The Trouble

"Whether it works or not, we won't know until we try, will we? Besides, just now I followed your instructions and learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals!" Uzumaki Naruto wore a cold smile. At that moment, Mizuki was already a corpse in his eyes!

"Oh? The Genin's Shadow Clone Jutsu. You can't even use the Clone Technique properly, and your chakra control is poor. It seems Iruka protected you too well before!" After dodging the shockwave from the Explosive Tag, Mizuki's shuriken swept past Naruto's cheek.

Naruto moved quickly enough to avoid a vital hit, but two shallow cuts still appeared on his face.

"What if you had the two of us to deal with?" Two voices sounded behind Mizuki. He paused slightly at the sound, then turned and stared at the pair in disbelief.

"Nanfeng and Uchiha Sasuke—when did you get here?" Mizuki asked, staring at them in shock.

"We came over after the Explosive Tag went off. Maybe we were lucky—we were training nearby, only a few minutes away. You didn't even notice us. I guess you're not as strong as you think," Nanfeng said calmly, scratching his ear as he looked at Mizuki.

Mizuki's expression turned grim. He knew a little about Nanfeng, after all. He had seen him at the Ninja Hospital plenty of times after he was injured on missions.

To have mastered Medical Ninjutsu at such a young age, he must have had other tricks up his sleeve.

As for the other one, he was the top student of this year's class. In a one-on-one fight, Mizuki could rely on his experience to overpower Sasuke, but if all three of them attacked together...

"You dared hurt our teacher and my brother. Looks like you'll have to pay for this with your blood!" Sasuke's scarlet Sharingan followed Mizuki's every move. Meanwhile, Nanfeng took the opportunity to reach Iruka and heal his wounds with the Mystical Palm Technique.

And he might as well collect the system reward while he was at it.

"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully treated an injured person. Attribute Point +1..."

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Mizuki didn't dare underestimate them. He hurriedly used the high-level Wind Release technique he had mastered best!

"Earth Release: Earth Wall!" Thanks to Nanfeng's training and the ninjutsu scrolls left behind by his clan, Sasuke had mastered quite a few techniques. It couldn't hurt to know more defensive jutsu like Earth Wall.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto launched into action as well. Having mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu had gone to his head a little. If he could go back to the graduation exam, he figured he'd leave plenty of his classmates speechless.

Naruto happened to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu right beside Sasuke. Taking advantage of the smoke, Sasuke quickly used it too, while his real body hid off to the side, waiting for an opening Mizuki might reveal.

"You guys..." Iruka's mind couldn't keep up with what was happening. Naruto might have been worked up, but he'd made more than a hundred Shadow Clones. How many could he make normally?

"We came to help Naruto. He may not be able to become a ninja, but he was acting strangely this afternoon. We asked him to come train with us, but he wouldn't even respond. We didn't expect something like this to happen. I'm sorry, Teacher Iruka."

As the eldest of their trio, Nanfeng took it upon himself to handle the talking.

"It's all right. I just never imagined that you kids, whom I'd always thought of as little children, had become this strong. It makes your teacher proud," Iruka said with a smile and a shake of his head. Seeing his students grow was perhaps what made him happiest.

"This is such a pain. Of all the techniques, he just had to learn this one..." Mizuki said, troubled. Shadow Clones were physical entities created from chakra. Naruto's clones weren't very strong, and Mizuki could take them out easily, one punch each.

But once their numbers reached a certain point, the sheer quantity could bring about a change in quality.

"Got you!" At last, in the seemingly endless battle, several of Naruto's Shadow Clones grabbed Mizuki by all four limbs. Sasuke charged forward at the same time.

Mizuki caught sight of a kunai in Sasuke's hand. An Explosive Tag was attached to it, its fuse already burning.

Damn it, were these guys made of money? This was already the third Explosive Tag he'd encountered today!

Mizuki tried to struggle, but the battle at the start had drained too much of his strength. He was out of options and could only watch as Sasuke slipped the kunai into his pocket. As if to prevent him from making any other move, Sasuke held him tightly.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Once everything was in place, Sasuke's voice rang out again from the nearby forest, followed by an enormous fireball.

"A Shadow Clone? When did that happen?!" Only then did Mizuki realize that the one who had placed the Explosive Tag had also been one of Sasuke's Shadow Clones.

"When Naruto used his Shadow Clone Jutsu. Well, I hope the road to your death goes smoothly..." Sasuke said with a smile. Somehow, that handsome smile looked nothing but icy now!

After the violent explosion, all the Shadow Clones disappeared. Sasuke and Naruto collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted.

"Not bad. It's just a shame the guy's lucky—he survived despite being right at the center of the explosion..." Nanfeng, a Medical Ninja, went over to check Mizuki's condition. Perhaps because Orochimaru had modified him, his vitality was beyond what they'd expected.

After all, an ordinary person could never survive a direct hit from an Explosive Tag.

"Teacher Iruka, are you all right?" Naruto, who had recovered a little, hurried over to Iruka. Nanfeng had already treated his wounds completely. Aside from looking a little pale from blood loss, he was fine.

"I'm all right, Naruto. Come here. There's something I want to give you..." Iruka said with a smile.

"Hm?" Naruto looked puzzled, but when he walked over, he saw Iruka take off his Forehead Protector and carefully tie it around Naruto's head.

"On behalf of the Ninja Academy, I hereby announce that, from today onward, Uzumaki Naruto has officially graduated and become a qualified Konoha Genin," Iruka said with a smile. Naruto turned around, overjoyed, and looked at his two friends.

Just then, the sun rose, its warm light shining down on all of them.