Part 8

Sorry I've been away for a while but I'm back and ready to continue.

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"In the flesh" she said as the blonde lowered the kunai and rushed into her arms, embracing her tightly. She returned it warmly as she run her hand through his golden locks, they remained like that for a minute or two before he pulled away with tears in his eyes. "I've really missed you" he sobbed as the tears trickled down his face.

Yugao felt a tug on her heart as she used a finger to wipe the tear away and hugged the blonde, "come on, you're too old for that" the blonde nodded in agreement as he wiped the tears out of his face. "better" she asked and received a nod in response.

"what are you doing here?"

"Well your big day was today and I wanted to know how you did" she said as the blonde widened his eyes in confusion. "How did you know that?" she kept quiet as the blonde discovered the answer on his own. "you…" she nodded quickly in response to his answer.

The blonde beamed mentally as a happiness grew in his heart, something that pissed off the fox as soon as he realized it.

The fox laid down in the darkness of the mindscape but warm presence awakened him. "what is this" he growled as white light shined across the face of the mindscape. "must be the feeling of happiness" the fox commented as it loomed over him, "normally I'd be worried but recent events haven't got me bordered a bit" the fox growled as the light was soon swallowed by the darkness. It closed it's eyes and retreated immediately to sleep once again.

"so how was it? How did it go" Yugao asked like a child in a candy store, upon asking this question the blond felt every little happiness in him disappear. 'today' he thought as he recollected everything that happened during the day. He fell on his knees and buried his face in his palms. He expected tears to roll down his face but nothing came out, 'why' why didn't come? Did he feel no remorse? Was he okay with what he did?.

"Naruto? Are you okay? If you didn't get it now you'll get it again, so don't worry!" she tried her best to console him. How could he fail though? It made no sense, he was almost the same level as sasuke if not better. "I didn't fail, I actually passed with everyone else"

"That's great then! So why are you crying?" the blond removed his face from his palm to reveal his face, "I'm not" she smiled as she brought him closer to her. "but that's the problem" he let out causing her to stare in confusion at the blond waiting for a continuation that seemed like it would never happen due to an extremely long pause. "I killed someone…" he said to answer the ponderous expression on her face. "what?" Naruto covered his ears at the screech released by Yugao, he then decided to explain everything that happened that happened.

At the academy

"I'm here sensei" Naruto yelled as he dashed into the classroom, grabbing the attention of his sensei and his assistant. "I thought you'd chickened out" he told the blond who shook his ahead as he took his seat. "so what's it gonna be! A c rank jutsu?, enemy ninjas? Bring it on!"

"nothing! I'm afraid I can't pass you today…." Iruka explained to him whiles organizing a bunch of files before giving them over to Mitsuki. "but you promised and you're never supposed to break your promise and…." He noticed Iruka burst into laughter. "what's funny! Hey" he whined causing his sensei to break into further laughter, now he was confused and curious. "you're so impatient! I said you don't have to do anything because I've seen your progress and you've been passed but you can't leave the academy now the hokage wants you to graduate with your peers" "oh" the blond softly said before jumping around in joy. He signaled his sensei to join him in his celebrations something he took up, Mitsuki watched as the two celebrated, a scowl appeared across his face. 'how can people still allow him to be alive? Why doesn't Iruka give him a difficult challenge instead of passing him for free! It didn't matter anymore because soon he'd be out of this village and he just found his ticket out.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the gazes on him, "Everything alright?" Iruka asked him. He nodded his head and watched as the two continued to converse about getting Ramen and eventually leave to their destination. 'I know exactly what I'm going to do' he plotted as his eyes watched the blond disappear with Iruka.

2 hours later

Naruto was returning to class when he bumped into an adult causing his papers to fly around, he was fully expecting a bunch of insults to be thrown at him but he was shocked when the hand of the grown man was held out to him. He wearily took it and was brought back to his feet which caused him to see the man better. It was Iruka sensei's assistant, "sorry Naruto, my mistake" he apologized. "No it was mine" he said as he quickly recovered all the sheets, "let me help you take them!" he insisted as he accompanied Mitsuki to the classroom.

"so big day today huh" he asked the blond who nodded furiously in agreement. "but you know that Iruka's words aren't enough to get you promoted" he told the blond who gave him a confused look. "but he said-"

"He can't otherwise people will question the honesty in his job and if too many people know you passed without test they'd throw a fit" the blond nodded slowly in realization, and turned to the assistant. "so what do I do" he asked, too bad the blond walk through the door otherwise he would have noticed the evil smirk that appeared on Mitsuki's face.

"I can assign you a mission but it won't be easy" he watched the blond drop the stack on the table and yell bring it on. He gave the details of the mission to him and dismissed the blond.

'now go and get me my freedom'

Naruto remain perched up on a building as he looked at the Hokage tower, he scouted around the area but he knew no matter what there was no way he couldn't go undetected and time was almost up! The sun was setting and fast. He had to do this now otherwise he wouldn't graduate. Jumping off the roof, he worked in the shadows slowly tip toeing and avoiding the Anbus stationed there. Eventually reaching the storage room he dashed through and picked up any scroll he could however the moment he did a swarm of anbus appeared infront of him. His sweat dropped as he stared them down, hanging the scroll around his neck he pulled the kunai out of his holster and tightened the grip on it. 'isn't this a little too much for a test' he mentally asked himself before launching the kunai at the foot of the anbu. A gust of smoke engulfed the place as the smoke bomb on the kunai released and the blonde dashed through them speeding out of the place.

The blond dashed to the meeting point as he dodged kunais from every direction. Eventually he lost them for a brief moment. "finally I can catch my breath… all this trouble for a stupid scroll!" he panted as he opened scroll to read it's contents. The anbu watched in the shadow as Naruto read the contents over the scroll. "shouldn't we stop him?" one anbu asked the captain who just ignored him. He waited for the blond to arise and move to his destination. "follow him and don't let him out of your sights."

Naruto plopped down on the ground as he awaited Mitsuki, 'mission complete now to wait for..' he shot up as Mitsuki arrived. He had a warm smile on his face before walking up to the blond, "I thought you'd given up" he said as he offered a hand which the blond took and sprang onto his feet "never! It was just a little bit tough though, I swear I nearly died like 3 times to a kunai" Mitsuki laughed as he patted the blond's head. "You did good" he told the blond who smiled in glee but all was immediately lost as Mitsuki held a kunai to his neck, "and now you'll give me the scroll" he commanded to Naruto who just stared back in awe and despair.

"what are you doi-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND GIVE ME THE SCROLL DEMON" he roared at the blone who complied immediately and removed the scroll from around his neck. He watched as Mitsuki laughed maniacally, "I can't believe you managed to do it. You must be insane! To betray your own village demon, I thank you though! Now I can leave this accursed village"

"what do you mean!" he asked in confusion as he got back up to his feet. Mitsuki was about to answer but he had to quickly adjust his head to dodge a kunai that would have impaled it had he moved a second late. He turned to direction in which the kunai came from, there standing on the tree was Iruka with a frown plastered across his face. "Naruto what are you?crazy!" he yelled at the blond who shuddered in response. His glare then turned to Mitsuki, "hand that over!"

"and throw away the hard work dear Naruto has done!" he jumped out of the way this time to avoid the new set of kunai hurled at him. "Naruto wouldn't betray the leaf! You tricked him with that fake assignment"

"fake?"he looked at the assistant who just grinned before cackling, "yes Naruto it was a fake! I just needed the scroll and you helped me". "for what!"

"he wanted you to steal a forbidden scroll most likely so that he could join an enemy village and and over our secrets to them" Iruka explained. Naruto growled out, the thought of him betraying the village in anyway disgusted him not to mention the fact that Mitsuki had tried to make him commit such an act sickened his stomach. He launched at Mitsuki but was sent back by a heavy kick to the gut, Iruka began to throw kunais at the traitor who also scaled up a tree and hid behind it. He engaged his former colleague in a battle of lunged kunai neither managing to damage the other. Naruto laid down on the ground holding his gut clearly in some pain, he looked up to see Iruka being overwhelmed by Mitsuki's barrage of kunai. Still in pain he manages to form the handsigns for a jutsu.

[Wind release : Greatbreakthrough] just like that he blew out a gust of wind that sent the kunais flying and knocked down the tree Mitsuki hid behind. The sudden attack caught out both the jounin who didn't expect the blond to release such a strong jutsu. It left Mitsuki falling but as he fell he noticed the blond standing right there in the open, he could kill the blond and then the other villages would have to accept him. He opened up a scroll a pulled up a demon blade shuriken and hurled it at the blond, he could only wait to hear the screams of the pain from the jinchuriki. Naruto watched as the Shuriken hurled towards him at great speed, he wanted to move but his gut ached him too much too, however the blade never hit him instead he heard a shout in a familiarly masculine voice. He opened his eyes to witness the Shuriken blade had impaled Iruka through his back. "Oh? He saved you demon!" Mitsuki said with a hint of surprise and disappointment.

"Iruka sensei why"

"yes! Why Iruka would you sacrifice yourself for someone who killed your parents"

"what?" the blond replied in utter confusion

"he didn't! it wasn't him"

"yes! You're right it was the nine tailed fox demon that occupies his body right now" Mitsuki commented leaving his former colleague enraged. "You fool. Shut up! He didn't-" Iruka failed to continue his sentence before passing out. "sensei!" the blond screamed out as he held the man in his arms. "Looks like it's a family tradition" Mitsuki commented as he picked up the scroll and began to walk off but he met a kunai which he dodged from the blond.

"I'll kill you" he uttered in a demonic voice, as his eyes had slits in them and became red orbs. Forming some handsigns Mitsuki witnessed about 150 more naruto's appear. "what is this?" he asked in fear, his body shuddering and his head spinning as he realized there was no exit. The naruto's jumped down and began beating up the traitor throwing punches kicks and what not. In a few minutes he body lay down lifeless with all the clones gone and the blond standing over him covered in blood that wasn't his.

"shouldn't we interfere!" the anbu in a like wolf like mask asked her captain. He made no response, he watched as the blond loomed over the lifeless body, then switched his gaze to the scroll, it was quite a distance away from them and to make matters worse the jounin that accompanied the blond was now up. "wait for the right opening"

Naruto looked at the lifeless body infront of him, he felt nothing as he stared at him. 'why should he?' he just did what shinobi do and killed a enemy nin, someone who wanted to betray the village! Someone who nearly killed his sensei, he had nothing to be worried about. "Naruto….what have you done" the voice of Iruka brought him out of his thoughts turning to his sensei he dashed to him but the pathway was cut out by Hiruzen. "old man.."

"Naruto…. Are you okay? IRUKA!" the old man quickly latched to his side putting two hands over him healing the wound caused by the shuriken. In a few minutes he was surrounded by Anbu including the two who avoided the battle. "Take him to hospital and the two of you wait here for me" in a second the two new anbu left with Iruka. The hokage walked slowly towards the blond and knelt infront of him, "Gramps… I didn't mean to-" he cut him off by hugging the blond. "I know, Iruka told me before he came chasing after you"

"I'm sorry" he whispered but Hiruzen instead gave him a headband. "don't be, you did what all shinobi must and for that here you go, keep it well" a small smile appeared on the blond's face. He backed away from the blond for a brief moment and signalled the anbus to follow him, "dispose of the body and bring the scroll back" The two watched as the Hokage and the blond disappeared into the forest. "hurry and copy the details of the scroll, I'll dispose the body" the captain told his subordinate. The captain watched as she went to do his command, he looked at Mitsuki and grinned how ironic the one who led them would die to the person he despised. He formed some hand signs intending to burn his body when suddenly he felt a pair of hands grasp on his feet, he looked down down to see Mitsuki he probably couldn't talk because the blond had hurt him so bad. "don't think about it" he managed to get out. The two stared at him in disgust and disappointment.