Chapter 9
As Iruka walked through the dark room, he was careful not to step on the trash strewn across the floor. It was a nice apartment, even better than his—big kitchen, decent bathroom. Too bad Naruto had no intention of ever cleaning it. Then again, the mess did make it harder for intruders to move around unnoticed.
One day, he will have to chat with Naruto about the importance of cleaning up and eating something other than a cup of noodles. However, Iruka would never confess that he wasn't any better when it came to a healthy diet. But at least he kept his living space relatively clean.
Not that it would make any difference to him. And it didn't help that Naruto was a deep sleeper. Too bad—if he weren't, he might've been able to avoid this fate. Taking out a permanent marker, Iruka crept up to the unaware blond.
They thought they could prank him and get away with it. Well, Iruka was very petty, and this would be a good lesson. Never let your guard down. A shinobi didn't sleep so easily. And most importantly, every action had consequences.
...
The Hyūga estate was heavily guarded at all times. Without his knowledge of them, it might have been difficult—maybe even impossible—to infiltrate. But too bad for them, Iruka was a master of infiltration and had worked with the clan many times. He knew everything he needed to.
There were only a few who could detect him. The guards patrolling the estate were not among the few. In the darkest time of the night, Iruka could move as freely as ever through the estate. Standing on one of the buildings and observing the estate, he knew that everything was going according to plan. And then a sudden voice from behind cut through the stillness of the night.
"The moment I thought I sensed something, I should have known it was you."
"Evening, Hizashi. Long time no see," Iruka replied, not turning around and standing as still as a rock.
"I don't know what you are doing, but I hope you realize that if the Hyuga weren't so indebted to you, I would have thrown you into a cell, as it isn't only my duty as a Hyuga member, but also as the captain of the Police Force of Konoha."
"Captain?" Iruka acted ignorant. "When did you get such a prestigious title?"
"I'd rather not speak of it. As you already know and I am in no mood to humor you. So, will you at least explain yourself? Or do I have to ask you about how you handled Neji a few days ago? Even if he didn't speak of it, as a father, I'd naturally be worried about why he was so bruised. Now, talk. I'd rather get a few hours of sleep tonight than drag you in and then have to deal with the Third Hokage and all the paperwork."
"Caw!" a crow cawed overhead, cutting through the night. Instinctively, Hizashi glanced up and cursed.
"Damn it, Iruka," he muttered, realizing too late that he'd been talking to a shadow clone. The real Iruka had already got away after doing whatever he wanted in his home.
"Well, I should have expected this from the Ghost of Konoha."
The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. And Hizashi decided he would rather forget it than try to pursue the matter. He would rather not deal with the man who saved the heir of the Hyuga clan. Hopefully such a decision wouldn't bite into his ass the next morning.
...
Iruka even felt a little bad watching Sasuke being tormented by nightmares. But he couldn't make exceptions. The class needed unity, and he couldn't show favoritism. So, he took out his permanent marker and struggled to contain his laughter.
Still, it was impossible to do what he wanted with the boy turning all over in his bed, so he firstly put his hand on his forehead and channeled a bit of his chakra to cool him down and calm him down. Once Sasuke started to sleep peacefully, Iruka went to work.
He did feel a bit disgusted, acting like a stalker and prying into children's homes. It was uncomfortable. But art requires sacrifice, and this would be a valuable lesson. They would learn what pranks really were, and they would fear Iruka's wrath the next time they got any ideas.
...
When it came to the heir of the Yamanaka clan, Iruka was more artistic. He added flair to the design so she'd never forget what she'd done—and so she'd understand she would never be safe from his retribution if she ever thought she could outsmart him. It was about time he broke their arrogance.
But she didn't need to worry, he would do the same with her dear friend. Even though Sakura hasn't really done anything, and was quite an excellent student, he just didn't really like her. And he wasn't mature enough to acknowledge that it was wrong not to like someone because of presumptions he had about them.
...
Surprisingly, the Inuzuka heir was the most difficult to approach but the easiest to handle. Their loyal ninken were perceptive and light sleepers, but highly susceptible to bribes. A few dog treats were enough to bypass them. Kiba, on the other hand, slept as deeply as Naruto, giving Iruka plenty of time.
...
As for Shino—well, even if Iruka could get to him, it wouldn't matter. He'd just hide his face. So Iruka made an exception. Not because the kikaichū were always guarding him. Definitely not. He could've countered them if he wanted. He just didn't find it necessary.
And he did have limited time to get into other clan estates. He shouldn't waste it getting by a bunch of bugs he could barely see. A shinobi needed to know how to use their limited resources to achieve the most optimal and desired result. That definitely was what he was doing.
...
The next morning, Iruka expected the classroom to be empty. But apparently, the parents weren't very sympathetic to their children's plight. It was incredibly hard to suppress his laughter, even though he'd been trained to hide emotion. This was just an exception he had to make.
"I hope you all slept well," Iruka said, scanning the class, not able to hide his smile. "And what happened to your faces? You look like a silly goose. Is that how a proper shinobi presents themselves?"
"It was you, wasn't it?" Naruto's voice was quiet but firm. No smile, no jokes, not even a raised voice. Just a calm accusation. It was unsettling coming from a child.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Naruto," Iruka replied. "Are you accusing me of breaking into your homes and marking your faces with permanent marker? Without evidence, I suggest you keep such thoughts to yourselves and sleep lightly next time."
"I'll have my revenge."
For the first time, Iruka wasn't sure if he had gone too far or not. Everyone seemed to agree with Naruto, even if they stayed silent. Their eyes were enough to convince Iruka that this wasn't how it would end.
Well, what could a bunch of kids do? Nothing Iruka couldn't handle.
"If you're done with your nonsense," Iruka said, "we'll begin today's lesson. Since you all look so ridiculous, we'll be practicing transformation jutsu. Some of you already know it, but if you don't want to be laughed at by the whole village, I suggest you pay attention. You've got until lunch."
Realizing the stakes, the class fell silent. Those familiar with the jutsu couldn't wait to fix their faces. Those who weren't made sure to watch Iruka's every move. It seemed that Iruka gave them quite a motivation to learn.
"Today, all I want is a basic transformation to change your face back to normal—and keep it that way for the rest of the day. But this jutsu has more applications than you can imagine. Once you understand the human body, you can become anyone."
Iruka transformed into Sasuke.
"You can even turn into animals, plants, or objects. But that requires excellent chakra control and deep familiarity with the target."
He shifted into a crow, then a cat, then a flower, and finally a chair, making sure he showed every step of it and that everyone understood what he had done and how versatile this jutsu was.
Then came the long hours of practice. Iruka supervised each attempt carefully. Face transformations were harder than full-body ones, because they required better precision and control. But it wasn't something that couldn't be done without a bit of practice.
...
"I don't even want to ask why all your students' faces are distorted," Daikoku said over lunch.
As he spoke, students passed by with uncanny, lopsided faces. Some had eyes at different heights. Others had twisted noses or crooked lips. A few resorted to scarves and masks to hide themselves, realizing how awfully they looked and being embarrassed to show it to others.
"It's a learning process," Iruka replied.
He would've liked to talk more, but he felt something slither up his pant leg, through his clothes, and into his sleeve. It took effort not to react as the snake reached his hand and spat out a note before vanishing.
Discreetly, Iruka read the note, crumpled it, and tossed it into the trash.
His next target had revealed himself. But class wasn't over yet, and he happened to be teaching his favorite class to torment.
"I didn't want to mention it before," Daikoku said, finishing his meal, "but you have quite a few eyes tracking you. Some of the staff are talking. The principal's watching you closely."
"I noticed." It wasn't hard to see which teachers had suddenly become regulars in the cafeteria—and whose eyes never left him. "Don't worry. To me, they're as blind as bats."
He could avoid their gazes easily enough. Their egos blinded them and couldn't see as much as they thought. The principal hadn't made a move yet, but it was clear he resented Iruka's disregard for the standard curriculum. He was probably gathering dirt, waiting for a chance to throw Iruka out.
But that would take time. While the principal fumbled for leverage as a blind bat he was, Iruka was already investigating him. And while Iruka had nothing to hide, the principal would become more restless the more Iruka was able to uncover about him.
...
Iruka looked at the children collapsed on the ground. Some were only breathing heavily. Others—more fragile—were crying. Confused and afraid, they stared around, trying to understand what had just happened.
Iruka let them gather their wits before speaking.
"What you experienced was genjutsu. This is what happens when you don't know how to detect it or protect yourself from it. Trust me—I'm no genjutsu master. And I still managed to completely control your emotions and what you were able to see and experience. A true master could kill you a dozen ways before you even realized it wasn't real."
He gave them time to absorb his words. No one spoke. Even Sasuke, who had resisted the best, sat in silence, waiting.
"From now on, I'll use genjutsu on all of you regularly. It won't always be this severe. It'll be subtle. And it'll get worse the more you fail to recognize it. You're not ready to dispel it yet, but recognizing it is the first step. Pay attention to your surroundings. Don't ignore anything that feels off. That is the only way to stop me from using it."
"That's it for today. I hope you have realized what I wanted from you, and you will learn more of it by yourselves."
Looking over the exhausted class, Iruka felt the weight of what he had to do. This was the most talented class, and they still had time. He dreaded what he would have to do with their seniors, who had less than a year left before facing the real world. They had no time to rest.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.