The Third Hokage's Vigilance

Sasuke, who had been waiting for Naruto to come find him, stopped in his tracks.

Naruto had failed the exam?

Did that mean he hadn't made a sudden leap in strength?

No, that couldn't be!

Yesterday's real fight, and the different air about Naruto, hadn't been fake.

What was going on?

Naruto had said he'd tell him the truth after the exam. But now that he'd failed, should Sasuke still go find him?

After all, Naruto had just failed his exam. Going to see him now... wouldn't it be a little awkward?

For a moment, Sasuke wasn't sure whether he should show his face in front of Naruto.

Hinata gazed in the direction Naruto had gone, her pale eyes filled with worry.

Sakura froze for a moment, then couldn't help letting a gloating smile tug at her lips. Turning to Ino beside her, she said, "See? I told you Naruto was still a dead-last at heart. His win against Sasuke-kun yesterday had to be a fluke. How could someone like him possibly pass the graduation exam?"

The subtle discomfort Sakura had felt now that Naruto had stopped following her around seemed to have found an outlet.

Ino ignored Sakura's gloating and watched Naruto's retreating figure with a puzzled expression.

Naruto paid no attention to the reactions behind him. He walked straight to a secluded spot where few people passed, sat down with his back against a large tree, and waited.

Naruto knew full well that it wouldn't be long before that hypocritical teacher, Mizuki, came looking for him.

Before long, just as Naruto had expected, Mizuki appeared around the corner.

He approached Naruto with a carefully practiced expression of kindness and sympathy.

"Naruto," Mizuki said, his voice full of concern. "Don't be too upset. Iruka-sensei had no choice. He had his reasons."

Naruto lowered his head and replied in a subdued, dejected voice, "Yeah... I know. It's just... this is the fourth time I've failed the exam, so it hurts a little."

"Since you're so eager to graduate," Mizuki said, drawing closer and lowering his voice as if to share a secret, "I'll make an exception and tell you a special way you can pass."

Naruto raised his head at just the right moment and looked at Mizuki, deliberately letting urgency show in his eyes. "What way?"

"All you have to do is get the Scroll of Seals tonight and bring it to a place I'll specify."

Mizuki spoke with coaxing generosity. "I'll make an exception and let you graduate, becoming a Genin!"

As Naruto watched Mizuki put on his act, his heart remained calm. He had already sentenced the man to death.

Naruto knew very well that, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he was always under Anbu surveillance.

And that wasn't even counting the Third Hokage's crystal ball, which could be used for the Telescope Technique to watch his every move.

Whether or not the Third Hokage was watching him at that very moment, the Anbu only needed to report Mizuki's words and actions for him to be doomed.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Naruto put on an expression of excitement, as if he'd just grabbed a lifeline, and agreed without hesitation. "Okay! I'll go get that Scroll of Seals right now! Tell me where it is!"

Mizuki looked extremely pleased by Naruto's simple-minded, gullible manner.

He carefully explained how to find the Scroll of Seals and avoid the few guard routes he knew about.

He repeatedly stressed that they had to meet in the woods behind Konoha and that Naruto must not tell anyone about the whole thing. Only then would he pass the exam.

Naruto nodded emphatically and committed the "exam requirements" to memory.

The two parted ways with entirely different thoughts.

Naruto had no intention of actually going after the Scroll of Seals.

In his countless previous cycles, he had already mastered every technique he needed or wanted to learn from it, including his father's signature Ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God.

Stealing the Scroll of Seals would be easy for Naruto, but there was no need.

All he had to do was use a simple Transformation Jutsu to make a scroll indistinguishable from the real thing.

Now, all Naruto had to do was quietly wait for the appointed time.

Before then, perhaps he could go find Sasuke.

After all, he'd told him last night that he would explain why he'd gotten stronger after the graduation exam.

Naruto certainly wouldn't tell Sasuke that he'd experienced a cycle of reincarnation. There would be no point. But he could use his wealth of experience to tell Sasuke how to get stronger. That might be worth doing.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned as he held a pipe in one hand and worked through a mountain of paperwork with the other.

A figure appeared silently in the middle of the office and knelt on one knee, their face hidden behind an animal mask.

Hiruzen looked up. It was an Anbu member assigned to keep watch on Naruto's movements.

"What is it? Has anything unusual happened with Naruto?"

Hiruzen set his papers aside and, out of habit, turned to the crystal ball at the corner of his desk. He placed his palm on it and focused his thoughts. As Chakra flowed, he began using the Telescope Technique.

Naruto's figure appeared inside the crystal ball.

He was walking along a street in Konoha, looking calm. He wasn't playing pranks or showing any particular signs of dejection.

He seems all right. He failed the graduation exam this morning, but his mood looks stable. It's only another year of studying; it's not a big deal.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the Anbu member across from him spoke up. "Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki just met with Teacher Mizuki in a secluded spot behind the school. Mizuki urged Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals tonight and promised to let him graduate afterward."

"What?"

Hiruzen's hand trembled slightly around his pipe. The news had caught him completely off guard.

His gaze shifted from the crystal ball to the Anbu member, and his brow furrowed more deeply. "Mizuki..."

The name brought back a long-buried memory.

Many years ago, during a mission to seize a classified scroll—

Mizuki's squad had retrieved the scroll and was returning to Konoha when they learned that one of his teammates had died during the mission.

In the subsequent report, Mizuki insisted that the teammate had died after an accident aggravated an injury to his leg.

Another ninja from the same squad corroborated his story. He said he'd heard the dead ninja fall, and that Mizuki had checked and confirmed his death. He knew nothing else.

But a later, in-depth Anbu investigation uncovered something suspicious. The dead man did have an old leg injury, but it was nowhere near fatal. The true cause of death was suffocation.

There was clearly more to the story!

Although there was no direct evidence pointing to Mizuki, the incident had raised alarm among Konoha's High Command.

In the end, out of caution and because they couldn't fully trust him, the High Command decided to revoke Mizuki's qualification to teach at the Ninja Academy.

Later, however, Mizuki's relatively strong overall performance among his peers, his teaching ability, and his usually amiable manner seemed to dispel the shadow hanging over his past. He eventually became a teacher after all.

Most people gradually forgot about the old incident.

Who would have thought that now he would set his sights on Naruto, trying to trick him into stealing the Scroll of Seals?

Hiruzen's gaze darkened. Mizuki's ambition had finally been exposed for all to see.