergasted.
"Nothing, it's just that I never asked your view of me, I only asked the reason people hate me so much-not for you to lecture me on 'demons and monsters', you always were a crappy teacher anyway."
The hell was wrong with this kid?
"N-Naruto….," Iruka trailed in surprise as he stared at his student with wide eyes while Mizuki too didn't know what was going on here? Wasn't he supposed to go an emotional roller-coaster after hearing such a big secret about himself? And here he was cracking jokes at him?
Naruto however tightened his grip on the scroll as he closed his eyes momentarily, a sigh escaping his lips. He remembered what Teuchi had said to him when he had asked about why everyone hated him so much during the previous month.
"Right now, I don't want anything to get in your way of training Naruto. It's better that you just concentrate on the task ahead. But I know that the secret can't be kept from you always, I know in the coming future you'll get to know this secret. And when you do, remember….always remember that you have people that care for you. No matter what everyone else calls you, just believe in yourself. Don't let yourself get down by what those idiots say. Just keep in mind that you're the true guardian of this village…of Konoha, that's what becoming a Hokage is all about. All of us are with you…me, you jiji, Ayame-chan, Rangiku-san and…."
'Shiroi-chan,' he thought as his facial features relaxed while Mizuki and Iruka stood there, waiting for his reaction. Was he about to burst as expected?
"Naruto-kun…." his eyes widened in shock when he heard that familiar voice, freezing him on the spot. His whole world seemed to slow down around him right then.
"Sh-Shiroi…chan," he muttered with wide eyes, were his ears ringing? Was that really her voice just now. His eyebrows lifted up in immense surprise upon feeling two warm slender arms wrap around his neck gently.
"Remember, Shiroi-chan loves Naruto-kun….and always will. You are who you are….not a demon," that melodic voice, it was her! Turning his head just a bit, his oceanic blue eyes widened considerable upon seeing the glowing face of her, it was like seeing an angel from some kind of a fairy tale.
"Shiroi-chan," he didn't know what else to say, he never thought he would see her again. And here she was, smiling cutely at him.
"I will always be watching over you Naruto-kun, stay strong," she spoke softly, kissing him on the cheek before her mirage slowly disappeared while he just stood there in mind boggling shock.
"N-Naruto…." the blonde physically jerked a bit upon hearing Iruka's concerned voice as he blinked for several times. Lifting his hand, he slowly put it on his heart as a smile crept onto his face.
'Yeah, you're with me Shiroi-chan. I know you'll we watching me from up there,' he thought as a lone tear slipped down his cheek. Seeing the liquid on his cheek, Iruka began to panic as he started to expect the worst.
"Listen Naruto! What Mizuki said is not true! You're not-"
"Iruka-sensei…" the whiskered blonde titled his head towards the chunin with a warm smile.
"I know…thanks," he uttered in a low tone as Iruka gaped at him like a fish while Mizuki was getting frustrated now.
He was expecting some screams, cries of pain about how the world was unfair to the demon, running away with tears in his eyes…and so many other emotionally self-destructive possibilities; but he was definitely not expecting the blonde to just smile over it and say…"I know, thanks?", was this kid retarted or what? Didn't he know how to behave in such situations? He was supposed to break down like a raped damsel in distress with the protagonist having no chance in hell to save her violated ass dammit! (Damsel in Distress= Naruto, Protagonist= Iruka, Rapist=Mizuki teme!)
"Naruto, I've answered your question, give me the scroll now! Don't force me into using force!" the rapist…'cough', the silver haired chunin yelled while the blonde sweat dropped at the double 'force' statement before a challenging smirk formed on his face.
"Well then, try it teme! If you can trick me-not that you succeeded in doing so…I just wanted to catch you red handed and know 'bout my little secret- then why can't I trick you?" Mizuki however gritted his teeth while Iruka struggled to get free.
"Naruto untie me! There's no way you can take on a chunin!" he frantically said while Mizuki took out a windmill shuriken with a sneer on his face.
"Alright, I've been wanting to do this to you anyway! Prepare to die you demon!" he yelled before hurling the heavy projectile weapon at great speeds towards Naruto.
"NARUTO GET DOWN!" Iruka yelled in desperation, his eyes closed while Naruto…showing amazing reflexes and speed for an academy student or a genin, dodged it with a single side-step making Mizuki's eyes widen.
"H-How?" he stuttered in surprise. No genin should've been able to dodge such attack, no genin should even possess such reflexes and speed as well dodging with such precision.
'I've been straining my ass for a whole month now, this was quite easy. Is this the best a chunin can do?' the blonde thought with a serious expression when suddenly his senses went haywire while his eyes widened.
'This reiatsu…..' he thought as a light pressure, not enough to be sensed by the two chunins though, washed over the area.
Lifting his head, he gazed towards the sky with wide eyes as the pressure slowly continued to increase, with the number of reiatsu sources increasing too.
'It's in that direction!' he mentally exclaimed before turning his head back only to curse inwardly as the trees were blocking his view.
"You shouldn't space out like that demon," his eyes widened upon hearing Mizuki's voice up close just behind him.
WHAM!
"ARGH!" he exclaimed in pain before coughing out some blood as the chunin had slammed a kick onto his lower back making him fly forwards at blazing speeds before crashing into a tree violently.
"Naruto!" Iruka yelled making Mizuki smirk as he picked up the scroll which had fell off Naruto's grip while Iruka frantically struggled to get free of these damn invisible bindings!
"So sad Iruka, your student is out cold with several bones broken probably. Now I think it's your turn," approaching the struggling figure of someone who used to be his best friend, Mizuki pulled out a kunai as he began to twirl it around his fingers.
Both of their eyes however suddenly widened upon abruptly feeling some sort of pressure fall upon them. It's as if the gravity had suddenly increased and was still increasing!
'This feeling….it's the same from before, only much larger this time!' both of them thought, but somehow they knew that Naruto wasn't the one causing it this time.
"W-What's going on?" Mizuki questioned with a look of confusion and panic on his face, but nevertheless the pressure was not enough to weigh them down considering they were chunins and not some random civilian. Iruka too however was thinking along the same lines.
"Is it another hollow?" he spoke uncertainly. This was the feeling they usually got whenever they were attacked by a hollow, but it was never this strong. But now, it was as if….
"TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" both of them snapped their heads back as now hundreds of puffs of smoke filled the forest.
'No way….he couldn't make so many…' Iruka thought in shock as he gazed at all the smoke around them when it cleared for their eyes to bulge in astonishment.
"Alright teme! I have no time to play with you!"
"Yeah, let's finish this!"
"You're going down!"
Random threatning shouts filled the area as hundreds of shadow clones readied themselves, some standing around Mizuki while most of them were perched on the branches above. It truly was an intimidating sight to behold.
"H-How can you do this? You're a demon!" Mizuki stuttered as the heavy scroll fell out his hand while he stumbled back a bit. The real Naruto however was standing in front of the tree he had crashed into as he wiped the blood off his chin, a serious expression on his face.
Among the many shadow clones, one of them climbed the trees to get to the top quickly. Looking in the direction where the foreign reiatsu was constantly increasing, his eyes widened while his body froze in spine-breaking shock as he stared at the sight in the dark sky.
Up there, way above the center of Konoha, was a HUGE garganta through which countless hollows were coming….filling the dark void of the endless sky as their forms approached Konoha, it was like an army!
"W-What's the meaning of this? Th….This is absurd! So….how can there be so many hollows?" he questioned in shock as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, now understanding the constantly growing reiatsu.
The loud howls of anguish and pain, the chilling effects of their dark reiatsu now filled the poor clones system as he stood on the top of a tree, staring at a sight which almost everyone could describe as 'Armageddon'.
'We're officially about to get fucked up!'
'Phew'! Finally done with this. As you can see, things are twisting with each chapter, and for a reason ofcourse.
Oh, about the shadow clone technique failing because of Kyuubi's chakra, that too happens for a reason...so don't yell at me that "You asshole! Just so that Naruto gets to fight Mizuki and show-off, you resorted to such a cliche and a cheap method after all the training he went through! *Middle finger!* "
So lol no, I did not aim for such a thing. And you might have found things in this chapter just a little bit rushed, it was mainly to get on with the plot. But I was pleased after reading the reviews that some you are actually enjoying the slow pace and character development...so I'll try to balance everything and to not make this boring.
Also, for those who don't know and are interested, check out my NarutoxDeath Note crossover- 'The Jinchuriki's Note' :)
So as usual, please review and tell me what you guys think so far. (lol just copied this line from the previous chapters, I'm tired of typing this over and over again ;)
So take care people and stay awesome! (even if you think you aren't, you are!) :D
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