Chapter Text
The night was beautiful, blue moon full, sky devoid of clouds and dotted with stars.
A long, whip-like tail lashes towards the sky, momentarily obscuring the moon. A second tail mirrors it, then a third.
The crouched form of the demon fox is bathed in moonlight. Its nine tails whip around unpredictably, each one capable of smashing mountains and creating tidal waves. Its paws leave craters with every step, claws creating ravines.
The fox continues its attack, unaffected by the Ninja that have banded together to defeat it.
They cannot lose. Too much is at stake. If they let the fox get to the village there will be nothing left.
The fox is powerful. Any attacks the Ninja make bounce off its fur harmlessly. Any hit it lands could prove fatal. They’ve already lost so many.
But there is still hope. They just need to hold out until he arrives.
And he does.
The Fourth Hokage arrives on the scene atop his massive toad. He valiantly faced off against the demon fox, giving up his life to seal it away in the body of a small baby boy.
Naruto laughs, bucket of yellow paint in hand. His sandals drum against the ground in rhythm with his heart. He can hear the chunnin behind him. They make no effort to be sneaky as they give chase.
“Naruto!” one of them shouts.
“Why would you do such a thing?!” the other adds.
“You’re really gonna get it this time!”
Paved road becomes roof tile as the Ninja follow Naruto, leaping upwards between buildings and over awnings. He laughs to himself as he catches a glimpse of his handiwork.
On the side of the mountain are the carved faces of the four Hokages. Each one has been decorated by Naruto, graffitied with paint.
Naruto continues running, taunting the Ninja that chase him.
A Ninja and a civilian burst into a drawing room. The old man painting kanji doesn’t bother to stop what he’s doing as they begin to speak.
“There’s a problem, Lord Hokage, sir!”
The two bow in respect, waiting for the Hokage to respond.
The old man pauses with a sigh. He sits back, taking the pipe out of his mouth as he turns to the two intruders. “What is it? Did Naruto do something again?”
The civilian throws his arms up in the air, talking with his hands, tone exasperated. “Yes! He climbed onto the mountainside carvings and vandalized them! Graffiti all over them!”
The Hokage exhales, breathing out the smoke from his pipe as he grunts in acknowledgement.
Naruto’s feet touch the pavement briefly before he’s off again. The adults chasing him take a moment when they land before they leap after him. As they disappear over a building the street falls silent. After a moment, Naruto drops the painted blanket he used to hide.
It was a simple trick. Something he honestly didn’t think was going to work. But it did and he got away so he isn’t complaining.
Naruto laughs to himself, questioning why he should give into their demands to give up. He’s Naruto. He doesn’t “give up”.
He turns, nearly running into one of the last people he wanted to see.
Iruka stands there, hands sternly on his hips. He looks at Naruto, his strong look of disappointment causing the blonde to shrink back slightly. The moment doesn’t last long, though, as Naruto leans towards Iruka. His tone is accusatory when he speaks, arms crossed.
“How’d you suddenly get here, Iruka Sensei? Huh?”
Iruka pokes him in the forehead. “I should be asking you that, considering you’re supposed to be in class.”
Naruto pouts as he sits on the floor of Iruka’s classroom. The rope wrapped around him prevents him from making an easy escape. The judgemental stares and malicious whispers of his classmates make him want to crawl in a hole and hide.
Iruka is talking, lecturing Naruto with his arms crossed. He’s only half listening. The birds outside sound much more pleasant.
“Now listen, Naruto. You failed the last graduation test and the one before that. This isn’t the time to be goofing off!”
Naruto looks away, stubbornly determined to not listen. Iruka’s eye twitches as he hears some of his classmates snicker.
“We’ll have a re-test on the Transformation Jutsu. Everyone, and I mean everyone, will be taking it.”
“WHAT?!”
Naruto flinches at the sound of his classmates’ shout. They mutter and groan over the unfairness of their teacher. Naruto feels their glares boring holes right down to his soul. It hurts and he hates it.
He doesn’t let that show, though, as Iruka unties him. He goes to line up with the rest of his class and then the test begins.
Sakura goes first. When she turns into Iruka he smiles as he writes something down on his clipboard.
“Nice job, Sakura!”
She grins, the form of Iruka vanishing in a cloud of smoke as she drops the Jutsu. Inner Sakura cheers at the success before turning her attention to Sasuke.
“Did you see that, Sasuke?”
His lack of a response doesn’t dampen Sakura’s mood. But it does make Naruto annoyed.
You’re supposed to answer a pretty girl when they talk to you, after all.
Sasuke is next. His transformation gets an “okay” from their teacher.
Then, Naruto’s turn. He ignores the annoyed mutters from his classmates as he steps forward. They’ll surely find a way to get him back for having to retake this test. Not like he cares.
Naruto’s hands fall into the proper sign for the Transformation Jutsu. While they’re supposed to turn into their teacher, Naruto has other plans.
He’s been practicing what he likes to call the “Sexy Jutsu”. It’d be a really good opportunity to mess with his classmates.
Chakra flows through his body as he envisions what he wants to look like, what changes he needs to make to himself. Women have wider hips, smaller shoulders, bigger chests. Their arms are shorter and faces softer. They’re all soft lines where men are hard edges.
“Transform!”
There’s a poof of smoke. Naruto blinks. He’s taller, legs and arms more elegant. His bare feet feel strange against the wood paneling of the floor. The feeling of long hair against his shoulders is unusual.
The Transformation Jutsu always feels weird, like you’re you in someone else’s skin. Your body still exists, feeling everything under the surface of the watery chakra mirage. Simultaneously you’re stretched to fit the image you’ve created while remaining as you are.
Naruto looks himself over. The loose shirt and shorts he’s now in certainly cover everything they need to, even if the shorts show more thigh than they cover. He seems to have all the curves in the correct places, too. He can’t see himself but he assumes his face looks alright.
Naruto grins. He turns to the line of his classmates, eyes locking on one of the boys. He crouches as he leans over, almost falling due to a lack of balance.
Honestly he has no clue how women deal with being so top-heavy all the time.
The boy’s face flushes a deeper shade of red as Naruto locks eyes with him. His eyes flick down to where the v-neck of Naruto’s shirt allows a glimpse of what’s underneath. Naruto plays up the moment, blowing the most exaggerated kiss he can at the boy.
He drops the Jutsu, laughing as his classmate falls backwards, face bright red with blood slowly dribbling down his chin from his nose. He’s definitely going to get it later but it was so worth it for the reaction he got.
If that’s how guys react when there’s clothes involved…
Naruto turns to Iruka, grinning. His teacher has his head in his hand. The brunette sighs.
“Naruto…”
“What? I did the Jutsu!”
“Just… Just go to the back of the line.”
Naruto grumbles but does as he’s told, almost tripping when a classmate intentionally sticks their foot out. They laugh and Naruto doesn’t respond. He knows he deserves it for all the trouble he caused.
Later, Iruka takes him up to the carvings. The sun beats down on Naruto’s back and the birds are too far away to hear. There’s just Iruka.
He sits above the platform Naruto stands on, arms crossed. He keeps watch while Naruto scrubs the paint off of the rock, grumbling as he does so.
“I won’t let you go home until you clean up your mess.”
Naruto winces at the way Iruka’s voice carries. He doesn’t need the whole village to hear his teacher reprimand him. He feels miserable enough as is.
He pauses in his scrubbing, fingers pruney from how long he’s been scrubbing, a glare shot up at the adult present.
“Like I care! There’s nobody at home anyway!”
The words sting as they come out of his mouth, shot with more venom than he intended. He goes back to scrubbing in an attempt to ignore the way Iruka is staring holes into his head.
There is a long moment of silence, only broken by the cry of a bird far above them.
“Naruto.” Iruka pauses, waiting for a response. Naruto looks up with a glare. He doesn’t want to talk right now.
“What now?”
“If you clean up all this mess, I’ll buy you ramen tonight.”
The sun’s heat suddenly doesn’t feel so oppressive. The tiredness he’d been feeling fades. Energy rushes through him at the promise of a good meal.
Naruto leans forward, the unbearable warmth of the stone under his hands forgotten. “R- Really? You promise?”
Iruka looks startled for a moment before his expression softens. His head rests in his hand as he smiles. “I promise.”
Naruto jumps, rocking the temporary platform he stands on. The movement causes Iruka to sit up, ready to catch Naruto should anything go wrong.
The platform ceases its movement and Naruto grins up his teacher. He points at the brunette with the rag still in his hand. “I’ll finish in no time! Just you see! And you better keep that promise!”
Iruka chuckles as Naruto gets back to work, relaxing when the danger passes.
That night, Naruto gets to go to his favorite ramen place. Not only is the food good, the owner is one of the few adults that are nice to him. It’s a luxury he isn’t able to afford often.
Other than Naruto and Iruka, it’s empty. It was when they got there but Naruto’s presence alone will stop anyone else from coming in.
The pair sit in silence. Naruto happily stuffs his face with food, slurping his noodles loudly. It’s been a while since he had ramen that wasn’t the instant store-bought kind. He doesn’t pay any attention to the thoughtful silence of his teacher.
“Hey, Naruto?”
“Mhm?” He glances over at Iruka, not bothering to stop eating. Thankfully, Iruka doesn’t seem to mind and continues speaking once he knows Naruto is listening.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you vandalize the faces? Don’t you know who the Hokage are?”
“Of course I do!” He responds, mouth full. He takes a moment to lift his bowl, drinking all the broth before he continues to speak. “I know they all earned the title Lord Hokage because they were the best Ninja of their time, right?” Naruto pauses, thinking about the statues. “Especially the Fourth Hokage. He was a hero who saved the village from the nine-tailed fox.”
Iruka is quiet for a short moment, more confused than ever. “Then why did you do that?”
Naruto looks at his bowl as he responds, not wanting to make eye contact, the ceramic smooth in his hands. “Because I’ll become Hokage myself.” He pauses to look up at Iruka with a grin. “And then I’ll be the greatest of them all! Then everyone will finally learn to accept me!”
It isn’t the full truth but it should be enough to satisfy Iruka. The Ninja doesn’t need to know Naruto did it for attention.
There’s one thing he hates more than the blatant hatred everyone shows him. Naruto hates being ignored. Being forgotten.
“By the way, Sensei, I have a favor to ask.”
Iruka raises an eyebrow. “Do you want another bowl?”
Tempting. But it isn’t what Naruto is after.
He hums as he leans back in his seat before leaning forward, both arms on the table, a cheeky grin on his face. “No… Can I borrow that Leaf headband for a little while?”
“Eh? This?” Iruka raises a hand to his headband. He smiles when Naruto nods. “No no. This is only worn by people who have graduated from the Ninja Academy. Tomorrow, you’ll get your own.”
“AH! You’re so mean!”
Iruka laughs as Naruto drums his fists against his arm. It’s not dissimilar to a child throwing a tantrum. It doesn’t hurt. If anything, it makes Iruka laugh harder.
“So that’s why you took your goggles off!”
He laughs again as Naruto shoves him before returning to his seat, arms crossed.
“One more bowl! Please!”
Naruto is trying to pay attention in class the next day. He really truly is. But someone behind him won’t stop throwing wads of crumpled paper at him. When they fall to the floor he can see bits of writing on some but he isn’t going to unravel them to see what they say. He made that mistake before, pretending the mean message was meant for someone other than him.
He knows that wasn't the case. Naruto is the class target. There isn’t a single person that note could have possibly been for other than him.
When the next paper ball hits, the pain of knowing he’s hated without knowing why hurts more than the actual impact.
Iruka’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He pays attention as his teacher reads from a piece of paper.
“We are now about to begin the graduation test. When your name is called, proceed into the other classroom. The test is on the Clone Jutsu.”
As if a bad day couldn’t get any worse. Iruka’s words rip through Naruto like a knife through warm tofu. The test just had to be on the thing he’s the worst at.
He sighs as his name is called. His classmates snicker and he can hear them praying on his downfall as he leaves the room.
He’ll show them. He’ll show all of them. He will succeed no matter what!
Naruto takes a deep breath in as he makes the hand sign for the Clone Jutsu. His chakra comes to the surface, breaking through his skin. It swirls around him as he focuses, eyes squeezed shut.
“Clone Jutsu!”
There's a poof as a clone is created. After a moment, Naruto slowly cracks an eye open to see what he created.
It’s… awful. The clone lies lifelessly on the floor. All the colors are wrong, one of the arms is too short, an eye is missing.
All the false confidence drains away, leaving behind shock, hurt, embarrassment, anger. Worst of all, he can’t pretend to be good enough. He can’t pretend to be okay. He can’t pretend that he’s anything other than what people say he is.
A pest. A failure. A disappointment.
Iruka wears a similar expression of surprise. He looks like he wanted Naruto to succeed.
Just another person he managed to disappoint.
“Disqualified.”
Naruto flinches at the sound of Iruka’s voice. His words leave a gaping hole in Naruto.
Iruka sighs. He had so much hope for Naruto. He still does. But the kid looks so dejected.
“Iruka Sensei.” Mizuki speaks up, pulling Iruka’s attention. “His physical coordination and stamina are excellent. And he managed to come up with something. Isn’t that enough for him to pass?”
He can’t bother to look at the hope that has to be written so clearly on Naruto’s face as he responds.
“Mizuki Sensei… All of the others created three or more clones. Naruto only created one. And it’s practically useless. I can’t give him a passing mark.”
And just like that the embers of Naruto’s hope are stomped out. Iruka winces as the kid yells and kicks a table before storming out of the classroom. He’d love to pass Naruto but he just can’t.
Naruto sits outside with all of his classmates. They’re all in a big group, congratulating each other for passing, expressing excitement over being a Ninja now. And Naruto is alone.
Nobody seems to notice him sitting by himself on the swing. He is forgotten. The one thing he hates being the most.
Naruto listens as parents congratulate their kids, promising rewards for a job well done.
He can’t even bring himself to imagine what it would be like. No parents. No friends. Nobody to care about him. To tell him good job. To reward him for doing well.
He feels two pairs of eyes on him. He tries to hide from their judgement, their hate. He fails.
“Look at that one.”
“It’s that boy. I hear he’s the only one who failed.”
“Tsk. Serves him right.”
“Imagine what would happen if he became a Ninja.”
“Isn’t that boy the one who–”
“Hey! We’re not supposed to talk about that.”
Naruto busies himself with adjusting his goggles. Maybe that way he can pretend they’re talking about someone else. Maybe he can hide how much their words hurt. How much he wants to cry.
He doesn’t even know what he did wrong.
A stick snaps beside Naruto,startling him. His gaze snaps up to see who it is. Mizuki stands over him with a smile. The only one brave enough to approach.
Iruka stands beside the Third Hokage. Together, they watch as the graduates mingle in silence. Eventually, the old man speaks.
“Iruka. We need to talk later.”
He nods.
The swing sways freely, the seat empty.
Mizuki leads Naruto away from the school. Somewhere quiet. They sit on a balcony together as the sun sets. He said he wanted to talk. Naruto waits for him to start.
“Iruka Sensei isn’t trying to be mean to you.”
“Then why only me? Why am I the only one that failed?”
Mizuki is quiet for a moment before he sighs. “He wants you to become strong from the bottom of his heart. You both don’t have parents. I suppose he sees himself in you.”
“... But I really wanted to graduate.”
“Heh… I guess I have no choice…”
Naruto’s head snaps up. Mizuki smiles.
“I’ll let you in on a big secret.”
That night Iruka lays awake in bed, thinking of the conversation he had with Lord Third. How the nine-tails took away his family. How he was powerless to stop it.
“Iruka Sensei! Wake up!”
He gets up quickly, barely remembering to put on his sandals as he answers the door. “What’s the matter?”
“Come to Lord Hokage’s immediately! I heard that Naruto stole the Scroll of Sealing.”
Mizuki’s words freeze Iruka to the spot. It can’t be true… Right?
Naruto sits alone in the woods. The scroll is large and a little heavy. The words are hard to read in the darkness but the full move provides enough light through the trees.
“The first Jutsu is… Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu? What?! Already a Jutsu I’m no good at?”
“Lord Hokage! We can’t forgive him! This is not just a prank!”
The Third stands in full regalia, listening to the Ninja gathered before him. His eyes trail over to the two that approach, studying Iruka for a moment as he listens.
“The Scroll is a dangerous item that the First Hokage sealed! Depending on its use…”
“It will be a major disaster if it’s taken out of the village!”
“Mm. Bring Naruto here at once!”
He points. The Ninja all shout an affirmative before jumping off to go find Naruto, the old man’s robe left fluttering in their wake.
Iruka breathes heavily. He needs to find Naruto. He needs to clear up this misunderstanding before anyone can get hurt.
Thankfully it isn’t hard. Naruto wasn’t trying too hard to not be found. He laughs when he sees Iruka, scratching the back of his head innocently, acting like he isn’t tired and covered in dirt.
“Ahhh you found me. And I’ve only learned one Jutsu.”
Iruka looks him over while he talks. He’s been practicing the Jutsu until he’s become this exhausted and dirty?
“Listen! I’m gonna show you this amazing Jutsu! You’re gonna let me graduate if I can do it! I can graduate if I can do one of the Justu written here, right?”
“Who told you that?!”
Naruto grins, oblivious to the weight of his words. “Mizuki Sensei! He told me about this scroll and this place where I could practice!”
Dread seeps into every fiber of Iruka’s being. What reason could Mizuki possibly have to–
There's a sound from the treeline. Iruka barely has time to push Naruto out of the way before he’s hit by a barrage of kunai. Most of them miss, only one piercing skin. The kunai is buried in his thigh, the rest of them having snagged on his clothes.
“I’m impressed you found this place.”
“I see how it is.” Iruka glares at Mizuki. The traitor is perched in a tree above them, two large shuriken strapped to his back.
“Naruto. Give me that scroll.”
The kid sits on the ground, still down after being saved by Iruka. He looks between the two adults, confused and scared. “Wait… What’s going on here?”
Iruka rips the kunai out of his leg. While he should leave it in to keep the bleeding in check, it could do more damage with movement. And Iruka is going to need to move.
“Naruto! Never give him that scroll! It’s a dangerous object that contains forbidden Jutsu. Mizuki used you in order to get it for himself!”
Naruto stands there, shocked. He trusted Mizuki. He said he would help!
“Naruto, Iruka is only afraid of you holding that scroll.”
“What are you saying, Mizuki?! Don’t let him fool you, Naruto!”
Naruto takes a step back. He looks between the two Ninja. He doesn’t know who he should believe.
Mizuki laughs. “I will tell you the truth, Naruto. The reason why everyone hates you.”
“Idiot! Don’t do that!”
Mizuki smiles. There isn’t anything Iruka can do to stop him. “After an incident twelve years ago, a rule was created.”
“A… A rule?” Naruto looks up at him, hopeful, hurt, confused, scared.
“A rule everybody knows but you, Naruto.”
“Eh?! What is it?!”
“The rule forbids anyone from revealing that you are actually the Demon Fox Spirit!” He grins, watching Naruto’s expression shift as he puts the pieces together. “That’s right. The Kyubi. The demon that killed Iruka’s parents and destroyed our village! Everyone has been deceiving you ever since.”
Mizuki gestures to Iruka when he says “our”. He considers Naruto as an other. Different. An outsider. Someone that doesn’t belong.
Mizuki is just like everyone else.
“Don’t you find it strange? Why did everyone hate you so much? Hm?”
Naruto takes a step back as his chakra boils to the surface. He can’t believe it. He won’t. Mizuki has to be lying. Right?
“Nobody accepts you. That’s why Iruka hates you so much!”
Iruka grunts. He shifts his weight, relieving his injured leg of pressure as he thinks about the conversation he had with Lord Third. How the Hokage told him that Naruto keeps misbehaving because he doesn’t have parents. Because he is unloved by his village. It’s the only way he knows how to get attention or acknowledgement.
Naruto is hurting. And nobody noticed.
“DIE, NARUTO!”
Naruto stumbles as Mizuki throws one of the large shuriken at him. It spins through the air as he scrambles to get away. Fear overriding reason.
“NARUTO GET DOWN!”
He flattens himself to the ground on reflex, hands coming up to cover his head and the back of his neck. He braces for pain.
Pain that never comes.
There is only silence.
He turns around after a moment. Iruka leans over him, having used his body as a shield. His arms shake as he uses all his strength to not crumple on top of a stunned Naruto.
The point of the shuriken pierced his clothes and slid past his ribs. It punctured his lung.
It hurts to breathe.
Blood seeps out around the shuriken, pooling in his lung. He coughs a little, a bit of blood spattering on Naruto’s horrified face.
“Why…?”
“Because… Because you and I are the same.” He coughs. It hurts to speak. “After my parents passed nobody paid any attention to me or gave me any support. I acted out so people would notice me.” His voice fades to a pained whisper. “It was so hard. Right, Naruto?”
Iruka’s shoulders shake, tears running down his face. He understands.
“I’m sorry, Naruto. If I had been more responsible, maybe you wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
Iruka’s fists clench in the grass as Mizuki laughs. Shocked, disbelieving laughter. He drags a hand down his face before speaking.
“Ah… Don’t make me laugh! Iruka has always hated you, Naruto. Ever since you killed his parents. He’s just saying all that to get the Scroll of Sealing back!”
Naruto doesn’t wait a second more. He gets his feet under him and sprints off before either Ninja can react. Iruka reaches out for him as he runs away.
“Naruto!”
Mizuki chuckles as he lands on the ground. “He isn’t the type of kid to change his mind. He will take revenge against our village using that scroll. Didn’t you see his eyes? Those are the eyes of the Kyubi.”
Iruka grunts as he pulls the shuriken out of his back. He slowly gets to his feet, the injuries he’s already sustained limiting his capabilities. He hurts. But he will fight.
“No… Naruto… isn’t… like that at all!”
With all his strength, Iruka throws the large shuriken back at MIzuki. The traitor side steps the attack easily with a scoff.
“All I want is to kill Naruto and get the scroll. I’ll take care of you later.”
“I-I won’t let you…”
Mizuki leaps away into the forest. Iruka prepares to follow, stabbing pain fading to a dull hum as adrenaline takes over. He will protect Naruto if it’s the last thing he does.
“Well well. Mizuki has a big mouth!”
The Third watches through a crystal ball. Naruto is feeling the worst he’s ever felt. With the Scroll of Sealing, there’s a chance he might actually release the spirit that is sealed inside him.
His frown deepens.
Iruka’s feet thump against the limbs of trees as he runs, the pattern of his footsteps irregular. He found Naruto first.
“Naruto! Everything Mizuki said was a lie! He’s after the scroll! Give it to me, quick!”
His feet land on a branch. Naruto is changing direction. Naruto leaps and Iruka is unable to dodge before a shoulder is being driven into his chest. The sudden force drives all the air from Iruka’s already struggling lungs and sends them both careening to the forest floor.
Iruka lands on his shoulder, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his body as he struggles to inhale.
“It can’t be…”
Naruto stumbles back. He pulls the scroll around to hold to his chest as he slides to the ground, back against a tree.
Iruka breathes heavily, still on the ground. “What can’t be, Naruto? How…” He breathes heavily. In a poof of smoke Iruka is replaced by Mizuki. “How did you know I wasn’t Iruka?”
Naruto laughs. In a poof of smoke he is replaced by Iruka, the scroll turning into a piece of plain wood. He grins.
“I see.” Mizuki stands, turning properly towards Iruka. “What’s in it for you to protect the one that killed your family? The thing that took everything from you?”
The Iruka spits blood at Mizuki’s feet. “I’m not gonna let an idiot like you get that scroll.”
“You’re the idiot. Naruto is the same as me.”
Iruka scoffs. “Same?”
“Anyone can do whatever they want once they have the scroll. There’s no way that monster won’t take advantage of that power!”
“You’re right…” Iruka coughs, unaware that Naruto is listening.
And Naruto spirals.
Of course Iruka never cared. Nobody does. So why does this hurt so much?
“If he was the fox.” Iruka’s rasp slices through Naruto’s thoughts, silencing them. “But Naruto is different. I know for a fact that he is an exceptional student. He works so hard, but he's single-minded and clumsy at the same time. He knows the meaning of human suffering better than you ever will. He’s not the Kyubi. He’s Naruto Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!”
He doubles over coughing as Naruto sobs as quietly as he can from his hiding place nearby. Iruka would give his life for every single one of his students. Naruto is no exception to that.
Mizuki scoffs as he pulls the remaining shuriken off of his back. “You’re so gullible. I was going to take you down later, but I’ve changed my mind.”
Iruka is too injured to dodge the spinning shuriken Mizuki will ensure doesn’t miss. He bows his head, accepting his fate when Naruto appears from nowhere. He rams his head into Mizuki’s, sending him back and his weapon spinning away.
“You surprised me there, freak.” Mizuki grunts as he gets back on his feet.
Naruto levels him with a glare. His voice is even and sure when he speaks.
“If you ever lay a hand on Iruka Sensei, I’ll kill you.”
Mizuki’s eye twitches. “Shut up! I can take care of a kid like you with a single strike!”
Naruto brings his hands up to form a sign. “Why don’t you try then? I’ll hit you back a thousand-fold!”
“Let’s see you try! Show me what you can do, demon!”
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
Iruka’s eyes widen as hundreds of clones appear. They’re all around them, in the bushes and the trees. He chuckles to himself, impressed. The Shadow Clone Jutsu is an advanced Ninjutsu and Naruto made hundreds of them.
He couldn’t be more proud.
Inside the ring of Naruto clones, Mizuki turns. He’s surrounded on all sides.
“W… What is this?”
A cacophony of sound erupts as the clones begin to taunt the traitor. When Mizuki makes no move to attack, they grin.
“In that case I’ll come to you!”
Mizuki screams in fear as the Naruto clones descend on him. Iruka watches, proud, as they dispose of the threat. When it’s all over, Mizuki lays on the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Naruto stands over him, hand on the back of his head as he giggles.
“I kinda got carried away. Iruka Sensei, are you okay?”
Iruka smiles. Naruto really is something. Maybe he will surpass all the Hokage. “Yeah.” He coughs up a little blood. The adrenaline has worn off. It hurts to breathe. He doesn’t want Naruto to worry. “Come over here. I’d like to give you something.”
The Ninja that were sent out to search have all returned. None of them have found Naruto. They panic as the Hokage approaches.
“There’s no need to worry anymore. He’ll be back soon.”
“Sensei? How much longer?”
“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
Naruto does as he’s told, confused by Iruka’s lack of a headband. There’s an unfamiliar weight against his forehead. It isn’t his goggles considering he can see them in his teacher’s hands. Iruka smiles. The morning sun coming down from between the trees makes him seem to glow.
“Congratulations on your graduation, Naruto.”
Naruto stares in shock. Tears well up in his eyes as he processes those words.
“In celebration, we’ll have ramen tonight!”
Naruto’s hands shake. He never thought he’d have someone to congratulate him for a job well done, someone to reward him for doing good. But he does. He laughs wetly, unable to stop the tears from falling as he tackles Iruka in a hug.
“Iruka Sensei!”
“That hurts!”
Naruto was going to lecture Naruto. He was going to tell him that it only gets harder from here. But that can wait until they get to the ramen stand.
For now, Naruto can be truly happy.