Aftermath

"Iruka-sensei, leave the rest to the Anbu."

Naruto was certain that everything happening currently was under the surveillance of the Third Hokage and the Anbu.

So, after he left, the Anbu would quickly arrive at the scene.

Hearing this, Iruka finally snapped back to reality. He looked at Mizuki, who had fallen to the ground, his eyes filled with complex emotions: pain, anger, and deep disappointment.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. "Naruto, you did very well... Don't do anything so dangerous next time. And given that the reason for your failure to graduate was understandable, you've graduated..."

Iruka paused, then took a brand-new Konoha forehead protector from his ninja pouch and handed it to Naruto. His tone was solemn yet utterly exhausted. "You've already become a very outstanding ninja. But I still have some matters to attend to here. You should go back and rest."

Naruto took the forehead protector and nodded, looking at Iruka, who was trying hard to appear calm.

In this incident, all he needed to do was demonstrate that his skills had long since reached the level required for graduation and explain the reasons. Iruka would have barely hesitated to let him graduate smoothly.

But looking at Iruka-sensei's expression, things didn't seem good either.

Still, he could understand. His friend of many years had turned out to be a traitor; no one could accept that.

However, Naruto had also received much previously unknown truth today, and he needed some time to process it all. He left directly.

"I'll be going now, Iruka-sensei."

With that, Naruto turned, and his figure quickly disappeared into the forest.

After Naruto left, only a silent Iruka and the unconscious Mizuki remained in the forest.

Not long after, two Anbu members appeared before Iruka as silently as ghosts.

They didn't ask any questions, as if they already knew the entire process. One of them skillfully picked up Mizuki, while the other said briefly to Iruka, "Don't mention tonight's events to anyone outside."

Iruka nodded blankly. Watching the Anbu quickly disappear with Mizuki, his heart felt empty.

In the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, smoked pipe after pipe, filling the office with smoke. His brow remained deeply furrowed.

Naruto's performance today far exceeded his usual state. He had even skillfully used medical ninjutsu after sparring with Sasuke, a level far beyond what he was capable of before.

But Naruto had been under Anbu surveillance the entire time, and Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had also been watching Naruto face-to-face or through the crystal ball from time to time, so any excessive worry was unnecessary.

The only thing he needed to worry about was Mizuki's remarks about the unfairness of Konoha's current state, which had left Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply unsettled.

As Hokage, he knew better than anyone the shadows beneath the village's shining surface.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was very concerned whether Naruto had been influenced by those words.

It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to talk to Naruto.

Just then, the office door was pushed open directly.

Shimura Danzō strode in, his face grim.

"What happened with Naruto?" Danzō asked directly, his tone accusatory. "Why has the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's strength suddenly increased? He's even mastered the Mystical Palm Technique? This is absolutely beyond his previous capabilities."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at the "Darkness of Konoha," his voice calm but firm. "It's a good thing for the Jinchuriki to become stronger. It means he can better control the Tailed Beast and become a force to protect the village."

"Becoming stronger is inevitable, but the process must be controllable!" Danzō stepped forward, his voice colder. "Could there be other factors behind such abnormal growth? If you hand him over to Root, we can thoroughly investigate and ensure his absolute loyalty to the village, rather than him being a potential threat."

"Absolutely not!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted Danzō decisively. "Naruto will graduate as a normal Genin and be led by Kakashi. He will never enter Root."

Danzō's eyes turned cold, and he tried to argue further. "Hiruzen, your weakness will sooner or later..."

"Danzō! I have already made my decision on this matter."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice and slammed his pipe on the desk. "Don't forget, I am the Hokage!"

Hearing this, Danzō stared intently at the Third Hokage, then finally let out a cold snort.

"You will regret this, Hiruzen."

BANG!

With that, Danzō turned abruptly and slammed the door shut as he left.

The loud impact echoed in the quiet Hokage's office for a long time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone at his desk, smoke once again enveloping his thoughtful, aged face.

Naruto returned to his home.

After a simple wash, he lay down on the bed.

Naruto's eyes were open, gazing at the ceiling blurred by darkness. His mind replayed everything that had happened today.

Intentionally failing the exam, defeating Sasuke, luring out and subduing Mizuki, receiving the forehead protector from Iruka-sensei...

He knew clearly the consequences of everything he had done so far and the chain reactions it might trigger.

Up to this point, everything was still under his control.

Of course, even if it slipped out of his control, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Even if something unexpected happened, it wouldn't pose any threat to Naruto.

The combat and response experience accumulated over countless reincarnations, coupled with the nearly infinite chakra of the Nine-Tails within him, gave Naruto the strength to face any situation.

Thinking of the Nine-Tails, Naruto turned to the side and reached out his right hand to the Eight Trigrams Seal Fuinjutsu on his abdomen.

He had no intention of going into his mental world for now, nor did he want to unseal it.

Because there was no need.

Naruto just needed to find an opportunity to trade a punch with Kurama, just like in countless past reincarnations, and their feelings would naturally be conveyed.

At that point, the Nine-Tails would understand Naruto's current situation.

The incident with Mizuki just now had indeed made Naruto realize that everyone's actions had strong motivations behind them.

Like a mirror, reflecting the strong and direct motives behind their behavior.

Mizuki, for the sake of power, could betray friends, betray the village, and even go so far as to attack his comrades.

This further confirmed the direction Orochimaru had pointed out: to uncover those overlooked truths.

So Naruto felt that the direction provided by Orochimaru, and everything he had done, was currently a viable course of action.

Afterward, Naruto thought of the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Juinjutsu.

The Caged Bird was an extremely complex compound Juinjutsu, cleverly combined with Fuinjutsu.

There seemed to be several directions for breaking it.

For example, interfering with or even cutting off the Main Family's control signal. The Juinjutsu required the Main Family to actively trigger it to ultimately destroy the brain. If there was a way to permanently isolate this mental connection, it might be possible to break it directly.

But this method would take a long time and was not easy to achieve.

Another example would be to directly rewrite or overwrite the Juinjutsu itself.

Naruto had extensively studied the Uzumaki Clan's Fuinjutsu, barrier techniques, and even Juinjutsu. Over his long reincarnations, he had already mastered many secret techniques that were beyond normal understanding.

However, regarding the Hyuga Clan's unique ancient texts and secret transmissions, apart from knowing how to apply the "Caged Bird" Juinjutsu itself, Naruto had not delved deeply into it.

After all, in his countless previous attempts with the sole goal of "breaking the cycle of reincarnation," these secret techniques of Konoha's major clans seemed useless.

It would take several reincarnations just to study them all, so Naruto had only skimmed through some of the content and then stopped.

Or perhaps... the Hyuga Clan itself preserved a method to break the Caged Bird? But it was strictly sealed by the Main Family, and no one knew about it?

But that was unlikely. In a previous reincarnation, Naruto had secretly snuck in and learned the Caged Bird himself. Perhaps he had overlooked something?

It seemed that in the future, he would need to find a way to sneak into the Hyuga Clan's Main Family library again to investigate.