Heavy Bomb

Nanfeng's lips curled slightly as he beamed at the newly revealed contents of the Scroll of Seals. Nearby, Sasuke was also studying its contents with a furrowed brow!

Unfortunately, Naruto's memory really was limited. And since he couldn't use the Nine-Tails Chakra for now, he had managed to pass back fewer than five Ninjutsu techniques!

"Only five? I guess the Dead Last really is the Dead Last. How can your memory be this bad?" Sasuke teased mercilessly.

"Hey, easy for you to say! There's way too much to memorize here. Especially this Sealing Technique. If I'd known, I would've skipped it and memorized a few more Ninjutsu techniques instead!" Naruto replied unhappily.

"This is enough. Go ahead with your plan. Sasuke and I will arrange to bump into you. Getting to fight a Chunin for real should be a pretty good way to pass the time, don't you think?" Nanfeng's voice came through, making Naruto and Sasuke both feel a little tempted.

"Let's go. I'll wait for you at the usual place. We train there all the time at night, and the Hokage knows about it. It'd be strange if we didn't train tonight!" Sasuke quickly got ready. After arranging a meeting with Nanfeng, he headed to their training ground.

Who knew how Naruto had arranged his meeting with Mizuki, but their rendezvous spot was near the place where Nanfeng and the others trained. If anything got a little noisy, they would know.

"Tell me, does this count as a date between Naruto and Mizuki? No wonder this guy's barely spoken to any girls all these years." Sasuke seemed to have just thought of something. He spoke to Nanfeng with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Shut up! If you're really sick in the head, I don't mind treating you later!" Naruto's furious shout rang out, and Nanfeng and Sasuke doubled over laughing.

"Though Mizuki's a teacher at the Academy, he's also been on plenty of missions. Is it really okay to let Naruto meet him alone?" Sasuke still felt a little uneasy.

They both knew how strong they were, but this would be their first real fight.

"Don't worry. I slipped Naruto a few Explosive Tags earlier. As soon as we hear an explosion, we'll head over." Nanfeng waved a hand. He knew Naruto would be fine even if they didn't show up today.

Besides, they could take part in the story and make an appearance. Why not?

Three hours later, Naruto, who had mastered Shadow Clone Jutsu, waited for Mizuki's arrival, bored out of his mind.

He'd tried learning some other Ninjutsu techniques in the meantime, but they were so difficult that he gave up without a second thought. He'd also memorized three more techniques and added them to their intelligence files. Once he'd finished all that, Mizuki finally appeared before him.

"Teacher Mizuki, you're here!" Naruto had just spoken when he noticed someone behind Mizuki: Iruka, looking extremely anxious. "Huh? Teacher Iruka, too?"

"Naruto, you idiot! What on earth were you thinking, stealing the Scroll of Seals? Don't you know that's a crime?" Before Mizuki could say a word, Iruka's furious shout reached Naruto's ears.

"I didn't know! Teacher Mizuki gave me this mission. He said he'd make me a ninja if I brought him the scroll. Everything's gone pretty smoothly so far..." Before Naruto could finish, Iruka rushed forward and knocked him to the ground. Then warm liquid splashed across his face!

A giant Wind Shuriken had pierced Iruka's chest. If Iruka hadn't protected him, Naruto would have been the one impaled.

"Blood... Teacher Iruka, are you okay? Teacher Mizuki, what are you—" Naruto's expression began to twist. Perhaps it was the darkness, but Iruka thought the whisker marks on Naruto's face seemed to have grown thicker.

"You were nothing but a tool for me to use. Kids are so easy to fool. Tell them what to do, and they'll do it. Now that you've got the Scroll of Seals, you'll probably end up locked in prison, spending the rest of your life in misery!"

"But come to think of it, you still don't know why everyone in the village hates you. So let your teacher give you one last lesson. Uzumaki Naruto, the Demon Fox that once plagued Konoha is sealed inside you!"

As Mizuki spoke, his expression grew more and more twisted. Seeing the two of them suffer seemed to be his greatest reward.

"Oh, and the parents of your beloved Teacher Iruka were killed by the Demon Fox in that disaster. The man you call your teacher is the child of your enemy... How does that make you feel?" Mizuki dropped another bombshell, leaving Naruto even more stunned.

"Is what he said... all true?" Hidden nearby, Sasuke watched Naruto's reaction with concern.

"It probably is. That's why everyone in the village mocked Naruto. Even many of the higher-ups never intended to raise him as a person. Jinchuriki are born to be weapons of war—to kill or to intimidate other villages..."

Nanfeng shook his head with a sigh. All Jinchuriki, apart from the two in Kumogakure, had been saddled with truly tragic fates.

Seeing Naruto's dazed expression, Iruka's heart ached even more. He endured the pain and slowly raised a hand to rest it on Naruto's head.

"No matter what anyone else says, to me, you'll always be the most obedient student—and the child I love most." Tears slid from the corners of Iruka's eyes and fell onto Naruto's face. They were warm, like a hot drink on a freezing winter day.

They warmed the heart that had grown colder and colder over Naruto's first ten years of life. Those words were what made his gaze grow firm again.

"Don't worry, Teacher Iruka. You protected me just now. Now it's my turn to protect you!" Naruto quickly settled Iruka to one side, then flung two kunai from his hand. Two burning Explosive Tags were attached to their ends.

"Oh? You've recovered pretty quickly. But do you really think a brat like you can beat me? Hand over the Scroll of Seals, and I'll give you and your teacher a painless death." Mizuki dodged the two kunai and sneered at Uzumaki Naruto.