“Tch, no wonder today’s students are getting worse and worse. So this is the problem.”

Kitagawa Gen crossed his arms and spoke with open disdain.

“Last time those two brats blew up someone’s house, the first thing they did was try to drag me down with them. What happened to that so-called bond of theirs?”

“…”

Kakashi’s dead-fish eyes rolled at that, but Gen kept muttering.

“Couldn’t they have at least said, ‘You go ahead, I’ll cover the rear’?”

“…”

“No wonder Konoha’s education system keeps taking heavy blows. Still, what’s strange is that back when I was in school, I also had Mizuki as a sensei—so why didn’t I turn out rotten?”

“Can you not talk?”

Kakashi finally couldn’t hold it anymore. Was it possible that Gen was even worse than Mizuki? And wasn’t it true that Konoha’s education system had started collapsing because of him?

“Forget it. What do you plan to do?” Kakashi sighed, too tired to argue.

“And Naruto isn’t really going to fall for that, is he?”

“Naruto’s not that dumb. After all, Jiraiya’s trained him for a long while now.”

Gen thought it over, then shook his head before speaking.

“But he’ll probably insist on handling it himself. That idiot’s been itching to try it for a while. Let’s just wait and see.”

Gen knew Naruto well. With Jiraiya’s guidance over such a long time, there was no way he hadn’t grown at least a little.

Especially since he’d been training alongside Sasuke, always competing—the kid’s mind worked plenty fast when it needed to.

The thing was, Jiraiya’s training of Naruto had been kept secret. Hardly anyone knew, and those who did certainly wouldn’t speak of it.

“Mizuki’s nowhere near that level, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn’t risk something this reckless. And the fact that he believes Naruto could steal the Book of Seals in the first place only proves how incompetent he is.”

Gen shook his head again. From what he knew of Naruto, the kid would probably go at it alone. After learning so many things, there was no way he’d sit still.

“Luckily, it’s not a big problem. Naruto already knows most of what he needs to know.”

The Nine-Tails inside him had always affected his training, and Jiraiya had no choice but to act on it.

Naturally, aside from keeping his parents’ matter under wraps for now, Jiraiya had already told him the essentials.

'So there shouldn’t be any real problem tonight. In fact, I’ll probably even get a look at the Book of Seals myself.'

At that thought, Gen blinked, though a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

Could there be… different versions of the Book of Seals?

...

Late that night, in a remote training ground within Konoha.

Naruto stared at the Book of Seals in his hands, lips pressed tightly together.

“That was almost too easy… Should I take a look?”

After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t resist and opened it. Even the introductory jutsu inside made him rub his chin thoughtfully.

“Shadow Clone Technique, huh? Too bad—I’ve already learned that one.”

“But… why hasn’t anyone shown up yet?”

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly sensed a presence approaching. When he looked up, it was Iruka!

“Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?”

“What the hell are you up to?”

Iruka asked, his tone edged with anger. Naruto only blinked at him in confusion.

“It was Mizuki-sensei! He told me that if I could learn the jutsu from the Book of Seals, I’d become stronger—strong enough not to embarrass Gen!”

“Not embarrass Gen? Mizuki…?”

Iruka was taken aback. Earlier today, he and Mizuki had been the ones in charge of supervising Naruto’s graduation exam.

Watching Naruto graduate had left him with mixed feelings, but deep down, he was truly happy for him.

But his joy hadn’t lasted long. That very night, Mizuki had delivered a shocking message: “Naruto has stolen the Book of Seals—and he may be planning to leave Konoha!”

The news had left Iruka restless. It made no sense. The Book of Seals was kept in the Hokage’s residence under strict protection.

On top of that, the ANBU watched the area day and night. How could Naruto possibly have gotten his hands on it?

Yet Iruka cared deeply for his student. He hadn’t hesitated to pursue him, only to discover things were nothing like he imagined.

“Mizuki!”

In an instant, it felt like falling into an icy abyss. And at that exact moment, he heard the sharp whistle of blades cutting through the air.

Instinctively, he shoved Naruto aside. A rain of kunai came flying at them.

Iruka tried to dodge as best he could, but there was no time—he was struck and wounded.

“Iruka-sensei!”

Naruto cried out in panic, and only then did he notice Mizuki standing on a distant tree.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Just hand over the scroll, Naruto. After all…”

Mizuki sneered from his perch, looking down on them.

“…you’re nothing more than the village’s sinner!”

“Sinner?”

Naruto frowned. Iruka’s face suddenly tensed as he realized what Mizuki was about to say.

“Shut up, Mizuki!”

“Why don’t I tell him the truth instead?”

Mizuki shook his head, grinning coldly.

“Twelve years ago, the village decreed a law—a law that only you were never meant to know. A law forbidding anyone from speaking the truth of your real identity: the demon fox!”

“In other words, you’re the very Nine-Tails that killed Iruka’s parents and devastated the village!”

“…”

Naruto fell silent. But before he could speak, Iruka shouted at the top of his lungs: “Naruto, don’t listen to him! You’re not the demon fox!”

“Oh? And how can you say that?”

Mizuki sneered with open contempt, mocking Iruka.

“Did you forget? Twelve years ago, it was he who killed your parents.”

“Shut up!”

Iruka cut Mizuki off sharply. He turned to Naruto, his silence lingering for a moment before he spoke with unshakable conviction: “Naruto isn’t the demon fox. He’s different. He’s an outstanding student whom I recognize.”

“He works hard, he focuses, and even if he’s not the sharpest, he always puts everything into doing his best.”

“Gen already acknowledged him. The Hokage acknowledges him. Even his classmates are slowly starting to acknowledge him too.”

“I believe that sooner or later, he’ll earn everyone’s acknowledgment.”

“Because he’s not some demon fox—he’s Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure!”

Iruka’s voice rang out firm and unyielding, echoing again and again through the still night.

Naruto stared blankly at Iruka, his big blue eyes dazed and unfocused.

“You really are an unusually annoying guy.”

Mizuki was silent for a moment before letting out a cold snort. He drew the oversized shuriken from his back and leveled it at Iruka.

“I was planning to save you for last, but now it looks like I’ll have to take you out first—then I’ll deal with that brat. Didn’t you just say you acknowledged him? Well then—”

“Thank you, Iruka-sensei.”

At that moment, Naruto suddenly spoke. His eyes shimmered with tears, yet his face was lit up with a smile.

“I was always worried that you hated me.”

“Naruto…”

Iruka opened his mouth, wanting to tell him to run while he held off Mizuki.

But Naruto raised his head and looked at Mizuki with unwavering seriousness.

“Actually, what you said—I’ve known it all along! Pervy Sage told me everything.”

“Pervy… Sage?”

Mizuki froze, unable to make sense of the name. Iruka too was stunned—he hadn’t expected Naruto to already know the truth.

“Yeah. Pervy Sage.”

Naruto nodded firmly. He lowered the Book of Seals from his arms and stepped forward to shield Iruka with his own body.

“Iruka-sensei is right. I’ll slowly earn everyone’s acknowledgment—because my goal is to become Hokage!”

“Tch, you little brat…”

Mizuki scoffed coldly, but Naruto spoke up again.

“And do you really think I’m that easy to trick? Gen might be a bastard, but he was the first person to acknowledge me! You bastard!”

...

'Tch… this kid…'

Not far away, Kitagawa Gen had been silently observing the entire exchange.

Hearing Naruto’s furious shout, he found it almost amusing. But when he saw Naruto’s chakra beginning to flare wildly, he rubbed his chin, a thought stirring in his mind.

'Should I take this chance to observe the Nine-Tails’ condition?'

It wasn’t just the Nine-Tails. If he remembered correctly, within Naruto’s seal there should also be remnants of Minato’s and Kushina’s chakra.

He was curious—what exactly was going on with those two traces of chakra?

As the thought crossed his mind, in the blink of an eye his eyes turned a pure, pale white.

In that instant, the entire world seemed to change.

In a damp and shadowy sewer, an enormous cage loomed, sealing everything within. Behind its bars, something vast and dangerous breathed with steady rhythm.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, the great beast stirred as if it had sensed something. Slowly, it opened its eyes.

In an instant, its massive red fox eyes widened in shock.

“Old man…?”

The great fox spoke almost by instinct, but quickly realized something was wrong.

“No… not him. This presence—”

Muttering to itself, it suddenly rose, its nine tails lashing wildly behind it. Its entire body bristled with alarm as it let out a deafening roar.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

“Who the hell are you?!”

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. /TitoVillar

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