The Test, Iruka

By the time Sasuke reached the mouth of the alley, all he saw was Naruto's fading afterimage and Konohamaru sitting on the ground.

He gritted his teeth and immediately gave chase.

Naruto, who was in pursuit, noticed something was off.

The other party's speed was average for an ordinary chunin, but he seemed remarkably familiar with this densely built-up area, never hesitating whenever he turned.

The moment Naruto realized this, he switched his pursuit mode.

He fully unleashed the advanced chakra control technique Minato Namikaze had taught him, channeling chakra to the tips of his hands and feet.

Then chakra erupted explosively from beneath his feet, raising Naruto's speed by an entire level in an instant.

The ninja carrying Moegi was leaping between two rooftops when he heard something strange behind him and glanced back. He saw Naruto, who had been seven or eight rooftops away just moments ago, close more than half the distance in the blink of an eye. When he blinked again, Naruto had vanished from sight.

His heart skipped a beat. Carrying Moegi, he forcibly halted his momentum and dropped from midair into a clearing in a small grove.

He set Moegi aside, drew a kunai, lowered his center of gravity into a guarded defensive stance, and rapidly scanned the shadows between the trees.

At that moment, a golden flash appeared silently behind him.

He did not even hear footsteps. He only felt a slight chill at the back of his neck before a palm struck the side of his neck.

The force was precise, just enough to cut off blood flow through his carotid artery without damaging his cervical vertebrae or windpipe.

Darkness swallowed his consciousness in an instant. The kunai fell from his hand with a clear clang, and his entire body crumpled forward, lying motionless on the ground.

"Brother Naruto!"

Moegi sprang up from the ground and practically flew into Naruto's waist.

The little girl cried her eyes out, smearing tears and snot all over Naruto's ninja outfit as she mumbled, "I knew Brother Naruto would come save me..."

"That bad guy was so scary!"

Moegi's impact made Naruto sway slightly. He looked down at the little girl with her bun buried against him, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, and sighed as he gently patted the top of her head.

"It's okay. It's all over now."

"Moegi was very brave. You called for help, so I could catch up so quickly."

Moegi looked up through teary eyes at Naruto and nodded hard before burying her face against him again.

As Naruto comforted Moegi, he turned his gaze toward the cloaked figure he had knocked unconscious on the ground.

He turned the man over. The cloak's hood slipped down, revealing a familiar face.

Konoha's distinctive forehead protector, an old scar running across the bridge of his nose, and a slightly youthful yet unmistakable face.

Iruka.

Naruto froze for three or four seconds.

Then his mind raced as he pieced together everything that had happened from beginning to end.

At last, he understood what was going on.

"No way."

Naruto muttered under his breath, unconsciously rubbing his temples.

Several leaves were crushed beneath hurried footsteps.

Sasuke finally caught up, several shuriken clenched in his hand and ready to be thrown at any moment.

He landed in the clearing. His gaze swept over Moegi, who was sitting on the ground and crying while hugging Naruto, then over the cloaked figure lying motionless on the ground, before finally settling on Iruka's unconscious face.

The shuriken in his hand slowly lowered.

"Iruka-sensei?"

Sasuke's tone was unusually bewildered.

"It's exactly what you think."

Naruto sighed and crouched down to check Iruka's pulse.

Normal. There was slight bruising on the side of his neck, but nothing serious.

"The ninja who kidnapped Moegi just now was Iruka-sensei disguised with the Transformation Technique."

"As for why he kidnapped Moegi, I'm guessing it was probably a test for us."

Sasuke fell silent.

He stood there, his gaze shifting back and forth between Iruka and Naruto several times.

Iruka-sensei was a chunin. Not especially strong, but definitely not weak either. He had taught at the academy for so many years, so he had basic combat experience.

Yet from the moment Naruto gave chase to the moment he knocked Iruka unconscious, it had probably taken less than two minutes.

That included the distance Naruto had covered through alleys and over rooftops.

To catch up to a chunin-level expert at the Transformation Technique in two minutes, then silently appear behind him and defeat him in a single move...

For a genin who had only graduated from the academy a few months ago, whether due to extraordinary talent or special training, that was already beyond common sense.

Sasuke said nothing. He merely put the shuriken back into his ninja tool pouch, his clenched knuckles turning white.

Then he turned around and silently headed back the way he had come.

This time, he walked even faster than before, and the lines of his shoulders were even more rigid.

Naruto watched Sasuke leave, frowning slightly, but said nothing.

With Sasuke's personality, there was no point trying to persuade him. The more someone tried, the more he would feel like he was being pitied.

He could only wait for Sasuke to work through it himself.

Besides, Naruto's own strength was not that great either. Excluding the Nine-Tails' chakra, with the Rasengan and Shadow Clone Technique, taking down an elite chunin would not be a problem. A jonin would be difficult but manageable, while an elite jonin would probably be too much.

Naruto then crouched down, draped one of Iruka's arms over his shoulder, and carried him on his back.

At that moment, Konohamaru and Udon came panting to the edge of the grove.

The moment the two children arrived, they saw Naruto carrying Iruka out, with Moegi following beside him. Her eyes were red, but she was unharmed.

"Boss, why is Iruka-sensei here?"

"Where's that bad guy? Moegi, are you okay?"

Naruto did not waste time explaining much. He simply reminded them to be careful on their way home.

Konohamaru obediently did not press further, taking Moegi and Udon by the hands as they went home.

Still, he kept looking back with every few steps, and the admiration shining in his eyes for Naruto was even brighter than before.

Naruto carried Iruka back to the teachers' apartments.

Iruka lived in a small apartment near the Konoha Ninja Academy. The room was very clean, with lesson plans and scrolls neatly arranged on the bookshelf, while a partially graded genin application form lay spread across the desk.

Naruto laid him on the bed, helped remove his shoes and forehead protector, then wrung out a wet towel and placed it on his forehead.

For the bruising on Iruka's neck, he used a little healing chakra to massage it. It did not vanish completely, but at least most of the pooled blood could disperse.

After finishing all that, he pulled over the chair in front of the desk, sat down, and began to wait.

"Mmh..."

About half an hour later, Iruka's eyelids twitched. He let out a muffled groan, then slowly opened his eyes.

He first saw the familiar hanging lamp on his own ceiling. Then he turned his head and saw Naruto sitting in the chair by his desk, flipping through a basic academy taijutsu textbook. Naruto turned the pages gently, and when he heard movement from the bed, he looked up.

"Iruka-sensei, you're awake."

Iruka stared blankly at Naruto. Then his memories came rushing back like seawater flooding in.

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