Clang, clang—
In the blindingly fast exchange of blows, two agile figures swiftly separated, only to crash into each other again the next moment. The sound of metal striking metal rang out without end!
Clang!
Naruto closed his eyes and gripped a kunai with both hands, blocking Shisui Uchiha's short sword. Whether this was Shisui's real body no longer mattered.
To guard against Genjutsu, he had not opened his eyes from the instant the battle began. Throughout the fight, he relied on his senses to lock onto Shisui Uchiha's Chakra and unleash a relentless storm of attacks.
But after only a few breaths of exchanging blows, Shisui Uchiha seized the moment Naruto's assault weakened and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique. The moment the familiar afterimages appeared, Naruto formed Hand Seals and created a large number of Shadow Clones.
But that could only delay things slightly.
Sensing his clones being blown apart one by one by Shisui's other afterimages, Naruto began channeling the abundant Chakra within him into his kunai. In the blink of an eye, the kunai locked against Shisui Uchiha's katana became an incomparably sharp longsword.
Shisui Uchiha immediately pulled back, exposing an obvious opening. Naruto instantly switched to holding the sword one-handed and thrust it forward with force, while his other hand had already gripped another kunai.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Thousands of Shuriken immediately flew toward Shisui Uchiha. Such an attack was absolutely impossible to evade, yet after it ended, Naruto could still sense Shisui Uchiha's Chakra on the other side.
Had he been an afterimage from the beginning, or had he quietly switched places with his real body at some point?
Naruto opened his eyes. Dozens of expressionless Shisui Uchihas were closing in on him from all sides. After taking a deep breath, he casually tossed away the kunai in his hand, then condensed a pitch-black Chakra sphere in each hand.
Great Spiraling Ring!
Boom!
The battle was over.
"Congratulations! You have obtained Shisui Uchiha's Genjutsu training experience!"
The words in the Pop-up Box began to flicker.
After leaving the battle, Naruto merely glanced at the Pop-up Box, his expression as calm as ever.
Time was like fine sand that could not be grasped. In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year again.
Over the past six months, the rewards he received from Shisui Uchiha had always been Genjutsu training experience. He had long since grown used to it.
Without paying much attention to the Pop-up Box notification, Naruto willed it, and Choji's portrait immediately appeared on it. Just as he was about to begin a battle, something unexpected happened.
"Congratulations! You have obtained Lightning Release Chakra!"
The mechanical notification echoed throughout the Mirrored World.
Before Naruto could react, Kurama's voice sounded by his ear again.
"Naruto, your homeroom teacher is calling your name. He wants you to go up to the podium and collect your final assessment report."
"I know."
Naruto immediately withdrew from the Mirrored World. As soon as he came back to himself, he saw Iruka staring at him with a livid expression. He was clearly furious, and everyone else in the classroom had turned to look in Naruto's direction.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Here!"
"Come up and get your report!"
Iruka waved the report in his hand. Watching Naruto draw closer, he felt like his mentality was about to explode.
Following the Third Hokage's instructions, Iruka had paid special attention to Naruto in every class over the past year.
He could swear to the Sage of Six Paths that from the start of school to the break, Naruto had never listened to a single knowledge-based lesson taught in the classroom. Iruka had just called him twice to come collect his report, and Naruto had clearly been spacing out.
Naruto had also never demonstrated anything in front of him during extracurricular Ninjutsu and Taijutsu classes. He had always merely gone through the motions.
Yet what Iruka found unbelievable was that not only were Naruto's written test scores exceptionally good, but he had also easily passed the Three Transformations assessment.
"Thank you, Teacher Iruka."
After offering a polite thanks, Naruto calmly took his report from the podium, then turned around and began walking back to his seat.
"Wait!"
Iruka's eye twitched as he said in a deep voice, "Aren't you going to look at your score? Aren't you afraid you failed?"
Naruto stopped. After slowly turning around, he met Iruka's eyes and smiled. "Teacher Iruka, with such an outstanding teacher teaching me, how could I possibly fail?"
~~~~~~~~
During the midday break, Iruka carried the class reports into the Hokage's Office.
"Lord Hokage! I really can't continue being this class's homeroom teacher!"
After submitting the students' reports, Iruka's expression shifted uncertainly as he handed over another envelope. The two words "Resignation Letter" were written boldly on it.
"Oh? Why?"
After reading Naruto's report, the Third Hokage fixed Iruka with a sharp gaze but did not accept his resignation letter.
"Judging from these reports, every student in the class under your guidance has performed very well. What issue has made you reach such a decision?"
Seeing Iruka's conflicted expression, the Third Hokage's voice gradually turned cold.
"I don't think I'm qualified to teach Naruto!"
"You've also read my separate report. Naruto has not caused trouble at school, but he has never focused on class at all. I feel that Naruto is dissatisfied with me as his homeroom teacher as well, so I ask that you seriously consider—"
"Iruka!"
The Third Hokage abruptly lowered his voice, cutting him off.
"Naruto isn't the only one who hasn't paid attention in class, is he? Don't Shikamaru and Choji sleep in class every day too? Does that mean the two of them are dissatisfied with you as their homeroom teacher as well?"
"But I really can't face Naruto!"
Iruka spoke with reddened eyes, his voice trembling as he struggled to contain his emotions.
"Ah..."
The Third Hokage stood from his chair with Naruto's report in hand.
"Iruka, I know this is difficult for you. But you know Naruto's identity as well. He is a Jinchuriki. Setting that aside, his circumstances are very similar to yours when you were young. I thought you would be able to accept him openly, from the perspective of someone who understood."
"Do you remember what you said back then? You said you wanted to become a teacher, that passing the Will of Fire on to future ninja was your dream, and that you would carry that dream through as your lifelong calling."
Iruka's expression froze instantly. A complicated look surfaced in his eyes as he stood there speechless. After a long while, he took two deep breaths to calm himself.
"But Third Hokage, I don't think Naruto will accept me. He is very withdrawn at school."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage revealed a kindly smile. "Hehe, then you can take the initiative to accept Naruto."
"He is also a part of Konoha. I hope that under your guidance, Naruto can become an inheritor of the Will of Fire in the future!"
Iruka's entire body shook as if something deep within him had been struck. His gaze swiftly became firm, and he bowed to the Third Hokage. "I understand, Lord Hokage!"
"Mm. Go on. I believe in you."
Iruka answered and left the office. The instant he stepped out the door, all warmth vanished from the Third Hokage's face without a trace.
~~~~~~~~
"Father, my homeroom teacher just came out of the Hokage's Office. Do you think he complained about me?"
Sitting in the classroom, Naruto sensed Iruka leaving the Hokage's Office.
"Probably not. Your grades were fine, weren't they?"
Though Minato Namikaze said that, his voice clearly lacked confidence. He knew Naruto had not seriously listened to a single class. The odds of Iruka not complaining were practically nonexistent.
"I listened to Iruka's lessons occasionally. He is always repeatedly instilling the Third Hokage's version of the Will of Fire into the students."
"Uh, I don't think there's anything wrong with teaching that."
Minato Namikaze was somewhat puzzled. As a teacher, wasn't Iruka simply doing his job by promoting the Will of Fire?
"The Will of Fire itself is undoubtedly positive, but how many children can truly understand that kind of idea?" Naruto's eyes flashed as he continued, "And under his guidance, the focus of the Will of Fire always falls on the Third Hokage's own image."
"This has made countless students worship the Third Hokage to an extreme degree. Most of them shout about dreams of becoming Hokage, and specifically becoming a great and righteous Hokage like the Third Hokage."
"Where did the other Hokage go? Of course, Iruka mentioned them too, but either he pointed at Kage Rock and reminisced for a while, or he briefly glossed over them as if they were legends."
Minato Namikaze's expression grew somewhat grave. He understood what Naruto meant, but he did not know what to say.
"You don't need to be so serious. I only mean that everyone is born an original, but under teaching like Iruka's, most of them gradually lose track of whether they want to become Hokage or walk the path of becoming a powerful person like the Hokage."
Minato Namikaze looked at Naruto with complicated eyes. "But having children strive toward such dreams is best for the village, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Naruto nodded, his eyes shining brightly.
"But how many people can actually realize their dreams? In the end, they tragically let their lives gradually become pirated copies."
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