"Stealing" the Scroll of Sealing

If the plot truly deviated, Naruto would have to find other ways to compensate.

He could either pester Iruka again, or go directly to the Third Hokage. In short, at this current stage before the original plot began, he had to graduate successfully. Firstly, it would facilitate his own actions, and secondly, staying at the Ninja Academy was now meaningless. To be precise, the assistance the Ninja Academy provided to Naruto had been negligible for the past three years. During these three years, Naruto had repeatedly focused on strengthening his physical fitness. If he wanted to become stronger, he needed higher-level tempering—in other words, opportunities for real combat!

This was one of the most important ways for the vast majority of ninjas to grow stronger.

And this was exactly what the Ninja Academy could not provide.

Even the most mundane missions could accumulate relevant experience, let alone those high-difficulty missions in the true sense.

If he hadn't wanted to avoid drawing attention and known it was completely impossible, he would have applied for early graduation two or three years ago.

Therefore, Naruto had to pass this year's graduation and become a ninja; this period of time absolutely could not be delayed.

However, it was clear that Naruto's worries were superfluous.

Just as Naruto was considering whether there were any other backup plans or remedial measures, Mizuki's figure appeared in his line of sight not far away.

And the moment he saw Mizuki, all of Naruto's worries vanished. As long as Mizuki appeared before him at this point in time, Naruto could be one hundred percent certain that the original plot would not change. This allowed Naruto to heave a sigh of relief, feeling secretly happy inside. Of course, he still had to put on a disappointed and dejected expression; he had to remember that his current persona was someone heartbroken over failing the exam, and he couldn't let Mizuki see through that.

With a fake smile, Mizuki waved at Naruto and approached him slowly.

Let me make good use of this opportunity!

As the two locked eyes, both competing in their acting skills, the same thought occurred to them at the same time.

Mizuki-sensei, thank you for coming from afar to offer me this first gift package of experience. I will accept it without hesitation!

Looking at Mizuki, who sat beside him feigning concern with a forced gentle expression, Naruto wore a look of naive happiness, while coldly thinking to himself.

Night.

A bright crescent moon hung in the sky, partially obscured by dark clouds. The entire Hidden Leaf Village seemed to be shrouded in darkness; it was a perfect time for a "thief" to emerge.

Past midnight, except for the necessary security personnel and certain entertainment venues, almost all the residents of the Hidden Leaf Village had fallen into a deep sleep.

In this quiet and tranquil Hidden Leaf Village, a figure was currently using the cover of the dark clouds to dash toward a certain location in the center of the village in the dead of night.

This figure was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, who had been "deceived" and "instigated" by Mizuki to complete a "special graduation mission."

Naruto was, of course, well aware of the trickery involved. This so-called "special graduation mission" was to steal the Scroll of Sealing, one of the Hidden Leaf Village's highest secrets.

And the location of the theft was not the exam completion site Mizuki had mentioned, but the residence of the Third Hokage.

Although the act involved touching the highest secret of the Hidden Leaf and would be treated as village betrayal in ninety-nine percent of cases, Naruto felt no nervousness at this moment.

Because Naruto knew very well that he would definitely steal the Scroll of Sealing smoothly this time!

Moreover, he would take the Scroll of Sealing away easily, right under the eyes of numerous Anbu.

There was only one reason for this: the tacit approval of the Third Hokage!

That's right. In the original story from his past life, Naruto had never understood why such a top-secret item as the Scroll of Sealing could be stolen so easily by Naruto, and even taken away. It was either a serious plot hole or there was something fishy going on.

In this life, after some deduction, Naruto could clearly draw a conclusion: the Third Hokage had tacitly allowed Naruto to take the Scroll of Sealing. The purpose was simple—it was a form of compensation for Naruto. Of course, these were just Naruto's own conjectures, but he was eighty or ninety percent sure of it.

Otherwise, let alone the original version from the story, even with the strength Naruto possessed in this life, trying to steal the Scroll of Sealing? Stop joking. He would likely be subdued by the surrounding Anbu before even getting close to the scroll. Not to mention that the place where the Scroll of Sealing was kept must have been protected by corresponding barriers. As for the current Naruto, let alone breaking the barriers, whether he could even understand them was a big question mark!

"Oh? So this is where the Third Hokage lives? It's certainly spacious enough..."

Naruto hid in a large tree outside the Third Hokage's residence, using the cover of the trunk and leaves to gaze with keen interest at the building not far away.

According to that "kind and gentle" teacher, Mizuki.

This was the so-called secret mission site.

As long as he could retrieve the mission scroll from this location, he would complete a special graduation assessment, allowing him to pass the exam directly and become a true genin.

At the mere thought of Mizuki's face this afternoon, with that smile that could only be described as hypocritical to the extreme, Naruto's lips curled slightly upward, revealing a faint, mocking smile.

Although he was a self-righteous fool, Since he could be put to use, he would make sure to give his teacher Mizuki a proper send-off later!

"Right, time to go in. No one is stopping me anyway."

After observing for a moment, Naruto nodded, tapped his right foot lightly, and leaped, quickly vaulting over the wall in front of him. He landed silently in the courtyard, deliberately slowing his pace to eliminate all sound. Even though Naruto knew full well that this theft was a joke and that there would be no Anbu or barriers blocking his path, the necessary theatrics had to be performed. Walking through the front door with a swagger was out of the question; one had to maintain the basic professionalism of an actor and a thief.

The only thing Naruto needed to consider now was how to learn ninjutsu other than the Multi Shadow Clone before meeting up with Mizuki after stealing the Scroll of Sealing. More importantly, he had to do it without the Third Hokage finding out; if that old politician knew, Heaven only knew what that damned old man would do.

In tonight's plan, That was the only variable that needed consideration!

What was that? How to deal with Mizuki?

Please, the original protagonist could easily crush Mizuki.

There was no reason why the Naruto of this life couldn't steamroll a mere Mizuki.