The Scroll of Seals Theft Incident

Time flew.

My six years at the Ninja Academy were about to pass in the blink of an eye, and as a transmigrator, I had already been in this world for a year. In my previous life, there was a term called the butterfly effect: a butterfly flapping its wings a few times in South America could cause a tornado in Texas in the United States two weeks later. But that was a phenomenon that occurred only in chaotic systems sensitive to initial conditions. Although I, this transmigrated butterfly, had done my best to flap my wings, some things were part of the so-called "greater trend," beyond a butterfly's power to change.

Still, I hadn't expected this to be part of the greater trend in the Hokage world too-

"Listen up, the graduation exam will be on the Clone Technique! When your name is called, go to the classroom next door in order," Iruka-sensei told the examinees, holding a class roster.

The Ninja Academy graduation exam was held three times, with the best result counting as the final score. In other words, the minimum requirement was to pass just one of the three exams to prove you had the potential to become a ninja! Whether you actually became one still depended on your assigned teacher's approval.

"What?" The moment Naruto heard the news, his face twisted as though he'd eaten shit. Sitting next to him, I couldn't help feeling sorry for him: the first exam had been on the Clone Technique too, and Naruto had failed; before the second, he'd drunk expired milk and upset his stomach, failed to perform the Transformation Technique, and flunked again. This was already his last chance!

And it just had to be the Clone Technique again! The exam subjects were drawn by lot, so it wasn't impossible for the same one to come up twice in three exams. But for both to be the Clone Technique, the one Naruto was worst at—what rotten luck!

"Come on! Don't be nervous. You can do it this time!" I patted his shoulder to encourage him, though I knew how powerless those words were. Thanks to that old fox inside Naruto stirring up trouble, he'd practiced the Clone Technique for two years without managing to learn that simple, basic ninjutsu.

Naruto wasn't without talent. His Sexy Transformation Technique in the original story showed that he was at least far more gifted than a mediocre person who followed the rules. But ability was no match for fate, and talent was no match for destiny. With a fox inside him that liked causing trouble, you couldn't blame Naruto for failing to learn the technique.

As a top student, I only had time to offer Naruto that one word of encouragement before it was my turn. But I remembered this part of the story: Naruto would steal the Scroll of Seals that night, learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and earn the right to graduate.

I didn't intend to get involved. Everything that idiot Mizuki did was under someone else's complete control; the Hokage was just finding an excuse to give Naruto some benefits. After all, as the Fourth's son, he was fully entitled to learn a ninjutsu or two from the Scroll of Seals. Although I usually looked after him, my Water Release didn't suit his nature, so the ninjutsu Naruto had mastered by now was hardly any better than in the original story.

Once the exam was over, Naruto had, as expected, failed to produce a satisfactory clone. Having failed all three exams, Naruto would normally either have to repeat the year or leave the ninja world and become an ordinary person. The blow was simply too much for him: of the seven people in the graduating class, Naruto alone had failed the graduation exam. When I found him, he was sitting alone on the swing, gazing into the distance at the jubilant crowd celebrating. He didn't say a word, and his expression was lonely and lost. I stood right in front of him, but he seemed unable to see anything.

"Ah, Na-Naruto... My family's having a big meal this afternoon to celebrate, and, um, you-" I didn't know how to comfort him, and I really couldn't go on. Everything I said sounded like I was mocking Naruto for failing the exam, even though I knew he'd get his forehead protector that night...

"I see. Congratulations on passing the exam." There wasn't the slightest inflection in Naruto's voice.

"O-okay, then. See you tomorrow-!"

Late at night.

I lay in bed, unable to sleep. At this point in the original story, Naruto should have already gotten his hands on it, right? Next came Iruka and Naruto's heartfelt confessions. It was such a shame I couldn't be there to watch, but I could only stay home. If I went out for a nighttime stroll without permission at such a sensitive time, I'd probably end up on the Anbu's surveillance blacklist.

I was just a newly graduated Academy student. I couldn't remember the night patrol routes, and I didn't have a breath-concealing technique that could hide every trace of my presence and disguise me as a rock. No matter how appealing the Scroll of Seals was, I didn't dare take an interest...

But...

"Iruka-sensei?! You?! At this hour-!"

"Great, Sakura, you're still awake! Get dressed and come out. We'll talk on the way!"

You don't need to. I know all about it. I grumbled silently to myself as I followed Iruka-sensei, leaping across the rooftops.

"...Anyway, we have to find Naruto as quickly as possible. So, do you know where he's most likely to be right now?" I see. As Naruto's friend, I was certainly the person most likely to know where he was.

"Got it. The place Naruto's most likely to be is a patch of woods where we often train. But it's pretty big, so we'll still have to search for him."

Soon, we arrived at a forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"This is the 'patch of woods' you were talking about?" Iruka put particular emphasis on "patch," sounding as though he was gritting his teeth. "Never mind. Let's split up and search. Signal immediately if you find him!"

After that ninjutsu development incident, Iruka had come to trust my combat abilities completely. That was why he suggested splitting up without worrying about my safety. For all we knew, he was in more danger than I was.

"Okay. Be careful, sensei!" "You too! If you can't find him, come back here and regroup! Move out!"

I immediately began searching north. Actually, I had already sensed Naruto's chakra to the south. That enormous source of chakra was as clear to me as a light in the dark. But I was an audience member, not an actor!

Iruka turned south, completely unaware that my Blue Water had quietly crept onto him. Oh, right, I forgot to mention that to disguise it, I called the ultrapure water "Blue Water." I'd only made a little Blue Water over the past year, and I was using half my supply to protect Iruka and watch the show.

Wait! A thought struck me. The Third had spent a little too long looking at me earlier; I'd sensed his gaze. I'd almost forgotten that the Hokage would be watching the whole time. I probably couldn't openly slack off.

Sensing that something seemed to be happening on Iruka's side, I had no choice but to hurry over at full speed. As I went, I wondered whether this was a little practical combat training arranged by the Hokage. Ever since I'd been put on the training list, the village had been giving me guidance, both openly and discreetly, leaving me owing many people favors. Debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay. Was this going to end with me risking my life for them? But on second thought, I was being too sensitive. No one could have arranged something like this; there were too many variables.

"Naruto, give me the scroll! It's no use to you... Let me tell you the truth!"

"-Twelve years ago, a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the village... A lot of people sacrificed their lives to seal the demon fox. Do you know what it was sealed into? Do you know there's an unwritten rule in the village?" That was what I heard when I arrived.

I landed silently behind Mizuki, gestured for Naruto to keep quiet, and quietly moved forward, ready to take Mizuki down.

"That rule is... you must never be told that you are the demon fox!"

"Who cares about your damn rule?!" I kicked Mizuki from behind and sent him flying!

"Sakura! Wh-when did you get here?" Iruka asked, a little flustered. I thought he should worry about himself first. Even if nothing vital had been hit, was he really going to be okay after losing so much blood?

"I got here ages ago! I heard everything!" I said impatiently. "Naruto, don't listen to his nonsense!"

"Haha! Naruto, you know better than anyone whether I'm talking nonsense! Don't you ever wonder why everyone hates you? Because you're the one who killed Iruka's parents, destroyed our village, and was then sealed away by the Hokage you admire so much—the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!" Lying on the ground like a beaten dog, Mizuki laughed as he spoke those cruel words!

"Stop it!" Iruka cried in anguish.

"You don't understand at all, do you? The truth is, Iruka hates your guts! And now that Sakura Haruno knows what you are, she can't possibly be friends with you anymore either!"

"Sakura! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's eyes were filled with confusion, so shocked by the explosive revelation that he couldn't accept it!

Mizuki seized the chance to hurl a giant shuriken in a sneak attack!

Iruka struggled to his feet and stood with me in front of Naruto, and together we blocked the shuriken.

"Hey, what world did the fantasy coming out of that stinking mouth of yours come from?!" I threw the shuriken back at Mizuki. As he ducked to dodge, I accelerated and closed the distance in an instant, then sent him flying upward with an uppercut-

"Naruto Uzumaki is a friend I acknowledge-"

The chakra water beneath my feet propelled me upward after him, and I slammed him with a vicious left hook-

"Not some Nine-Tailed Demon Fox-"

I turned sideways and swung my leg. The force of the roundhouse kick drew a faint shriek from the air as it struck Mizuki-

"Let my right hand shatter that ridiculous fantasy of yours!"

Bang! Mizuki crashed to the ground, half-dead.

"Naruto." I landed with my back to him.

"Twelve years ago, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox went on a rampage, and countless people died. To protect the village, the Fourth Lord Hokage sacrificed his life and used an infant's body as a prison to seal the demon fox inside."

"The Fourth Hokage and that infant were heroes who saved everyone, including me and Iruka-sensei. Afterward, the Fourth Hokage lost his life as the price of using a powerful Sealing Jutsu. The infant, who had lost his parents and sealed the demon fox in his body, was mistaken by the world for the demon fox's incarnation and grew up that way."

"That infant is now," I said, turning around. At some point, tears had begun streaming down Naruto's face. "My friend, whose name is-"

"Na-ru-to U-zu-ma-ki!"

In the end, I still didn't get a chance to sneak a look at the Scroll of Seals.

For Naruto, the whole truth came to light. Iruka picked up where I'd left off and gave a more detailed, more moving account of his own experiences, earning countless points of affection from Naruto. Naruto even hugged Iruka and cried his eyes out with him. It was enough to blind me. Naruto explained how Mizuki had encouraged him to steal the Scroll of Seals, and also demonstrated his Shadow Clone Technique, with its ridiculously excessive number of clones, leaving both Iruka and me-even though I'd seen it coming-completely dumb... dumbfounded.

"Naruto, you've passed... the Clone Technique. Close your eyes." Iruka smiled. After everything that had happened, he now understood what Lord Hokage intended. He gently untied his forehead protector and put it on Naruto's head. "All right, open your eyes."

Naruto looked at Iruka, and I stood beside them, smiling as I watched them interact. After a whole night of commotion, by the time I'd helped treat Iruka's wounds, dawn was already breaking.

"Congratulations—you passed the graduation exam. You've graduated!" Iruka lowered his head and smiled with his eyes narrowed, the morning light illuminating his face.

"To celebrate, let's have ramen together! My treat!" Iruka said, looking up at the sky.

I followed his gaze. The wind had scattered the clouds overhead, and the newly risen sunlight was bright, warming me from body to heart.

"All right! Sensei's treating us! I want a super-sized bowl of seafood ramen!"

"Idiot! Iruka-sensei is covered in injuries right now! Be more careful!" I appeared behind Naruto just in time to stop him from throwing himself at Iruka.

"Y-yes! Anything you want to eat!" Iruka smiled shyly. "Naruto, you're getting too excited! The arduous road of a ninja has only just begun!"

The road of a ninja... I looked at the short boy in front of me. At a time like this, who would have thought that this ninja, still full of energy after a whole night of commotion, would one day set out on the path of a great hero who saved the world...?

Another peaceful day dawned in Konoha.

"Team 7... uh, Sakura Haruno..."

I heard my name. Sure enough, it was still Team 7!

"...Naruto Uzumaki,"

Naruto shouted excitedly. I gave him a thumbs-up too.

"And... Sasuke Uchiha."

I turned and met Sasuke's smug gaze. We each gave a huff and turned away again. Naruto shouted, "What? No way!"

"Iruka-sensei, why do I have to be on a team with that smug Sasuke...? An outstanding student like me-!" Naruto still mainly saw Sasuke as a smug rival, I supposed. Though Sasuke didn't see you as a rival at all, did he?

"Idiot! The teams are set, so they can't be changed!" I gave Naruto a hard knock on the head!

"That's right...! Anyway, your assigned teacher will be introduced this afternoon. You're dismissed for now!"

At noon, at Ichiraku Ramen.

"...Anyway, now that we're on the same team, we should get along from now on. Teammates ought to be close and friendly, so that-"

"Sir, sir, I'll have the signature large bowl of braised beef noodles!"

"A large bowl of tomato and egg noodles, please!"

"Hey, I'm talking to you two!! Are you even listening?!! What I'm saying is important, you know!!"

That afternoon, Jonin arrived one after another and took their team members away. In the end, only the three of us were left in the empty classroom.

After a long wait, the moment finally came when the white-haired guy was hit by the chalkboard eraser.

"Hahahahaha, sensei, you're so lame!" Don't get the wrong idea. I was actually the one laughing so happily. I hated people who weren't punctual!

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Looking at Sasuke, who was quietly showing his contempt, and Naruto and me, who were openly laughing at him in contempt, he tilted his head back and laughed too.

"How should I put this?" Kakashi stroked his chin. "My first impression of you-"

"Is that you're pretty annoying!"

Tch, the feeling was mutual!