Divine Puppet Shadow Clone

"Iruka-sensei, why are you here?" Naruto asked with an innocent smile.

"Because of you, that's why!!!" Iruka caught his breath, then erupted in a fit of rage.

He hadn't moved to attack Naruto at first.

After all, he understood his student's nature.

No matter how bad he was, he couldn't be that far gone!

His mischief was merely a cry for attention from those around him.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?! Stealing the Scroll of Seals—are you trying to get yourself killed?" Iruka exclaimed, agitated.

Naruto blinked, feigning the expression of a victim.

"Mizuki-sensei told me to do it. He said it contained a great legacy, and if I learned it, I could graduate from the Ninja Academy."

"The other students have parents, and they have people at home to guide them, so they progress much faster than I do. You know, sensei, I've been an orphan since I was little."

"I want to get stronger, but no one is there to teach me."

Hearing this, Iruka felt a sting in his nose.

Most of his anger vanished.

His parents were heroes who sacrificed themselves for the village.

Yet the son of a great hero was living worse than an ordinary person!!!

It truly shouldn't be this way!

"Alright, I understand now. In the future, I will give you more guidance on your path of training. For now, hand over the Scroll of Seals, and come back with me to apologize to the Third Hokage." Iruka said.

As he spoke, he reached out to take the scroll.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several sounds of projectiles cutting through the air rang out.

They were aimed directly at Naruto.

"Danger!!!" Iruka shouted, lunging forward to push Naruto out of the way.

Naruto grinned, as if he had anticipated this all along.

He leaned back, planted his feet firmly, and kicked off the ground with a sudden burst of force.

He dodged the kunai attack.

"Hahaha... what a touching display of teacher-student affection. I thought you two would start fighting the moment you met!"

"It seems I underestimated your kindness, Iruka!"

Mizuki, having failed his sneak attack with the kunai, jumped down from a large tree.

"Mizuki, let us go, and I will pretend this never happened. If the Third Hokage finds out you were the mastermind behind all this..."

"Trying to pressure me with the Third? I'm so scared. The heavens are high and the Emperor is far away. If I kill both of you and frame someone else, then take the Scroll of Seals and run, who could possibly catch me?"

Mizuki laughed wildly, looking at Iruka as if he were an idiot.

"Ding! Choice One: Kill the traitor Mizuki."

"Reward: Puppet Shadow Clone Technique, 0 chakra consumption, the summoned shadow clones possess the same strength as the host (no hand seals required)."

"Note: The Puppet Shadow Clones have no consciousness or thoughts of their own. The host can control their actions at will; a single thought can decide their life or death."

"Puppet Shadow Clones must remain within a certain distance of the caster, or they will vanish due to the distance being too great."

"A maximum of ten Puppet Shadow Clones can be controlled simultaneously."

"Ding! Choice Two: Give the traitor Mizuki a sound beating."

"Reward: Ordinary Shadow Clone Technique."

Hmm? The Puppet Shadow Clone Technique doesn't even require hand seals.

That sounds incredibly awesome!

The biggest drawback of the standard Shadow Clone Technique is that the summoned clones have their own consciousness and thoughts.

Sometimes, they don't even listen to orders.

After all, they have the same strength as the original, and none of them are willing to submit to the others.

But now, the Puppet Shadow Clone Technique perfectly solves that problem.

Just thinking about having an endless supply of free laborers in the future makes me feel incredibly satisfied!

"I choose one!"

"Reward for the Puppet Shadow Clone Technique is being distributed. Reward distribution complete."

Naruto finished speaking, stomped his foot, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was standing behind Mizuki.

It wasn't actually a disappearance; Naruto's speed was simply so fast that it created a visual illusion.

Mizuki was stunned.

At first, he only felt a gust of strong wind sweep past.

Then, a tearing pain erupted from his back.

His heart had been pierced through!

Catching the enemy off guard with a surprise attack.

Naruto could freely utilize half of the Nine-Tails' chakra power.

Killing an ordinary ninja was no different than slaughtering a chicken, was it?

Iruka was dumbfounded.

Is this really my student?

When did Naruto acquire such ability?

How come I didn't know?

Just a moment ago, he had been prepared to sacrifice his life to buy Naruto time to escape.

But looking at it now, it seemed that was no longer necessary.

His consciousness gradually blurred.

The traitor Mizuki felt his eyelids grow incredibly heavy.

In the blink of an eye, death arrived.

He died without even knowing how he had died.

At the same time, Naruto felt a brand-new memory emerge in his mind.

The method for using the Puppet Shadow Clone Technique had been perfectly integrated into his very bones.

With just a thought.

He could perfectly unleash this ninjutsu.

Crucially, it didn't even require chakra.

"Naruto... you... you killed someone?" Iruka stammered, his jaw dropping.

Since when was Naruto so brave?

I'm super brave...

Instantly killing a C-rank ninja.

It was unbelievable.

Iruka's heart was mostly filled with panic at this moment.

It was impossible for Naruto to possess such powerful abilities on his own... unless the seal on the Nine-Tails Fox inside him had been broken...?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Cold sweat streamed down Iruka's face as he placed his hand on his ninja tool pouch, preparing to flee back to the village to find help.

"Iruka-sensei, don't be so worried; I'm not scary."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

Not scary???

You killed a chunin in one hit, and you're telling me you're not scary?

Who are you trying to fool with that?

"Huh? Naruto, what happened to your eyes?"

Iruka was completely bewildered.

Naruto had revealed his mutated, enhanced Golden Rinnegan.

"Iruka, forget what just happened!"

System prompt.

His Rinnegan also possessed the ability to make people forget a segment of their memory.

It was similar to hypnosis, or the kind of memory lapse one gets from drinking bad liquor.

I have to say, this ability is truly useful!

Otherwise, Naruto wouldn't have dared to use the Nine-Tails' power without reservation in front of Iruka.

Iruka's eyes were unfocused, his entire demeanor dazed and drifting.

Snap.

Following the sound.

A crisp clap echoed through the air.

Iruka had completely forgotten the sight of Naruto killing Mizuki in an instant.

"Naruto, run quickly! I'll cover you, there's no time to explain... just hurry and run, don't look back!"

Iruka's words trailed off halfway.

He fell silent.

Stunned, he stared at Mizuki, who lay dead in a pool of blood, beyond any hope of revival.

What is going on?!!

How did this guy die!

Why do I have absolutely no memory of it?

"Iruka-sensei, you're finally awake... Just now, a powerful ninja wearing a mask appeared from a distorted space and killed Mizuki-sensei."

"Right, his eyes were red. He glanced at you once, and you just stood there, frozen in place."

"I called out to you for ages, but you didn't react."

Naruto's eyes returned to normal as he shifted the blame onto Obito.

I'll slaughter that idiot sooner or later.

The blood feud for his parents was irreconcilable.

Naruto was him, and he was Naruto; there were some things that had to be done.

Before that, letting him shoulder a few more burdens would serve as interest.