The dust was still settling when several masked ANBU landed around the clearing, their blades ready. Behind them, the Third Hokage walked forward, his eyes sharp as ever.
Naruto froze for a second, nervous. "H-Hokage-jiji…!"
Hiruzen raised a hand, silencing him gently. "There is no need, Naruto. I saw everything." His voice was calm, but his eyes flickered from Naruto to Sukuna, then to the unconscious Mizuki. "You both did well," he finally said with a grandfatherly smile.
Naruto blinked. "Wait, you saw everything?!"
"Yes," Hiruzen admitted with a small smile. "I allowed Naruto to take the scroll. I wanted to see Mizuki's true intentions…"
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Heh… You mean—you let me steal it on purpose?! Meaning my sexy technique didn't work on you, but you gush a fountain of—"
CoughCough "That is alright, Naruto. No need to explain it." The old Hokage was quick to shut the shameless boy up. He honestly didn't understand what went on inside this kid's head.
In this regard, his old disciple Jiraiya and Naruto were rather similar. He couldn't help but cough to himself in embarrassment.
Sukuna chuckled from the side. "Seems like it takes more than just power to be Hokage, huh?"
Hiruzen's gaze softened as he turned toward Iruka, who was lying on the ground. "But when I saw Mizuki injure Iruka so severely, I could not wait any longer. I had to intervene."
The old Hokage's eyes landed on Iruka's wounds—or rather, the lack of them. Iruka was stable, breathing evenly, almost as if he had never been close to death. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Sukuna… that healing. Remarkable."
The boy just shrugged, dusting off his clothes. "Just patchwork. Nothing big."
Hiruzen's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Don't be modest. I've heard from Aizawa that you and your sister are exceptional at medical ninjutsu. He even said you may surpass Tsunade herself one day."
Naruto's eyes bulged. "Wait—you mean one of the Sannin, right?!" In this timeline, thanks to Sukuna, the boy at least knew the basics about the village and the ninja world in general.
Of course, he knew about the legendary Sannin.
"Oh, you remember that. Glad to see at least something sticks inside that moss head of yours—so full of orange and ramen," Sukuna snickered, earning a scowl from Naruto.
Even the ANBU had to cough into their masks to hide their amusement. Hiruzen chuckled softly, then his expression shifted as he glanced at Naruto again. The red glow from earlier was gone, but the memory lingered.
"It seems Mizuki told you," Hiruzen said quietly. It was no longer possible for him to keep the matter of Naruto being a Jinchuriki hidden. He was about to become a shinobi—he had to know.
Today he had used the Nine-Tails' power unconsciously. He needed to learn how dangerous this power could be before he hurt himself or someone else.
Naruto stiffened, looking nervous, but Hiruzen raised his hand. "Do not fear, Naruto. You're—"
But before he could continue, Naruto interrupted.
"I'm not what that Mizuki-teme said I am. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Believe it!" Naruto shouted. Thanks to having friends—people who acknowledged his dreams and himself—this Naruto was a lot more confident, a lot more stable.
Hiruzen, who was about to explain what a Jinchuriki was, paused—surprised at Naruto's outburst—and then just smiled. It seemed Sukuna's influence had really been a good thing for the boy. He let out a small sigh of relief.
'Let's explain this to him later then,' Hiruzen made a mental note and nodded.
Sukuna folded his arms. "He did fine. Better than expected."
"Yeah!" Naruto puffed out his chest, grinning. "I totally beat that traitor Mizuki by myself!"
"Sure you did," Sukuna muttered. "After almost getting Iruka killed."
Naruto glared. "Oi, that's not my fault! Mizuki team-played foul. He cheated!"
"Ninja don't play by rules, Naruto. You have to stay alert for everything. If not, then people could die," Sukuna shot back, pointing at Iruka.
"W-Well… fair point," Naruto mumbled, scratching his head.
Hiruzen chuckled again, clearly entertained by the back-and-forth. But once more, he appreciated Sukuna's mindset.
The boy was stable and had helped Naruto out when necessary.
"And what about you, my boy? How come you are here?" Hiruzen suddenly asked Sukuna. Even with his crystal ball, Hiruzen hadn't found Sukuna anywhere around. How had he appeared out of nowhere?
"Ah, I was worried about Naruto. When Mizuki wanted to talk to him alone, I felt something was wrong, so I followed. I was about to let Naruto handle it himself, but I had to intervene when Iruka-sensei got injured," Sukuna said sheepishly.
"Wait, you were following me all this time?" Naruto looked surprised. Not only him—even the Hokage looked surprised. The boy had been able to hide from even his Telescope Jutsu.
That was impressive.
Then Hiruzen's tone turned more formal. "Naruto, Sukuna. For recovering the Scroll of Sealing and capturing Mizuki, you both will be rewarded. You may each ask for one thing from me."
Naruto's eyes sparkled. "Anything?!"
"Within reason," Hiruzen corrected quickly.
Sukuna leaned toward Naruto, whispering, "Brat, ask for the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu."
While Sukuna had the technique—courtesy of Root's invasion years ago—he couldn't give it to Naruto without a proper reason for how Naruto learned it.
Naruto blinked. "Huh? Why that?"
"Because you suck at the normal Clone Jutsu," Sukuna said bluntly. "You can't control your chakra in tiny amounts, but you have tons of chakra. Shadow clones eat a lot of chakra.
I'm sure you can learn this technique. Think about it—the only technique you were unable to perform was the Clone Jutsu, right? With this technique now, don't you really pass the test?"
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Ohhh… that makes sense! You're a genius, Sukuna!"
"I know," Sukuna replied with an eye roll.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, curious. "So, Naruto, what will you ask?"
Naruto stood tall, puffing his chest. "I want the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The Hokage's brows lifted. "That's a forbidden technique."
"Yeah, but… I really need it," Naruto said earnestly. "And I'll work super hard to master it, I promise!"
Hiruzen studied the boy for a long moment before finally nodding. "Very well. You may learn it. But you must stay cautious, Naruto. Don't make too many clones at a time."
Naruto beamed. "Yes, Hokage-jiji!"
Hiruzen then turned his gaze to Sukuna. "And what of you, Sukuna? What is your request?"
Sukuna paused, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I can't really use most ninjutsu. As you might know, I too failed the graduation test. Couldn't do any of the three techniques."
Naruto piped up. "Then ask for free ramen for life!"
Sukuna smacked him on the head. "Idiot."
Naruto yelped. "Ow! Just trying to help! If you don't like it, then you can always give it to me, dattebayo."
Sigh
Finally, Sukuna thought about it. "Just let me pass the test. Though I can't do the basic ninjutsu, I am strong enough. If you wish to give me anything, then just let me pass the graduation test. That should be more than enough."
Hiruzen's brows furrowed. "That is… quite the request," he said.
Though honestly, he was already planning on letting the boy pass. He knew how strong Sukuna was. He had always kept an eye on their performance in the academy, especially after the kids started training together.
That was Konoha's next generation—as Hokage, it was his duty to make sure they were developing well.
Sukuna shrugged. "That's all I ask, because a new technique is pointless to me if I can't even pass the graduation test in the first place."
Hiruzen stroked his beard thoughtfully. Complicated as it was, he had already been planning on letting the boy pass. Not only would the number of students be unbalanced otherwise, making team assignments difficult, but he also couldn't let Sukuna's talent go to waste.
As someone who had seen what Might Guy could do, he knew there were more ways to get stronger than just ninjutsu. Even if Sukuna didn't grow in that regard, his medical jutsu alone made him worth cultivating.
And here lay the problem—Sukuna wasn't the only one in his class who had trouble passing the test. Sasuke's sister, Kiyomi Uchiha, had also failed.
Uchiha Izumi had come to him about this, asking him to make an exception for Kiyomi, much like how he once did for Rock Lee under Guy's request.
Hiruzen hadn't replied then, but he had been considering letting both pass mainly to fill the numbers. However, if he let Sukuna pass now under the pretext of this achievement, then he'd have no way to pass Kiyomi later.
And if he didn't let the girl pass, then the Uchiha clan—who had lately been silent—might once again break with the village, something he absolutely couldn't allow. Danzo was dead, and his power crippled. He hardly had any capable people under him. The village couldn't be divided now.
After a long silence, he finally nodded. "Don't worry, my boy. I was going to let you pass just because you stopped Mizuki—just like Naruto. But you also saved Iruka. Do you wish something else? Don't worry, ask anything you wish. If it's under my power, I will give it to you."
The boy smirked. He didn't know why the old man was suddenly so charitable, but he wouldn't argue about it.
"Well, then I do have something in mind," he thought and said.
…
A/N: Any ideas about the teams?
xxx
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