In the forest outside the village.
Naruto opened the Scroll of Seals. "Hmm... the first ninjutsu... Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Why is it the technique I'm worst at?!"
Hongshi continued keeping watch nearby, but to ensure the plot followed its original course, he had already sent out a shadow clone to monitor Mizuki's movements.
The plot had indeed changed a little here. Because of Hongshi's appearance, Mizuki was a little more cautious. He wasn't alone; another chunin accompanied him.
Bang, bang, bang! The two rapidly knocked on Iruka's door. "Iruka, something's happened!"
Iruka hurriedly opened the door. Seeing the two, he asked, "Mizuki-sensei, Tetsukado-sensei, what happened?"
Mizuki said urgently, "It looks like Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals!"
Tetsukado also spoke urgently. "Hurry to the Hokage's office!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the dozen or so noisy chunin before him. "Naruto not only stole the Scroll of Seals, but also many scrolls containing Konoha's ninjutsu. You must bring him back!"
"Lord Hokage, this is no laughing matter. Those are all our village's ninjutsu!"
"Yes, if they fall into the hands of another ninja village, we'll be in trouble!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. "He couldn't carry that many scrolls alone. He must have an accomplice. Split into pairs. Once you find them, one of you is to hold them off while the other returns immediately to report. Go!"
"Yes!" Everyone scattered in all directions and began searching for Naruto.
In the forest.
Naruto slumped on the ground, covered in grime. "I did it! Hongshi, Hongshi, you!!!! Σ(°△° )︴"
Hongshi: "ZZzzzzzzZ."
Hongshi was leaning against a large tree, snoring away. The Scroll of Seals lay fully unrolled beside him.
"You idiot!"
Hongshi seemed to hear the roar. "Huh? Naruto-kun, you did it?"
Naruto grabbed Hongshi by the collar. "You bastard, why aren't you training?!"
Hongshi chuckled. "I've already finished..."
Naruto was about to keep yelling when he suddenly sensed someone standing behind him.
"You brats! I finally found you!" Iruka trembled with anger, but after seeing the grime on Naruto, he asked, "You... were you two practicing ninjutsu here?"
Naruto pointed at Iruka and shouted, "Aha, we found you! Iruka-sensei!"
Iruka punched Naruto straight on the head. "You idiot, who found whom?!"
Naruto said excitedly, "Iruka-sensei, Hongshi and I practiced a really powerful ninjutsu! If we pull it off, will you let us graduate? Hongshi, stop sleeping!!!"
"ZzzzzzzZ. Ah, sorry, I fell asleep again. Huh, Iruka-sensei, I found you!"
"Idiots! Why are you both equally stupid?!" Iruka suddenly remembered Hiruzen Sarutobi saying that Naruto must have had an accomplice to carry away so many scrolls. It probably wasn't Hongshi. "Naruto, who gave you the scroll on your back?"
Naruto looked at the scroll behind him. "This? Mizuki-sensei. I heard about it from Mizuki-sensei, and this place too."
Hongshi nodded beside him. "That's right. Mizuki-sensei said that as long as we got the scroll, we'd definitely graduate!"
Iruka was shocked. "What?! Mizuki!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!
A rush of air sounded behind them as more than a dozen kunai and shuriken hurtled toward them.
There's no time to push them away! Iruka looked at the two, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. "Rat-Ram-Tiger. Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
An earth wall swiftly rose, blocking the incoming ninja tools. As a chunin, Iruka did know some ninjutsu. He simply didn't use them often because his chakra reserves were low and he wanted to conserve his strength.
Iruka turned and shouted at Naruto, "You two, take the Scroll of Seals and go!"
Hongshi stepped forward and shoved Iruka aside. "Sensei, get out of the way!"
Boom!
A flash of a blade cleaved through the earth wall, its tip narrowly passing his neck. Had Iruka still been standing in his original position, his head would probably have been severed by now.
Iruka steadied himself and saw who had come. "Tetsukado-sensei! Why are you also..."
Tetsukado ignored Iruka, constantly swinging the sword in his hand, every stroke aimed to kill.
As Iruka dodged, he urged Naruto, "Naruto, Hongshi, take the Scroll of Seals and run! Whatever happens, you can't let the Scroll of Seals fall into their hands!"
Naruto still hadn't understood what was going on and sat there dumbly. "Wh... what's going on?!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Several more shuriken flew toward them, but this time they were aimed at Naruto.
No! There's no time! Iruka was fighting Tetsukado with a kunai and couldn't spare any attention.
But at that moment, Hongshi moved again. "Rat-Ram-Tiger. Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
Another earth wall rose in front of Naruto, blocking this attack.
Iruka looked at Hongshi. "Good, hurry and go!"
But just then, Tetsukado-sensei gathered his chakra. "Tiger-Hare. Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
He spat out an invisible wind blade that struck Iruka in the chest, instantly slicing open a wound from which blood poured.
"Ox-Hare-Tiger. Earth Release: Rock Gauntlets!" Stone encased Hongshi's arms, forming a pair of gauntlets. He quickly stepped forward and blocked Tetsukado's offensive.
Clang, clang, clang, clang! Hongshi looked extremely clumsy, only just blocking each attack at the last moment. Even so, he smiled at Naruto as he fought. "Naruto-kun, Iruka-sensei is injured. We're the only ones who can fight now. I'll leave Mizuki-sensei to you."
Mizuki jumped down from a tree, a giant shuriken still strapped to his back. "Iruka, Naruto killed your parents. Why are you protecting him like this?"
Naruto heard this. "What?"
Iruka struggled to his feet and shielded Naruto behind him. "Mizuki, stop talking! Naruto, Mizuki used you. He wants those extremely powerful ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals!"
Mizuki refused to let up. "Hahaha, since you won't say it, I'll tell him the truth. Naruto, you've probably heard about the demon fox attacking the village twelve years ago. That demon fox was you!"
Naruto felt as though he had been struck by lightning. "Wh... what?!"
Mizuki slowly approached. "That's right. That demon fox is inside you. Iruka-sensei's parents, Tetsukado-sensei's parents, even Hongshi's parents all died because of you. You were born a sinner."
Hongshi was blocking Tetsukado's attacks with "difficulty," yet hadn't retreated a single step. "Naruto-kun, you're not a sinner. You're a hero."
Catching Hongshi off guard, Tetsukado split into three, charging from three directions with sharp swords in hand. "Konoha Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
Hongshi hurriedly blocked, but was still struck across the chest. The blade slashed past, and his body and hands momentarily froze.
Behind Hongshi, Naruto saw him get hit and grew frantic. "Hongshi!"
"Cough, cough, cough." The stones fell from Hongshi's arms, and he seemed to be coughing up blood. "N-Naruto-kun, I hid all my treasure in the depths of the sea... no, you're a hero! D-d-don't forget your dream! Don't stop! Get stronger! Keep getting stronger! Don't die here! You have to become the Pirate... Hokage, the greatest Hokage!"
With that, Hongshi stepped straight forward and seized Tetsukado's shoulders in a death grip. "Earth Release: Earth Prison Submergence!"
"What?! No hand seals?!" Tetsukado tried to break free, but found Hongshi's hands so powerful that he couldn't escape at all. "Bastard! Let me go!"
Rumble, rumble, rumble! Two semicircles rose around them and quickly joined into a sphere, trapping them inside. Then, with another tremor, it sank underground.
"Hongshi!!!" Naruto's eyes widened, tears pouring out. Watching the earthen sphere sink underground, he was heartbroken. Then his grief turned to fury, and he glared at Mizuki. "Bastard!"
Throughout his childhood, Hongshi had been his only friend, always giving way to him. Even knowing that the demon fox inside him had killed his parents, Hongshi hadn't resented him. Now, watching him disappear, Naruto was on the verge of breaking down. "I'll show you the ninjutsu I just learned. Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Mizuki had been about to attack when clouds of white mist suddenly appeared around him. As the mist dispersed, a thousand clones appeared around Mizuki.
"Σ(ŎдŎ )ﾉﾉ, huh?"
"Get him!"
"Hi-yah!"
The scene that followed needed no further description.
While Mizuki was being beaten by the mob, an entirely different scene was unfolding underground.
Hongshi and Tetsukado were trapped about ten meters underground, in a space just large enough for the two of them.
Tetsukado was digging upward with his sword, hoping to escape before the air ran out.
After a while, Hongshi, who had been lying down, sat up and wiped away his sweat. "Whew, acting sure is exhausting."
Tetsukado was shocked. "Σ(°Д°; Why are you still alive?"
Hongshi's right fist shone with a dazzling white light and gave off intense heat. "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Oh, sorry, there's nothing left for you to do. You can die now. Thanks."
Tetsukado roared and thrust his sword at Hongshi. "Die!"
"Nuclear Release: Thermonuclear Heavy Fist, one ten-thousandth."
"Hh... hh... hh..."
Aboveground, after a thousand Narutos took turns attacking him, Mizuki had lost consciousness. He lay on the ground, blood still flowing from his mouth, looking ready to die.
Nearby, Naruto looked at Mizuki, tears still streaming uncontrollably from his eyes. Ignoring Iruka, he walked straight to where Hongshi had disappeared and knelt on one knee. "Hongshi-kun, I'll remember what you said and keep getting stronger!"
But just as he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed the ground beginning to bulge. "Hmm? (•́ω•̀٥)."
Bang! With a muffled sound, a smooth brown sphere poked out of the ground. Oh, it was Hongshi's head.
Naruto: "(*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ), was it an explosive tag?! Hongshi-kun, why is only your head left? You died so horribly!"
With that, he hugged Hongshi's head and began crying.
Seeing this, Iruka trembled with anger, another spurt of blood bursting from the wound in his chest. "(╬•᷅д•᷄╬) Naruto, you idiot! Hongshi isn't dead!"
Hongshi smiled awkwardly. "(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Hi!"
"∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) What?!"
And so, the two successfully obtained their genin forehead protectors and became genin.
In the end, Mizuki was imprisoned, and all the scrolls except the Scroll of Seals were found in his accomplice Tetsukado's home.
(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Don't ask Tetsukado why. He was already in pieces.
Tetsukado: "I'm not taking the blame for this!"
Hongshi: "Shut up!"
"Okay!"