Epilogue

Setting aside the clandestine clash between the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzo—two Konoha titans bound by decades of ill-fated history—the scene shifts elsewhere.

When Naruto returned to the village with Iruka and handed over the Scroll of Sealing, the matter concluded exactly as Naruto had anticipated. Iruka, who had braced himself for a grueling interrogation or even specialized questioning, remained dazed even after the Chunin responsible for retrieving the scroll told him he was free to go. After all, this was the theft of the Scroll of Sealing, involving the betrayal of a village Chunin, and most importantly, the protagonist of this incident was Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the village. How could it possibly be brushed aside so lightly?

Iruka had fully expected both him and Naruto to be summoned by the Third Hokage for questioning.

In the worst-case scenario, they might even have been subjected to the village's Interrogation Force.

Yet, looking at it now, it was as if the entire ordeal had been nothing more than a drill.

Until the moment they left the Hokage Office Building, Iruka remained in a state of bewilderment.

Naruto, on the other hand, who had been following Iruka obediently without a word, wearing an expression that screamed "I'm a good boy" and "I know I was wrong," knew perfectly well that this whole affair was a farce. If not for the fact that it involved Naruto—and the Third Hokage's desire to use the opportunity to grant him a favor—any other student from the Ninja Academy would have had such a plot nipped in the bud long before it could even begin. Did a mere Mizuki really think he could stir up waves in Konoha, the greatest village in the ninja world? Even at its weakest, Konoha was not a place that someone like Mizuki, who wasn't even worth a grasshopper, could touch.

Therefore, Naruto was not the least bit surprised by this outcome.

Afterward, Iruka still took Naruto to the hospital.

Although his injuries didn't seem to be a major issue and appeared to be healing on their own over time, Iruka insisted on a re-examination just to be safe.

The facts proved that Naruto was indeed perfectly fine and only needed a little rest to make a full recovery.

In fact, Iruka's own injuries were slightly more severe than Naruto's.

From this alone, one could see just how vigorous Naruto's vitality and self-healing capabilities truly were.

"Naruto, even though there's nothing seriously wrong, you still need to rest at home for the next two days, understand? The graduation ceremony is in three days, and the team assignments will be announced that same day. Don't go training these next few days."

Stepping out of the hospital, Iruka, knowing his student's personality all too well, gave him a solemn warning before they parted ways. Even if it looked like there were no issues and he would recover soon, Iruka still hoped Naruto would cherish his own well-being. Diligence and hard work were virtues worth praising, but one had to balance work and rest, especially after sustaining injuries in a fierce battle.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei, I understand. Don't worry."

Meeting Iruka's earnest and concerned gaze, Naruto looked up and nodded seriously, responding in kind.

Seeing Naruto act so obediently for once, Iruka was momentarily taken aback, eyeing him with a suspicious expression.

Ample past experience told Iruka that while this kid might be reasonable in other areas, he had a singular, obsessive passion for training that couldn't be explained by mere diligence.

Under Iruka's highly skeptical gaze, Naruto broke into a cold sweat.

It seemed he really had no credibility in this regard.

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei, I'm really not lying to you this time. I'll get plenty of rest."

Only after Naruto's repeated assurances did Iruka slowly nod.

"That's good."

After giving further instructions regarding the graduation ceremony and the team assignments, Iruka turned and headed back toward his own residence.

Watching Iruka's figure disappear, Naruto finally let out a sigh of relief. Although he knew it came from a place of care, Naruto sometimes found Iruka-sensei's nagging a bit hard to handle.

But to be fair, this time, Naruto truly had no intention of playing any tricks.

Even if Iruka hadn't said anything, Naruto had already planned to rest for a couple of days.

He had previously considered changing his training schedule two days before graduation, but now it seemed he would be better off resting properly. After all, the body was the capital of the revolution, and besides, who said he couldn't train while staying at home?

Over these two days, Naruto intended to focus on strengthening his hand-seal speed, as well as his control and manipulation of the chakra within his body.

At the end of the day, for ninjutsu and genjutsu, simply having fast hand seals didn't guarantee a fast release.

Hand seals were merely a medium.

The manipulation and control of chakra were the true source of any technique's manifestation.

Look at the Sage of Six Paths—did he need hand seals to release techniques?

Not at all.

That was because his mastery over chakra was as effortless as moving his own limbs, so he naturally had no need for the medium of hand seals.

And even without mentioning a monster like the Sage of Six Paths, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, could just clap his hands together and summon whatever he desired, couldn't he?

Though he couldn't compare to the Sage of Six Paths.

But this was also a manifestation of chakra control and application reaching its absolute limit.

Therefore, hand seals were merely a medium; chakra itself was the core.

Even for the simplest Shadow Clone, which appeared to require only the "Rat" seal, it still necessitated the corresponding chakra control and flow within the body. If one were to perform the seals without the coordination of chakra, it would be nothing more than an empty shell.

Of course, Naruto could not yet reach the realm where he could clap his hands together and manifest whatever he shouted for.

Thus, the control and application of chakra, as well as the speed of hand seals.

These were all areas Naruto needed to focus his training on.

Especially regarding the speed of hand seals.

This was the fastest, most controllable method for improvement.

In the original story, the hand seal speed of Uchiha Itachi.

That was Naruto's current goal.

"Yosh! After I get back, I'll get a good night's sleep, and then I'll start training!"

Naruto gently patted his cheeks, then turned around and headed back toward his home with light steps.

Over the next two days.

Just as Naruto had promised Iruka, he basically stayed home honestly to rest and did not run off to the forest behind the mountain to train. During these two days, Naruto further mastered the Multi Shadow Clone technique he had learned from the Scroll of Sealing, and even slightly increased his hand seal speed for the C-rank Wind Release ninjutsu—Great Breakthrough—that he had wheedled out of Iruka earlier. After this true battle against Mizuki.

Naruto realized even more that as a ninja, one must possess multiple qualities to win in combat, and he warned himself that in any future battle, he could not afford the slightest bit of slack or carelessness!