A few days later, the Ninja Academy's graduation exam arrived.
For most students, the Clone Technique was the final hurdle.
Some succeeded, while others failed.
Cheers and sighs mingled above the training grounds.
Naruto Uzumaki waited quietly, like a statue utterly out of place amid his surroundings.
When it was his turn, he merely stepped forward and formed the most standard hand seal.
"Clone Technique!"
"Poof."
A clone appeared beside him.
No more, no less—just one.
Yet from the curve of its spiked hair to the wear marks on its pant legs, the clone was identical to the original, flawlessly perfect.
Iruka picked up the evaluation sheet, his pen hovering in midair for a long time without falling.
It was not merely a perfect score. His overall evaluation was first in the class.
The result overturned everything the Ninja Academy thought it knew.
When the exam ended, the students who had passed excitedly rushed toward their parents, showing off their newly acquired forehead protectors.
Naruto Uzumaki had no family.
He walked alone toward the table where forehead protectors were handed out.
Iruka passed him a brand-new metal forehead protector engraved with Konoha's symbol.
"Congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki."
He wanted to say something more, such as, "You've really grown up," or, "Your teacher is proud of you."
But the words froze on his lips beneath those azure eyes.
There was no joy there, no excitement—only the calm of someone completing a task.
Naruto Uzumaki took the forehead protector without putting it on immediately, simply running his fingertips over its cold metal pattern.
To him, it was merely a marker of identity.
A credential granting entry into this world's armed system.
He turned and left without another word.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long—straight and solitary.
It was deep into the night.
The Ninja Academy office was still lit.
A thick stack of student files lay spread before Iruka. The one on top belonged to Naruto Uzumaki.
He flipped through it again and again, trying to find even the faintest trace of familiarity within those cold words and scores.
There was none.
Nothing at all.
The former evaluations of a failing student stood in absurd contrast to his current, nearly perfect report card.
Iruka picked up Naruto Uzumaki's theory exam paper and examined those answers once more.
"Explain how to maximize breakout efficiency when outnumbered by the enemy."
Naruto Uzumaki's answer contained only one line.
"Purge the command chain, create panic, concentrate superior forces to tear through the weakest point, regardless of cost."
The four words "regardless of cost" had been marked so heavily that the pen strokes pressed through the paper.
Iruka's fingers touched those words, and as if burned, he jerked them back.
The office door opened, interrupting his thoughts.
Mizuki entered carrying two cups of hot tea, his usual gentle smile on his face.
"Still here this late, Iruka? Worried about the students again?"
He set one cup before Iruka and casually glanced at the file on the desk.
"Oh? Naruto Uzumaki's?"
There was a hint of teasing in Mizuki's tone.
"That troublesome student who always gave you headaches has now graduated as the top student. You should be happy."
Iruka lifted his teacup. The warm liquid slid down his throat, but it could not dispel the chill in his heart.
He forced out a smile uglier than a grimace.
"You're right, Mizuki."
"Maybe... I'm just too tired. I'm overthinking it."
Mizuki pulled out a chair and sat across from Iruka, leaning slightly forward as though preparing for a heartfelt conversation.
"We're colleagues, and we're friends. If something's bothering you, you can say it."
He did not look at the file. Instead, he looked directly at Iruka.
"It's about Naruto Uzumaki's change, isn't it?"
Iruka fell silent, the knuckles of the hand gripping his teacup turning white.
As if he had not noticed Iruka's resistance, Mizuki continued on his own.
"I'll admit it, he frightened me during the final exam."
"That taijutsu, that strength... it was nothing like a twelve-year-old child."
He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully.
"But perhaps that's a good thing. After all, sealed inside him is..."
"Mizuki!"
Iruka abruptly raised his head and cut him off.
"Have you forgotten the regulation?"
Mizuki immediately raised both hands in surrender, though the smile on his face did not fade in the slightest.
"Sorry, sorry. That was a slip of the tongue."
"I merely think that perhaps that power has begun to awaken, which is why he has changed so much. Isn't that exactly what the village higher-ups want to see? A powerful 'weapon.'"
The word "weapon" pierced deeply into Iruka's heart like a needle.
He could not refute it.
Because every piece of cold logic Naruto Uzumaki had written on his test paper confirmed the accuracy of that word.
"He isn't a weapon."
Iruka's voice was low, but it carried stubborn resolve.
"He's a child. He's my student."
"Of course, of course. Naturally, he's your student."
Mizuki agreed, but his tone became gently persuasive.
"But you've seen it too. He's no longer the fool who needed you worrying about him at every turn. He's become strong, rational, even... cold."
"Iruka, people change. Perhaps we should accept his growth instead of binding him with our view of the past."
The words sounded entirely reasonable, full of concern for a student.
Yet Iruka felt an inexplicable irritation.
Every word Mizuki said was correct, but together, they sounded unbearably harsh.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm only worried about you, Iruka."
Mizuki set down his teacup with a soft clink.
"You've invested too much personal emotion in him. It will affect your judgment as a Chunin."
"I noticed that you gave him an overall rating of 'excellent,' but in the remarks column, you wrote, 'Psychological state requires close observation.'"
Mizuki's finger lightly tapped the tabletop.
"This file is to be submitted to the Hokage. Writing that will bring Naruto Uzumaki unnecessary trouble in the future."
"An unstable 'top graduate'? What do you think the people above will think?"
Iruka's heart sank.
He had indeed written that.
It was his final struggle as a teacher.
"That is my duty."
"Your duty is to train qualified ninja, not serve as his babysitter!"
For the first time, Mizuki's tone grew slightly sharper.
"He's already graduated, Iruka! He is no longer your student, but a Genin of Konoha! A soldier... who could be sent into battle at any time!"
"Soldiers do not need unnecessary emotions. They need only obedience and efficiency. By that standard, the Naruto Uzumaki of today is more qualified than all of us!"
Iruka slammed a hand onto the desk, wanting to argue, only to find that he could not say a single word.
Mizuki's words were like a scalpel, precisely cutting open all his doubts and worries before reducing them, bloodily, to "womanly sentimentality."
"I... understand."
In the end, he compromised.
He picked up his pen and crossed out that remark.
Mizuki watched him do it, and his gentle smile returned.
"That's more like it. For the good of our students, sometimes we must make rational judgments."
He stood and patted Iruka on the shoulder.
"Get some rest early. You'll be leading a team tomorrow."
With that, he turned and left the office.
The instant the door closed, Mizuki's smile vanished without a trace.
In its place was a cold, calculating darkness.
The Naruto Uzumaki from before was foolish enough, but not strong enough.
The Naruto Uzumaki of now... seemed too strong.
But it did not matter.
No matter how powerful a beast was, as long as one found its weakness, it could still be tamed.
And he happened to know Naruto Uzumaki's weakness.
The night was black as ink, blurring Konoha's outline.
On the training ground, only heavy breathing and the dull thuds of fists striking wooden posts echoed in turn.
Sweat slid down Naruto Uzumaki's taut jawline and struck the ground, spreading into small dark stains.
Every punch and every kick carried mechanical precision.
The tearing of his muscles and the groans of his bones were not pain to him, but physical targets that had to be met.
"Physical limit... seventy-three percent."
"Heart rate... one hundred eighty-two beats per minute, still within the safety threshold."
"Reaction speed... improved by zero point two percent compared to yesterday."
His mind calmly processed every piece of data from his body. The peaceful chirping of insects and night breeze of Konoha were nothing but meaningless noise in his ears.
This place was too quiet.
So quiet it resembled a graveyard, full of complacency and fatal weaknesses.
His thoughts drifted uncontrollably back to that world filled with roaring artillery and the shrieks of alien creatures.
There, every training session was a brush with death.
An instructor's electric whip could easily tear open flesh, while the automatic machine guns on the training grounds mercilessly sprayed any "recruit" who remained down for more than three seconds.
Compared to that, Konoha's nights were comfortingly tranquil to the point of disgust.
A faint footstep came from the woods.
Naruto Uzumaki's movements stopped instantly. His body became a fully drawn bow, every inch of muscle entering a combat state.
His gaze locked onto the source of the sound, and his blue eyes glinted with cold light in the darkness.
"Who?"
His voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable force.
A figure stepped out from behind a tree, wearing a smile so friendly it was false.
It was Mizuki.
"It's me, Naruto Uzumaki. Training this late? You're certainly diligent."
Mizuki's gaze swept over Naruto Uzumaki's sweat-soaked clothes and scar-covered fists, and a trace of barely perceptible contempt flashed through his eyes.
In his view, this was nothing more than an isolated child venting his resentment in such a foolish manner.
"I understand how you feel, Naruto Uzumaki."
Mizuki's tone grew heavy, filled with the sincerity of "shared understanding."
"They all treat you like a monster. They reject you, isolate you... I understand that feeling all too well."
"You must want everyone's recognition, don't you? You want to become Hokage, so those who once looked down on you will see you in a new light!"
Mizuki's words were like a key, trying to unlock the deepest door of resentment in Naruto Uzumaki's heart.
His voice was full of temptation.
Naruto Uzumaki's mind raced, breaking Mizuki's words down into individual units of information.
"Appeal to emotion... exploit identity... incite personal ambition..."
These were the lowest-level methods of heretical seduction described in the Imperium Commissar's handbook.
Ridiculous.
Deep within his memories, certain scenes did indeed surge forth.
Those evasive gazes, the backs of parents hurriedly pulling their children away, the undisguised disgust of shopkeepers.
"Get lost, you monster!"
"Stay away from my child!"
Those voices had once been like sharp ice picks, stabbing him until he was covered in wounds.
But now, those so-called "pains" seemed so childish and insignificant compared to the mountains of corpses and seas of blood he had witnessed.
They could not even stir the slightest ripple in the lake of his heart.
Yet amid those cold ruins of memory, an entirely different image emerged.
A girl with blunt bangs, always hiding in a corner, secretly watching him with pure white eyes tinged with a little timidity.
There was no disgust in her gaze, nor was there any fear.
There was only a kind of... clumsy concern, one she did not know how to express.
Once, he had been knocked to the ground by older children and covered in mud.
Everyone else had watched from afar, but only she had clutched a tiny jar of ointment, wanting to approach but too afraid to do so, until her eyes had turned red with anxiety.
Hinata Hyuga.
That name was like a faint star, emitting a tiny, insignificant light in the cold universe within him that had been filled with "loyalty" and "reason."
A "variable" that could not be explained through logic.
"I have a way for you to gain everyone's recognition overnight, and even surpass the Hokage."
Mizuki's voice pulled Naruto Uzumaki's thoughts back to reality.
Naruto Uzumaki raised his eyes. His blue gaze remained calm and undisturbed, but his precise control over his expression disguised it as intense joy.
"What way? What way?"
Mizuki was delighted, secretly thinking that the brat had indeed taken the bait.
He lowered his voice and spoke with feigned mystery.
"In the Hokage's Office, there's a Scroll of Seals hidden away. It records powerful forbidden techniques left behind by the previous Hokage. As long as you learn one or two of them, you can become the strongest ninja in the village!"
"Then who would dare look down on you?"
Mizuki's face was full of incitement. He could practically see Naruto Uzumaki gratefully placing the Scroll of Seals into his hands.
This stupid monster was indeed still that little brat desperate for recognition.
He did not notice at all that, while he painted this beautiful future, Naruto Uzumaki looked at him as though he were watching a clown make a fool of himself.
Full of holes.
Chaotic logic.
Clumsy motives.
Would a Chunin loyal to the village incite a Jinchūriki to steal the Scroll of Seals containing forbidden techniques?
Conclusion: Mizuki, traitor.
Disposition plan: Capture, interrogate, eliminate.
"Fine."
Naruto Uzumaki uttered a single word, clean and decisive.
The smile on Mizuki's face widened.
He carefully explained the route for infiltrating the Hokage Building and how to obtain the scroll, then patted Naruto Uzumaki on the shoulder.
"I'll wait for you in the woods outside the village. Come immediately once you get it!"
With that, he vanished into the night.
In the forest, Mizuki leaned against a tree, feeling incomparably pleased with himself.
The plan was flawless.
He would have that monster steal the scroll, then appear as the hero who recovered it and pin all the blame on Naruto Uzumaki.
Not only would he obtain powerful forbidden techniques, he would also get rid of this "scourge" in the village.
Two birds with one stone.
He had even begun imagining his meteoric rise through the village after mastering the forbidden techniques.
Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki had already slipped into the Hokage Building like a ghost.
To him, the defenses here were practically nonexistent.
The ANBU patrol routes followed fixed cycles, and the barrier's energy fluctuations were weak enough to be ignored.
He easily obtained the massive scroll.
He opened the Scroll of Seals and gave it a cursory glance.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique?
Impure World Reincarnation?
Reaper Death Seal?
A trace of disdain flashed through Naruto Uzumaki's eyes.
Through these forbidden techniques, he saw the Second Hokage's lack of confidence. A Hokage incapable of unifying the village into a solid whole had attempted to use forbidden techniques as trump cards against risk.
But in truth, these so-called trump cards were more likely to become the greatest risks.
Naruto Uzumaki recalled the orderly formations of Imperium soldiers and their resolute, cold expressions. Thought itself was also a powerful weapon.
He rolled up the scroll, slung it across his back, and headed toward the place Mizuki had mentioned.
A clearing in the woods.
Moonlight filtered through sparse branches, casting mottled shadows.
When Mizuki saw Naruto Uzumaki appear with the scroll on his back, his face immediately filled with a greedy smile.
"Well done, Naruto Uzumaki! Quick, give me the scroll!"
He eagerly stretched out his hand.
Naruto Uzumaki remained where he was, utterly still.
"Before you take it, I have a few questions."
His voice was especially clear in the silent forest.
"First, as the village's highest secret, why could the Scroll of Seals be so easily stolen by a newly graduated Genin like me?"
"Second, as a Chunin, why do you know so much about the Hokage Building's defensive arrangements?"
"Third, you incited me to steal forbidden techniques and promised me a future you could not deliver. What exactly is your true purpose?"
The series of questions was like a succession of sharp blades, instantly piercing Mizuki's hypocritical mask.
The smile on Mizuki's face froze.
He stared at Naruto Uzumaki in astonishment, as though he were meeting the brat for the first time.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about? Give me the scroll!"
Naruto Uzumaki took the scroll from his back and casually tossed it at his feet.
"Based on my judgment, you betrayed Konoha long ago. You intend to steal forbidden techniques and defect to another force, or... serve an organization lurking in the shadows."
"And I was merely a pawn and scapegoat in your plan, one you could discard at any time."
"Your plan is pathetic, Mizuki. Your disguise is even more full of holes."
Every word struck Mizuki's heart like a heavy hammer.
The greed in his eyes was instantly replaced by terror and fury.
This brat... how could he know?!
"You monster! I knew I couldn't let you live!"
His scheme had been completely exposed, and Mizuki flew into a rage from humiliation. He drew a massive shuriken from behind his back and hurled it at Naruto Uzumaki.
"Die!"
He would dispose of both Naruto Uzumaki and the scroll together!
The giant shuriken shrieked through the air, aimed directly at Naruto Uzumaki's head.
Yet Naruto Uzumaki stood where he was without even blinking.
At the very instant before the shuriken hit him.
His body tilted slightly to the side at an angle no ordinary person could achieve.
The shuriken brushed past his cheek, carrying away a strand of golden hair before burying itself deeply in the tree trunk behind him.
Prediction.
On the battlefield, any soldier unable to predict an enemy's trajectory had long since become dust.
Mizuki's pupils contracted sharply.
That was no coincidence!
Before he could react, Naruto Uzumaki moved.
No hand seals, no flashy motions.
He merely surged forward, instantly closing the distance.
So fast!
Alarm bells rang wildly in Mizuki's mind. He instinctively retreated and raised his guard.
But Naruto Uzumaki's attack did not follow any taijutsu style he recognized.
A hand strike chopped precisely toward the wrist joint holding Mizuki's kunai.
Crack!
The crisp sound of shattering bone echoed through the night sky.
The agonizing pain drew a scream from Mizuki, and the kunai fell from his hand.
But Naruto Uzumaki's attack did not stop. A knee drove viciously into Mizuki's abdomen.
"Puh—"
Mizuki flew backward, hunched like a boiled shrimp, and only stopped when he slammed into a large tree. He vomited sour fluid mixed with stomach contents.
How was this possible...
How had this brat's taijutsu become so... efficient, so deadly?! And it was nothing like an ordinary ninja's style!
Just then, an anxious voice rang out from beyond the forest.
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
Iruka arrived breathlessly, just in time to see Naruto Uzumaki steadily approaching the fallen Mizuki.
"Naruto Uzumaki! Stop right now! What is going on?"
Iruka stepped in front of Naruto Uzumaki, trying to stop him.
Yet Naruto Uzumaki merely swept him with those cold blue eyes.
"Iruka-sensei, this matter does not concern you."
"This is the elimination of a traitor. Please do not interfere with official business."
That icy tone made Iruka feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Official business? Eliminating a traitor?
What were those words supposed to mean?
Iruka instinctively spread his arms, completely blocking the way. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Mizuki is a Chunin of the village. Even if he has made a mistake, Lord Hokage and the ANBU should handle it! You can't..."
His words abruptly stopped.
Because Naruto Uzumaki made a simple movement.
He stepped forward, his body tilting slightly to the left.
It was such a simple movement, yet Iruka felt an invisible pressure rush toward him. He even had the illusion that if he did not move aside, the other party's attack would, in the next instant, fall without hesitation upon his most vulnerable vital point.
His body reacted faster than his will.
Stiffly, involuntarily, he took half a step back.
Through that half-step gap, Naruto Uzumaki flowed past him like water. Not even the hem of his clothes stirred the slightest breeze. The entire process was smooth and efficient, without a single unnecessary motion, as though it had been practiced thousands of times.
Iruka abruptly turned around, but could only see Naruto Uzumaki's familiar yet unfamiliar back.
Iruka opened his mouth, but could not say a single word.
First shock, then fear.
That was not the Naruto Uzumaki he knew.
The Naruto Uzumaki who would cheer over a bowl of ramen and grin foolishly at receiving recognition was gone.
He walked step by step toward Mizuki, who had already been scared out of his wits. His strides were not large, but they were unnervingly steady. Every step was measured with exact precision, as though marked out with a ruler.
Naruto Uzumaki walked around Iruka. Mizuki was his only target.
"You... monster!"
Mizuki struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with terror.
As he watched Naruto Uzumaki close in step by step, that gaze and that presence reminded him of the most cold-blooded interrogators in the Torture and Interrogation Corps.
No, even more terrifying than them!
It was an absolute indifference that regarded life as worthless!
"Don't come any closer!"
Mizuki's mental defenses completely collapsed. He turned and ran in utter disarray.
The corner of Naruto Uzumaki's mouth lifted into an almost imperceptible arc.
It was the expression of a hunter finally seeing his prey reveal an opening.
He did not pursue.
He merely formed hand seals rapidly.
"Ninja Art: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
More than a hundred copies of Naruto Uzumaki instantly appeared in the forest clearing, sealing off the entire area so completely that not even water could pass through.
Every Shadow Clone carried the same cold killing intent as the original.
Iruka and Mizuki were both stunned.
Th-This was a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals!
When had he...
Mizuki was surrounded by more than a dozen Shadow Clones, with no way out in any direction.
Naruto Uzumaki's true body slowly walked up to him and looked down at him.
"The game is over, traitor."
He held out his hand, fingers spread, aiming it at Mizuki, who lay limp on the ground.
"Now, judgment will be carried out."
Before you continue