Naruto: The First Step- Chapter 10
By: MidatoUchiha
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was hated by the villagers in Konohagakure no Sato because of what was sealed inside him. He dreamed to become Hokage and finally earn the respect of all the villagers. With friends by his side, life had never gotten way easier, for Naruto, of course.
Naruto and Iruka made their way to the academy to confront Mizuki. They had planned it all out in several minutes and even prepared a Plan B if anything unexpected happens. They had informed the Hokage about the situation and Naruto was given a thorough chastising for being so careless. Though skeptical and concerned for the now Genin, Iruka and Hiruzen had agreed that Naruto should be the one to confront Mizuki personally when he offered.
Naruto took off his hitai-ate and gave it to Iruka.
"Why are you giving this to me?" Iruka asked, dumbfounded.
"It's for safekeeping. I wouldn't want my hitai-ate destroyed on first day of my new life," Naruto explained while pulling out his green goggles from his jacket.
He wore it on his forehead and nodded to Iruka. He then entered the academy halls with the big red scroll strapped behind him, walking until he reached the room where he had his Genin exam. As for Iruka, he stood guard outside, waiting for back-up which he asked for when had a conversation with the Sandaime a few moments ago. Inside, Naruto found Mizuki in the darkness, leaning on a wall in front of him. Naruto couldn't see clearly but he figured that Mizuki had a large shuriken strapped on his back with his arms crossed. He was expecting a fight- as he rightfully should.
"Naruto, have you brought with you the scroll that I ask for?" Mizuki asked in a mysterious tone.
Naruto took off the scroll from his back and held it with both hands firmly.
"What do you intend to do with it, sensei?" Naruto asked.
"What do you mean? It's mine. Why do you want to know?" Mizuki said, suspicion clear in his voice.
"You lied," Naruto growled.
Mizuki was taken back as his eyes widened.
"What? W-W... You... Wait, you read... the scroll?!" Mizuki exclaimed.
"Yes! And I'm glad I did because it's not even yours!" Naruto growled again.
Mizuki closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes again.
"Look, kid, just give me the scroll. I don't want to fight you," Mizuki impatiently said.
"Not until you tell me what you are going to do with it. Besides, I take liars seriously," Naruto stood firm.
Mizuki was somehow ticked off by this.
"Why do you want to know so badly?" Mizuki asked through gritted teeth.
"And why do you want it so bad?" Naruto countered, taunting him.
Mizuki stood speechless. He walked towards Naruto until he was only a few feet away. He stiffly stretched his arm towards him.
"Give me the scroll," Mizuki snarled.
"Never," Naruto growled.
"Fine! You asked for it!" Mizuki shouted, pulling out a kunai from his holster.
Mizuki was about to hit Naruto when the boy ran out with the scroll. Mizuki gave chase right after. Naruto ran to the back door of the academy and went out to a thick forest. He kept running until he could no longer see Mizuki chasing him. He looked around and saw a huge tree about fifteen feet tall. He set out towards said tree jumped on a tree branch. He climbed until he reached the highest branch where a big hole was found on the trunk of a tree. The hole gave him an idea.
Mizuki ran towards the direction where Naruto went. After looking around under the tree where Naruto hid, he set off again.
Naruto saw Mizuki run towards his tree and held his breath. He saw Mizuki look around the area but was stupid enough not to look up. Even when enshrouded by darkness, Naruto knew he'd be discovered by his orange jumpsuit which made him contemplate on why he loved orange so much. When Mizuki left, he heaved a sighed and set down the scroll on the branch. He wiped the sweat trickling from his left temple. He duplicated the scroll and strapped the duplicate on his back. Then he hid the real one in a big hole on the trunk of the tree. He then set off to go down again. He jumped and landed on the ground with a resounding thud. He looked around to see if Mizuki was nearby. As he was about to run towards the academy, someone called him from behind.
"Naruto!" a voice called.
Naruto spun around to see Iruka and breathed a sigh of relief but something was wrong. He noticed Iruka to have a big shuriken the same one Mizuki had strapped on his back.
"Sensei, how'd you find me?" Naruto asked skeptically.
"I heard Mizuki scream and I saw you run here. Give me the scroll, Naruto. I'll take care of it from here, now go!" Iruka said.
"Sensei, what about the plan?" Naruto asked, still cautious.
"Don't mind the plan. Just give me the scroll. Don't worry; I'll distract him for you. Go back to the academy and wait for me there, I'll be the one to dispose of him," Iruka insisted.
Naruto's eyes furrowed dangerously.
"You think I'm stupid, don't you? Well, tough luck. You need Henge lessons. I know you're not Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, clapping his hands together to form a seal.
Naruto uttered the word 'Kai' which made Iruka disappear with a poof and standing in his place was Mizuki. The man was shocked on how Naruto knew that it was him. He could've sworn he did the Henge right.
"How'd you know it was me?" Mizuki asked, eyes narrowing.
"Iruka-sensei doesn't have a shuriken behind him and you don't even know what we've planned in store for you. You need to improve on your Henge," Naruto replied.
"You truly are the smartest in your batch," Mizuki stated, stiffening.
"Perhaps this should teach you never to underestimate me ever again," Naruto growled.
Naruto threw a couple of shuriken towards Mizuki but the man dodged. Mizuki pulled out a kunai from his holster and charged towards Naruto. On instinct, Naruto pulled out two kunais and began hand to hand combat with Mizuki. You could see that all he learned in from Iruka has served him well and he was grateful for it. It gave him the upper hand as he landed a few cuts on Mizuki but he still remained unscratched. Mizuki was frustrated that a Genin was better than him and had to take drastic measures. He kicked Naruto's shins making the boy fall back and land on his bottom as he didn't expect the dirty move. Mizuki jumped up high in the air and threw the big shuriken towards Naruto.
Naruto, still recovering from his fall, saw the shuriken coming towards him and he had no time to dodge. He pulled his arms up to his face, closed his eyes, and braced for impact. But none came. He heard Mizuki land on the ground with a small thud. Instead, he felt breathing near his face and slowly opened his eyes. What he saw shocked him. He saw Iruka hovering on him, blood trickling down his lower lip. He saw the shuriken lodged on Iruka's back. The sight made him speechless. Iruka took the shuriken for him. Iruka coughed a little blood on his cheek and smiled down at him.
"You okay, Naruto?" Iruka asked.
"S-Sensei... what..." Naruto murmured, speechless.
"Take the scroll. I'll take it from here," Iruka said.
"B-But sensei..." Naruto stuttered.
"No buts, Naruto. That is an order and shinobi obeys orders," Iruka coughed out.
Naruto nodded. Iruka sat on his behind while Naruto stood up with the fake scroll and ran. He hid behind a tree nearby and sat, hugging the scroll to his chest. Iruka pulled out the shuriken from his back and rested his back on the nearest tree.
"What did you do, Iruka?! You let him get away!" Mizuki snarled.
Iruka glared at him.
"You shouldn't have let Naruto take that scroll for you," Iruka sounded as he was reprimanding a naughty child.
"Why so soft on him? He's just a demon!" Mizuki said.
Naruto, who was listening, heard Mizuki's words making him lower his head. Even after ignoring the accusation so many times... even when he graduated top of his class... even when he proved them wrong that he was more than the demon they saw in him, the words still cut deep into his young mind.
"You're wrong. He's not a demon," Iruka defended, smiling. Naruto raised his chin as he heard Iruka's words.
"Come on, Iruka! You yourself know that Kyuubi was sealed inside him!" Mizuki said, frustrated.
Naruto's eyes widened once more. 'The Kyuubi? Sealed inside me? How preposterous! He was killed by the Yondaime years ago!' Naruto thought.
"Have you forgotten who killed your parents?! It was that kid!" Mizuki shouted.
"The Kyuubi killed them. Not Naruto. He would never do such things," Iruka said, matter-of-factly.
Naruto began thinking why Iruka was defending him. It gave him a sense of importance, security, and peace. Iruka continued his speech.
"I could never forget who killed my parents. And every time I see Naruto, I am reminded of what the Kyuubi did to them and I get mad sometimes because of it. But I could never get mad at Naruto because it wasn't his fault," Iruka said.
Mizuki stared at him.
"I know of what Naruto went through because he didn't have parents so I couldn't get mad at him. I experienced a life without no one to care for me or love me just as Naruto did. I've seen him get beaten up by villagers sometimes because of the Kyuubi," Iruka continued.
"What are you trying to say exactly? You do know I'm not listening to anything you have to say. Why try?" Mizuki asked.
"Because Naruto has nothing to do with what happened 14 years ago! I try because he's worth it!" Iruka shouted.
At this point, tears started trickling down Naruto's cheeks.
"In truth, I am proud of what he has become despite the villager's mistreatment towards him. He worked hard to prove himself to them and look at what he has achieved now. He is the best Genin of his batch and I couldn't be more proud. By becoming shinobi, I salute him. He is part of Konohagakure no Sato and his name is Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka proclaimed.
At this point, Naruto's face was drenched in tears. He didn't know how much Iruka cared for him until now. He always wondered why Iruka was the only adult aside from the Sandaime who saw him as himself and not a demon. It turned out Iruka was just like him.
But Mizuki, however, wasn't impressed.
"Whatever. I'll still kill both of you," Mizuki said.
Mizuki pulled out some kunais and prepared to hit Iruka. Naruto jumped in front of Iruka with the fake scroll. He set in on the ground vertically and glared at Mizuki.
"I won't let you hurt Iruka-sensei!" Naruto growled.
Mizuki smirked.