Above the heavenly curtain, Mizuki's false smile sent a shiver through the entire ninja world.
His seductive whispers had triggered immediate reactions from countless ninja.
This was a plot.
A plot targeting Naruto and the sealed scroll.
Unaware, Naruto's mind was focused solely on graduation.
Small and nimble like a tanuki in the night, he dodged patrolling ninja, slipping silently into the Hokage building.
Inside the empty office, he easily located the massive scroll exuding a foreboding aura.
The Sealed Scroll.
Naruto gave it little thought. Hoisting the scroll taller than himself, he used all his strength and skill to escape the heavily guarded Hokage office, disappearing into the night.
Almost at that exact moment:
"Alarm! Alarm! The Sealed Scroll has been stolen!"
The piercing alarm shattered the peaceful night in Konoha.
The expressions of countless night-shift ninja changed instantly.
What? The Sealed Scroll?
"Quick! Lock down all exits! A-class alert!"
The entire village sprang to life like a giant awakening, moving at a breakneck pace.
Figures darted across rooftops, searching for the thief.
Inside the Hokage office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stared at the empty pedestal, his face so dark it seemed as though droplets could fall.
At that moment, Mizuki "coincidentally" appeared at the office doorway, wearing a perfectly calculated expression of worry and shock.
"Hokage-sama! I just saw… Naruto running off with a massive scroll!" He pointed deliberately toward Naruto, adding, "I'll chase him down immediately!"
Without waiting for the Third Hokage to respond, he volunteered, dashing after the direction Naruto had disappeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Mizuki's departing figure, taking a deep drag from his pipe, his eyes unreadable and deep.
Elsewhere, Iruka, resting at home, was startled by the sudden alarm.
When he learned from his comrades that the suspected thief of the Sealed Scroll was Naruto Uzumaki, his first reaction was disbelief, not anger.
"Impossible! Naruto may be mischievous, but he would never betray the village!"
A strong sense of unease surged through Iruka.
There had to be some misunderstanding.
He knew Naruto better than anyone Naruto longed for recognition. Stealing the Sealed Scroll, an act equivalent to betraying the village, was something he would never do.
Iruka didn't hesitate or even assemble at the Hokage office. Relying solely on his knowledge of Naruto, he sprinted full speed toward the forest behind the village.
Night fell, the forest silent.
In a small clearing, Naruto spread open the enormous scroll, studying its contents intently under the moonlight.
"Hmm… The first jutsu is… Multi Shadow Clone Technique?"
He studied the intricate hand signs on the scroll, scratching his head in frustration.
But he refused to give up, practicing again and again with unwavering determination.
No one could tell how much time passed; eventually, he was exhausted, nearly collapsing.
Finally, Iruka appeared at the edge of the clearing.
"I found you… Naruto!" Iruka exhaled, relief flooding his features, then shouted sternly.
"Nn… Iruka-sensei?" Naruto looked up at him, not with fear, but with childlike pride, as if showing off a treasure, wiping his nose and standing tall.
"Hehe, you found me! Iruka-sensei, look!"
He formed the hand signs and shouted loudly, "Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Bang!"
A shadow clone identical to him appeared by his side.
Though only one, shaky and unstable, Naruto was overjoyed.
"Awesome! Sensei! I learned a jutsu from the Sealed Scroll! Now… I can finally graduate, right?"
His innocent smile brimmed with hope, eager for Iruka's praise.
Yet Iruka's expression was complex, a mixture of anger and pain.
"Fool… Do you realize how serious stealing the Sealed Scroll is?"
He had long suspected that this naive boy had been tricked.
Before Iruka could explain, a voice from the shadows interrupted, smiling.
"Well done, Naruto. You learned a jutsu so quickly."
Mizuki emerged from the darkness, a gentle smile masking his true intent.
"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, delighted. "Look! I did it!"
"Yes, you succeeded," Mizuki said, nodding with a smile before turning his gaze to the massive scroll. "Now, hand over the Sealed Scroll."
"Huh?" Naruto froze.
Iruka reacted immediately, stepping in front of Naruto, eyes locked on Mizuki.
"Mizuki! So it was you! You made Naruto do this!"
"So what?"
With his deception exposed, Mizuki dropped the pretense. His smile turned sinister and greedy.
"Iruka, mind your own business! Hand me the Sealed Scroll, and I might spare your life!"
"You're dreaming!"
"Hmph. You refuse the toast but must drink the punishment." Mizuki sneered, knowing that to obtain the scroll, Iruka had to be neutralized first. To break Iruka, he had to crush the little boy behind him.
His gaze, venomous as a serpent, shifted to the still-confused Naruto.
"Naruto, do you want to know why everyone in the village hates you?" Mizuki's cruel smirk curled.
"What?" Naruto gasped.
"Shut up! Mizuki! Stop!" Iruka roared, knowing exactly what Mizuki intended. That truth was taboo in the village.
But it was too late.
Mizuki ignored Iruka's warnings, his voice cruel, declaring a truth that could shatter Naruto's world.
"Twelve years ago, the monster that destroyed Konoha and killed countless ninja, including Iruka's parents… the Nine-Tails!"
"That monster… is you, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Boom!
It felt as though a black lightning bolt exploded in Naruto's mind.
At that moment, his world lost all sound and color.
Nine-Tails… the demon fox?
Am I… a monster?
The mystery that had haunted him since childhood now revealed itself in full.
The villagers' disgust, parents hastily pulling their children away, whispers of "monster" behind him… it was all true.
He wasn't just a child they disliked.
He was the monster everyone despised, the one who had destroyed the village.
Naruto's body trembled uncontrollably. His blue eyes lost all light, leaving only a hollow despair.
"I told you to shut up!"
Iruka roared like a beast, locking eyes with Naruto, whose spirit seemed drained, his heart twisted in pain.
"Hahaha! Pathetic, Iruka!" Mizuki laughed at the scene. "You've been protecting the very enemy who killed your parents! What an absurd fool!"
He laughed as he drew a massive windmill-shaped shuriken from behind, aiming at the frozen, paralyzed Naruto.
"Die, demon fox!"
The shuriken whistled through the air, spinning violently, slicing toward Naruto's tiny figure.
Death loomed over him.
Naruto's pupils widened, staring in horror as the deadly weapon reflected cold moonlight, rapidly growing in his vision.
He couldn't dodge.
Was this the end?
At that critical moment, a figure leapt decisively into action, arms outstretched like a mountain shielding him.
It was Iruka!
"Pfft!"
The dull, heavy sound of metal piercing flesh echoed.
The massive shuriken embedded deep into Iruka's back.
Blood gushed instantly, soaking his green vest and splattering onto Naruto's face, leaving him shocked and bewildered.