Seriously, things are starting to heat up eh? I mean, Kurei's making a move on Kirigakure, the academy exam is coming up, and so far team Hokage can't even perform the henge without a few quirks.
Let's see how they do in this volume eh?
Graduation and acceptance; Friends stand together!.
Life for team hokage had gotten quite hectic in the months leading up to graduation; during class, they would take down every little detail as best they could, desperate to cover as much ground as possible. It didn't help that Naruto went out of his way to pull off random acts of hilarity, be it gluing Iruka to his chair or transforming into a girl whilst in the boy's locker room.
This last one would have ended badly if Domon hadn't been there to pull the jocks off the scared blonde, making sure too crush a few balls as he did so. Needless to say, Naruto made a point of knowing exactly where his giant friend was before pulling his pranks from then on.
At home though, Mikagami lived true to his words as he put them through what Recca lovingly christened, 'The study marathon from Hell.'
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"Domon, that equation is wrong." Tokiya reprimanded, pointing over the giant's shoulder, "You forgot to factor in the wind resistance of the kunai."
Domon bobbed his head and corrected the mistake, while Recca cursed, having been copying the giant when Tokiya wasn't looking. Fuko raised a hand and the swordsman looked to her as she held up a problem.
"I see," he muttered, "you're about right, though the correct answer here would be to…"
Kagero smiled at the group as she closed the sliding door; they had been going over their notes since they got back, stopping only to grab a bite to eat. After about two or three weeks, they started to make some headway.
Domon's academics had been just as bad as they'd been at home, and his genjutsu was terribly poor. His Ninjutsu was about average, and the only real strength he had was Taijutsu, seeing as there were very few genin that could bench press the combined weight of their classmates.
Fuko's ninjutsu was average, and her high speed in Taijutsu kept her ahead of most lessons, but like her comrades she was hopeless at genjutsu. And as for Recca…well as a ninja fanatic his skills in ninjutsu basics were impressive, and his Taijutsu was slightly ahead of Domon's, but like his friends he sucked at genjutsu without Rui's assistance, and the wily female dragon wasn't offering it any time soon.
Now though, under Mikagami's tutelage, the group seemed to be pulling through.
Domon rarely made mistakes during his equations; true he was no genius, but he could at least DO them now, and his ninjutsu had shot up to the point he could pull of the Kawarimi and bunshin flawlessly, Tokiya didn't bother with genjutsu, since he wasn't an expert himself.
Fuko's ninjutsu and Taijutsu developed greatly, and she began looking into some of the genjutsu scrolls in the library, hoping to find any particularly sadistic ones; Recca and Domon would come to fear the 'Magen: Narakumi no jutsu' when it eventually wound up in the girl's hands.
Recca was, well…Recca; His academics developed slowly, and he prided himself on his above average ninjutsu, and after suffering a pants-wetting experience at the hands of the Narakumi, decided to seek Rui's advice in genjutsu training during meditation. Surprisingly, Homura offered advice for Domon, advising the giant to try to develop his speed and technique, since he was plenty strong already.
Yanagi took to the medical ninjutsu scrolls the Hokage provided like a fish to water, and her chakra control rose to the level it rivaled even Tokiya's, much to the swordsman's pleasant surprise.
However, one of the most interesting developments in their lives was the inclusion of Naruto into their study sessions.
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After bumping into them at the ramen stand on various occasions, the blonde had quickly made friends with the group as a whole, and was even invited to study with them at the house, something he was in dire need of if what his practice tests were any indication.
Kagero had welcomed the blonde with open arms, glad that Recca had made at least one new friend in the village, though Naruto was still prome to blushing in her presence, not being used to attractive older women hugging him in such an affectionate manner.
Mikagami on the other hand, often felt like strangling the hyperactive little twit, wondering how the hell someone could have lasted so long at a ninja academy with scores as low as Naruto's.
Not to mention the fact that his bloodpreassure had apparently shot up ever since the blonde horror had joined their study group.
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"For the last time, stop eating while you study!" the normally stoic swordsman yelled, whapping the blonde over the head with a harisen he'd apparently pulled out of thin air. Naruto whimpered as Reiran, an apologetic look in her eyes, took away the instant ramen the boy had been slurping behind a stack of scrolls he was supposed to be committing to memory.
"But I'm hungry!" Naruto complained, attempting to pull off his patented, 'Puppy-eyes no jutsu' in an endeavor to endear himself to Tokiya, only to recieve yet another blow to the cranium, the swordsman being immune to such tricks, unless it was Yanagi who used the technique.
Recca looked up from his textbooks at the commotiuon, before sneaking a glance to the clock on the wall, nodd ing at the swordsman to catch his attention.
"He's got a point ya know," he pointed out, thumbing at the clock in a neutral manner, "it's almost time for lunch."
Mikagami scowled at the looks of agreement on the others faces, except Yanagi's of course and shook his head, laughing mockingly.
"Hn, feeding time at the zoo then."
The group, as a whole, restrained themselves from putting the teen into a coma, as it would only hinder them in the long run.
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By a unanimous decision, meaning they ignored Mikagami's protests, the group had made Ichiraku ramen their standard meeting place to sit, relax and pig out, which is what they were currently doing. That is, Recca, Domon and Naruto were, Fuko was restraining herself and Mikagami and Yanagi were quite content with one, maybe two bowls tops.
"Domon?" Recca asked, swallowing a mouthful of noodles, "How's speed training going?"
The giant sighed after lowering his bowl, looking dejected.
"Not good." he admitted, "I get the feeling I'm getting slower just running around the town every day."
"Homura said you should work on your technique," Tokiya muttered thoughtfully, "why don't you try to find some Taijutsu specialists?"
Domon blinked, brightening up slightly at the swordsman's suggestion.
"Yeah, that sounds like an idea!" he agreed, before slumping dejectedly, "but where the heck am I gonna find someone like that?"
On the other side of Konoha, Maito Gai sneezed, just as Naruto slurped up his noodles and grinned at the giant mischievously.
"You know what you need? A good old prank to get the blood flowing!"
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Unfortunately for the village, the blonde horror had quickly gotten Domon and Recca involved in his favorite hobby of pranking everyone in the village and their grandmother.
The three would pick their target a week in advance, then 'lure him from the herd' as Recca put it, before springing the trap.
It was not uncommon for the 'prankster trio', as they had been branded by the general public, to be escorted to the Sandaime's office under ANBU guard, in order to prevent them from being beaten to death by their victims, though it was actually even more uncommon for them to get caught in the act, and with Naruto's uncanny memory for the various escape routes that Konoha provided, they more often than not got clean away.
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Recca and Domon grinned and lowered their heads to Naruto's height, whispers and the occasional cackle rising from their corner, causing Mikagami to sigh in exasperation, before paying for his meal.
"Just make it back before curfew." He muttered, and led Yanagi out of the stall and back to the house, Fuko following close behind, wanting to leave the guy's to their 'Male Bonding'.
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That afternoon saw several random people exiting a café screeching about rats the size of melons, Hyuuga Hiashi being escorted off the grounds of his estate after suffering a stroke, the reason being his house had been painted a shocking shade of pink, and a very embarrassed Kiba trying to explain, at knife-point, how he'd ended up naked in the women's side of the onsen.
In other words, the trio was having quite the memorable evening, and all had been well until one of them had the bright idea of trying to prank a purple haired kunoichi in fishnets and a beige trench coat. Domon would have nightmares about snakes flying at his face and balls, and Recca prayed that Fuko didn't discover senbon needles, those picks of hers were bad enough!
Naruto, who'd been taken captive by the nut-job, stumbled back to the house later that afternoon, red in the face and trembling, muttering something about 'fishnets' before passing out in the lap of a thoroughly confused Kagero. Naturally, neither one of the three would admit that it had been their idea to target the woman in the first place.
Finally though, the big day arrived when they would have to sit the test.
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Recca grumbled as he slumped against the desk, a haggard expression on his features.
"Thank god it's finished," he muttered, "I may love being a ninja, but I never thought there was a way to make it…BORING!"
Domon groaned, face against the desktop; they had just completed the written section of the genin exams, and were enjoying the brief interlude as the sheets were collected.
"I think my brain went to sleep." Naruto moaned, holding his head in his hands, "Those questions were way harder than normal!"
"Of course they were, it's a test." Mikagami muttered, face calm and composed. He'd finished the test in less than five minutes, much to Recca's ire.
"Still!" the blonde insisted, "How the heck am I supposed to know the amount of ninja needed to destroy a stone outpost, compared to the amount needed to capture it?!"
Recca raised an eyebrow, interested despite his numb brain cells.
"I don't remember that one…" he muttered, as Domon crossed his eyes, looking serious and confused at the same time.
"…Nope, doesn't ring any bells." The giant agrred, before resuming his brain-dead position on the desktop.
Tokiya frowned in suspicion; he'd certainly never answered such a question, and doubted that any of the others had either.
'Something isn't right here…'
He stood up, waving at the chunin at the front of the class to get his attention.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
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Iruka had just come into the academy, seeing as the practical half of the exam wasn't taking place until later on, and was about to make straight for the class when he spotted Tokiya in the examiners office, scowling at what was obviously a test paper.
"Tokiya? What are you doing?" the scarred chunin asked with a frown, he hadn't pegged the boy as a cheater, and he doubted he'd take the risk of being disqualified this late in the game.
Mikagami looked up, a grim look on his face as he recognized the chunin.
"Just the man I need to see." He muttered, holding up the sheet he'd been looking at.
"This is Uzumaki Naruto's exam sheet." He explained, tossed it at the confused chunin, "Notice anything odd?" he asked, urging the chunin to read.
Iruka frowned and looked over the sheet, his eyes widened as they ran down the exam questions, shock growing per line.
"This…this can't be right!" he gasped, "No academy level student could answer these questions!"
"Precisely." Mikagami agreed, looking serious as a heart attack, "I found it odd that Naruto was given a question that none of the other students remembered taking, and seeing as I have an impressive memory for detail, I knew that question wasn't on the test the rest of us took."
He scowled softly, handsome features marred slightly at the abject discrimination towards the blonde.
"Someone was deliberately trying to fail Uzumaki Naruto."
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Iruka gaped at the teen for a moment, and then sighed resignedly, looking at the swordsman with a tired expression.
"Tell Naruto to meet me during lunch so he can retake the exam." He asked, tucking the exam sheet into his chunin vest, before scowling, "I'll make sure the Hokage sees this."
Mikagami nodded, and walked out into the hall.
"Be sure that you do," he muttered, "I may not particularly care for Uzumaki, but I don't believe in unfair treatment."
He scopwled at the paper in the older man's hands.
"Especially on such a scale."
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Naruto was about to tuck in to his instant ramen when Tokiya tapped him on the shoulder, an aloof expresion on his handsome face.
"Iruka-sensei wants to see you," the swordsman instructed, "something about you making a mistake on the test."
He walked off, not bothering to look over his shoulder at the startled blonde.
"You better hurry," he called out, "he sounded upset."
Naruto gulped, swallowing the ramen in one go, almost choking on the noodles, before dashing off to look for the scarred Chunin, the empty cup spinning on the desktop.
Recca blinked, staring at the swordsman in bewilderment.
"What were you doing in the bathroom?" he muttered, "You've been gone for half the lunch break!"
"Why do you care?" Tokiya replied, causing the flame wielder to twitch in restrained anger, as he calmly broke out the bento he'd prepared the previous night.
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When Naruto showed up at the end of lunch looking completely wasted, he growled out something about, 'retaking the fucking thing', before slumping against the desk, nursing his abused brain. Recca and Domon looked at Tokiya, suspecting he knew something about this but decided to wait until later before questioning him.
At that moment, Iruka and Mizuki entered, placing a row of Hitai-ate on the desk.
"Come up when your name is called to perform the required jutsu," Iruka called out, "you will receive your official Hitai-ate headband as proof of a passing grade."
Mizuki looked down at the list, nodding pleasantly.
"Aburame Shino, you're first."
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As time passed, the number of genin gradually decreased, and with them the number of potential genin positions were slowly filled.
Recca, Domon and Fuko pulled the exam off perfectly, though Domon felt he put a little too much chakra into the bunshin, seeing as he created ten instead of the necessary three, but Recca merely slapped him on the back and said he could worry about that later.
Saicho passed as well, followed by Tokiya, who accepted the headband and spared Iruka a passing glance. The Chunin had nodded in reply, and the two shared a silent look, before the swordsman read the note hidden under the headband.
'The Hokage has been informed that someone was trying to make sure Naruto failed.'
Tokiya smirked, walking down the hall without a care in the world. Like he'd said before, he may not have particularly care for the boy, Naruto being louder than Recca by at least ten-fold, but he hadn't put so much effort into helping the group prepare to see it ruined by some bigot's personal agenda.
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Speaking of the blonde hellraiser, when he stood forward, looking decidedly nervous, a quick catcall from Recca, Domon and Fuko got him to regain some of his confidence, though it also incited the ire of Iruka's hair trigger.
"GET OUT OF THE CLASS BAKAYAOS!" Ithe chunin roared, head filling the class from floor to ceiling. The Hokage trio made a run for it, nothing inspiring terror better than the sight of Iruka's 'giant evil head' Jutsu.
"Kids today…" the scarred chunin muttered, before turning his attention to the blonde, "Alright Naruto, perform the bunshin jutsu and you'll be done."
Naruto took a deep breath and gathered his chakra.
"Bunshin no jutsu!"
When the blonde felt the power around him fluctuate wildly, he just knew he was in trouble.
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Recca leaned against the wall, panting for breath, still shaky from Iruka's last assault on his psyche.
"I hope Mom never learns how to do that," he muttered in fear, "or Hime for that matter."
Domon shivered at the thought, wholeheartedly agreeing with his rival.
'Kagero can be creepy enough when she's upset.' He muttered, remembering when she'd slashed her jugular the first time they met.
Fuko looked round, spotting Yanagi coming out of the school, looking worried.
"Yanagi? What's up?" she asked as Recca frowned at the anxious look on his hime's face, "Did something happen?"
Yanagi looked at them, her face etched with concern as she tugged on Recca's sleeve.
"It's Naruto-kun…"
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Naruto sat on the swing, head lowered in shame and depression.
He'd tried so hard to perform the technique, only for it to backfire and create a dead looking clone. Iruka had failed him with a sad look on his face, which hurt even more than whenever the chunin had yelled at him.
Looking up at the sound of muttered voices he overheard the discussion between two women.
"Hey…that's THE kid…the only one that didn't pass."
"Hn, good, can you imagine them letting HIM become a ninja?"
"Shh! You want to get in trouble?"
Naruto winced and prepared to walk off, only to blink in surprise when someone placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place. Looking up revealed the smiling faces of Recca, Domon and Fuko behind him, Yanagi hovering in the background concernedly.
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"You okay squirt?" Domon asked, causing Naruto to bat the giant's arm half-heartedly, having gotten used to the cracks at his height, something only Recca and his friends could get away with.
"Yanagi told us what happened." the giant muttered, looking upset as he glared at the women and causing them to wince. "Don't listen to those harpies, you're worth ten of anyone here."
Naruto gazed up at his giant friend in awe, before Domon promptly spoiled the moment by making a silly face.
"Except for Fuko-chan of course!"
Fuko bopped her would-be-suitor in the jaw and shook her head, smiling lightly at his antics.
"You gonna be alright?" she asked, patting the blonde's other shoulder gently, recieving a nod from Naruto, the teen somewhat comforted by his new friends' presence.
"Yeah," he muttered, "just need some time alone…"
Recca gazed at his friend, before nodding, ruffling the blonde's hair.
"You need us, just let us know." He reminded him, before watching the blonde walk off by himself, the crowd parting like the red sea as he drew near.
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Recca and co. marched down the streets, the flame wielder kicking a can as he walked.
"Poor kid," he muttered "I almost feel bad for passing."
"Tell me about it." Domon agreed, gazing at his Hitai-ate, all the joy he'd felt at getting it gone with the memory of Naruto's crestfallen face. Yanagi sighed, probably taking it the worst out of them all.
"He put so much effort into it…eh?" Recca's Hime turned her head at the sound of running feet and looked round, spotting a familiar figure running past, "Naruto-kun?"
Recca and the others looked around; sure enough the blonde was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, heading away from the Hokage tower like the devil himself was chasing him in full bondage gear.
"What's he doing?" Recca wondered, frowning in thought, "And what's with that massive scroll?"
Fuko smirked and moved forward, looking over her shoulder at the two boys.
"Care to find out?" she asked playfully, before leaping after the blonde troublemaker.
Recca nodded and smiled at Yanagi, while Domon and Fuko went on ahead.
"Hime," he asked, "tell mom we're gonna be late coming home."
He smiled at her, nodding reassuringly to stave off any concerned questions.
"Tell her we'll be back before supper!"
Yanagi tried to say something but the ninja had already vanished with his friends.
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Naruto snickered as he opened the scroll, eyes closed in their usual vulpine expression.
"Nihihihi…that was too easy!" he bragged, shaking his head at his apparent greatness
"What was?" a voice asked, right in his ear.
The blonde shrieked and leapt to his feet, spinning round to reveal a startled Recca, Domon and Fuko.
"Dammit Uzumaki!" the giant growled, rubbing his ears, "you nearly deafened me there!"
Fuko rolled her eyes and pointed at the scroll, intrigue adorning her face.
"What's that, some light reading?" she asked, causing Naruto to smirk, pointing to the scroll eagerly.
"Mizuki sensei said if I learned a jutsu from this scroll, Iruka would let me pass!" He explained hefting the massive scroll, over one shoulder, "I had to swipe it from Oyaji though."
The blonde frowned at this afterthought, not liking the idea of taking anything from the old man.
Recca snickered, already guessing how the kid had pulled this off.
"Lemme guess," he muttered, "Oiroke no jutsu?"
The grin on Naruto's face said it all, the group sharing a brief laugh at the elderly hokage's expense.
"Since we're all here, mind if we take a look?" Recca asked the blonde eagerly, "Don't wanna hog all those jutsus to yourself do ya?"
Naruto looked doubtful for a few seconds, but then smirked and nodded.
"Why not?" he shrugged, "It can't hurt to learn a few tricks, and it'd shut Sasuke-teme up anyway."
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The hokage trio had to agree with the blonde on that point.
Sasuke, the vaunted 'Sole surviving Uchiha', was the village's golden boy, and as such, had everything handed to him on a silver platter. Be it jutsu's or training tips, everyone literally fought each other to ensure that the kid got whatever the hell he wanted.
This, of course, didn't help the little sod's attitude any, as he was quite happy to let people know just how superior he was to them.
So naturally, anything that showed the arrogant prick up was good in their book.
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Opening the scroll, Naruto groaned as he read the name of the very first jutsu listed on the damn thing.
"Aw man, another stupid bunshin jutsu?" he shrugged disappointedly, "Better than nothing I guess…hey, what's this?"
Recca looked over his shoulder, before snickering at what he'd seen.
"Well-well, if it isn't Uchiha's patented Goukakyuu no jutsu…" The Enjutsu-shi grinned evilly as he ran his eyes over the instructions, "Sign of adulthood my balls, lets see what else we got…"
While Recca was scanning the section on Katon Jutsu, Domon found something interesting.
"Hanabishi," he asked cautiously, "is tree climbing a ninja art?"
Recca turned his head slightly, looking interested.
"Whadd'ya mean?" he asked, blinking as Domon pointed at the section he was looking at.
"There's a jutsu here, with a diagram of someone walking up a tree." the giant muttered.
Recca was taking notes faster than you could say 'Hime'.
"Holy crap!" he yelled, "There's a water walking jutsu too!"
"Get out!" Fuko joked, thumping the ninja, before looking at the sheet, "Holy! There really is!"
Domon was making notes as best he could, when he noticed a separate section marked 'Taijutsu techniques and chakra manipulation.' Looking around to make sure no one spotted, he quickly looked over the section and frowned in thought.
In a matter of minutes, Recca had made a list of virtually every fire technique in the scroll, Fuko had added to her genjutsu list, and Domon had made several interesting notes regarding Taijutsu.
Naruto smiled in gratitude, with his friends there to help out he'd managed to learn quite a few techniques other than the kage bunshin, including shunshin, which had sent Recca into raptures when he first saw it listed, and the Bakuretsu Kage bunshin, which Domon had accidentally mastered when trying to learn the original, much to the ire of the resident forest critters.
A rustling noise in the surrounding trees drew their attention, and Naruto panicked.
"Crap!" he hissed, "Mizuki sensei told me to come alone!"
Recca got the point and grabbed a startled Domon by the ear, dragging the giant into the bushes.
Fuko, sighing at the antics of her two friends, leapt into a tree after winking at Naruto, peering through the foliage to make sure he was all right.
To their surprise, it was Iruka who showed up, rather than Mizuki.
"Naruto! Why did you steal the scroll of seals?!" the chunin roared, obviously pissed, "This isn't a joke! You're in seriously hot water now!"
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As he listened to the Chunin's lecturing of their blonde compatriot, Recca raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Wait a sec," he muttered, "didn't Mizuki say Iruka'd pass Naruto for learning a technique from the scroll?"
Domon nodded in grim understanding; even he could see something wasn't right here.
Recca flinched, eyeing the surroundings, before looking up at the tree above them.
"Fuko," he whispered, "you see anything?"
Fuko nodded, eyes locked on another tree not too far away.
"There's someone watching them from the tree to the right…SHIT!"
Iruka pushed Naruto aside just as a hail of kunai struck where they were standing.
"Mizuki!" Recca yelped from his hiding place, glaring at the silver haired instructor, "What's he playing at?!"
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"Naruto," the silver haired chunin said with a smirk, "give me the scroll and I'll tell you a little secret about the village…why everyone hates you…mocks you…"
Recca's fists tightened, and he would have launched himself at the guy had Domon not put a hand on his rival's shoulder, restraining him from blowing their cover.
"Let's see what's going on first."
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"Why," Naruto mumbled, "why do they…"
"Hn, because of what happened on the night the Kyuubi was defeated, a decree was passed that bound everyone in the village, under penalty of death!"
Recca blinked, confused as hell.
"You ever hear of a decree like that?" he asked, nodding when Domon shrugged negatively, "Didn't think so, it must only apply to the adults."
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"The decree," Mizuki continued, "that forbids anyone from telling you the truth!"
"What truth?!" Naruto yelled, looking scared, while Iruka screamed at Mizuki to stop, but the chunin merely cackled.
"The truth is…that YOU are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"
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Recca and co. sat stumped at the revelation as Mizuki went on to explain everything that had happened. The truth behind villagers' outright abuse of Naruto, his suffering and torment, how they were all devised to get back at him without breaking the laws set in place by the sandaime. Everything was finally revealed courtesy of the treacherous chunin instructor, as he apparently got off on the pain the words caused the blonde.
"Even the noble Iruka would admit he hated you if he were honest with himself!" Mizuki jeered, reaching for a shuriken, twirling it in his hands, "And that scroll you hold? Was the instrument of your bondage!"
He reared his arm back for a killing blow.
"No one will accept you!" he cackled, "And after stealing the scroll, I'll be a hero for killing you!"
Mizuki let the shuriken fly just as Iruka leapt in front of the stunned Naruto, shielding him with his body.
The scarred chunin coughed out blood and glared over his shoulder at his shocked former colleague.
"Mizuki…you're wrong about me…and Naruto…"
He staggered to his feet and pulled out the shuriken, wincing from the pain.
"The reason…I was so hard on Naruto," he corrected, "wasn't because of hatred for the fox…but because he's like me."
He smiled sadly at the blonde, tears in his eyes.
"Both of us grew up without parents thanks to that night…I at least had the luxury of what few memories I had of them."
Mizuki snorted, clearly unimpressed.
"Oh please," he muttered, "spare me the waterworks, after hearing the truth, the first thing the brat's gonna do is want revenge on the village."
He smirked at the injured chunin sadistically.
"We're two of a kind that way."
Iruka scowled, lips peeled back into a savage snarl.
"Naruto is…nothing like you!"
Mizuki spat on the ground, clearly disgusted with the actions of his former colleague.
"Compassion for your parents' murderer," he snorted, "how quaint, but the jigs up, I know how much you hate him."
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Naruto, feeling his world fall apart at the seams looked ready to run when Iruka spoke up, eyes shadowed.
"You're right…maybe I do hate the fox…"
The blonde sagged at this, until Iruka's next words set his face into the epitome of shock.
"But not Naruto!" Iruka countered, "Not the boy…for him I have nothing but the utmost respect."
Mizuki growled as Iruka went on praising the blonde, unaware of the hidden audience.
"He is no longer the Kyuubi no youko!" Iruka ground out, teeth clenched, "He's a citizen of Konohagakure no Sato…Uzumaki Naruto!"
Mizuki grunted and pulled out another shuriken.
"Then you can die with the student you love so much!" he yelled, readying his arm for another killing blow, only to freeze as a shadow loomed over him from behind.
To the traitor's horror, a hand the size of a small ham wrapped around his arm; the bone splintering at the elbow from the force of the grip. Screeching in pain, the silver haired chunin dropped his weapon, just as a fist rammed into his face, sending him flying across the clearing to land in a tangled heap.
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"D-Domon?!" Iruka stuttered, staring up at his massive student, completely surprised at how he had apparently appeared out of nowhere. The giant growled, a deep rumbling noise that started at the back of his throat, and pulled out his Hitai-ate, tying it around his massive bicep and tugging the knot into place.
"Well put, sensei." Fuko muttered, floating down next to the shocked Chunin, her Hitai-ate replacing her regular headband, "Couldn't have put it better ourselves, right Recca?"
The leader of the trio stepped out, Hitai-ate in his hands, as he slowly put the thing on.
"Mizuki sensei," he called out to the injured traitor, "while I appreciate everything you and Iruka sensei taught us…"
He raised his head and the three glared at the chunin, Domon cracking his knuckles and Fuko holding her picks, before pointing at the man.
"You've said something we can't forgive."
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Mizuki spat and reached for his Kunai pouch, only for Fuko's picks to slam into his arm, pinning it to a tree, one actually passing through his hand. Before he could even react to the pain, Domon rammed his fist into the Chunin's stomach so hard the tree behind him actually broke in half, before grabbing the man's good arm and crushing it at the elbow.
Ignoring the stricken man's shrieks of pain, the giant spun round in a half circle, the man's arm still in his grip, ramming him through yet another tree, before letting go allowing Mizuki's own momentum to make him tumble across the floor in a bloody heap, before coming to rest at someone's feet.
Recca stood over the prone figure of the injured man and scowled.
"Normally I don't like doing stuff like this," he muttered, "but shinobi that betray their friends…"
He clenched his fist and to the surprise of Naruto and Iruka, flames erupted around it. "Deserve to spill their guts in the dirt."
Mizuki screamed, as he was set alight, tossing and turning in a futile attempt to put out the flames, arms flapping uselessly and painfully across the ground.
In a few minutes, only his charred body remained, twitching slightly.
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"Relax, I didn't kill him." Recca called out, looking over at the shocked Konoha locals, "You okay Naruto?"
The blonde was about to reply when Mizuki lurched to his feet, catching everyone off guard, and charged Iruka madly, a kunai clenched between his teeth. Naruto's eyes widened in shock at the sight, before filling with determination, the blonde leaping in front of his sensei and making a cross-shaped seal.
"Tajuu Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
There was an explosion, and when the smoke cleared, the clearing was filled with over a thousand Naruto clones.
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Domon sweatdropped at the sheer multitude of clones.
"Jeez…overkill Uzumaki!" he called out, only for Fuko to elbow him in the gut, smirking at the impressive display.
"Urusei!" she countered, "Let the kid have his moment!"
The assorted Naruto's grinned maliciously at the trembling figure of Mizuki, cracking their knuckles, causing Fuko's smirk to widen as she sat across Domon's shoulder, resting an elbow on his head.
"This is gonna be brutal."
The group, with the exception of Iruka, snickered as the traitor's screams filled the air amidst the sound of pulping flesh and broken bones.
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Whoo! that was an interesting round wasn't it?
How far will Naruto go with Team Hokage backing him up? Will he and Recca compete for the position of village leader?
And how will this revelation affect Naruto's standing iin public?!
Find out next time on Hokage no Issan!