Hatake Kakashi

Late at night, Hokage Office.

It should have been time to rest, yet the elderly Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still sat at his desk.

With a pipe in his mouth, the Third watched the crystal ball placed on his desk.

The once-transparent crystal ball now displayed a clear image under the Telescope Technique.

But the Third suddenly shifted his gaze away from the crystal ball he had been staring at and looked up at the office door.

The next moment, the tightly shut door was pushed open, and a visitor arrived.

The visitor's forehead and the right half of his face were wrapped in connected bandages, and a cross-shaped scar marked his chin.

His black hair was cut into neat, even bangs.

However, his expression was somewhat gloomy, and his deep wrinkles showed that, like the Third, he was no longer young.

He wore a white kimono, while his entire right arm was concealed beneath a black haori draped over it.

"Danzo, what brings you here so late?"

Having confirmed the visitor's identity, the Third asked in a familiar tone.

"I heard that the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki stole the Scroll of Seals."

Rather than answering the Third's question, Danzo responded with one of his own, his tone utterly certain.

His gaze lowered from the Third's face to the crystal ball before him.

The crystal ball showed Naruto Uzumaki, and the massive scroll on Naruto Uzumaki's back was undoubtedly the Scroll of Seals.

"The Scroll of Seals contains the formula for undoing the Nine-Tails' seal. If the Jinchūriki releases the Nine-Tails, the village will face another Nine-Tails' Rampage!"

Danzo looked at the Third with his narrow eyes, his gaze cunning and profound. "Hiruzen, I warned you long ago. The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki harbors an irreconcilable hatred toward the village. The best way to handle him is to imprison him and use him as a strategic weapon to deter the other great nations."

"Yet you used the Fourth Hokage's legacy as an excuse to let the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki run wild in the village. And now the consequences of your indulgence are right before us. His hatred for the village drove him to steal the Scroll of Seals and use its power to take revenge on Konoha."

As one of Konoha's higher-ups, Shimura Danzō did not conceal the accusation in his words toward the Third.

The Third removed the pipe from the corner of his mouth and exhaled a stream of white smoke. "Danzo, if you only came to criticize me, you could have waited until morning. There was no need to come all this way in the middle of the night."

"I came to help you remedy your mistaken decision. There is still time. Capture the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki and leave him in my custody..."

Danzo spoke, revealing his true purpose.

Before Danzo could finish his proposal, the Third interrupted him. "I told you before. Do not lay a hand on Naruto."

The Third met Danzo's gaze.

The Third's eyes seemed like a simple reminder, yet also a warning not to overstep his bounds. "Naruto has changed greatly over the past two years. You should know that. Haven't you been monitoring him all along?"

Danzo's expression tightened, but he did not offer any defense in the face of the Third's question.

"Ever since you secretly acted against Naruto behind my back, Naruto has gradually begun integrating into the village over these past two years. He has tried to interact with others and begun to understand what the Will of Fire is."

After giving Danzo a suitable warning, the Third placed his pipe back in his mouth.

The Third's gaze returned to the crystal ball before him, where the scene had changed once more.

Somewhere in the forest of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Naruto looked at Mizuki standing in the tree with confused, bewildered eyes.

"Mizuki-sensei... what exactly is going on?"

From atop the tree, Mizuki looked down at Naruto with extreme disgust and sneered, "Naruto, you really are an idiot. You still haven't figured out what's happening?"

"What's going on... Mizuki-sensei! Didn't you tell me that the ninjutsu in the scroll could make me a powerful ninja?!"

"You clearly said I was a student you recognized!"

Naruto roared as he questioned Mizuki, his voice filled with the pain of betrayal.

Mizuki snorted at Naruto's question. "Fine, then I'll be kind for once. As your 'teacher,' I'll properly answer the questions of a foolish student like you."

Mizuki jumped down from the tree, keeping a distance where he could attack Naruto unilaterally, and spoke.

"Naruto, I never recognized you at all! Although you successfully used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique just now and surprised me a little, that was only because you got lucky. In my eyes, you're trash among trash, a worthless fool who can't even learn the Three-Body Technique!"

Mizuki's true words pierced Naruto's heart like a blade, leaving him unable to breathe.

"Then... then why did you choose me?"

Naruto refused to give up and pressed on.

Seeing Naruto breathing rapidly because of his words, Mizuki showed no concern for Naruto's feelings and continued.

"I'll tell you the truth. Twelve years ago... you know about the sealing of the Nine-Tails, don't you?"

"After that, the village established an order—Naruto, an order that you absolutely must never learn about!"

Naruto listened silently to Mizuki's words. His expression did not change, but countless thoughts churned within him.

Everything was proceeding according to plan. He had acted so foolish precisely to make Mizuki reveal the matter of the Nine-Tails.

Then he only needed to pretend to be enraged, let the Nine-Tails' chakra overflow around his body, and use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique again to defeat Mizuki, just as in the original story.

Mizuki was merely an ordinary Chunin. If Naruto had not wanted the act to feel convincing, Mizuki's kunai from earlier could never have hit him.

"...What kind of order is that? Why am I the only one who can't know?"

"That order is... an order forbidding anyone from mentioning that you are the Nine-Tails demon fox who destroyed the village twelve years ago."

Naruto stared at Mizuki in disbelief.

"Naruto, don't you always say that the person you admire most is the Fourth Hokage, the one who sealed the Nine-Tails? You say you want to become someone like him!"

"But you are the very culprit who caused the Fourth Hokage's death!"

"Everyone in the village hates you!"

"No one will ever acknowledge you!"

"This scroll was meant to seal you!"

Mizuki shouted, revealing everything at once. "Naruto, that's why I chose you. Even if I kill you, no one will care. All I need to do afterward is disguise myself as you and escape with the Scroll of Seals!"

"Now go to hell in peace!"

Mizuki removed the giant shuriken from his back, spun it at high speed with chakra, and hurled it at Naruto.

This time, the giant shuriken struck Naruto's vital point precisely. Naruto's heart was pierced, and blood gushed out without end.

But in the next second, a cloud of smoke appeared around Naruto.

Mizuki's excited expression froze instantly.

When the smoke cleared, the giant shuriken had not hit Naruto at all, but a log used for the Substitution Technique.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

As Mizuki searched for Naruto's real body, he heard Naruto's voice.

Countless Narutos suddenly appeared before Mizuki, surrounding him.

Every Shadow Clone was wrapped in red chakra representing the Nine-Tails.

"Mizuki-sensei, it seems being able to successfully use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique wasn't just luck after all."

Under Mizuki's shocked gaze, all of Naruto's Shadow Clones charged at once.

There was no need for ninjutsu, nor even taijutsu.

A thousand tangible Shadow Clones each throwing Mizuki one ordinary punch was already more than an insignificant Chunin like Mizuki could endure.

Naruto watched as Mizuki was beaten to the ground by his Shadow Clones, his swollen face resembling a pig's head.

Naruto released the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and approached Mizuki.

"Eek!"

Mizuki cried out in terror, scrambling away in the opposite direction on his hands and feet.

But how could he possibly be faster than Naruto?

"I... am not a demon fox!"

Naruto came before Mizuki and looked at him. "I am Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha, the man who will become Hokage!"

Naruto made the declaration with utmost seriousness.

Of course, he was not saying it to Mizuki, but declaring it to the Third, who was watching everything through the Telescope Technique.

"I will make the people of the village acknowledge me!"

"And I will make Mizuki-sensei acknowledge me too!"

As he spoke, Naruto extended a hand toward Mizuki, expressing his goodwill.

Mizuki stared quietly at Naruto's outstretched hand for a while before raising his own.

"Naruto..."

Mizuki grasped Naruto's hand and called his name as if he had come to his senses.

Yet Mizuki's expression instantly became vicious and terrifying again.

Mizuki tightly gripped Naruto's hand to keep him from breaking free, while the kunai hidden in his other hand finally found its chance to strike.

"You really are an idiot!"

Mizuki once again wore an excited expression of certain victory.

But just as the kunai was about to pierce Naruto's heart...

A third hand, belonging neither to Naruto nor Mizuki, seized Mizuki's hand holding the kunai.

The person who stepped between Naruto and Mizuki had long silver hair and wore a black mask. A Konoha ninja forehead protector was slanted over his left eye like an eyepatch.

Over his black, tight-fitting combat uniform, he wore a green ninja flak jacket.

Naruto had deliberately allowed Mizuki to catch him in an opening just now because he wanted to confirm whether the Third had assigned someone to follow either him or Mizuki.

If so, then Mizuki's sudden attack would naturally be dealt with by the ninja following them.

And just as Naruto had guessed, the Third had indeed witnessed Mizuki's entire scheme.

He had gone along with the plan to test Naruto's view of the village.

But what Naruto had not expected was...

The ninja the Third had sent to follow Naruto and Mizuki, in case anything went beyond expectations, was actually—

—Hatake Kakashi.