The Chunin Exam I Participated In Was Broadcast Live!

"Then... Mizuki-sensei said that if I could steal the Scroll of Seals for him, he'd use his authority to let me pass the exam."

······

"You passed both the written test and the tools portion today," Kitahara Kaede said. "So it's the Clone Technique that you failed on, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"Even though I really tried."

"But I'm just... terrible at ninjutsu. I don't know why, but every clone I make comes out all twisted and wrong."

······

"Then lie down," Kitahara Kaede said. "And take off your shirt."

Observing Kitahara Kaede Small Group

Hashirama Senju: What are they doing?

Minato Namikaze: Yeah, why does Kitahara want Naruto-chan to take off his clothes?

Tobirama Senju: Already calling him Naruto-chan, huh...

Tobirama broke a sweat.

Watching Minato like this, he also thought about how Tsuna was doing now. Since Hiruzen was still alive, that meant Tsuna was probably still around too.

He kind of wanted to see her.

Kakashi: Based on what Naruto said, his ninjutsu is hard to use. It might be a problem with his Chakra system.

Minato Namikaze: Then I understand. It must be the influence of the Nine-Tails' Chakra.

I hoped Naruto could grow up carrying our hopes, but now it looks like sealing the Nine-Tails inside him has only harmed him. Sigh.

As Minato sighed, the others continued watching.

Then.

They saw Kitahara Kaede's right hand form a claw shape and press it onto Naruto's abdomen.

Thump!

A sealing pattern appeared on Naruto's stomach.

Tobirama Senju: This kid is really something.

Kakashi: Why do you say that, Second Hokage-sama?

Tobirama Senju: Look at Kitahara Kaede here. He's modifying the seal's design, but the seal isn't loosening. Instead—

Adjusting it from within a single seal requires extremely high control.

His control surpasses that of the person who originally placed the seal.

Minato Namikaze: Awesome.

Minato praised him, because he was the one who sealed the Nine-Tails... so what Tobirama meant by "surpassing" was referring to him.

And amid their brief exchange, the seal on Naruto's abdomen had already changed.

What was once a pattern of characters spreading outward had now transformed into a cross.

······

"Ah... what is this!"

Naruto finally noticed the pattern on his stomach.

"This is what's been affecting your Chakra's flow," Kitahara Kaede said. "Naruto, there's something inside you."

"Something inside me?" Naruto was surprised.

But Kitahara Kaede wasn't ready to tell him about the Nine-Tails yet, so he continued, "Now try circulating your Chakra again."

"Okay!"

Naruto quickly sat up and began forming hand seals.

"Clone Technique!"

"Ungh!"

"Poof!"

An identical Naruto appeared.

Both Narutos looked at each other and tilted their heads.

"I did it!" The Naruto sitting on the bed lit up with joy.

······

Kitahara Kaede sat back down in his original spot. Directly clearing and reshaping Naruto's Chakra system had taken a bit out of him, but it wasn't a big deal.

Kitahara Kaede said, "Your abilities aren't limited to just this, are they?"

"Of course!" Naruto said. "I've been training hard all along!"

"Clone Technique!"

"Clone Technique!"

"Clone Technique!"

"Clone Technique!"

In an instant, the room was full of Narutos.

Twenty-three of them, to be exact.

Observing Kitahara Fu (^_-) Small Group

Hashirama Senju: Fourth Hokage, your son's not bad—he can actually make a whole bunch of clones.

Tobirama Senju: They're not Shadow Clones, but being able to produce that many at once is still impressive. Give him time, and he might even figure out the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

······

"After fixing your chakra system, you've been doing pretty well," Kitahara Kaede said.

"Yeah, because I only sleep four hours a day. I spend all the rest of my time training."

Twenty-four hours in a day, four hours of sleep—so twenty hours of effort, huh.

Naruto said it lightly, but the people listening felt complicated.

Minato Namikaze: Sigh.

Minato sighed.

So because he was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Naruto's talent had been sealed away all this time.

And then he had to work this hard—a hundred times harder than ordinary people!

So this was all his fault.

······

"You have quite a bit of chakra," Kitahara Kaede said, watching Naruto. "I've heard that people from the Uzumaki Clan all know a Sealing Jutsu."

"What's that?" Naruto asked curiously.

Even though his chakra system had just recovered, and the Scroll of Seals—treated as the village's treasure—was right there beside them, Naruto was more interested in Kitahara Kaede's jutsu.

Kitahara Kaede said, "It's called the Adamantine Sealing Chains."

"It materializes your chakra and shapes it into golden chains. You need a huge amount of chakra to pull it off."

"Right?" Kitahara Kaede said, suddenly shifting his gaze toward the window.

Naruto quickly turned around, and only then did he realize that Mizuki-sensei was sitting there, who knew when.

"Looks like you found me," Mizuki-sensei said. "Naruto, you got the Scroll of Seals, right?"

"Seems like you've already learned the Clone Technique."

"But..."

"Too bad—you're both going to die here!"

Without any hesitation, Mizuki hurled a giant shuriken.

Aimed straight at Kitahara Kaede.

The space was cramped, and they had no defensive tools on hand.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Naruto somehow burst out with power, standing in front of Kitahara Kaede. Three golden chains shot out from his back, moving so fast they bound Mizuki instantly.

Chapter 007: Naruto Has Been Conquered, the Small Group Is Shocked!

The shuriken was blocked by one chain, while Mizuki himself was tied up by two others and hoisted into the air.

"W-What is this!" Mizuki was stunned.

"Kitahara-kun..." Naruto was also stunned.

"This is your Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains," Kitahara Kaede said. "Naruto, you might just be a genius."

In the original story, Naruto learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu in ten minutes—and that technique required not just a lot of chakra, but also a talent boost.

So maybe Naruto really did have talent.

"R-Really?" Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned stupidly.

"Then this is simple," Kitahara Kaede said.

"The Scroll of Seals, Mizuki-sensei, and this giant shuriken."

"We can deduce that Mizuki stole the Scroll of Seals and was then captured by us," Kitahara Kaede said.

"Eh? Eh?!" Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Can I... can I really do that?"

Because the Scroll of Seals was something he'd been tricked into stealing by Mizuki-sensei, but now, the blame was shifting onto Mizuki-sensei instead.

"Of course you can," Kitahara Kaede said. "Mizuki just made that commotion, and the patrolling Anbu will be here soon."

"I can testify for you."

"Then they'll capture Mizuki, and you'll have protected the Scroll of Seals."

Kitahara Kaede continued. "You can ask the Third Hokage for a reward, so... choose to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, huh?" Naruto blinked lightly. "Sounds strong just from the name."

Of course it's strong—it's the skill you use from the very first episode all the way to Boruto.

Kitahara Kaede silently quipped to himself.

Even if he thought the skill was low-tier, a Naruto who couldn't use Shadow Clones wouldn't be Naruto at all.

As if proving Kitahara Kaede's words, the Anbu arrived quickly.

Then Kitahara Kaede and Naruto repeated their story as planned. The Anbu, seeing Naruto's Adamantine Sealing Chains, didn't hesitate and immediately went back to report to the Third Hokage.

Mizuki was already unconscious and couldn't speak.

Observing Kitahara Kaede (^_-) Small Group

Tobirama Senju: Kitahara Kaede's handling of the situation is good.

This is the best approach. It was that Mizuki's fault to begin with, so now the blame is just being returned to him.

Minato Namikaze: Whew, then my Naruto-chan has turned misfortune into fortune this time.