Chapter 9: Inheritance
A week before graduation, Naruto had finished all of his projects. The most important one was ending tonight, Hisato's teaching. Naruto went home in a bad mood, knowing it would mean a sort of goodbye with the man he had come to think of as a father. And in the academy, his time with Iruka would end soon after, the man he had come to think of as an older brother. He was both excited to move on, and sad for what it meant for his relationships.
The sun was setting behind Naruto, as he slowly walked the village street once again, back to the apartment he shared with his sensei. He was amazed, the village still disliked him. There had been wars, and yet a rampaging fox drew more hatred. The shadow cast by the kyuubi scared the villagers to the point of hating a child.
And yet… Many looked past the fear, and Naruto loved them for it. Could he get the whole village to forget their hatred? Hokage, if he could become Hokage, then he could say he had moved past it completely. After that, maybe he could move the whole village into a peaceful future free from hatred.
Naruto walked into the familiar apartment; it had seemed so big when he was a small child. Now it felt small and cozy. The feel of smooth wood floors and the small creak in the boards near the entrance to his room relaxed him. Hisato was sitting on a couch in the living room. He looked much frailer than when Naruto had first met him.
"Come sit down Naruto," said Hisato.
Naruto sat down on the couch next to him.
"You've done everything I've ever asked of you and more. You have two developed affinities, neither are your natural affinities. Your sealing ability would make your clan proud. I passed down my expertise Naruto. You've done very well, better than I could have hoped. But despite my hopes, my condition is continuing to worsen." Naruto looked at Hisato with a teary-eyed scowl. "All within expectations, all within expectations," Hisato soothed. "But, life isn't about meeting expectations Naruto. There is always the strong possibility of failure, maturity and strength are required to meet that failure head-on. On paper, I have raised you as well as I possibly could. In practice, you still need some seasoning Naruto."
"I don't understand Hisato-sensei. Are you saying you're going to die? Are you saying I won't become Hokage? It sounds as if you're readying me for something bad."
"In a sense I am. I am not omniscient Naruto. I don't want you to rush your nature transformation. You are expert enough to manage it yourself, you know when your body can handle it. Each transformation will get harder and harder anyway, except when you get to wind obviously. Setbacks are a part of life Naruto. Eventually, you will fail at something or another you know. I just want you to promise me you'll get back on your feet if I'm not around to kick your butt into gear. Because there is always the possibility of my condition unpredictably flaring up while you are on a mission."
"I promise sensei."
"The next is your heritage. When you obtain the full cycle, you will need to go to the Uzumaki shrine outside the village to the East. Inside you will find the mask of the Shinigami. It will give you the ability to remove your father's spirit from the reaper's belly, and obtain the Fox. Once you have the full fox, you MUST visit Uzushiogakure and seek out the tablet and a few other things. I can't tell you for… reasons. This is the most important thing. It can wait, but the message on the tablet cannot be lost forever. If not you, then another Uzumaki."
"Sensei, be honest with me, how long do you think you have?"
Hisato sighed. "Five to ten years. If no accidents happen."
"And you want me to take it easy! No way! You're out of your mind!"
"YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" *COUGH* *COUGH*
Hisato never yelled, ever.
Naruto straightened his back and took a calming breath. "Can you please explain so that it makes sense to me Sensei?"
"As best I can Naruto… There is a great darkness on the horizon. You must be capable of fighting it, there is no other candidate Naruto. And you forgot one of your first lessons: the Dao cannot be forced. In understanding as well as in any efforts. That's all I can say on the matter Naruto."
"Very well Hisato-sensei."
# # #
Naruto leaned back in his chair, the large class hall was abuzz with excitement and nervousness. It was the final exam. Everyone had passed the previous exams, but they always made the Final slightly harder. For instance, last test, the ninjutsu was based on the Kawamiri, the body replacement jutsu. The current test was based on the Bunshin, the most difficult in terms of chakra control requirements.
Sakura had been passed as kunoichi of the year, Hinata was sure to clinch it based on the performance he just saw. Unfortunately, it came at a time where they had all become friendly. Hinata was still his closest friend, but unlike before, Naruto wasn't hoping for Sakura to not do as well. He still wanted to put his fingers in his ears when she swooned over Sasuke…
Hinata sat next to him. "Are you worried about Rookie of the Year?"
Naruto stretched. "Nah, I'm certain I got perfect scores on the written exams this time." He continued more somberly, "I had a lot of extra time this week."
Hinata laughed and put her hand on Naruto's arm. "Only you would have more free time the week before the exams. Did something happen with your secret training?"
Naruto had kept the extent of his abilities under wraps. He was certain the village might take measures if they thought the demon was getting too powerful too quickly. He wanted them to slowly come to recognize his abilities as he provided service to the village.
"I completed my tutelage under Hisato-sensei."
"Oh, how is he? Such a nice man," said Hinata. They had teamed up to make Naruto turn red.
"He's good," Naruto said unconvincingly. "Who do you think you'll be on a team with?"
"I think they'll put me in a tracking specialized team. So, Aburame and Inuzuka?" Hinata guessed.
"Shino seems decent enough. Kiba is…"
"Immature?" Hinata supplied.
Kiba was currently flexing his arms at the kunoichi in the room. Naruto and Hinata sweat-dropped.
"UCHIHA SASUKE!" one of the proctors called out.
"I'm next Hinata, wish me luck."
# # #
"Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto created a single, perfect clone.
"Congratulations Uzumaki Naruto! We are proud to award you the rank of Genin! Which color Hitai-ate would you like?" Iruka asked.
"Blue cloth Iruka-sensei. Thank you, for everything Iruka-sensei." Naruto bowed deeply.
Naruto tied his head protector snugly, and walked out into the classroom, and sat in the closest desk. He only sat down for a moment before Iruka walked in and stood in front of the class.
"Attention students. Or should I say previous students now?" Iruka smiled proudly at all of the children. "I would like to announce this year's Rookie of the Year." Everyone looked intently at Iruka now. "I would like to, but I am unable to due to unforeseen circumstances. We will be able to announce it tomorrow when you are all assigned your teams. Remember, eight o'clock!"
Naruto gave Iruka a questioning look, but Iruka only grimaced and shook his head.
The class hung around for a bit but soon began to trickle out. As Naruto was leaving, Mizuki put a hand on his shoulder.
"I wanted to talk to you about something Naruto."
# # #
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka kneeled in front of the Hokage's desk. "Mizuki has gone to the council with accusations of cheating. He says Naruto is untrustworthy, and you favor him. The council has granted him protection from any sort of reprisal on your part. We had to halt awarding Rookie of the Year, they're giving complete freedom to Mizuki to investigate and come forward with evidence."
The Hokage took a deep puff of his pipe. "Investigate? Then there is no problem. We both know Naruto has most likely been holding back. They cannot prevent Naruto from becoming a ninja on accusations alone."
"True Hokage, but that is not their purpose. They want to award Uchiha Sasuke with Rookie of the Year and take it away from Naruto. They only tasked Mizuki with finding just cause for Naruto to be considered untrustworthy."
# # #
"What did you want to talk to me about Mizuki-sensei?" asked Naruto.
"Come into my office Naruto?"
They walked to Mizuki's office, Mizuki sat behind his desk and put his legs up. Naruto remained standing.
"Naruto, you'll be happy to know you got the top score. Unfortunately, Sasuke also got the top score. Now, the council wanted to ignore you, and just give it to Sasuke. Iruka and I fought for you, and we got the council to compromise."
"Rookies of the Year then?" Naruto quipped.
"No, you were both given tasks to complete by tomorrow. If you don't accept, Sasuke gets it," said Mizuki. "You cannot have any help, so please don't talk with anyone about the task, or they'll disqualify you. They're biased against you for some reason," Mizuki added bitterly.
If Sasuke managed to get the same score, Naruto was willing to give Rookie of the Year to Sasuke. If anything Mizuki said was true… But Rookie of the Year. Mizuki had been obsessed with this particular title for some reason. And Naruto was smart enough to tell Mizuki did not want him to have it. He would play along for now.
"It's okay! I can complete any task better than Sasuke. Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Your objective is to steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's office after hours. Then you need to meet me just outside the village, in the forest to the South, at around nine in the evening. If you make it to the forest without getting caught, you'll probably be made Rookie of the Year."
"Oh wow! Thank you so much Mizuki-sensei." Jackass.
# # #
Naruto blurred by the streets towards the Hokage Tower.
Naruto knew he needed to protect himself. The village hated him, stealing village secrets in order to become Rookie of the Year was a surefire way to give vent to that hatred. He still remembered the rock hitting him in the temple as a child. Mizuki was suspicious. There was no way anybody would trust the Chunin with the Scroll of Seals, not to mention a Genin having possession of it in the meantime.
Maybe this was a test, but to not follow Mizuki's instructions. More likely it was a frame job. If he lost Rookie of the Year he would be disappointed. It wasn't important, but it would help in Team Selection and give him a reputation he could use to his advantage. A small bump, but one he wanted. Yet caution dictated he must find the Hokage while he still had a timeline that had no holes to exploit.
"Assistant-sama. Is the Hokage in his office?" Naruto asked, a slight panic in his voice.
"Yes, Naruto. The Hokage is very busy with team arrangements though," the assistant replied.
"It's an emergency, a real emergency, please?"
"Very well. The old man has never been mad about you barging in before…" the assistant mumbled.
Naruto dashed into the Hokage's Office in relief. Whatever the setup was, he could disarm it now. The Hokage was up to his eyeballs in paperwork. It was that time of year. Naruto resisted the urge to find out about the various Jonin.
"Jiji!" Naruto yelled, "I have a potential problem I could use your help with."
Naruto explained how Mizuki had approached him and given him a mission. He explained how Mizuki had been baiting him and Sasuke into a rivalry over Rookie of the Year for almost a year. And then how he became worried about being framed for something serious.
The Hokage took a longer than usual puff on his pipe. "You did well in coming to me. I can now vouch for your innocence. Naruto, Mizuki accused you of cheating, that is why the Rookie of the Year was delayed. He is supposed to come forward with evidence of your untrustworthiness by tomorrow. I was thinking initially this was some sort of trap the council thought of. Now with your new information, I am unsure. We have an incomplete picture."
"Hokage-sama," said Naruto. The Hokage looked at Naruto as though he had two heads. "What? I am a Genin now. I can't call you Jiji when I receive missions, can I? Anyways! The picture is Mizuki wanted to use me for something. And given what he asked, I think it's the Scroll. If I fail, he can say it was a test and then escape at the soonest opportunity. If I succeed, he gets the Scroll and goes to another village probably. So, what now?"
"I suspect you are correct. But what can we do? Mizuki has the protection of the council. I can't bring him under interrogation, I can't even have him watched until his sham investigation is over," the Hokage added, gesturing towards Naruto with a pregnant pause.
Naruto thought hard. Naruto could tell by his expectant look, the Hokage had ideas but wanted Naruto to come up with some. Naruto needed to maximize his gains, and at the same time protect himself. Mizuki must be thoroughly discredited. Normally he would suggest baiting Mizuki by just going with the scroll with the Hokage's permission. But the council would make things difficult for him. Naruto knew the shadow clone jutsu and some of the seals in the Scroll of Seals, the Hokage had given them to Hisato as a part of his medical research, aka Naruto's training. If Naruto had contact with the Scroll, the council was sure to ask questions which Naruto couldn't answer without getting his guardian in trouble, and put the Hokage in a weaker position. Mizuki also might suspect that Naruto would fake a Scroll of Seals. If only the Scroll of Seals were the Hokage's instead of simply under the Hokage… WAIT!
"Ji-er-Hokage-sama! I've got it!" Naruto exclaimed. "I know exactly how to turn this into our advantage. Do you perhaps have any tri-pronged-kunai in your possession that don't belong there?" He grinned ferally.
# # #
"Naruto stole something from the Hokage's office? Did they say what it was?" Mizuki heard a gravelly voice from around the corner.
"No. All Chunin not on duty are requested to look for the boy, it must be important. Damn disappointing brat," a younger voice Mizuki recognized as Iruka's echoed out.
'Excellent. He succeeded, now I'll take the Scroll to Orochimaru and he'll reward me greatly,' thought Mizuki.
Mizuki ran towards the forest where he was supposed to meet Naruto.
"Also," Iruka added with a smile, "There is evidence he remains within the village, we are asked to restrict our search within the village gates."