Naruto: Alone Chapter 13, a naruto fanfic

Naruto: Alone

Hey there everyone, Arganaut's back with the latest chapter of Naruto: Alone. First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for not getting this chapter in sooner. You see, I've been grounded for an indefinite amount of time, and I've only been allowed on the computer to write every now and again. But, now I have plenty of time during my Thanksgiving Vacation to write a lot. So, I've been using this opportunity to write, and get the new chapter out finally.

Well, last chapter we got an update on Naruto's situation over the past few years of his life, and we've learned that soon it will be time for him to take the Genin Exams for the third time, and hopefully for him, the last time. But... however, there will be a problem with this... what the problem will be... I won't be able to tell you what it will be or when it will appear. So, so that we can get on with the story, let's get to your many, many, many reviews:

Artemis Ignitan- I do like my Omakes too... but, situations that can be misconstrued into an Omake. But as for the Forbidden Scroll... you'll have to wait and see.

vnvanman- Just be patient man... seriously, I'm just trying to set a very strong, and very dependable back story.

MissNaye- Yeah... poor Naruto and Hinata.

The Great Rick- That's actually a very good question Rick... and I'm not entirely sure. I guess you'd have to check out the oldest of the oldest Naruto stories and find the first one that had used the idea... or even where the person who wrote it got the idea. But, hell, you have to admit, it turned into quite the fandom didn't it?

Silver Warrior- I know... poor netizen.

paintball-gamer- It should go different, though if it doesn't, then oh well.

xXLucifer's-agentXx- Well... I'm not too cool with young kids smoking or doing stuff like that... so I've been kind of avoiding that route.

Dragon Man 180- Well... that's true, however it won't help him if he can't do the Clone Jutsu.

Zoneshifter D- Listen to him!!!

FictionReader98- Yes, indeed, this chapter will probably have the biggest impact on the story for a while, and it will be the beginning of what everyone wants, the changed cannon of the original Naruto. I have to admit, your predictions for what Mizuki will do... you have some parts right, but not exactly right.

The Gandhara- Before I begin... WELCOME TO MY LIST OF 'GR's (Greater Reviewers). You've earned it man! Anyway, yeah, I've been expecting to surprised a few people with Naruto's actions during the transformation test, good to know that I did indeed shock you. And you know what, thanks, its good to know there are reviewers like you out there, who are able to make my list.

AznPuffyHair- Well, its not exactly 'over' but suspended, due to not being able to see him as often as they could.

VFSNAKE- Dude, listen, if I made those kind of changes, the thick atmosphere of conflict and plot that I created in this story would be all for not, it would mean nothing. No such major changes can be made so instantaneously, and will not be.

Krillin Fan- Lots of people are waiting for the Naru/Hina fluff... but I can't guarantee that there'll be a lot of it soon my friend. Patience, just have patience.

VampyreVixen16- Well... nice to know that I've helped you or inspired in some way. But, I am really, really busy, but I'll be sure to get to your story sometime. Also... your PMs... you need counseling dude. I mean, seriously, YOU THREATENED ME BECAUSE I COULDN'T UPDATE MY STORY! You know what, that's seriously disturbing pal.

Gryphon Turboclaw- Hmm... very good analysis Gryph, very good analysis.

Vampy- Nice to have a fan who notices so much, I'll be sure to look out for your reviews.

Animeskid- Don't worry about it man, I didn't really mind, I was a little put off, but I didn't mind, after all, I get tons of reviews and PMs like yours, it just doesn't bother me.

Oh, one more thing, there's just one little review that was made that I have to throw in... normally I don't look at these kind of reviews, but this one... just too... well, read it:

breion- no naruto hinata shes weak and useless and dont try to make her

suddenly have

confidence parings naruto itachi

Okay, dude, first off... HOW MANY FREAKIN' TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY NO YAOI FOR IT TO BE OBVIOUS! Secondly, I don't use clichés; making Hinata confident suddenly is one. Thirdly... if you don't like the pairing, just click that nice little button at the top right corner of your screen. It'll make this NaruxHina story disappear!

So, how about this, so that there aren't any more mistakes, I'll say this as plainly as possible. 1. Don't ask me for a certain type of pairing, the pairings I have planned out for this story will remain as such, and nothing will change my mind. Secondly, if you do ask for a pairing, at least don't make it a Yaoi or Yuri ... if you do, sorry, I won't acknowledge any of your reviews ever again.

And for those who try to say 'that's cruel', listen. I'm tired of reviews that tell me to 'do this' or 'don't do this' or 'this pairings wrong' or 'random pairing here FTW!'. LISTEN TO ME! If you're going to review, at least tell me what I'm doing right (non-pairing related) or what I'm doing wrong (once again, non-pairing related). If it's some kind of command related to pairings... just don't bother... please.

But... back to my senses... there were so many reviews I had to respond to... but, with all that out of the way, its time for the next exciting, action-packed (not really), plot-filled chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!

Chapter 12: Graduation Part 2...

Last Time on Naruto: Alone;

"Don't worry about it Iruka-sensei, I'll just keep on working at it on my own tonight, and I'll get it by morning! You'll see!" Naruto shouted as he stood up with a jolt, and punched his fist into the air before running out of the room with a start. Iruka merely sat there, a bit dumbfounded by the blond's response. But, after a few minutes, Iruka smiled as he stood up.

"You can do it Naruto." Iruka muttered as he began making his way to the mission assignment office.

And Now, For Our Featured Presentation

Naruto dashed out of the Academy with a wide smirk adorning his features. Having spent that time with Iruka, even if it was a small amount, allowed the students to return home, leaving Naruto alone in the open area of the Academy. The young blond smirked as he once again began running, looking around for a good alley to slip into to get back to his hideout. He passed by civilians, and though some would try to catch him, most would simply ignore him, seeing as how they couldn't really catch him no matter how hard they tried.

Even when he passed by other ninja he was left alone, since he had not, or was not currently doing something, they couldn't 'punish' him without being reprimanded by the Hokage. So Naruto, for the most part, was able to run down the streets until he found a good alley that would get him back 'home' safely. He ran in, and just as he was fifteen feet into the alley. "Yo, Uzumaki!" A voice shouted as Naruto suddenly stopped and looked around. He looked around all sides of the alley and didn't find a single soul. "Up here!" The voice rang out as Naruto did look up, to find Mizuki on the side of one of the buildings.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing up there?" Naruto asked, his hand itching towards his kunai pouch, just incase he would try to do something funny. Mizuki merely shrugged as he walked down the side of the wall... a trick Naruto had seen several times, and really wanted to be able to do.

"Well, I wanted to ask you what you're doing down there." He said, Naruto tilting his head to the side in a confused manner as he looked up at the Academy teacher.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, sounding very confused. "I'm getting ready to study for the Genin Exam so I can finally graduate!" Naruto shouted, a very determined grin on his face as Mizuki shook his head.

"I could guess that, Uzumaki, but why would you bother 'studying' a technique that, more likely than not, you won't be able to do... when you could use a different method?" Mizuki said, causing the young Street Fox to raise an eyebrow and look at him.

"A... different method?" Naruto asked, suddenly very intrigued... which caused Mizuki to inwardly smirk.

"Oh, you mean you've never heard... of the Scroll Method?" The trickster said, noticing Naruto shake his head side to side. "How could you have not heard about this?" Mizuki said, not standing straight on the ground.

"I dunno... Iruka-sensei didn't say anything about it." Naruto said, causing Mizuki to laugh a little bit.

"That's probably because only the best Academy teachers can know about this method, and judge who gets to take advantage of it." He said, smirking as he watched Naruto's eyes focus solely on him.

"Go on..." Naruto said, though he had his doubts about what Mizuki was saying... he had to admit, he was very interested in this 'Scroll Method'. Mizuki, on the other hand, was glad that he was slowly pulling Naruto into the palm of his hand.

"Well... you see, there's a very big, very important scroll inside the Hokage's office, called the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing. Now, the reason why it's called 'Forbidden' is because only the most worthy and strong Ninja can read it, and learn its jutsu," Mizuki said, fabricating a lie to cover up why exactly the scroll was forbidden. "You see... what you have to do is sneak into the old man's office, get the scroll and learn one single technique from the scroll. When you do, you just show me the technique you learned, and if you're good enough you'll graduate... and since the technique you'd learn would be so difficult... you'd graduate at the top of the class" Mizuki said, trying to make the offer sound more and more appealing by the second.

Naruto stood there, his slightly slacked-jaw as he listened to what could only be described as a Godsend. This 'Scroll Method' sounded like it would get him to the top, get him a good life, get him so much respect... but, he still tried to remain calm, and tried to get as much information as possible. "So... you talk about this Scroll Method as if it's such a great thing... so, who graduated using it?" Naruto asked, wondering who had actually graduated using this method.

Mizuki kept his calm exterior up. However, that question dealt a pretty powerful blow to him. He hadn't expected that blond brat to ask such a thing… but he just decided to roll with it. "Who graduated, who graduated?" Mizuki asked, as if it were the most ridiculous sounding thing in the world. "Why, the Legendary Sannin graduated using this method... the 'Copy Nin' graduated using this method... I graduated using this method; hell, even the Fourth Hokage graduated using this method!" Mizuki said with large amounts of energy, trying to sell the final point.

'If this doesn't reel him in...' Mizuki thought as he kept the large grin on his face. The blond Academy student merely looked down at the ground in shock, almost unable to believe what he had been told. He had heard about those ninja at the Academy, hell Mizuki was standing right in front of him... and if they, according to Mizuki, could become so prominent... then... maybe he should drop the training for the Clone Jutsu for this method...

"Don't worry about it Iruka-sensei, I'll just keep on working at it on my own tonight, and I'll get it by morning! You'll see!"

The words that Naruto had shouted to Iruka in such a proud and determined manner came to his mind. 'I told Iruka-sensei I'd be able to do it...' Naruto thought as he stood there, Mizuki looking down at him expectantly. 'I said I'd be able to graduate that way... I did.' He thought in his mind as he looked up at Mizuki. 'But his offer, the Scroll Method, it sounds so good...' The Street Fox thought, before another crossed his mind. 'Too good to be true.' He thought simply as he shook his head side-to-side, causing Mizuki to raise an eyebrow.

"It sounds nice Mizuki-sensei, but no thank you." Naruto said before turning towards the alley. "Now, if you don't mind." He said, beginning to sprint down the alley. Mizuki, on the other hand, just stared after him before smirking slightly while shaking his head.

"Oh boy, looks like I'm going to have to wait for him to fail." Mizuki said confidently as he began walking away. Yes, it was true; Mizuki had no doubt in his mind that Naruto would fail the Exam. It was just that, well, he knew that the Clone Jutsu was by far Naruto's most difficult and knew that, chances were, Naruto would not be able to master the Clone Jutsu in one night on his own. Now, if Iruka were helping him, that would be an entirely different story... however, fate seemed to smile upon the schemer when Iruka took a job at the Mission Assignment Office.

Yes... even if Naruto refused the offer this time... there'd be no way he'd say no when he failed the Exam, and would be desperately looking for a way to graduate. All Mizuki would have to do is offer him the 'Scroll Method' again, he'd take it. And then, with his skill in sneaking and stealing, Naruto would easily take the scroll, and with his weak Taijutsu skill... Mizuki would be able to rip that scroll from his hands without too much of an effort.

Mizuki would be able to take the scroll, and not only would the Street Fox be blamed and executed, he'd get off, scot-free. It was just too perfect. "Just wait Naruto... you'll get that scroll for me soon enough." Mizuki said as he jumped out of the alley, making a run for his home. It was getting late, and he needed plenty of rest if he was going to put his plan into motion tomorrow. 'Just be patient Mizuki, just be patient.' The conniving ninja thought to himself as the smile he used on Naruto turned into a very cynical smirk.

Meanwhile, at Naruto's hideout, Naruto had just arrived at it, cracking his neck as he took off his jacket and threw it to the side. "Alright, no fooling around, its time to get to work!" Naruto said, before his stomach growled loudly. He froze for a second, sweat dropping before chuckling nervously. "But first... time for dinner!" He shouted as he ran out of the hideout again, this time a kunai drawn, ready to kill, skin, and then chop up anything he might catch.

----- About an Hour Later ----

Naruto returned, a few skinned rabbits and a turtle hanging by ninja wire slung over his shoulder, whistling a slightly happy tune as he smirked. "Now this is a catch." He stated, setting up a fire and hanging the rabbits over the fire, and then placed the turtle, shell and all, right into the fire. He set it up nicely so that, after what he assumed would be a half an hour, they would be cooked enough for him to eat without feeling sick. Naruto laid down and began relaxing, not being able to train well on an empty stomach.

A half-hour later, Naruto threw water on the fire, putting it out and cooling the turtle's shell. He took the skinned rabbits, which by now were nice and brown, off of the wire and then placed them to the side. He then grabbed the turtle shell and tapped the sides with a small amount of strength, causing the shell to break into two halves, one he used to hold the turtle meat, the other to hold the rabbits.

What went on was too gruesome to describe, as Naruto tore into those pieces of meat, like how a fat guy tears into a pizza while staying at a weight-watchers convention. A few minutes later, only a few entrails and skeletons remained of the turtle and rabbits, as Naruto rubbed his stomach happily. "Yum... tastes like chicken." He said, cracking his neck as he stood up. "But seriously, it's time to get to work!" Naruto said, punching the palm of his hand as he walked to the side of the hideout.

Naruto clapped his hands together and formed a seal, the blond ninja smirking a little bit. "HERE WE GO!" He shouted as chakra began surrounding him.

---- The Hideout ---- 6:30 A.M. ---- Thirty Minutes before Beginning of Genin Exam ----

Naruto stood up tall, breathing raggedly as he looked at a puff of smoke, smirking all the while. "Yes..." He said, cracking his neck while the smoke dissipated, disappearing altogether in a matter of moments. "I've got it... I'm gonna do it!" Naruto shouted as he jumped up and punched his fist into the air. He looked up at the sky... and nearly panicked when he saw where the sun was approaching. "OH DEAR GOD!" Naruto shouted as he began running around the camp. "I gotta get going!" He shouted, getting some matching clothes on, taking a bit of scraps that were left from the meal last night, and then getting his ninja gear together.

"Come on, come on, COME ON!" He shouted as, instead of running through the alleys, like he normally would, he leapt up onto the rooftop, leaping from roof to roof as he sprinted to make it to the Academy, hopefully he'd have some time to spare for just relaxing. It was a good ten minutes before classes started when Naruto showed up, busting through the doors into his own classroom, before running to his seat. Many of the students simply raised an eyebrow at this; Naruto did not arrive later normally, unless he was a bit worse for wear... so this peaked their curiosity when he came a little later than normal.

However, there was little time to think about it as both Mizuki and Iruka walked into the classroom, a list in Iruka's hand as he looked over all of his students. "Good morning class." The tan Academy teacher greeted as the class nodded their head.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei." The entire class answered back, some of them sounding more nervous than others. Iruka laughed at this, shaking his head a little bit.

"I see that some of us are a little nervous about the exams." He said, some students nodding their heads. "Don't worry; I'm sure that all of you will be passing the Exams this year." He said, holding up the chart, sending a small glance to Naruto as he did. "This year's jutsu is going to be the Clone Jutsu," Iruka said, a few relieved sighs or nervous curses being sounded. "We'll call you into the testing room, one by one, in alphabetical order, to begin the exam, starting with Choji Akimichi." Iruka said, as the 'tubby' Choji got up out of his seat and began following Iruka and Mizuki to the testing room.

The next half-hour was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of his life. The entire time he was just thinking about what if he couldn't do it, couldn't pass the exam. He sat there, the entire half-hour, just waiting for his name to be called. Every other name that was called was to him a bell, tolling for him, every tick of the clock painfully apparent to him. "Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka finally said, causing the nerved Academy Student to get up out of his seat with an exasperated sigh, and begin to follow the only person in the Academy who currently supported him... well, the only person he knew about.

Naruto followed Iruka into the testing room, which was filled with only a desk, two chairs for both Iruka and Mizuki to sit on, and on that table were several Konoha headbands... the very objects Naruto had been working to obtain for the past six years. He began sweating a little as the scarred Academy teacher took a seat next to his pale 'friend', smiling nervously at Naruto. "Well Naruto... all you have to do is perform the Clone Jutsu successfully... and you're out of here." Iruka said, Naruto nodding as some of his courage came back to him.

It was at this point where self-consciousness began nagging at the back of Mizuki's mind. What if he actually passed? How would he succeed in his plans? If Naruto did pass, where would he find another Academy Student who would be as desperate as Uzumaki to trick into stealing the scroll?... these questions began pouring into Mizuki's mind, as he tried to reassure himself about the security of his own plan. He stared Naruto down, trying to keep a nervous sweat from appearing on his skin.

The Street Fox of Konoha took one last sigh as he placed his hands together into a seal, trying to properly control his chakra, shaping it so that he could use it for a, hopefully successful, Clone Jutsu. Tendrils of chakra surrounded Naruto, spinning around him quickly as he grit his teeth together. "CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted, his voice strong and determined as a large cloud of smoke surrounded him, covering him and any possible clones from view. In this one moment, both of the Academy teachers' eyes were right on the cloud of smoke, watching for any sign of success, or in Mizuki's case failure.

The smoke cleared out slowly and surely, revealing the top halves of... three Narutos. Iruka's hand twitched for the headband as he looked upon the scene with hope. However, that hope was completely dashed when the rest of the smoke cleared, revealing that the bottom halves of the two Naruto clones that Naruto had created were complete and utter failures. The legs of the clones were bent backwards at the knee, with the actually joint itself jutting in to different directions. The toes were pointed in every which direction, and the overall color of the clones was very pale, and very grey. Everyone in the room sweat dropped as Mizuki cleared his throat.

"Well... this is... unexpected," he said, his level of confusion apparent in his voice. "We've never had a student create two clones that were only half right..." He said slowly, still unsure if he was really seeing this. "How do we judge this Iruka?" He asked his friend, honestly and completely unsure about whether or not Naruto had actually graduated or not. Iruka, in the meantime, sat there, his right hand rubbing the bridge of his nose as he thought it over, Naruto, meanwhile, was sweating profusely.

"Well... let's look at it this way Mizuki." Iruka finally said, both sets of eyes on him. "Its true, Naruto did hold up the jutsu to create two clones, halves of clones to be more precise..." Iruka began, Naruto smiling a little bit. "But, let's say we remove the failed halves of the clones, and then combine the other two halves... in theory we'd only have one successful clone along with Naruto..." Iruka said, causing Mizuki to inwardly smirk, while a nauseous feeling came over Naruto. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but we can't pass you with that... you fail." Iruka said, he himself sounding down as the third time failure merely lowered his head and walked out of the room.

-The End of the School Day-

The bell rang for the Academy as the students began pouring out, most of them wearing the Konoha headbands they had been given after they had passed the Genin Exam, all of them running to their parents, all of them with smiles on their faces... well, all of them except for one. Naruto walked out of the Academy slowly, walking over to the swing he had sat on when waiting for the first day at the Academy to begin. He sat on it and watched as the various graduates were congratulated by their parents.

"Hey, isn't that the Street Fox?" He heard as he looked up, seeing two women looking at him from the other side of the Academy.

"Yeah, that's him." One of them said, shaking her head. "I heard that he was the only one to fail the Exam this year." She said, Naruto lowering his head slightly.

"Good." The other said, causing Naruto to lower his head even more. "I mean, could you imagine him being a ninja. He'd run around, causing all kinds of trouble for the village, and then there's the fact that little brat's the..." She began saying, before her friend cut her off.

"Shh!" She said, causing Naruto to look up interest. "You know we aren't allowed to talk about it." She said, causing Naruto to drop his head again.

"Well, looks like you weren't able to do it." Naruto heard suddenly as he looked to the side, only to see Mizuki standing over him. The Street Fox of Konoha simply scoffed at him.

"Yeah..." He said, as Mizuki patted him on the shoulder.

"Well... you know Uzumaki, my offer is still open... you can still graduate if you pass using the Scroll Method." He said, Naruto's eyes widening slightly, staring at Mizuki, a conflict going on behind his eyes. He knew that he probably shouldn't try this, he knew that there was something wrong with it... but, this was his last chance, he needed it.

"Alright... fine," he said, causing Mizuki to smirk as Naruto raised his head, causing Mizuki to drop the smirk in favor of a smile. "Just give me the information I'll need..."

Mizuki nodded. "Alright Uzumaki, follow me," He said, leaping off, Naruto following him while listening to him talk about what he has to do...

-- Hokage's Tower --

It was late at night, the stars were lit up in the night sky, crickets could be heard in the distance, and the crescent moon was perfectly positioned in the sky. Though the light from the celestial body was very inopportune for a certain twelve-year old thief, he'd have to deal with it. Naruto leaped from rooftop to rooftop, forging his way towards the Hokage Tower. According to Mizuki, the scroll Naruto had to get was in a hidden vault in the Hokage's office.

He jumped one more time before stopping his jump, the roof he was on adjacent to the Tower. He looked down, and saw Chuunin guards surrounding the front door... Mizuki told him it wasn't going to be that easy. Naruto sat down and tapped his chin for a moment, thinking of a way to get in. He smirked as he stood up, and performed a few seals, one solid Naruto clone appearing beside him. "And Iruka-sensei said one clone wouldn't do any good..." He said as he began performing seals. "Transform." Naruto said, transforming so that he looked like a Chunin.

Both he and his clone went down to street level, walking towards the Hokage's Tower, holding the clone's arms behind its back. Naruto carried a smug grin on his face as he waved at the Chuunin guarding the door. "Got to take this little shit to the Hokage." He said, causing the two Chuunin to smirk.

"Go right on through." They said, sending sadistic glances at the clone. Naruto himself grinned as they walked past the guards. Naruto and his clone began ascending the stairs, Naruto dispersing his clone as he began thinking of a disguise to fool the old man... before smirking again. "Transform..." Naruto muttered, a small puff of smoke surrounding him, revealing an exact replica of the weird guy with the mask who chased him six years ago after clearing up. He walked up to the front door of the old man's office, and then opened it up...

Only to find it completely empty. "What the hell?" He said, dispersing his jutsu and returning to his normal form. "Huh, wonder why the old man isn't here?" the demon container wondered aloud as he walked through the office. "Whatever, just makes the job easier," Naruto said, walking to a certain spot on the wall. "Mizuki-sensei said it was right... here." He said, pressing a certain spot on the wall. In that moment, an entire case full of scrolls moved away from the wall, revealing a small room behind it. In it, was a giant scroll. And this scroll was huge, almost as tall as Naruto. He stared at the scroll for a while before walking over.

"This... is just too easy." He said, his mind beginning to go to certain conclusions that he didn't want to reach. "No, I've just been really good about this." He said, picking up the scroll and putting it on his back. He then performed the Transformation Jutsu once again, turning back into the Chunin as he exited the vault, closing it back up by pressing the part of the wall again. He smirked as he began walking down the stairs, smirking all the way...

Then... he saw the old man. He almost froze completely, but continued to walk down the stairs. The old man smiled at him, nodding his head. "Good evening." He said simply as he walked by.

"Good evening." Naruto returned, still shaking a bit. After a few moments, when the old man's footsteps were out of earshot, Naruto sighed in relief. "Oh thank God..." He said aloud as he reached the bottom of the stairs, before walking right out of the Tower. The two Chunin guards tried to ask him something, but he rushed out of there, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. He reached an alleyway and entered it, disengaging the jutsu almost immediately afterwards.

He sprinted through the alleys, making his way towards the forest. "Alright.. now I just have to get out to the old shack in the middle of the forest, and learn one of these jutsu while I wait for Mizuki-sensei." He said quickly as he rearranged the scroll on his back. As Naruto ran, the Hokage entered his office, and quickly discovered that the Forbidden Scroll was missing, and began getting all of the ninja together to search for the scroll.

-- The Forest -- A Few Hours Later --

(A/N Yes, I know this is awfully lazy of me, not describing Naruto's training with the scroll... but, come on people, its kind of straight forward don't you think...also, Death Note is scary A/N)

Naruto leaned up against one of the trees in the clearing, breathing deeply as he tried to regain his breath and stamina. He'd been training for hours, and now he was completely exhausted from the exertion he had put on himself. When he had arrived at the clearing, he immediately got to work on the scroll... and the first jutsu was one that pissed him off immensely. The Shadow Clone Jutsu. At first, he had been amazingly pissed off at this turn of events, and nearly didn't bother with it... though after some thought, he decided that since he wasn't so great with the Clone Jutsu, he should try to get this one down.

So, for a while, he tried just doing the jutsu, having to use a different seal he had found in the scroll, it was the shape of a cross. So... he tried it... and he tried it... and he tried it.. and he got pissed off, and nearly tore the scroll to pieces. After a couple hours, though, he finally started understanding the mechanics of the jutsu. And then, up to a few minutes ago, he was doing great. Then.. he crashed, and there the Street Fox was, leaning against a tree. He chuckled lightly as he cracked his neck, having finally finished getting the jutsu under his control.

Suddenly, though, Naruto heard something beside him. Thinking it was Mizuki, Naruto stood up, and was prepared to tell Mizuki he had done it, to see Iruka standing in front of him. Naruto froze for a second, before scratching the back of his head and laughing sheepishly. "Umm... hi Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, his voice just as shaky as he was. Iruka raised his eyebrows, looking over Naruto's worn and torn form.

'He's been practicing.' Iruka thought, before shaking his head. "Naruto, what the hell is wrong with you? Why'd you steal the Scroll?" He asked, sounding more concerned than angry. Naruto, on the other hand, just shrugged.

"Well Iruka-sensei... Mizuki-sensei told me about this way I can become a Genin, said that if I stole this scroll and learned one of the jutsu I'd become a Genin." He said, making Iruka's eyebrows raise even more. "He said he'd be around soon to evaluate my progress with the jutsu..." Naruto said, as suddenly something snapped inside Iruka's mind.

Mizuki had come to his door, telling him, specifically, that Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll, yet when he and some other ninja were standing in front of the Hokage, he made no mention of any person, by name, who had done this. If Mizuki knew who stole the scroll, he would've... should've told the Hokage about it... unless. Suddenly, the sounds of shuriken flying through the air met his ears, causing his eyes to widen considerably.

"Naruto, move!" Iruka shouted as he pushed Naruto away from him as suddenly several shuriken struck Iruka, some cutting into him, while others nailed him onto the side of the wooden shack. Naruto was probably the most confused he had been in his entire life, watching as Iruka was attacked by shuriken coming out of nowhere. Suddenly Mizuki appeared, two giant shuriken on his back, landing on top of a tree branch nearby.

"Good job Uzumaki, now just hand over the scroll, and I'll take a look at your jutsu." He said, barely trying to head the cynicism in his voice or in his smirk. Naruto, still stunned, was just about to, before Iruka chimed in.

"Don't do it Naruto, Mizuki's only going to take the scroll and betray the village, you can't let him have it!" Iruka shouted, causing Naruto to look back at him with a slightly distressed expression on his face.

"No Naruto, you can't believe him, he's the one who didn't allow you to graduate when you deserved to earlier today, so why listen to him now?!" Mizuki shouted, Naruto's mind slowly starting to spin.

"Naruto, he's lying to you, don't believe him!" Iruka shouted, causing Mizuki to laugh aloud.

"Me, lying to him, please Iruka, you've been lying to him the entire time he was in the Academy, hell, the entire village has been lying to him since he was born!" Mizuki shouted, causing Naruto to look at him with a slightly confused look.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto asked, his voice shaken slightly due to the stress of the situation, though Iruka was beginning to panic at this point.

"No Mizuki, you know its forbidden to talk about it!" Iruka shouted, as the traitor simply ignored him, looking straight at Naruto.

"Naruto, haven't you ever wondered why the village hated you so much?" Mizuki asked, a smug grin replacing the cynical smirk. Naruto merely stood there, an eyebrow raised as he nodded.

"Yeah, its because I steal stuff." The Street Fox stated, which caused Mizuki to laugh aloud.

"If that was the only thing you did Naruto, the entire village could care less about you!" Mizuki shouted, twisting his head to the side lightly. "Yeah, they'd be annoyed, but they wouldn't hate you on the scale they do now, and here's why!" Mizuki started, Iruka now fervently pulling at the shuriken that stuck him to the shack.

"DON'T DO IT!" He shouted, Mizuki once again ignoring him completely.

"Twelve years ago Naruto, as I'm sure you know, the Fourth Hokage managed to defeat the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kyuubi, and stopped it from completely destroying the village... however, he couldn't kill it." Mizuki said lowly, causing Naruto's eyes to narrow slightly. "You see... he had to seal it into something, something that could adjust to the chakra of the Kyuubi being inside of it... it needed to have pre-mature, undeveloped chakra coils." He said, laughing lowly.

"It had to be a newborn baby, its umbilical cord barely cut from its stomach." He said, his smirk growing. "Naruto, do you know what day your birthday is?" He asked, causing Naruto to blank out, having never been told his birthday before. "I figured as much... so I'll just go ahead and tell you." He said, the cynicism slowly returning to his voice. "Its October 10th, the exact same day that fox attacked the village." He said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen in realization.

"You mean I'm... I'm..." He began, tears slowly starting to come to his eyes.

"That's right Uzumaki, you're the child the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into, and the reason the entire village hates you is because you ARE the fox itself, and you're the one responsible for the deaths of hundreds of ninja, including Iruka's parents!" Mizuki shouted, Naruto grasping his head as the tears began flowing.

"NO, ITS NOT TRUE, ITS IMPOSSIBLE!" Naruto shouted, though he knew he was lying to himself... it all made sense when he thought about it. The reason he was so fast, had so much energy, why he was able to do the things he did, or why he healed so fast... it all lead back to the fact... that he was a demon. Then.. Naruto suddenly realized something. His dream of becoming a ninja, of becoming someone who people would respect, of being able to have a life of his own... it was impossible.

They'd never let a demon... a monster at that, become a ninja... no wonder Iruka flunked him... he killed his family... he killed so many people. Mizuki plucked one of the two giant shuriken from his back, and brought it into position. "Now Kyuubi, its time for you to die!" Mizuki shouted, throwing the shuriken straight at Naruto. The infamous Street Fox, who was prized for his ability to dodge just about any projectile... just stood there, unable to move with the weight of this knew knowledge now so prominent on his conscious.

Suddenly, he fell back to the ground, and heard the sound of metal piercing flesh... though he didn't feel any pain. 'Is that what death feels like?' He thought to himself as he opened his eyes. He looked straight up, the moon and the stars still in the sky... so he wasn't dead, then what got hit. He looked down, and was shocked to see Iruka standing over him, the giant shuriken sticking out of his back as tears were also in his eyes

Iruka chocked back a small cough, and then began to speak. "When I was younger... after my parents died... I felt completely alone... I had no one to turn to... I was desperate for attention Naruto... I... became a class clown, making a joke out of myself and everything I did, just so that people would look at me... my grades suffered, and I nearly didn't graduate from the Academy when the Exam came around..." Iruka said, coughing this time, a little bit of blood being spat out onto Naruto's face, though its not as if Naruto noticed, as his attention was solely on Iruka.

"Naruto... I understand what being completely alone must've felt like for you... but... that's all I can say I understand... since you and I are completely different." Iruka said, causing Naruto to look to the side. "We're different... because you were so much stronger than I was." He said, causing Naruto to look at him in shock. "I tried to gain attention through making a fool of myself.. you... you tried to better yourself, you worked hard to gain what you wanted." He said, coughing a little more. "You pushed forward, even when it seemed like your goal was impossible to reach... and that's why... after I really got to know you that day during your first try at the Exam... I... began respecting you." He said, both he and Naruto now looking each other in the eye.

Iruka, while he was sure about what he was saying... Naruto wasn't so sure about what he was hearing. In an instant, Naruto bolted off, running far away from both Iruka and Mizuki, trying to get a grip on what was happening. "NARUTO!" He heard Iruka shout, but he didn't turn back, he just kept on running. He ran and he ran for several minutes, before leaning against a tree, clutching the Forbidden Scroll close to him. He was still slightly exhausted from practicing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and needed to rest a little more.

"Iruka, you know what he's gonna do." He heard suddenly, which caused him to freeze up. He peeked around the tree, and saw Mizuki and Iruka, Mizuki standing a few feet away from Iruka, while Iruka was sitting against a tree, a little bit of blood coming out of one of the corners of his mouth. "He's just going to take that scroll, and learn its secrets so that he can go back and destroy the village, that's what monsters do." Mizuki said, which caused a small pang in Naruto's heart.

Iruka, on the other hand, merely smirked. "Yeah, that's what a monster would do." In that moment, Naruto's heart felt like it was ripped in two, new tears reforming.

"So... Iruka-sensei did just think I was a monster..." He muttered, ready to sprint off... before he heard the rest of Iruka's speech.

"But that's not Naruto, he's a excellent and brave young man, who's fought his entire life and has grown strong because of it!" He said, causing Naruto to freeze. "He's not the Kyuubi in any shape or form, he's the Street Fox of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki, and will one day become a proud member of this village's ninja force!" Iruka shouted with conviction, which caused Mizuki to scoff, but earned fresh new tears from Naruto.

"Pathetic Iruka." Mizuki stated, picking the next shuriken from his back. "You've clearly gone insane... allow me to put you out of your misery." He said, Naruto gasping as he realized what was going to happen. "Now die Iruka!" Mizuki shouted as he prepared to throw the shuriken.

It all happened so quickly, Iruka barely had any time to see it, and Mizuki had no time to react to it. Naruto dashed at speeds greater than he showed before from his hiding spot, leaping up and kneeing Mizuki right in the chin, causing him to go flying backwards as the giant shuriken flew out of sight. Mizuki flipped around in the air, and skidded across the ground a little bit before coming to a stop, slowly clawing the ground as he stood up, giving a pissed off look to the object of his unlimited aggravation.

Naruto shoved the scroll onto the ground, his hand resting on top of it as he glared at Mizuki. "Don't you dare touch Iruka-sensei... or I'll kill you!"He shouted, the serious and enraged tone carried in his voice unlike anything Mizuki or Iruka heard from Naruto before. Mizuki, though, scoffed as he stood up.

"Please, you think a dead-last like you could possibly defeat me?" He asked, laughing loudly as Naruto's glare intensified.

"Bring it on." Naruto said, causing Mizuki to sneer at him. Naruto slowly formed a cross shaped seal, bringing it up to his face. "Whatever you send at me I'll return a thousand-fold." He said seriously, his chakra starting to flare up as he prepared the jutsu, any sign of exhaustion that marred him before now gone.

"Show what you have then fox boy!" Mizuki shouted as Naruto's chakra began spinning around him.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as a large explosion of smoke surrounded the area. As the smoke was blown away by the night wind, it revealed the entire area to be filled with nothing but Naruto clones. Mizuki's eyes widened in shock and fear, as his confidence from earlier disappeared, his eyes looking for a method of escape. Meanwhile Iruka looked on in awe, a grin plastered on his own face.

'These aren't just any clones, they're solid clones... he learned such an amazing jutsu within the span of a few hours...' He thought, his grin widening as the clones of Naruto began cracking various bones in their body.

"If you aren't going to make the first move, then we will!" One clone shouted, as the rest of the clones began charging in, causing Mizuki to shout out in panic. Never before in Naruto's or Iruka's life had they heard a grown man scream bloody murder so loudly while he was being beaten to a pulp. A few minutes later, several popping sounds resounded in the area, Naruto having dispersed all of his clones once Mizuki was thoroughly beaten.

Naruto chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry Iruka-sensei, looks like I kind of overdid it there." He said, laughing a little more. Mizuki laid behind him, looking very mangled... it would be a while before he would be sent to jail, seeing as how he'd be in the hospital for weeks. Iruka, however, merely smiled at Naruto as he raised his hand, motioning for Naruto to come over.

"Naruto... come over here... I have something to give you." He said, causing Naruto to raise his eyebrows as he walked over. When he stood right in front of Iruka, Iruka smirked slightly. "Now, close your eyes and I'll give it to you." Iruka said as Naruto did as he was told, closing his eyes as he waited in anticipation for what Iruka had for him. It took a few minutes, Naruto slowly starting to feel the heat of the sun on his face as day rose, and after a while Naruto felt this cloth around his forehead.

"Okay, open your eyes." Iruka said, Naruto once again doing as he was told. When he did, there really wasn't much different about what he had seen when he first closed his eyes... except that Iruka's headband was missing... wait. "Congratulations, you graduate." Iruka said, Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he stared at his sensei. "And to celebrate I'm going to take you out to eat, my treat." Iruka said... as Naruto looked down to the ground, his body shook slightly as Iruka gave him a worried look...

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted as he tackled Iruka, giving him a bear-hug as they both began laughing.

-- Hokage's Office --

Meanwhile, at his office, Sarutobi watched the scene with a small smile on his face. Though he was disappointed that Naruto had learned the truth about the Kyuubi being sealed into him, he was very happy to see that the boy was now handling it much better, and that he graduated. Mizuki would be punished for his crimes, that much was for sure, but for now, Sarutobi would just wait. He stopped using the crystal ball of his and sent a message that the scroll had been recovered, and for the shinobi to return to their normal duties, and then leaned back in his chair, taking a puff of his pipe.

He looked up to see the pictures of previous Hokage, his eyes resting on the Fourth's picture. "You've picked a fine young man Fourth... you would be proud if you saw him." He said, taking another blow of his pipe as he sighed, the chaos now over for now.

OMAKE (Yay for random ideas!)

If Mizuki knew who stole the scroll, he would've... should've told the Hokage about it... unless. Suddenly, the sounds of shuriken flying through the air met his ears, causing his eyes to widen considerably.

Then, as if in response, a small 'bang' resounded, Mizuki falling to the ground with a small bleeding hole in the back of his head. Iruka and Naruto stared at him in shock as they looked up to see the man who now replaced Mizuki on the tree limb. He was an older man, looking about thirty years old, with shortish brown hair and a brown beard. A dark grey headband was ties tightly to his forehead, and a weird suit surrounding everything below his neck.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, while Naruto and Iruka merely stared at him. "... Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked slowly, Iruka nodding along with him. The man merely scoffed at them as he took a deep breath on the cancer stick, blowing out smoke as he exhaled.

"My name... is Solid Snake." Snake said, as suddenly, in the background, some sort of theme music began playing, causing Naruto and Iruka to look around confused. They looked back at him when the music ended, even more confused.

"So... what are you doing here?" They asked, causing Snake to once again scoff.

"I was here to kill that guy." He said, pointing at Mizuki. "You see, he's not your 'Mizuki-sensei' at all, his real name is Andrei Putin, a Russian spy who was sent to retrieve a Metal Gear that's hidden under your village. However, the Japanese captured him and brainwashed him, thinking it would cause him to think he was really a ninja, while really he didn't forget, and still tried to get the Metal Gear, but was stopped by the CIA when they found him and tried to kill him, he dodged them by becoming a ninja, killing them all mercilessly, but little did he know that his brother had joined the CIA, so he killed him too, when he figured that out he wanted revenge, so he plotted to steal the Forbidden Scroll of yours, and then go back to Russia in order to kill the leader, so that he could avenge his brothers death, but little did he know that the Chinese had been aware of this, and had told the Russians about it, and they asked America's president to send me to stop him, in exchange for any Metal Gears and Nuclear bombs they had, so I was sent here and, after a nasty encounter with my clone brother, Liquid Snake, I made it here, sneaking through the village, and then finding you all, and killing Mizuki." Snake said almost all at once, taking another puff of his cigarette, while Iruka and Naruto looked at him as if he were a crazed psycho.

"What?" They both asked, causing Snake to face vault. He stood back up, giving them both a glare.

"I just said it as plain as day, how could you not get it?!" He asked, before a ringing resounded in his ear. "Excuse me for a moment." He said as he bent over, putting his right finger to his left ear. The ringing rang for a few more times, before he secured the link. "Otacon, why the hell didn't you tell me these people were so stupid?" He shouted into the device, causing Iruka and Naruto to sweat drop.

"Now Snake, you can't blame them, after all, they are just primitive ninjas." Otacon answered, the device making it so that only Snake could hear him.

"Yeah, but still, these guys are total dip-shits, even Ocelot could outsmart them." Snake said, causing both Naruto and Iruka to glare at him.

"Just keep your cool Snake you can do this." Otacon said, as there was silence on the other side of the line. In the forest, Snake had several kunai sticking out of various parts of his body, while a frustrated Naruto and Iruka walked off.

"Good riddance." Naruto said, Iruka nodding in agreement.

"You said it." He replied, as they walked away. Meanwhile Otacon was starting to get seriously worried by the silence...

"Snake... Snake... SNAAAAAKE!"

... R&R