The Sheep Talisman

When Naruto slipped into the Hokage Building, the Perception Barrier protecting it was triggered instantly.

The alarm jolted Hiruzen Sarutobi awake. He immediately activated the Crystal Ball Technique and saw that Naruto had broken into the building.

His hand, already raised to summon ANBU, dropped to his side.

Naruto had gone too far this time. If Hiruzen wanted to protect him, he needed to keep as few people as possible from finding out.

Once Naruto entered the classified room, Hiruzen's Crystal Ball Technique was cut off.

The room had a more specialized Barrier, designed specifically to prevent anyone from spying on what was inside.

A great deal of vital intelligence was kept there. If a ninja from an enemy nation used some Ninjutsu to spy on it, the consequences would be disastrous.

After entering the room, Naruto quickly spotted a huge scroll.

It rested on a specially made stand, giving off an ancient, powerful aura. The character for "seal" was clearly marked on it.

But Naruto did not grab it right away. He searched the room for something else.

He was looking for the "Death Paper" mentioned on the Canopy Screen. By now, everyone knew what that paper could do.

If I find it and write Shimura Danzō's name on it, I can avenge my parents in an instant.

But Hiruzen had kept the Death Paper on his person precisely to prevent that from happening. Naruto's little plan was doomed.

After searching in vain, Naruto turned his attention back to the Seal Scroll.

He was about to follow Mizuki's instructions and leave with the scroll when something on a nearby shelf caught his eye.

It was an unremarkable hexagonal stone talisman, left casually beside a stack of documents.

A goat was carved into its surface. Naruto picked it up and immediately recognized it as the item Shimura Danzō had traded to Nine Nether on the Canopy Screen.

Naruto thought back over what the Canopy Screen had shown.

I think it said this thing can turn people invisible.

Teacher Mizuki only asked for the Scroll of Seals, not this. But what if it comes in handy later? I'm already stealing one thing. What's one more?

Naruto's inner struggle lasted only a fleeting moment.

His inexplicable fondness for the talisman, along with the tempting thought that he could easily take it, won out at once.

He glanced quickly from side to side. Certain no one had noticed, he snatched up the Sheep Talisman and hurriedly stuffed it into the inside pocket of his orange jacket, close against his chest.

Only then did he pick up the enormous, heavy Scroll of Seals and heave it onto his shoulder with all his strength.

He slipped out of the Archives Room as quietly as he had entered and vanished into the night.

As for why the Sheep Talisman had appeared in reality, that was, of course, Hyuga Xiu's doing.

It was the first time Hyuga Xiu had brought a supernatural object from outside the Naruto world into reality.

He had given the Sheep Talisman to Naruto Uzumaki because he had discovered that not everyone generated Belief Points equally.

The amount depended on how close someone was to Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of the Naruto world. The closer they were to him, the more Belief Points they provided.

As for nameless extras, it took sheer numbers for them to generate even a few Belief Points.

So Hyuga Xiu made a wish: when Naruto Uzumaki stole the Scroll of Seals, he would find the Sheep Talisman and take it too.

The night was thick in the training woods behind Konoha. Deep among the trees, Naruto set the enormous Scroll of Seals down in a clearing, panting.

Excited, he immediately undid the scroll's binding and looked at the first Forbidden Technique recorded inside.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto murmured. "It starts with the one I'm worst at!" Crestfallen, he began to practice.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!

White smoke billowed up in an instant. Naruto's Shadow Clones filled the clearing. With another wave of his hand, they all vanished.

"I... I did it?!" Naruto stared at the countless copies of himself around him. Joy and pride erupted inside him like a volcano, drowning out the last of his unease over the theft.

"I did it! I really did it!"

Just as he was lost in his excitement, a furious, startled shout rang out from the edge of the woods:

"Naruto!!!"

Teacher Iruka appeared, out of breath, his face full of shock and disbelief.

"Naruto! Th-this is the Scroll of Seals! Where did you get it?! Do you know how serious a crime this is?!" Iruka's voice trembled with anxiety.

Naruto seemed not to notice. Instead, he planted his hands on his hips and beamed. "Teacher Iruka! Look! I learned a super-amazing Ninjutsu! That means I can graduate now, right?"

"Teacher Mizuki said that if I learned a technique from this scroll, I could graduate!"

"Teacher Mizuki?" Iruka froze. A chill shot up his spine. "Mizuki told you to do this? He told you to steal the Scroll of Seals?!"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded proudly, without a hint of suspicion. "Teacher Mizuki's the only one who understands me! He said this was my only chance to become a ninja—"

Naruto broke off.

In the next instant, countless Kunai flashed out of the dark woods like a swarm of venomous bees, aimed straight at the unsuspecting Naruto and Iruka!

"Watch out!" Iruka's pupils contracted. He lunged forward to shield Naruto with his body, hurling Kunai to knock the incoming blades aside.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He knocked most of them down, but a few slipped through. Iruka grunted as a Kunai slashed his shoulder, and blood soaked through his ninja vest.

A figure stepped slowly out of the shadows. His usual gentle mask was gone, replaced by a sneer of cold malice. It was Mizuki.

"Heh, heh... Hahahaha!" Mizuki laughed with cruel delight. He looked at the bewildered Naruto behind Iruka and spoke with open contempt.

"You really are a hopeless, colossal idiot! You actually believed that nonsense! Thanks for getting the Scroll of Seals for me, Naruto."

"But how could a Monster like you ever deserve to become a ninja? You were nothing but a tool for me to use from the start."