Chapter 25: Graduation
"That brat is here again! Everyone, get ready!" a villager on Konoha's main street shouted. Instantly, all the nearby vendors began hurriedly packing up their stalls.
But before they could finish, a flash of yellow streaked past, and the entire street was splattered red with tomato juice. The stalls, the produce, even the shop fronts—all dyed in tomato-red chaos.
The villagers looked down at the red-stained goods in their hands, their faces twisting with rage. Slowly, they turned toward the end of the street, where the last person they wanted to see stood proudly—Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto held a tomato in one hand and an empty basket in the other. He smirked arrogantly.
"You think you can defend against me? Naïve!"
Enraged, the villagers grabbed sticks and charged. But before they could reach him, another flash of yellow—Naruto was gone.
When they looked toward Hokage Rock, their hearts sank. As expected, the faces of all the Hokage—except for the Fourth—were vandalized with bright paint.
One villager groaned, "When will this end? It's been seven years. Why won't that kid stop?"
Another sighed, "This life is unbearable…" The street echoed with despair.
For seven long years, they had endured Naruto's daily chaos. And every day, their patience thinned.
Meanwhile, atop the Hokage Rock, Naruto gazed at his handiwork, sighing dramatically.
"Life is as lonely as snow. When will someone stop me? Ah… it's hard being this talented."
Just then, a voice cut through the air.
"Naruto! It's you again! Get down this instant!"
Naruto blinked and looked down to see Iruka, his teacher, glaring up at him.
Feigning innocence, Naruto called out, "Oh, Iruka-sensei! What a coincidence! Are you here to enjoy the view too?"
Iruka's scowl deepened. "Don't change the subject. Come down right now!"
Naruto sighed and reluctantly made his way down, standing sheepishly beside Iruka. Without warning, SMACK! Iruka landed a slap on Naruto's head, making him yelp in pain.
Before Naruto could react, Iruka pulled out a rope and tied him up like a dumpling, dragging him toward the academy like a misbehaving pet.
Naruto, being dragged, protested loudly, "This is a personal attack! I could sue you for this, Iruka-sensei!"
Iruka turned with a dark expression and smacked him again. That was enough to shut Naruto up for good.
Muttering under his breath, Iruka said, "You're about to graduate, and you're still pulling pranks like this… You still can't do the Clone Jutsu properly, and you don't even train seriously. What am I going to do with you…"
Hearing Iruka's words, Naruto felt warmth in his chest. He knew Iruka genuinely cared for him. But in truth, Naruto had only pretended not to know the Clone Jutsu—for a very specific reason.
He suspected Mizuki.
Despite being a Chunin, Mizuki was dangerous, and Naruto remembered from his past life that Mizuki had ill intentions toward the village. But without evidence, Naruto could only follow what he remembered—he had to lure Mizuki out.
Later that day, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru sat on the classroom rooftop.
Sasuke asked directly, "Naruto, are you really going to go through with this?"
Shikamaru and Hinata looked at him, concerned.
Naruto nodded. "Yes. I've been pretending for the past seven years that I can't do the Clone Jutsu. It's all to bait Mizuki."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "But how do you know the exam tomorrow will involve the Clone Jutsu? And how can you be sure Mizuki is the traitor? What makes you think he'll fall for your trap?"
Naruto answered calmly, "Years ago, I found a secret lab in the forest behind the village. I saw Mizuki conducting dangerous human experiments there."
Shikamaru frowned. "Then why didn't you report it to the Hokage?"
"Because he would've run," Naruto replied. "If the Third Hokage got involved, Mizuki would be alerted. I couldn't risk it."
Shikamaru thought for a moment and then nodded. "Makes sense."
Naruto continued, "That day, I also overheard him talking about the Book of Sealing. He said he could use students who fail the graduation exam to steal it. No one would suspect a child."
Sasuke chimed in, "So that's why you've been faking your incompetence?"
Naruto nodded. "Exactly. Every year, graduation involves Clone, Substitution, and Transformation techniques. I knew Mizuki would come for me if I failed Clone Jutsu. That's when I'll strike."
Hinata looked worried. "Naruto-kun… do you want our help?"
Naruto smiled gently. "Thanks, but I'll handle this alone. If too many people get involved, Mizuki might get suspicious."
Seeing her still worried, Naruto gently took her hand.
"Don't worry, Hinata. You know how strong I really am. Mizuki? He won't last a minute."
Sasuke turned and walked off. "You've said what you needed. I'm leaving."
Shikamaru followed, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone. Naruto silently gave them a thumbs-up behind Hinata's back, and then turned to watch the sun setting over Konoha with her beside him.
The next day, just as Naruto had expected, Mizuki approached him. Naruto felt a rush of relief. His trap had worked.
As planned, Naruto used his Sexy Jutsu to distract the Third Hokage and steal the Book of Sealing. Then, he fled to the forest, where he began learning the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Reanimation Technique.
The first was his ultimate hack—perfect for someone with a Sage body. The second was insurance—for one day summoning his mother and preparing to face Orochimaru and Kabuto.
While training, Iruka arrived and caught Naruto.
Naruto played dumb. "Iruka-sensei, can I graduate now?"
"Naruto, how could you steal the Book of Sealing?!" Iruka shouted, shaken.
"But… Mizuki-sensei said if I got this scroll and learned its techniques, I could graduate…"
Iruka's eyes widened in horror. "Mizuki told you to steal it?"
Naruto nodded innocently. "He said these jutsu would guarantee my graduation."
Suddenly, a flurry of kunai flew from the trees. Iruka pushed Naruto out of the way but was struck himself.
Naruto watched Iruka bleed and was filled with rage. He hadn't expected Iruka to get hurt.
On the tree, Mizuki sneered.
"So that's it. You used Naruto to get the scroll for yourself. Don't give it to him, Naruto!" Iruka yelled weakly.
Mizuki laughed.
"Naruto, Iruka hates you. He just pretends to care. Let me tell you the truth—twelve years ago, you were the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that destroyed this village. You killed Iruka's family! That's why no one loves you!"
Mizuki expected Naruto to break down. But Naruto just stared at him coldly.
"That's it? That's what you wanted to tell me?"
Even Iruka was stunned at Naruto's calm.
Naruto clapped his hands together.
"You hurt Iruka-sensei. For that, you'll pay. Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, more than 2,000 clones appeared around him.
"Kill him." Naruto said flatly.
The clones swarmed Mizuki, and by the time they disappeared, Mizuki was nothing but a broken body on the ground.
Naruto rushed to Iruka and helped him up.
"Iruka-sensei, are you alright?"
Iruka looked at Naruto with a complicated expression.
"Don't believe what Mizuki said. You're not the Nine-Tails. You are Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha… my student. Understand?"
Naruto let out a light laugh, though his voice carried more weight than before.
"Heh… Iruka-sensei, I'll keep it in mind. Mizuki may have said it with malice, but he wasn't wrong.
I am the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox… but I'm also Uzumaki Naruto—of the Hidden Leaf."
He turned to look at the gathered teachers, a firm glint in his eye, yet a vulnerability hidden beneath.
"So, please… you don't have to worry about me so much. I'm okay… Really."
A quiet silence followed. Then, Iruka took a slow step forward, his eyes soft and shining with a quiet pride.
"Naruto…"
He paused, his voice thick with emotion.
"Close your eyes."
Naruto blinked. "Huh?"
He was confused but didn't hesitate. Trusting Iruka, he closed his eyes. And then—he felt it.
Something firm pressed gently against his forehead, his heart thudded as realization hit him.
He snapped his eyes open—hands instinctively flying up to his forehead. His fingers trembled slightly as they touched cool metal and soft cloth.
His breath caught.
The Konoha forehead protector.
His eyes widened, lips parting in disbelief.
"Iruka-sensei…?" he murmured.
Iruka was smiling—eyes moist but unyielding.
"Congratulations, Naruto."
"You've graduated."