Mizuki rushed out of the woods and spotted Naruto sitting beneath a tree in the distance, clutching a scroll.
The smile on his face instantly turned friendly.
"Naruto!"
Naruto looked up, and his eyes lit up at once.
"Mr. Mizuki!"
Mizuki hurried over, his voice gentle.
"Well done, Naruto."
"You really brought the Scroll of Seals out."
Naruto patted the scroll proudly.
"Of course!"
"I'm the man who's going to become Hokage someday!"
Mizuki smiled and held out his hand.
"Come on, give me the scroll."
"Next, I'll teach you even more powerful ninjutsu."
Without a trace of suspicion, Naruto stood up with the scroll in his arms.
Just as Mizuki's hand was about to touch the Scroll of Seals.
Two figures appeared silently in front of him.
One on either side.
One had a cold, stern face.
The other had a kindly face, but was looking at Mizuki with a frown.
Mizuki's hand froze in midair.
Naruto was stunned too.
"Who are you?"
Mizuki's pupils contracted. Then he recognized one of them.
The waiter from the tavern that afternoon!
The man who had frightened him into kneeling and trembling with a single glance!
Mizuki's face instantly went pale.
"Y-you... how are you here?"
Madara Uchiha looked at him without the slightest hint of a smile.
"The trash who was mouthing off in the tavern this afternoon."
"So you actually dared to set your sights on the Scroll of Seals too."
Mizuki's throat went dry.
He wanted to retreat.
But his legs felt nailed to the ground, unable to move a single step.
Hashirama looked at Mizuki, his voice growing stern.
"Manipulating a child into stealing the Scroll of Seals."
"Are you really a Konoha Ninja?"
Mizuki gritted his teeth and forced himself to shout, "Mind your own business!"
"This is Konoha's business!"
"You two are just tavern waiters. What gives you the right-"
Before he could finish.
Madara Uchiha raised his head.
He barely even spent any time forming hand seals. His chest simply expanded slightly, and chakra surged within him like a volcano.
The next instant.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame."
Boom!
Flames filled the sky as they erupted from Madara's mouth.
It wasn't a fireball.
It was a sea of fire.
A wave of crimson flame swept forward like the sky tipping over, instantly engulfing the entire forest ahead.
Trees exploded in the flames, the ground burned black, and the night lit up as bright as day.
Mizuki's scream was cut off halfway through, completely drowned out by the roaring flames.
The kunai in his hand twisted and glowed red in the heat before he could even raise it.
A moment later, the wave of fire swept over him, and he vanished completely into the blinding crimson flames.
Naruto stood rooted to the spot, his mouth hanging open.
The wave of fire was right in front of him, yet it seemed to part around an invisible force, flowing around the clearing where he and the Scroll of Seals stood.
Hot wind blasted his face.
His hair was blown into a complete mess.
"S-so... amazing..."
The Anbu rushing over from afar were also stunned by the sight.
Several Anbu stood on the treetops, watching the flames soar into the sky. Every face beneath their masks changed.
"What level of Fire Release is that?"
"Mizuki's chakra has vanished!"
"The Scroll of Seals is still up ahead!"
"Wait, who are those two?"
No one dared approach recklessly.
That sea of fire was far too terrifying.
Ordinary Fire Release burned its target.
The fire this man had spat out looked as though it would burn through the entire mountain behind Konoha.
Hashirama's face darkened as he watched the fire spread.
"Madara!"
"You went too far!"
Madara said indifferently, "He was noisy."
Hashirama pointed at the burning forest.
"That's what I mean!"
"You've set the mountain behind Konoha on fire!"
Madara looked at the sea of fire, a hint of satisfaction on his face.
"The fire's coming along nicely."
Hashirama was so angry he almost laughed.
"Is this the time to admire the fire?"
"The boss told us to retrieve the Scroll of Seals, not set the mountain on fire!"
Madara folded his arms, his tone unconcerned.
"What does damage to Konoha have to do with me?"
Hashirama took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to curse him out.
He glanced at the fire raging ever higher around them, then looked at himself.
Wood Release could block paths, trap enemies, and suppress Tailed Beasts.
But putting out a Majestic Destroyer Flame of this scale from Madara Uchiha with nothing at hand really wasn't his strong suit.
"You started this fire. Put it out!"
Madara didn't even look at him.
"Not interested."
The veins on Hashirama's forehead were nearly bulging.
"Madara!"
"The Scroll of Seals!"
"The Anbu have already surrounded us!"
"The longer we drag this out, the more trouble we'll be in!"
Only then did Madara take his eyes off the fire.
He glanced at the Anbu's positions in the forest and snorted.
"More and more pests getting in the way."
Hashirama grabbed his arm.
"Let's go!"
"Our real task comes first!"
Their figures blurred, and they vanished from the edge of the flames.
By the time the Anbu Ninja rushed into the clearing, all they saw was scorched earth, spreading fire, and Naruto clutching the Scroll of Seals in fright.
But the next second.
Naruto vanished too.
"Where did he go?"
"Where's the Scroll of Seals?"
"There were two other chakra signatures just now!"
"After them!"
The Anbu immediately scattered.
But there was no way they could keep up with Hashirama and Madara.
The two carried Naruto and the scroll through the dense forest, avoiding every Anbu search route. Within a few breaths, they reached a clearing deeper in the mountain behind Konoha.
Naruto came to his senses and hurriedly clutched the scroll tighter.
"Hey!"
"Who are you guys, anyway?"
"Why did you grab me?"
Hashirama crouched down, trying to make his expression gentler.
"Naruto, don't be afraid."
"We're not here to hurt you."
"The Scroll of Seals is dangerous. You can't just take it away."
Naruto frowned.
"You know me?"
"And I didn't just take it away!"
"Mr. Mizuki said this was a special graduation test!"
Madara said coldly, "Stupid brat."
Naruto bristled at once.
"Who are you calling stupid?!"
Hashirama hurriedly intervened.
"Madara, he's just a child."
Madara had already run out of patience.
"That's what makes it troublesome."
He looked down at Naruto.
Crimson Sharingan appeared in his eyes.
Naruto was about to shout again, but his voice instantly caught in his throat.
Those eyes grew larger in his vision.
The next moment, his body went limp, and he fell with the Scroll of Seals in his arms.
Hashirama reached out to catch Naruto and the scroll, unable to suppress a sigh.
"Can't you just talk to him properly?"
Madara's tone was matter-of-fact.
"It's the most efficient way."
Hashirama had nothing to say.
Madara's gaze fell on Naruto's abdomen.
That familiar chakra, even through the seal, was like a ferocious beast locked in a cage.
"Nine-Tails."
Hashirama's expression grew a little more serious too.
"So it really is inside this child."
Madara raised a hand toward Naruto's forehead.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Hashirama was taken aback.
"Now?"
"The mission was to recover the Scroll of Seals."
Madara said calmly, "We've already got the scroll."
"And see an old acquaintance while we're at it."
The corner of Hashirama's mouth twitched.
He knew Madara too well.
Madara said it was just a side trip, but he really wanted to see how the Nine-Tails would react.
Before Hashirama could say anything else, Madara's ocular power pressed through a gap in the seal inside Naruto.
Hashirama's vision darkened.
The next instant, the two stepped into a cold, damp space.
Shallow water pooled beneath their feet.
It was dim all around them.