Job done

White smoke billowed.

Over a hundred Narutos filled the woods, orange figures crowding the branches, rocks, and even the low shrubs.

Mizuki tightened his grip on his kunai and quickly scanned his surroundings.

"So what if there are a lot of you?"

"Shadow clones disappear after a single hit. You think you can beat a Chunin with a Forbidden Technique you only just learned?"

The Narutos all grinned at once.

"Then let's find out!"

A dozen figures at the front rushed him together.

Mizuki kicked one Naruto away, then spun and slashed his kunai across the waists of two more shadow clones.

Poof! Poof! Poof!

White smoke burst out in quick succession.

The other Narutos kept coming, punching and kicking as they attacked from every direction.

As a Chunin, Mizuki far surpassed ordinary students in both combat experience and basic skills.

He ducked under a punch, seized one Naruto's arm, and swung him sideways.

Five or six shadow clones crashed into a heap.

White smoke rose again.

Mizuki seized the opening to break out of the encirclement, flinging kunai with both hands.

Several shadow clones vanished on impact.

"See that?"

Mizuki sneered.

"No matter how many shadow clones you make, they're still just a bunch of losers!"

Iruka stood beside the Scroll of Seals, refraining from recklessly intervening.

As harsh as Mizuki's words were, they weren't entirely wrong.

Naruto had only just learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and his clones had no coordination to speak of.

With so many of them, they even got in one another's way.

A simple mass charge really would struggle to threaten a Chunin.

But Iruka soon noticed that only some of the Narutos were actually charging at Mizuki.

The remaining shadow clones were rapidly spreading through the woods.

Some crouched beside rocks, using their fingers to carve crooked formulas.

Some drew markings on kunai handles and casually tossed them in different directions.

Others ran up tree trunks, leaving formulas on the undersides of branches.

Iruka's pupils narrowed slightly.

The frontal assault was only a diversion.

Naruto's real aim was to turn the entire patch of woods into arrival points for the Flying Thunder God.

"Left!"

One shadow clone shouted.

Mizuki instinctively turned his head, only to see a kunai embedded in a tree trunk.

The next instant, Naruto appeared out of thin air.

"Take this!"

Mizuki abruptly ducked.

The fist skimmed past his hair.

Unable to adjust his body in time, Naruto flew sideways and slammed headfirst into a nearby tree trunk.

Poof!

White smoke rose.

Mizuki froze for a moment.

"A shadow clone?"

The formula beside a rock suddenly lit up.

The real Naruto stumbled out of it and kicked at Mizuki's side.

Mizuki hastily raised an arm to block and was knocked half a step sideways.

Just as he thrust his kunai in retaliation, Naruto vanished again.

Mizuki's attack struck nothing.

"Behind you!"

"In front!"

"I'm above you!"

The surrounding shadow clones all shouted at once.

Mizuki snapped his head up.

Naruto appeared beside a Flying Thunder God Kunai in midair, his hands still poised to punch downward.

But his angle was off.

His fists missed Mizuki, and his body fell toward another shadow clone instead.

"Move!"

"Too late!"

Thud!

The two Narutos crashed together and rolled several times across the ground.

Mizuki's eye twitched at the sight.

This was nothing like the Flying Thunder God he knew.

When the legendary Yellow Flash used his ninjutsu, his movements were clean and precise. His enemies often saw only a streak of gold before the battle was over.

Naruto's Flying Thunder God was more like a spinning top out of control.

One moment he crashed into a tree, the next he hit the ground, and the next he slammed into his own shadow clones.

But Mizuki couldn't laugh.

Naruto's movements were certainly clumsy.

His landing points had no rhyme or reason either.

Yet every time Mizuki was about to catch him, Naruto vanished before the attack could land.

Worse still, Mizuki had no way of knowing whether the one teleporting was the real Naruto or a shadow clone.

A Naruto poked his head out from behind a tree.

Mizuki hurled a kunai.

Poof!

The shadow clone vanished.

A formula suddenly lit up on a rock by his feet.

Mizuki immediately swung his elbow backward.

man!

Another cloud of white smoke burst out. Yet another shadow clone.

The real attack came from overhead, a foot driving into his shoulder.

Mizuki staggered two steps, then reached back and seized Naruto's ankle.

"Got you!"

He slammed Naruto hard into the ground.

Poof!

White smoke exploded.

Only a short stick remained in Mizuki's hand.

The Substitution Technique.

"The real one's here!"

A dozen Narutos charged from different directions at once.

Mizuki finally lost his patience.

"Get out of my way!"

He swung his Fūma Shuriken in a sweeping circle.

Several shadow clones dissipated in succession.

But the instant the white smoke obscured his vision, two kunai bearing formulas flew out of it, embedding themselves in trees in front of and behind him.

Mizuki's expression changed.

There was a mark ahead.

There was another behind.

And one more on the rock beneath his feet.

Now he had no idea where Naruto would appear.

The pressure was even more unnerving than facing an opponent far faster than himself.

No matter how fast someone was, they at least followed a path.

Naruto simply skipped the distance in between.

Even if his arrival points were wildly off target, this was genuine Space-Time Ninjutsu.

After dispersing several shadow clones in succession, Mizuki was already breathing heavily.

Yet orange figures still packed his surroundings.

I can't keep fighting like this.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and the Flying Thunder God were merely tools.

Naruto's real objective was ultimately to protect the Scroll of Seals.

As long as I get the scroll, I can retreat immediately.

Mizuki abruptly turned.

One Naruto was fleeing deeper into the woods with the Scroll of Seals on his back.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Mizuki knocked aside the shadow clones blocking his way and pursued at full speed.

The Naruto carrying the scroll glanced back, clear panic flashing across his face as his steps grew unsteady.

Mizuki became even more certain.

This one's the real Naruto!

"Leave the scroll!"

Mizuki surged forward, driving his kunai into Naruto's body from behind.

Poof!

The Naruto carrying the Scroll of Seals turned into white smoke.

The scroll on his back vanished along with him.

A fake.

Mizuki's pupils contracted sharply.

Just then, a formula lit up on a tree root behind him.

"Mizuki-sensei."

Naruto's voice came from right beside him.

"Where are you looking?"

Before Mizuki could turn, Naruto had already appeared out of thin air.

His arrival point was still imprecise, and his body was even tilted slightly to one side.

But the right fist he had long held ready smashed squarely into Mizuki's face.

Bam!

Mizuki's entire face contorted in an instant.

His body flew low over the ground, snapped a length of deadwood, and finally slammed into the clearing.

Dirt exploded in every direction.

Mizuki had barely tried to get up when a rush of footsteps reached his ears.

He raised his head.

Over a hundred Narutos had surrounded the crater.

Every face wore the same grin.

Mizuki swallowed.

"Wait..."

"No waiting!"

The first Naruto jumped into the crater.

The second and third followed close behind.

"This is for tricking me into stealing the scroll!"

"This is for scaring me with Kurama!"

"This is for attacking Iruka-sensei!"

Punches and kicks rained down.

At first, Mizuki could still raise his hands to block, but he was soon completely overwhelmed.

Only screams and the overlapping shouts of Shadow Clones remained in the pit.

"Stop crowding me! I haven't landed a hit yet!"

"You're stepping on me!"

"That's Mizuki, not my foot!"

"Who cares? Just keep hitting him!"

Iruka stood outside the pit, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Mizuki, who had been so arrogant moments earlier, could now only cover his head, without even a chance to fight back.

Not long ago, Naruto had been unable to perform even the most basic Clone Technique.

Now, he had used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Flying Thunder God to defeat a Chunin head-on.

His movements were still rough.

His tactics were hardly sophisticated, either.

But once the Flying Thunder God marks had been spread out, the outcome of this battle had already been decided.

"That's enough, Naruto."

Iruka finally spoke.

The Shadow Clones stopped.

The crowd slowly parted, revealing Mizuki at the bottom of the pit, his face swollen and bruised, his eyes rolled back.

The real Naruto walked to the front and bent down to check on him.

"Did he pass out?"

Iruka glanced at Mizuki.

"If you keep beating him, passing out will be the least of his problems."

Naruto waved a hand and dispelled the Shadow Clones.

Great clouds of white smoke rose all at once.

The next instant, countless memories of beating up Mizuki flooded back into the original.

Naruto clutched his hands, baring his teeth in pain.

"I didn't know hitting someone hurt this much!"

Iruka's temple twitched.

"You're only figuring that out now?"

Naruto shook out his numb wrists and looked up at Iruka.

"I won."

"Yes."

"Does that mean I'm a ninja now?"

Iruka fell silent for a moment.

Naruto's eyes held anticipation, but he wasn't making a racket the way he used to.

He had learned a Forbidden Technique and defeated Mizuki.

But the graduation exam had yet to officially begin.

Iruka walked up to Naruto and placed a hand on his head.

"You already have the ability to fight."

"But being a ninja is about more than fighting."

Naruto's expression dimmed a little.

Iruka continued, "The Third Hokage hasn't decided how to handle the matter of the Scroll of Seals yet. Whether you can graduate is also something you'll have to prove in the official exam."

"So I can't give you a forehead protector yet."

Naruto lowered his head and stared at the ground.

Iruka was about to comfort him, but Naruto quickly looked up again and grinned.

"Then I'll pass the exam and earn my forehead protector myself!"

Iruka paused, then smiled and ruffled his hair.

"That's more like it."

[Valor Points +30]

Suddenly, synchronized footsteps sounded from deep in the woods.

Step.

Step.

Step.

The sound was steady and uniform, as though a squad was approaching.

Iruka immediately turned, pressing a hand against his ninja tools pouch.

The remaining Naruto Shadow Clones also took defensive stances.

Soon, a strange procession emerged through the trees.

A dozen or so Naruto Shadow Clones, arranged in two rows at the front and rear, carried a reclining chair on their shoulders, hastily cobbled together from planks, thick branches, and vines.

Part of the backrest was crooked.

The left armrest even had fresh leaves still attached.

Cangyue lay stretched out on it, propping his cheek on one hand while holding a tray piled with food in the other.

The Flame and Thunder Swords lay flat along the two armrests.

Several Shadow Clones were even deliberately matching their steps, keeping the chair almost perfectly still.

Naruto stared blankly at the procession.

"Cangyue?"

"Mm."

"Why are you making my Shadow Clones carry you?"

Cangyue raised his eyelids and glanced at the muddy ground.

"The ground's wet."

Naruto looked down.

During the battle, countless Shadow Clones had trampled back and forth, indeed turning the clearing into a muddy mess.

"So you're just not going to walk?"

"My shoes would get dirty."

Naruto was momentarily speechless.

He had spent ages crashing around the woods with Flying Thunder God, only to end up covered in dirt from the commotion of his Shadow Clones mobbing Mizuki.

Cangyue, meanwhile, had it easy.

He hadn't stepped in the mud once from start to finish.

Mizuki, lying in the pit, happened to regain a little consciousness.

He struggled to open his eyes, first seeing Naruto, who had mastered the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Flying Thunder God, then Cangyue, carried onto the battlefield by more than a dozen Shadow Clones.

Mizuki's lips moved.

What kind of people were in this year's class?

Cangyue looked at the battered Mizuki.

Having confirmed that Naruto had finished the fight, he had no intention of getting out of the chair.

This guy was just a bit player for Naruto to practice on.

There was really no need to draw a sword for someone like him.

Cangyue snapped his fingers softly.

One of the Shadow Clones carrying the chair immediately lowered his shoulder, picked up a lunch box from the tray, and delivered it into Naruto's hands.

Naruto took the lunch box.

Steam drifted out through the gaps.

His stomach, which had seemed so imposing moments earlier, promptly betrayed him with a growl.

Cangyue leaned back in the reclining chair, his tone casual.

"Eat first."

"Return the scroll when you're done."

Naruto nodded vigorously.

"Okay!"

[Valor Points +70]

The system notification appeared.

Cangyue glanced at it.

Naruto's battle, Iruka's recognition, Mizuki's breakdown, and those secretly watching it all had together brought him a full 100 Valor Points.

[Total Valor Points: 1396]

[Currently available Valor Points: 841]

Several masked figures landed silently in the clearing.

The Anbu finally appeared.

One checked Mizuki's injuries and dragged him out of the pit.

Another collected the Scroll of Seals, confirming that neither its contents nor its seals had been damaged.

The lead Anbu looked at Naruto, then glanced at Cangyue lying on the crude wooden chair.

His mask hid his expression.

But his silence lasted noticeably longer than usual.

"We'll take Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals."

"Lord Hokage will handle this matter personally."

With his mouth stuffed full of food, Naruto mumbled an acknowledgment.

Cangyue merely waved a hand.

The Shadow Clones carrying the chair immediately turned and marched out of the woods in synchronized steps.

Iruka watched Cangyue being carried away, then looked at Naruto, who was shoveling food into his mouth with his head down. He suddenly felt that with these two students together, Konoha might never know peace again.

That night, Cangyue returned home.

He placed the Flame and Thunder Swords side by side on the table.

Their blades, one purple and one blue, gleamed faintly beneath the light.

Cangyue opened the system panel.

His currently available Valor Points were already enough for the next upgrade.

His gaze settled on the next level of swordsmanship.

What would the next level of swordsmanship be?

[Just realized I spent two chapters fighting freaking Mizuki. I'm really turning into a padding demon. I'll pick up the pace from here.]