alDisclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto
Chapter 2.
The Third Hokage was very old, but he wasn't feeble. In fact, most of his skills were still as sharp as shuriken points. So it was no surprise that late one night, while he was writing in his journal, he heard someone sneak up to his house.
Hiruzen lowered his eyelids and focused his attention on the intruder. Not an ounce of killing intent. This stranger was not about to murder him. Judging from his size, he was either a very small man—or a child.
"Naruto? Is that you?" the Hokage called out.
Sometimes Konohamaru, his grandson, played tricks like this, but Konohamaru would be fast asleep at this hour. The Hokage sharpened his focus until he was sure of the intruders' identity. Then he heaved a big sigh.
"Now what is he scheming?" he muttered.
The Hokage moved closer until he could sense Naruto's energy, then all of a sudden, he saw him. Naruto had crawled through a window and was now tiptoeing toward the back of the house.
"What are you doing here?" the Hokage asked.
Naruto gasped and wildly spun around. He gaped at the Third Hokage for precisely three seconds. Then he quickly made a hand sign and shouted, "Sexy Jutsu!"
Now the Third Hokage was very gifted. He knew more secret Jutsu than any Hokage before him, and he could execute those Jutsu better than anyone. Make no mistake; the Third Hokage was indeed a living legend.
But even living legends have weak spots. The last time the Third Hokage had seen a woman, make that a young woman. In all her lush, glorious splendor was ages and ages ago.
Years ago, Naruto had discovered the Hokage's one niggling little weakness, and now he exploited the living hell out of it.
Amazing how nosebleeds can spurt out so spectacularly. the Hokage thought, slowly sinking into oblivion.
"Close one," Naruto gulped, rushing away. He tore through the mansion until he found the library Mizuki had told him about. The shelves were jam-packed with scrolls, but Naruto didn't stop to browse. He headed straight for a corner that was away from the other books.
"This must be it," he said out loud.
Naruto pulled out a scroll nearly as big as his body and quickly scanned the contents. Bingo. He rolled it back up, tied it to his back, and crawled out a nearby window.
A shadow, hidden from view, had been watching the entire operation. Naruto never noticed.
They didn't find the Third Hokage until early the next morning. He was still unconscious, eyes rolled back, blood gushing from his nose.
That same night, in another house, Iruka tossed and turned. He couldn't stop agonizing about Naruto's fate. What should he do about him? What could he do? To make matters worse, the Third Hokage had called on Iruka after the exam with a surprising request.
"I understand your position on this, but Naruto needs your affection, too," the Hokage had told him.
"Affection?"
"I'm not saying you shouldn't scold him," the Hokage continued. "Naruto needs a firm hand. But he also needs love. Someone who treats him fairly. Please remember that."
Iruka knew the Hokage was right. But some dark feeling kept him from opening his heart. He didn't hate Naruto, but he knew they could never be close. Iruka obsessed about all this until dawn when someone started banging on his door.
"Who could that be at this hour?" he said irritated.
"Iruka! Please hurry!" Mizuki burst out when Iruka opened the door.
"What happened?" Iruka gasped.
"We think Naruto stole the Scroll of Sealing. Come to Lord Hokage's mansion with me."
"Naruto did what?"
Mizuki didn't answer but ran off into the morning light. Iruka chased after him. By the time they arrived at the mansion, the chief Chunin were already there.
"You're late, Iruka," the Third Hokage said sternly.
"Sorry, Lord Hokage."
The Third Hokage nodded and cleared his throat.
"As you've all heard, the Scroll of Sealing is missing," he said gravely. "We think it was taken some hours ago. If we don't find the scroll soon, there will be dire consequences."
The Scroll of Sealing contained dangerous forbidden Jutsu compiled by the First Hokage years ago, and every Hokage since had added to it over the years. Like any important reference book, it was never allowed out of the library. Only Hokage were allowed to look inside, but they had never shared its secrets.
"This is more than a childish prank." the Hokage went on.
A Chunin named Bekko looked grim. So did the others. Mizuki looked sad, but he didn't object to punishing Naruto when they found him- if they found him.
"Our priority is to get the scroll," the Hokage directed. "We can decide about Naruto later. Go!"
The Chunin scattered in all directions.
As Iruka jumped from roof to roof, he vowed to be the first to find Naruto. He had to be the first. There was no telling what the others might do if they caught Naruto red-handed. Besides, Iruka was dying to discover how Naruto even knew about the scroll. Academy students weren't supposed to know that it even existed.
"I have a sneaking suspicion where he might be. Iruka muttered. "But, I'll turn over every stone in the village until I find him."
Suddenly, Iruka felt the hair on his neck stand. Was someone watching him? He checked over his shoulder but didn't see anyone, and there wasn't time to investigate.
Iruka took off for the first place on his list.
Chapter 3.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the forest, Naruto sat on the ground in a daze. He'd been practicing a special Jutsu since he stole the scroll. Now every bone in his body ached.
Mizuki had told him the truth, all right. Every Jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing was totally amazing. The only trouble was, Naruto couldn't figure out most of them.
He wound up choosing two Jutsu that seemed sorry of easy, at least compared to the others to complete Mizuki's test. If the other Genin learned one Jutsu, to win, he had to learn two. But even the scroll's easiest Jutsu made the Clone Jutsu looked like a toddler's move.
Naruto went through the motions, again and again, trying hard to get them right. Now, hours later, he was making progress.
"I just need a little more practice," Naruto told himself.
He tried to stand up, but his legs felt as limp as leftover ramen. Naruto was too focused on getting back to his feet that he didn't hear someone approach.
"Narutoooo!"
Naruto blinked his bleary eyes in the direction of the voice. Then he grinned."
"Hey, sensei! I thought it'd be Mizuki who would find me, but I can show you too!" Naruto yelled.
He wobbled to his feet, and Iruka stared at him with surprise.
"What are you doing out here? You look dead on your feet?"
"That's because I am," Naruto admitted. "I've been practicing ninjutsu."
"You have?" Iruka looked uneasy.
"Here, I'll show you!" Naruto said excitedly, getting into position. "I'm not sure about the other Jutsu, but this one I can do. Then you can announce who the number one graduating Genin is!"
Shoot if I do this, they'll promote me all the way to a Chunin, Naruto thought as he made the complicated signs.
"Not so fast, Naruto," Iruka blurted. "Do you know what that scroll is on your back?"
The scroll was as big and heavy as a log, but Naruto had forgotten all about it.
"The Scroll of Sealing? Mizuki-sensei said it was the final test. Whichever Genin could steal the scroll and learn a Jutsu inside would be the named Rookie of the Year. My scroll was in the Hokage's mansion."
"Mizuki told you about the scroll?" Iruka gasped.
Without warning, he roughly pushed Naruto aside. Naruto fell backward as a storm of shuriken spun right toward Iruka.
Iruka felt them pierce every part of his body. He staggered around in pain, struggling to keep on his feet.
"S-sensei?" Naruto said uneasily. Iruka glared up at a nearby tree.
"Hello, Mizuki. So you were the one stalking me," he said grimly.
Mizuki stood on a branch near the top of the tree. Several huge windmill shuriken were strapped to his back.
"I thought you might lead me to Naruto," Mizuki said, descending from his lofty perch.
"I see."
Iruka plucked a shuriken from his arm and grimaced. Naruto watched his two sensei. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"Give me the scroll, Naruto," Mizuki said coldly.
Naruto had never seen Mizuki look menacing, his mouth twisted into a nasty smile.
"Don't, Naruto! No matter what he says!" Iruka shouted. "That scroll contains dangerous Jutsu! Mizuki tricked you into stealing the scroll so he could get it for himself!"
"You don't need that scroll, Naruto! Just give it to me!" Mizuki demanded.
"No," Naruto said.
"Why? Because Iruka-sensei said not to?" Mizuki scoffed. "Would you like to know what Iruka-sensei really thinks of you?"
"I don't care," Naruto answered. "You're a traitor."
He looked at Iruka, who nodded. Then he jumped up and ran into the forest with the scroll.
"He'll get revenge on the village with that scroll, you know," Mizuki said. "Did you see the Nine-Tailed Fox in his eyes? Horrifying, to say the least."
Iruka got up and yanked the rest of the shuriken from his body, trying to ignore the searing pain.
"Naruto isn't like that," he told Mizuki.
"Believe whatever you want. I'm getting that scroll." Mizuki snarled as he jumped away.
"Mizuki!"
"Just try and catch me, Iruka."
Iruka tottered forward, but his legs quickly buckled under him. Mizuki must have got lucky and hit a vein.
"Not now!" he yelled, kneeling in the dirt. "Move, you dumb things!"
His legs, like his students, eventually obeyed, and Iruka dashed off after Mizuki. He used the Jutsu his students had been practicing the day before and jumped high into the tree canopy.
"Naruto! There you are!" Iruka yelled when he spotted him. He went up to a nearby tree and started moving in tandem with his student.
"Hurry, toss me the scroll! Mizuki's getting close!"
Naruto glanced at his sensei, but he didn't bother to answer. He changed direction and flew straight at Iruka, who had just leaped off a branch.
They slammed into each other in midair. Iruka lost his balance and crashed into the ground. With nothing to break his fall, Iruka rolled around in a messy heap. He glared at Naruto, who had drifted down as gently as a leaf.
"Why?" Iruka sputtered, as a cloud of smoke enveloped him. It faded to reveal Mizuki, seething with rage.
"Naruto! How did you know I wasn't Iruka?"
"Because I'm Iruka," Naruto smirked. More smoke went up, and Iruka appeared. Injured but still determined.
Meanwhile, the real Naruto was watching all this from a distance. This is my fault. He thought frantically. I shouldn't have taken the scroll when I realized it wasn't a test.
But Mizuki had been right. Nearly all of his graduating class were from ninja clans. They had secret clan Jutsu's, while he was just an orphan. He needed an edge, and the Scroll of Sealing could give him that.
"Why are you protecting the little punk, Iruka?" Mizuki shouted. "Naruto is just the same as I am."
"What do you mean?"
Mizuki laughed like a madman. "The Jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing can make all things possible. I could tear the heavens, split the earth, make every star in the sky fall down. Naruto wants that power too."
"You could be right, Mizuki," Iruka admitted.
Iruka's words wrapped around Naruto's heart like a hangman's noose. He's right.
"But Naruto is actually..."
Iruka paused. Naruto braced himself for the bad news.
"Naruto is actually an excellent student," Iruka concluded.
"Oh, sure he is. a real scholar!" Mizuki jeered.
Iruka ignored him and went on.
"So he's not the best in class. Big deal! He still works hard, and with very little encouragement from anybody."
Naruto felt a lump in his throat. He clutched the Scroll of Sealing more closely against his chest.
"Stupid, stupid Iruka." Mizuki sneered, reaching for another big shuriken. "I was going to kill you later, but there's no time like the present."
Mizuki took aim at Iruka, who by now could barely move. Iruka stood mesmerized for a moment, then he closed his eyes and steeled himself.
This is it. he thought. Sorry, Naruto. I really wanted to—
Suddenly Iruka heard a sharp hiss. He opened his eyes just in time to see black strings slam into Mizuki's back.
Mizuki was taken by complete surprise. He threw up his hands, which sent the shuriken spinning into the sky. Soon its gruesome blades, which could slice a human in half, lodged into a nearby tree trunk.
Mizuki fell smackdown on his face. When he slowly picked himself up, his cheeks looked like raw meat.
"You brat! You think you can make a fool or me!" Mizuki screamed, his body quivering with rage.
"Run, Naruto! Don't worry about me!" Iruka shouted.
"I'll kill you with one punch, you little freak!" Mizuki roared.
"Just try it," Naruto said calmly. "I'll multiply it by a hundred."
Naruto's placid demeanor was really getting to Mizuki. "Bring it on, you monster!" he roared.
Suddenly Mizuki froze on the spot. All the blood drained from his face as his eyes darted in every direction.
Naruto was multiplying fast incredibly fast. First, there were Ten Naruto's, then fifteen, then twenty...
"How...!" Mizuki gagged.
Just yesterday, Naruto had graduated from the Academy. Now he was using a Jonin level forbidden Jutsu.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the Narutos shouted in unison.
The regular Clone Jutsu was an example of genjutsu, the art of illusion. Though the clones made with it looked real, they were actually just a visual trick.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu, on the other hand, was drastically different. Using his own chakra, a ninja could create clones with actual substance and manipulate them at will. The skill belonged to a higher class of ninjutsu, too difficult for an ordinary ninja to master.
Naruto didn't use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, however. He used the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, which was even harder.
"This Jutsu was sealed in the scroll," the Narutos said.
Iruka couldn't believe his eyes. He felt shocked and elated, all at the same time. Mizuki, however, was just plain shocked.
"What's the hold-up, Mizuki?" the twenty-five Naruto said. "You said you'd kill me with one punch, remember?"
The sight of so many Narutos all talking at once was awe-inspiring indeed. Mizuki could hardly breathe, let alone speak.
"All right, Mizuki," Naruto said patiently. "If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you."
The gang of Narutos marched toward Mizuki, who cowered in fear at the small army. Even his best ninjutsu would be worthless against the army of spiky-haired boys.
Mizuki was swallowed up in a sea of orange. Soon the sounds of pummeling fists alternated with pitiful pleas for mercy.
Mizuki was pushed back, knocked around. He was kicked, punched, and finally knocked down. The twenty-five Naruto disappeared, leaving behind just the original- and he was grinning from ear to ear. Naruto gazed down at poor Mizuki, who was sprawled on the ground with his face bashed in.
"Uh-oh! Guess I kinda overdid it." Naruto said sheepishly.
"Naruto, come here," Iruka beckoned. He had collapsed on a tree root and was leaning against the trunk.
"Sensei!" Naruto gasped at all the blood. "What happened? Mizuki only hit you with a few shuriken!"
Iruka looked down at his leg. "Mizuki must have hit an artery."
"Bite me."
"What?" Iruka asked, bewildered.
Naruto pulled up his sleeve. There were two bite marks inches above his wrist on his forearm.
"Bite me." He said.
"Naruto, I'm not going to bite you," Iruka chuckled. "I-umph!"
Naruto stuck his arm in Iruka's mouth and used his hand to shove his sensei's mouth closed. He winced at the slight pain the bite caused, the pulled back.
Iruka sputtered, spitting out the small bit of blood from Naruto's broken skin.
"Naruto! What...?"
"You feel better, right?" Naruto asked, nervously. "I've only ever healed myself before."
Iruka instantly felt better. Like he hadn't been hurt at all.
"You're explaining this later," he told Naruto. "But right now, we have to get the scroll back to the Hokage."
Back at the Hokage Mansion, the Hokage looked up from his crystal ball and sighed.
"Well, that's settled, at least. But the future still worries me," he said to himself.
All-day long, Chunin had hung around the mansion, discussing how to flush Naruto out from his hideaway. The Hokage decided to send them home.
"But the decree should still stand," he muttered, heading for the door. "No one needs to know what Naruto has done. He shouldn't suffer more than he already has."
He opened the door and was surprised to see a tall thin man lurking in the shadows.
"Oh! You're early," the Hokage said.
"You have business for me, Lord Hokage?" the man asked as he stepped into the light.
He wore a mask over his nose and mouth, and his leaf headband was slanted to cover his left eye. Silver hair stood up from his head, defying gravity.
"Your next Genin team has been chosen, Kakashi."
"So soon?" But the graduation exam was just yesterday. This is unusual," Kakashi said in a slow drawl. His right eye drooped down at the corner, giving him a sleepy look.
"This case is special. The Academy graduates this year our mostly clan heirs, Kakashi."
"Think they'll be able to advance this time?" Kakashi asked.
The Hokage shrugged.
"Depends. Hopefully, we will have a new generation of shinobi willing to defend the village."
Now it was Kakashi's turn to shrug. "What will be will be. Especially if they are who I think they are."
The Hokage nodded and looked back at his crystal ball. He hadn't thought an Academy student would be capable of learning a Jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing, let alone two.
He turned away and sighed. Naruto didn't have a clue about what had done to himself. His Uzumaki genes could off-set the danger of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but the secret kinjutsu of Takigakure had changed him more than he knew.
Chapter Two
Hope everyone is staying safe