First Meeting with the Nine-Tails

After confirming Mizuki wasn't following, Naruto flipped sideways and landed steadily in Iruka's hands.

"Teacher, I'm fine."

Iruka observed Naruto's complexion closely, then put on a stern face. "You little troublemaker, were you deliberately toying with Mizuki?"

Naruto shook his head. "It's disgusting. The thought of calling that guy 'teacher' for eight years makes me sick."

Iruka frowned and reached for Naruto's collar. "Naruto! Have you forgotten what they teach at school about respecting your teacher and valuing the Way? Go apologize to Mizuki-sensei immediately."

"He doesn't deserve to be a teacher." Naruto's eyes burned. "Yesterday, he tricked me into stealing the Scroll of Seals from Third Grandpa's house, saying I could easily pass the graduation exam using the Ninjutsu in the book."

Iruka froze, incredulous.

His parents had died protecting the village during the Nine-Tails Demon Fox's rampage. Mizuki had been good to him since he was little, a true friend he confided in.

He knew Mizuki was a kind and gentle person, but he didn't believe Naruto was lying.

Iruka forced a smile. "Naruto, perhaps Mizuki-sensei was telling a story, and you misunderstood? Stealing is wrong, and I'm glad you told me."

Naruto shook his head resolutely. "No, I'm sure he was instigating me to steal. You have to believe me."

The sun was directly overhead, shining on Naruto. The shadows of the surrounding buildings didn't obscure him. He stood straight on the red-yellow land, his feet casting a dark shadow.

Hearing Naruto's irrefutable certainty, Iruka nodded. "Alright, I'll go ask him for clarification."

"Ask?" Naruto blinked. "Teacher, can the name 'Scroll of Seals' be related to the Ninja Academy's graduation exam?"

"What do you mean?"

"I suspect Mizuki planned to kill me after I stole it to take the book for himself! As for what he'll do with it? I don't know."

Naruto couldn't stand the thought of someone daring to harm him. His eyes widened, like a tiger ready to strike. "Teacher, catch him! Right now, my word alone won't be enough to convict him. We need to catch him red-handed."

Iruka stared at Naruto in disbelief, the child he had raised with his own hands.

If Mizuki truly desired the terrifying Forbidden Jutsu within the Scroll of Seals, even his closest friend, he would have to stop him.

"Naruto, you've grown up."

Naruto looked up, his chest feeling a little sore. "I'll steal the book tonight. I'll leave the rest to you."

Iruka patted his head. "Don't worry, I won't allow my student to be harmed."

Hokage's Mansion.

The old man with a goatee, wearing a red hat with the character for "Fire" and a white robe with red trim – the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi – was listening to Iruka's report.

"This plan was actually proposed by that brat Naruto?"

"Yes." Iruka nodded respectfully.

"Then let's proceed as he suggested." Hiruzen Sarutobi reached for the crystal ball resting on the tea table. Chakra surged into it, displaying Mizuki's face.

"Go find Kakashi and have him protect Naruto with you."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Iruka felt reassured. After all, he and Mizuki were only Chunin, while Kakashi was one of Konohagakure's top Jonin.

Late at night, lamps were lit, only the sound of cats yowling could be heard.

Naruto moved nimbly through the streets and alleys, his footsteps almost silent.

His small body was still too weak. The profound martial arts he remembered could only be executed with the most basic control techniques, and every muscle contraction and extension felt stiff.

At this moment, his keen intuition told him he was being followed, and not by just one person. The more cautious he was, the more he played into their expectations.

In less than ten minutes, a yellow cliff face carved with four giant human faces appeared before him.

Beneath this cliff, known as the Hokage Rock, hung a large circular emblem with the character "Fire." A three-story building surrounded by a tiled wall was the heart of Konohagakure – the Hokage's Mansion.

Naruto often came here. His living expenses came from Third Grandpa Hokage, which was likely why Mizuki wanted him to steal the book.

He skillfully scaled the wall into the courtyard, jumped onto the eaves, and pressed himself against the outer wall of the third floor. He slipped into a long corridor lined with calligraphy and paintings.

Naruto didn't even see a single guard as he swaggered up to the double red doors of the library, pushed them open gently, and they swung inward.

A short figure, yet radiating an indescribable pressure, appeared before him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his hands behind his back, amidst wall cabinets filled with scrolls, watching Naruto.

Having not seen him for eight years, Naruto felt his hair stand on end.

A powerful person! Undoubtedly a powerful person!

His fighting spirit began to boil, his instincts driving his Chakra to circulate the Dharma Sutra.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils were small, his eyeballs almost entirely white. His high cheekbones and baboon-like face made him look particularly fierce.

Without a word, he waved a withered hand. A green scroll, a meter long and as thick as a man's head, flew out from a cabinet and shot towards Naruto.

Naruto knew the Hokage suspected him, suspected he wasn't Naruto.

With his straightforward, twelve-year-old mind, the possibility of him devising this plan was zero.

But faced with a probing display of force, how could Naruto back down? How could he?

His fist flew out.

A fist honed through countless trials in his memory.

Wreathed in scarlet and yellow Chakra, it covered his arm and slammed into the scroll.

THUMP!

Fist met scroll.

Naruto's firmly planted legs scraped the ground as he slid backward.

So strong! What a powerful impact! It was like a hard steel bar smashing into my tender fist. How could I possibly block it? Where would I find the strength to block it?

Naruto gritted his teeth, scrunched his nose, his blonde hair fluttering. The whiskers on his cheeks grew longer and longer.

Strength erupted from his waist and back! Chakra burned across his skin and hair!

BANG!

His elbow extended, his arm straight.

The scroll slammed back against the ceiling.

Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly teleported into the air, catching the scroll and landing with it held upright. His flickering gaze revealed unconcealed astonishment.

He had indeed suspected Naruto had been replaced, so he planned to distinguish the real from the fake by examining Naruto's Chakra nature. This probing strike was aimed at taking down an adult Genin.

The moment Naruto retaliated, the surging aura had stirred his killing intent. He had almost moved to subdue this imposter.

But the Chakra manifested, and he could never mistake it: Nine-Tails Chakra.

It really was Naruto.

Hiruzen Sarutobi tossed the scroll, letting it roll to Naruto's feet, and dispelled the silencing barrier.

At this moment, Naruto's emotions were filled with violence and hatred, as if a monster deep within his soul was tempting him.

But he simply picked up the scroll, slung it over his shoulder, waved goodbye with a smile, and ran into the corridor. He vaulted through the window and out of the house, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi lost in thought.

The lower crescent moon hung high in the night sky, casting a silver glow over the dim village. Naruto ran wildly, exiting the village and plunging into the dense forest.

He was annoyed, extremely annoyed.

Faint roars and clanging sounds echoed from within his consciousness, throwing his mood into utter chaos.

He casually found a tree to lean against, holding the Scroll of Seals, which was longer than his upper body, with his right hand. He opened it with his left.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique? What a coincidence."

The subject Naruto had failed in his graduation exam was precisely the Clone Technique.

Just as he was about to read it, his consciousness suddenly blurred. It felt like his head had been smashed by a sledgehammer, plunging him into a bottomless abyss, falling, falling.

The next moment, a rushing sound of water filled his ears. He found himself in a confined, dim sewer pipe.

"Genjutsu?"

Naruto looked towards the tunnel entrance. A low roar and the clanging of metal came from deeper within the pipe.

Without a second thought, he resolutely walked inside.

He'd heard that Genjutsu amplified one's inner fears, so he couldn't wait to see his own fear!

Killer Whale Orga? Or Great White Shark Heavenly Dao?

Naruto stepped on his own reflection in the water and emerged from the tunnel, his vision suddenly expanding.

Before him stood an extremely tall, bronze prison gate that pierced straight into the dome of the sky. A "Seal" character was pasted in the center with white paper.

Behind the gate, a giant, pitch-black face, whose features were impossible to discern, burned with rolling crimson flames.

On its bone-white, ferocious canine teeth, two scarlet eyes gazed down at him with cruelty and malice.

Naruto was immensely disappointed. This pathetic Genjutsu, as expected, couldn't conjure a true powerhouse.

Fear? My breathing isn't even trembling!

The giant mouth with its canine teeth opened, and a suppressed voice, emanating from its chest cavity, spoke: "Brat..."

"Mongrel! The name's Uzumaki Naruto!"