Chapter 3: Do or Die! Defeat Mizuki!

AN

General: Another remastered chapter reveals just how rough this really was. A big shout out to the readers who read the older chapters and kept going. I'm happy, though, that it seems easy enough to improve—tangible proof of my growth! If you're a newer reader, thank you for coming. I hope this meets the standards I've set for myself. Enjoy~!

Naruto's POV (Old Leaf Training Ground - Exterior Leaf Village)

"Naruto?" Lee asked. His voice was questioning and confused. Naruto hated the little bit of doubt he could plainly hear. Naruto wanted to respond, but he had dreaded this day for years. His mother had warned him the day might come when his secret was exposed. Warned him how that may just be the way people see him. Naruto was so enraptured by the shock he barely reacted when Mizuki charged them, frozen in indecision. Luckily, the clones seemed slightly less affected and met the Chunins' charge in a suicidal clash. As the Chunin slowly dispatched the clones, Lee stared into his eyes. Naruto knew he should explain; Mizuki had made it sound much worse than it was. But Naruto didn't choose this; he hated the monster within him. Why should he be judged for something out of his control? Worse yet, technically, the man had spoken the truth; maybe Naruto was responsible- "Naruto!" Lee said, his voice taking a surprisingly stern tone.

"Listen, Lee, it's not… l-"

"Are you my comrade Naruto?" Lee said calmly.

"What?"

"Are we comrades, friends, allies, fellow men in the prime of our youth?" Lee asked simply. Naruto felt slight confusion at his weirdness but decided to simply be honest.

"Of course, Bushy Brows, but what is your point?" Naruto asked the confusion, managing to cut through his panic.

"Then nothing else matters. A youthful man judges a man by nothing but by his actions. To discount another due to something they may not be able to control would be foolish. Not when you have shown me your youth so plainly. If you wish to discuss this, we may; if not, then your secret is safe with me. But first, we must defeat this treacherous man. The rest can be discussed later." Lee said, his teeth shining as if they were sheening metal. Naruto couldn't help but match his smile. "Now, can you stall him for a bit? I can end this, but I need time to channel my chakra." Lee asked, seeing Naruto had composed himself.

"Heh, screw stalling!" Naruto said as he wielded his tanto, grinning crudely. "I owe this loser for years of hate! I'm gonna kick his ass!"

Naruto then charged toward the Chunin, who had managed to dispel the last clones right as he closed in. As he turned his head, Naruto slammed his knee into Mizuki's face with perfect timing. The blow sent him stumbling back but wasn't practical. Naruto followed up determinedly; with a burst of chakra, he summoned more clones, surprised that the ten he intended to summon merely came out as eight. Naruto's chakra was lower than he thought. The testing, training, and now this fight was waning on the jinchuriki's juice. But Naruto would die before he stopped. The clones and him drawing kunai and firing them on the off-balance Chunin. They hit yet once again do no real damage, simply annoying Mizuki. Who, with a growl, charged forward, swinging in with a right hook. A clone leaped forward, catching the hook and pulling the arm back. Another blonde kicked him in the face while another swept his legs. Naruto smirked as he jumped into the air, another clone grabbing him by the hands before violently spiking him at the downed Mizuki.

"Naruto Hammer!" he called as he released a vicious kick to the ribs as he landed, causing the ground beneath to crack and crumble. The blonde jumped back; whatever the creep had taken made him tough. Naruto knew this was far from over, so he retreated within his clones and shuffled himself within them.

True to form, Mizuki leaped from his resting spot, immediately catching a clone and snapping his neck with a wrench. He ignored a jab sent from another one while he drew and used a kunai to gut another. The clone tried to pull back his arm to fire off another attack, but Mizuki caught his hand and kicked him hard in the chest, dispelling it. A clone from behind tackled his legs, dropping him to his knees. In time for two clones to land, powerful kicks to his chin simultaneously. This sent Muzuki flying back, chuckling wildly, clearly unharmed. As he climbed to his feet, the remaining clones surrounded him and attacked quickly, slashing at him with their blades but only causing superficial damage. The Chunin willingly tanked these; as he was battered, he merely waited, caught the occasional strike, and destroyed the perpetrator.

Naruto took a breather; as he did, he glanced back at Lee to check his progress. Lee's chakra was palpable around him, and it was clear he would become significantly more potent, but he still channeled. Naruto sighed at this; he would need to buy even more time.

Mizuki was ridiculously amped ever since the syringe. Most attacks didn't faze him. Even blades would cut shallowly, but none of it was sticking. He'd probably need a damn bomb to keep him down. Not to mention his new freakish strength and speed. Naruto thought about his supplies, but none of them seemed helpful. Even with the shadow clones, Naruto was struggling to do anything. He needed power! Something that knocks this bastard into next week. A bomb… shadow clones… Naruto could feel his mind forming a rough plan. When he had been training with shadow clones, he had overloaded them, leading to an explosion.

If he tried to overload shadow clones again but ensured they were a tiny bit stable, he could have… an explosive clone. Naruto's grin turned feral. Not only did he have a new weapon in this fight, but it would be perfectly subtle enough to ensure it landed.

Naruto formed the shadow clone sign and charged his chakra, working overtime to create the explosive clone. The clone looked mindless, swaying in place and not genuinely moving. Clearly, Naruto would have to perfect it later; hopefully, it did the job.

"Hey, you damn sore loser!" Naruto called. Mizuki's eyes hatefully landed on the blonde. "Catch!" Naruto grabbed the clone by the arm and leg and, with an impressive feat of strength, threw it like a spear directly at Mizuki.

"Pathetic as always, monster!" Mizuki called with glee. He caught the clone by the throat and began to strangle it. "Summon as many clones as you want!:

"Actually, that's just a setup for my new technique!" Naruto stated confidently. Mizuki eyed the clone, and an alarm erupted on his face as he realized it was heavier. He may not know what the blonde planned, but it was likely something with the clone. He started to throw the clone, but it was too late. The blonde sealed the attack with a shout of "Shadow Clone: Walking Landmine Jutsu!" The clone exploded with a loud boom, enveloping the area in smoke and shooting off bits of earthen debris. Naruto sank to his knees, tired but smiling happily. He finally had gotten the bastard.

But before he could fully relax his muscles, Mizuki appeared before him. Unlike the other attacks, the blonde could tell this one had done damage. Mizuki's left arm was reduced to a charred stump. His body and face were burned on the left side. His entire body was covered in bruises. His legs bled through gashes and looked liable to collapse at any moment. Though Mizuki was seemingly unaffected by his state, slamming his foot into Naruto's chest and pinning him to the ground. As the blonde gasped for air.

"You damn demon, I actually felt that! "Muzuki barked. "This makes no sense! This drug was supposed to make me superhuman! How did this happen?" He called brokenly before he started to stomp on Naruto's chest. "How? How? How?! HOW?" He screamed with each stomp.

Naruto needed to escape, but he was running on empty and couldn't breathe due to the harsh stomps. Mizuki must've landed eight before Naruto's vision started to dim. He needed to use his ace. He promised he wouldn't, but he couldn't die here! He wouldn't!

Luckily, before Mizuki could land a killing blow or Naruto could activate his "ace," Lee appeared and quickly landed a massive overhand punch that sent the Chunin flying. Before the man could touch the ground, Lee seemed again, landing a high kick to his chin, sending Mizuki flying into the air. All the while, Lee smiled, seemingly proud of him?

"You were the most youthful I've seen, Naruto. We must spar after this!" Lee said casually before leaping into the air behind Muzuki, the bandages on his arm seemingly coming to life and wrapping around Mizuki tightly. "I'm sorry to use this on you, my former sensei, but you leave me no choice! Youth always comes to an end." Lee said morosely. "Front Lotus!" They spun through the air, approaching the ground head first. Lee let go of Mizuki just before they crash-landed; as he did, he kicked Mizuki into the ground to further increase the impact and rise through the air again. Landing in a combat roll to bleed off the force and stand easily.

Naruto stared at the massive cloud of dust the attack had kicked up and the rain of debris. Mizuki had impacted the concrete headfirst—indeed, he hadn't survived that. Once the dust cleared, Mizuki seemed partially buried in the ground, with only his feet sticking up like a human tombstone. Naruto smiled wildly at Lee, excited they had managed to survive.

"You two ok?" A pained voice calls out. They both look back and see a bruised and burned Choji, who had managed to unbury himself. He looked worse for the wear but alive. "Woah, you guys actually took him out?!" Choji asked, shocked.

"Yosh! He was a powerful and nefarious opponent, but using beautiful you-".

"We kicked his ass!" Naruto interrupted, finishing the thought in his way. Lee frowned at this, thinking seriously.

"Less youthful but also accurate, " he surmised. The other two boys looked at him perplexed before the three started laughing and resting on the ground. The exhaustion and chaotic battle ending allowed their adrenaline to pass, and the three now felt as drained as they were.

"Naruto!"

"Choji! Lee!"

Voices called out in the distance, one belonging to a man and another to a woman. The two landed in the clearing, showing it to be Kushina and Iruka. Both were dressed and geared for battle. Kushina rushed forward, briefly scanning Lee and Choji before climbing her son and ranting and raving about his safety. Naruto sighed dramatically, attempting to shove his mother back while assuring her he was fine.

"So, while momma's boy is busy," Iruka stated teasingly.

"Fuck you!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Iruka nodded as Kushina chased Naruto around, seemingly both having forgotten about his injuries. And more focused on Kushina's infamous disdain for her son's sailor-like mouth.

Iruka chuckled at the two of them as he stared at the buried body of Mizuki. The occasional twitch portrayed he somehow may be alive. "So a fight broke out between the three of you. It's good the three of you managed to fight him off. We are sorry we didn't arrive sooner. Mizuki had been under investigation by me for a while now. I grew suspicious when I realized he hadn't taken them to the normal site for the Remedial Exam; luckily, Kushina knew where he had taken you. Safe to assume he attacked first?"

"Yeah, it was crazy! He almost burned me to death!" Choji called

"Indeed, he was most treacherous. He had tried to take many chances to kill Naruto, Choji, and myself. Most troubling, I had thought Mizuki was on the side of youth." Lee continued. Iruka looked at them quizzically. Mizuki was no slouch, but he had been around Iruka's level. And Iruka had no doubt if he thought these three on his own, they would almost certainly be able to defeat him with little difficulty, so it was odd Mizuki had seemed to push them so far.

"He caught you off guard?" He asked.

"Well, yeah!" Choji started, "We were surprised he was going lethal, then when we got the edge, he injected himself with something."

"Whatever it was, it was powerful. Before, even with my weights, I was faster than Mizuki, but after, he was nearly as fast as me without them." Lee added

"Believe it! He also became a tank! Punches, kicks, kunai, swords, even an explosion didn't do much!" Naruto added, being thrown back to the group locked up in chains. "Also, can you let me out of these?"

"No," Kushina answered. Clearly, the mother had used her infamous chain bloodline to temporarily imprison her son. We should check Mizuki to see if we can find more of this substance or evidence of it." She said her tone was all business now. Even a soldier pill wouldn't allow this. I don't know of any developed drugs or medicines that do. The Hokage will want to see this…"

"I'm afraid I'll take the body and its belongings with me." A voice called from somewhere in the trees surrounding the training ground. "Sorry if that's upsetting, but I must insist."

"That is upsetting," Iruka assured. "I demand you identify yourself and surrender for interrogation."

Kushina drew a katana from a scroll on her ho[ and stood before the worn-out young men. On the other side, Iruka jumped to Mizuki's corpse and started to weave hand signs. But the emerging figure kicked him in the face before he could activate whatever jutsu he had in mind. Sliding back to the group in a heap, they all checked out the new threat as Iruka climbed back to his feet.

He wore a Red cloak covering his body and head and a red mask covering the lower half of his face. Allowing vision of his red hair in a ponytail and his strange eyes. They seemingly were empty except for a kanji for seal in one eye and release in another. "I really must insist again." He said. "My name is of no importance to you. Not yet, anyway, but you may call me Ikam for now. See, Mizuki, here was a test of mine, but I can't afford for you to go learning my secrets now. So I'll make it easy for all of us and remove choice from the matter." He quickly grabbed a scroll from his cloak. It slowly released smoke that enveloped Mizuki, and Iruka leaped away less. He suffered the same, and it slowly withdrew into the scroll, Mizuki's body now missing from where it had been. Ikam held up the scroll, smiling. But had to duck a katana thrust for his neck.

"You are trespassing in the Hidden Leaf Village, assisting a defector, and assaulting a shinobi. We will bring you in to ask if you will come willingly. But if you resist in any way, we'll kill you now." Iruka said now behind Ikam.

"Honestly, for hurting my son, I really want you to resist," Kushina said darkly, shifting her katana under the crouched man's chin.

"I see the Leaf still are mouthy savages," Ikam said, bored. "You may stand in my way if you wish; it will change little!" As he said this, he leaped up quickly. Kushina, with a glace and a tiger sign, allows red chains to fly from her body toward Ikam,

"Adamantite Chains: Crushing Embrace!" Kushina calls, attempting to end this fight quickly.

Ikam merely smirks. "Seal, " he says, making the chains disappear suddenly. The Kanji in his left eye glowed with power. Once the right also glowed, he whispered, "And release!" The chains suddenly reappeared, seemingly twice as sizable, falling toward the group; it would crush them. As they approached, Iruka reacted first, throwing down a circular perimeter of kunai around them before weaving a series of hand signs.

"Barrier Method Formation!" Iruka calls as a circular blue barrier surrounds the group. The giant chains hit, cracking it severely, but bounce off and dissipate. Iruka pants heavily before passing out, the technique seemingly taking a lot out of him. Kushina looked around, but it seemed Ikam had used the opportunity to escape. Kushina sighed at this as she reached into a pouch and popped off a medical emergency flare. Kushina observed the rough state of the group. Iruka was out of commission, and the young men were exhausted. Ikam had been quite the threat, quickly countering her scarlet chains and nearly crushing them. It was hard to say if she would have beaten him, and earnestly, she doubted she could have. It is at times like this that she genuinely misses Minato. She looked at the exhausted Naruto and smiled. For now, she would guard him and put her faith in him.

"So," Naruto stated awkwardly, "we passed… right?"

X-X

Help had arrived quickly and saw to the aid of the group's men on the spot. Kushina was the only one who wasn't truly injured. Lee, Choji, and Naruto had been medically cleared and were suffering from minor exhaustion. Iruka had merely run dangerously low on chakra and had been revived with smelling salts. The Chunin, dutiful as always, had gone to give a detailed report on the night's events upon revival. Choji and Lee had both gone home to get some rest for the team scheduling tomorrow. Kushina had decided Naruto deserved ramen tonight. Something he had agreed to wholeheartedly and had gorged himself appropriately. Leading to a fitting food coma for the night. The next morning, Naruto struck out as instructed; it was graduation day at the Academy. Today, Naruto became a Genin, the first step to becoming Hokage…

Naruto wished he had the chance to talk to Lee more about the Nine-Tails but to be frank, he preferred not to think of the giant fox in his stomach who had murdered many in his home village and apparently even his mysterious father. He had learned to use some of the beast's chakra as he had been informed by Hiruzen himself that it would be necessary, possibly very soon. He was able to use some of its power, power being the defining word.

Naruto hated that the thing that had taken his father was inside of him. Even more, so that it seemed people needed him to utilize it; as such, he had decided it his "ace"." A final resort to be used in hopeless situations. Last night had almost certainly counted as one. Mizuki had become incredibly strong; luckily, Naruto had a good backup and didn't have to suffer using the beast's foul chakra. But it was close. Worse yet, Mizuki was only a Chunin and not an active field one. He may have been boosted by a drug, but even still, the three of them had come close several times. If Naruto intended to keep his secret, he'd need to get stronger. Though he would most likely tell his team, a risk but a necessary one if they were expected to be comrades for their entire careers. It made him nervous, and if he was honest, he'd win them over before telling them. A little sneaky, but hopefully, they'd understand.

Naruto was on cloud nine, after all. The three boys who took down a traitor had all passed their Remedial Exam! Furthermore, Naruto was sure that Lee and Choji were fast-growing friends of the blonde; the time they spent being healed was full of joking and chit-chat. And the fight had made it clear the two oddballs were the type to be trusted. In his academy days, he wasn't hated by the students but almost exclusively hung out with Shikamaru. Most found him to be a bit much or avoided him, but the Nara never had. The blonde reminded himself Shikamaru was great, but having more friends would be awesome. Naruto chuckles with his eyes closed as he rounds the corner, only to smack into someone hard, knocking them both down to the ground.

"My bad!" Naruto apologized as he saw he knocked down another man. He had long, spiky black hair with matching, intense black eyes. He wore a black high-collared shirt that was tucked into white combat pants.

"Stay out of my way, idiot," he said as he climbed to his feet and tried to walk by the blonde. But Naruto angrily grabbed him by the arm before he could.

"Hey, you bumped into me too! Why are you acting so rude, huh?"

"I'm a Uchiha; you are some kinda mutt," Sasuke says simply. Looking as if he was perplexed, the blonde didn't get it. "One should treat their betters appropriately, yes?"

"Well, I'm gonna be Hokage, so why would I give a damn." The blonde said spitefully. "Even if you're my better now, it won't end that way."

"Hmph, perhaps I'll show you your place right now." The Uchiha said as he tensed. Naruto saw this reaction and prepared to show this guy a thing or two himself, a hand reaching for his back toward Riptide.

"Sasuke!" a cacophony of female voices called. Uchiha's eyes widened as he suddenly whipped his hand free and sighed heavily.

"Tch, your lucky loser!" Uchiha said before suddenly sprinting away. Naruto went to chase but dodged a crowd of females chasing after the Uchiha. Naruto sat on the ground, utterly lost. Before Ino and another turned the corner, they saw him on the ground.

"Naruto?" Ino asked as she helped him off the ground. "Gotta learn to avoid the fan girl charge. Sasuke is pretty dreamy, but I swear they have no shame."

"It is pretty embarrassing. How can fangirls like that call themselves Kunochi?" The other woman asked. Naruto looked at her. She was his height with bright pink short hair that worked well with her green eyes. She wore a sleeveless red qipao dress that reached her upper thighs; under this, she wore black tights, elbow and knee pads, and leather gloves. "Oh, that's rude of me. My name is Sakura," she said with a smile. Naruto popped a big smile back.

"No worries, I'm not one for that stuff anyway."

"Obviously," Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway, I heard you passed. Congratulations. If you'll excuse us, we gotta try and get a seat near him."

"I thought you two hate fangirls?" Naruto asked.

"Yep, it's all about being a powerful kunoichi and winning the hot man candy," Ino said with a wink.

"Ignore her," Sakura said dryly as she dragged Ino towards the meeting place. "Something's wrong with her…"

Naruto watched the two leave and relaxed in the hall. He wanted to talk to Shikamaru before the teams were picked and knew he would run late. He heard them before he saw them—well, he heard Choji's chips anyway.

He ran to the two, all smiles, and three walked to class, simply chit-chatting. As they walked in, he saw about thirty students. These were all graduates from various courses of the Academy. Shikamaru and him were the only ones from their class. As he scanned, he saw Sasuke in the corner with a group of girls, seemingly fighting for his attention. Naruto snickered at this as he walked with the boys to some open seats in the center. On the opposite side, other girls were crowding some other guy with long hair and pale eyes. Toward the front, Ino, Sakura, and two other girls were chatting animatedly. Naruto then glanced at where they were sitting. Lee and Kiba were both to his left, engaging in a desperate arm wrestle bout that Lee seemed sure to win. A third boy Naruto didn't recognize in a hoodie and sunglasses was playing referee to an absurdly severe degree. Shikamaru was awake, knowing the teams would be announced soon. But he looked to be longing for some sleep, blinking slowly as if he barely fought off sleep each time. Choji seemed happy to wait while snacking on a candy bar. Somehow, having already polished off his chips.

Naruto pondered about who he would want on his team. Shikamaru was probably the most significant want. They got along well and knew what they could do. Plus, Shikamaru was stupidly brilliant and would likely be helpful. But he wouldn't mind Choji, Lee, or Kiba. They may be new to him, but they seemed like solid guys. He had no strong thoughts about having women on his team; he didn't know most of them and didn't mind any of them, but the fangirls; he supposed Sakura, Ino, or even the quiet Hinata would be alright. Though those stuck-up guys with fan clubs would be the worst-case scenario.

As this thought finished, Iruka walked into the class with a grand smile. "Students, you have studied in this building for six years. You came as young and ignorant children. And now you stand before us wisened adults. Trained professionals looking to begin your shinobi career. Your rank is Genin. But I have no doubt you all will not be resting at this rank. I am so incredibly proud of this class. You are the first of a new generation. You represent the hopes and dreams of the future. Now, as Genin, you are assigned a Genin squad with a Jounin leader. These teams are not up for debates or complaints. Please understand this was not random; these teams considered and matched your unique skills and synergies. Even if you are unsure of the arrangement, handle it patiently and professionally. You will see the wisdom in time. Now I will read off teams!" Iruka said. Naruto was so excited that he didn't even hear the first five; luckily, his attention turned back to the sixth team.

"Team Six will be: Sasuke Uchiha, Kabuto Yakushi, and Hinata Hyuga! Their sensei will be Shisui Uchiha!"

"Team Seven will be: Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka, and Neji Hyuga! Their sensei will be Kakashi Hatake!"

"Team Eight will be: Shikamaru Nara, Tenten of the Leaf, and Sai of the Leaf!" Their sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi!"

"Team Nine will be: Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi, and Yuno Uchiha! Their sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi!"

"Team Ten will be: Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, and Rock Lee! Their sensei will be Might Guy!"

AN

Remastered: There is a significant chapter here. The first proper fight and teams are revealed, and Naruto's friendship with Lee and Choji, in particular, has been strengthened. If you are reading this for the first time, it would be a good time to warn you DiA is kind of… batshit crazy? As a rule, when I started this as my first work and work that was purely for passion, I wouldn't compromise. I wanted to do Naruto in my own way, all the things I've wanted to tweak, OC's the whole nine. It's a hell of a ride, maybe not the best, but memorable. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Peace~!