Chapter 5

Naruto was eager to get the test started. There was no way he would fail this time. He had done everything in order to pass. Iruka entered the room and was talking about the test. The test was always in three parts, a written exam, a physical exam and the jutsu exam. Naruto felt that he could do well on each part, especially the written part since he was tutored by Hinata. Iruka and Mizuki began to hand the papers out. The exam had just begun.

X-X-X

Naruto stood in front of Iruka and Mizuki. He was a little nervous but he knew that he did well. The written exam was a little hard but he knew that he got a passable grade on the test. He excelled in the physical exam, beating out Sasuke in endurance, accuracy and stealth. Now, it was the jutsu portion of the test. Knowing the two in front of him, they would ask him to do the Bunshin (Clone) Jutsu. It was his worst jutsu after all.

"Okay Naruto, this is the final part. All we need for you to do at least three perfect Bunshin and you have passed." Iruka said. Naruto cracked his knuckles and grinned. Boy, were they in for a surprise.

"Bunshin no Jutsu! (Clone Technique)" Naruto called out. There was a cloud of smoke. When it disappeared, standing in front of the two was ten perfect Bunshin. Iruka was surprised and happy for Naruto.

"That was great Naruto but you didn't have to go so far." Iruka said.

"Sorry about that but because of my high and dense chakra, this is the amount I got it down to. I could make over a thousand with half my chakra." Naruto said. That surprised both instructors.

"Either way, you have passed the exam. Come and get your hitai-ate (Forehead Protector)." Iruka said. Naruto cheered and took his hitai-ate. He gave a hug to Iruka and ran out the room cheering loudly. Neither one of them saw the narrowed eyes of Mizuki.

X-X-X

Naruto walked out of the academy in triumph. He proudly wore his hitai-ate for all to see. Some looked at the blond with annoyance, others with malice. Naruto could hear the whispers of some. They were negative and hateful. Still, it did not ruin his mood. He passed with help from his onee-san, his best friends and his favorite teacher. They believed in him and he did not let them down. He only wished that Anko was here to celebrate with him.

He decided to get some Ichirakus ramen to celebrate. As he left the yard, he held his hitai-ate up for his doubters. It may have been a mocking gesture to everyone but he didn't care. His time with Anko showed him that all he needed were those few precious people to keep him going. He jogged out of the yard and dashed toward Ichirakus.

X-X-X

Stomach full and happy, Naruto made his way home. The owners, Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame, celebrated his graduation with ten bowls of free ramen. Naruto enjoyed them with gusto and thanked the two for their support. He looked up at the sun and saw that it was beginning to set. He wondered what he could do now.

"Hey Naruto," a voice called out to him. Naruto looked to see Mizuki-sensei running up to him. Mizuki wasn't someone he trusted completely. He always felt that he was out to get him. He had no proof of that but his gut always told him that he was bad news. Naruto always trusted his gut. Mizuki stood in front of Naruto. "It's a good thing I caught you. I have something to tell you."

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I just found out that you're going to be place on a team with Sakura and Sasuke." Mizuki said.

"What? That can't be right! There's no dead-last this year!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I know but this was the team that the Hokage assigned. However, I have a way that you can get on another team, probably with Hinata and Shikamaru." Mizuki said.

"Really?" Naruto asked with excitement. "What would I have to do?" Mizuki gave him a friendly smile while on the inside; his smile was much more sinister.

X-X-X

Anko was walking toward the Hokage tower. While the mission was annoying, she was able to finish ahead of time. She didn't really rest as she wanted to surprise Naruto by her arrival. While she could not be there to see him graduate, she would be there to celebrate his success. Heck, she might even let him have a cup or two of sake. As she walked, she saw a weapon shop. She began to think and decided to get Naruto a graduation gift. As she was about to enter the shop, she noticed that some shinobi were going nuts.

She saw two that she knew and stopped them.

"Izumo, Kotetsu, what's going on? Are we under attack or something?" Anko asked.

"No but we do have an emergency. Look Anko, do you know where Naruto is?" Kotetsu asked.

"Naruto, what does he have to do with this?" Anko asked.

"Anko, Naruto has stolen the Fūin no Sho (Scroll of Seals)." Izumo said. Anko looked at him like he was crazy.

"There's no way! Naruto may have a tendency to do something stupid but he's not that stupid!" Anko exclaimed.

"We agree with you but he was seen with the scroll. It could be someone trying to frame him but we can't be sure until we find him." Kotetsu said.

"Oh I'll find him and I'll get to the bottom of this." Anko said and took off to find Naruto.

X-X-X

Naruto was hidden behind a tree. He was trying to calm his breathing so that he would not be found by Mizuki or Iruka. Naruto knew that he had messed up big time. He couldn't believe how stupid he was for stealing such an important scroll. Sure, he got a very powerful jutsu out of the scroll but now he realized that this assignment was nothing more than a trick to place blame on him. He should have thought things through but he so did not wish to be on Sasuke's and Sakura's team.

That wasn't even the biggest thing that he learned tonight. When Iruka and Mizuki arrived and were fighting each other, Mizuki decided to tell Naruto and secret about himself. That secret was that he was the container of the Kyūbi no Yōko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox). He told him that he was murderer and a cause of suffering for Konoha, including Iruka. Naruto couldn't take it and ran.

As he sat there, he was suddenly alert when he heard a body hit the ground. He looked out from his hiding spot to see a wounded Iruka. Landing across from him, was a wounded Mizuki. The traitorous shinobi glared at Iruka.

"I can't believe that you've lasted this long against me." Mizuki growled.

"It goes to show you that strength isn't everything. I would give up if I was you." Iruka said.

"Why should I? I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to kill the demon." Mizuki stated.

"I will never allow you to harm Naruto!" Iruka shouted.

"How can you protect that thing? The Kyūbi killed your parents!" Mizuki spat.

"Yes, the Kyūbi killed my parents," Iruka said. Naruto felt his heart shatter after he said that. "However, Naruto is not the Kyūbi. He is a proud member of Konohagakure and he will grow to be one of the strongest shinobi there is. He is my precious student and I will protect him with my life." That statement made a few tears fall from Naruto's eyes. He was just so happy to hear that Iruka thought of him as one of his precious people. Mizuki looked at Iruka with disgust.

"You're pathetic. I'm just going to finish this now." Mizuki said. He charged at Iruka, spinning his shuriken like a buzz saw. Iruka readied himself when his leg gave out on him. Mizuki laughed when he saw this and was on him. That's when a blur appeared and launched Mizuki back a few feet, his shuriken sent flying across the forest. Iruka looked up and saw that the person who saved him was Naruto.

"Naruto, what are you doing? You need to get out of here!" Iruka shouted. Mizuki groaned and rubbed his nose. He looked forward and glared hard at Naruto.

"You damn brat, I'll gut you open." Mizuki said.

"The only one who is going to be gutting things open is me. You're going to pay for hurting my sensei and for trying to get me in trouble Mizuki-teme (bastard)." Naruto stated.

"Just try it Kyūbi! You don't have anything that can hurt me!" Mizuki shouted.

"Take this, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)" Naruto shouted. There was a large blast of smoke that appeared. When it cleared, Iruka and Mizuki were in awe. Surrounding the area were over a hundred copies of Naruto. Each of them had a menacing grin on their face and cracking their knuckles.

'I can't believe what I'm seeing. He learned how to do solid clones in the span of two hours? What's even more amazing is that he doesn't look winded.' Iruka thought with amazement. Mizuki was just too shocked to say anything.

"So, you've got nothing to say? Alright then, I'll do all the talking with my FISTS!" the clones said and descended of Mizuki. Mizuki could do nothing but scream into the night. After a few minutes, Mizuki laid on the ground in a heap with welts and bruises on his face. The clones were gone and Naruto was rubbed the back of his head. Iruka just looked at his one-time student with amazement. That's when three people appeared. Naruto froze in fright at the glare he was getting from one of the people. "H-Hey Anko-oneesan, w-when did you get back?"

"You… are the stupidest person I have ever," Anko stopped her rant long enough to see Iruka on the ground, bleeding. "Oh my god, Iruka!" She sped by Naruto, smacking him to the ground and was at Iruka's side in an instant. Everyone, including Iruka, was shocked as Anko held him and check him over. Everyone just wondered what the heck was going on.

X-X-X

Naruto and Anko stood before the Hokage. He had a stern looked on his face as he stared at Naruto. The blond avoided looking at the man he thought of as a grandfather. He was just so ashamed of his actions and decisions.

"Normally, I would have dismissed you from the ninja ranks Naruto. However, you were set up by an authority figure. If you can't trust your authority figures, then who do you trust? Still, you should have read the situation a little better than you did. You could have caused untold problems should the scroll have fell into enemy hands." Hiruzen said.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama. It will not happen again." Naruto said humbly.

"We will see. Now, about the Kyūbi," Hiruzen said, getting Anko's and Naruto's attention. They looked to see that his expression had softened. "I am sorry that you found out this way. I was meaning to tell you about your burden at a later time."

"Do you know why I was used for the sealing?" Naruto asked.

"Yes I do but for now, you will have to wait. You have to realize Naruto, that there are a lot of things that are tied into you being the container of the Kyūbi no Yōko. Right now, you are still too young to learn about it." Hiruzen explained.

"Okay, I guess I will wait a bit longer." Naruto said with a pout. Hiruzen smiled at him.

"Now that we have cleared that up, let's decided how you should be punished. I believe that Anko should decided your punishement since she is partly responsible for your increased stealth." He said with a smile. Naruto looked like he was about to die. He was about to protest when he was hoisted in the air by Anko. She held him in a head lock and had a wicked grin on her face.

"You don't have to worry about that sir. I plan on making sure that this never happens again." Anko said. She bid the Hokage a goodnight before disappearing with Naruto. Hiruzen just chuckled and hoped that Naruto survived his punishment.

X-X-X

Mizuki was tied down to a chair. He growled and try to free himself but he couldn't. He cursed Iruka and the Kyūbi brat for his failure. If it took the rest of his life, he would make them both pay. The door suddenly opened and entered the room was Morino Ibiki, head of the Konoha Gomon/Jinmon Butai (Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force). Mizuki cursed and shook with fear as he looked upon this man. No one ever wanted to be caught and sent to him.

Ibiki looked at Mizuki and gave him a smile.

"Don't worry Mizuki; I'm not the one who will be doing the interrogation. I'm not really into small fry like you. I'm just here to give you a chance to come clean about who you work for." Ibiki said and looked at Mizuki. The chūnin looked at him with defiance. Ibiki just smiled at him. "Have it your way. He's all yours." Ibiki said before turning to leave. As he left, another person entered. Mizuki saw who it was and grinned.

"Well, if it isn't the demon's keeper? Are you sure that you should… ARGH!" Mizuki shouted as a kunai was stabbed into his knee cap. Anko grabed him by the hair and gave his a hard look. Mizuki was deathly afraid of that look. It promised death and untold types of pain.

"I personally don't care if you tell me anything. You're going to die anyway after breaking an S-rank law. You messed with my family today and I intend to make your journey into the afterlife as painful as possible. Get ready traitor, the night is just getting started." She said and pulled out several senbon. Mizuki's screams could be heard throughout the building and they would not stop for the entire night.

X-X-X-X-X

Authors' Notes: Sorry that this took me so long to finish. i had some issue to take care of and a bad case of writer's block. Anyway, I good now and I've good the new chapter out. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.