Deep into the night.
Naruto Uzumaki left his home and made his way toward the Hokage Tower.
Inside his house, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Naruto's movements through a crystal ball.
Seeing that Naruto had left, Hiruzen silently took a puff from his pipe.
Actually, this wasn't meant to be a test of Naruto. Hiruzen had a calculated motive behind it.
Mizuki had manipulated Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals—an act considered a serious crime.
Later, once Naruto was caught, Hiruzen could pin the blame on Mizuki and justify Naruto's actions accordingly.
And Naruto would be grateful.
Hiruzen needed Naruto's gratitude specifically to prepare for Minato Namikaze's awakening. He hoped Naruto would remain loyal to him permanently.
Days passed, and Minato's condition improved steadily, which made Hiruzen increasingly anxious.
He was racking his brain, doing everything possible to prepare for Minato's return.
Hiruzen couldn't bear to lose such a powerful warrior. He wanted both Minato and Naruto to continue serving Konoha—and remain loyal to him.
...
Naruto had already entered the Hokage Tower.
The building was eerily empty. It should've been guarded around the clock—after all, it held countless vital documents.
Yet, not a single guard was in sight—something was clearly off.
This odd situation made it clear to Naruto—Hiruzen had set it up himself.
Without hesitation, Naruto proceeded to the third floor of the Hokage Tower. Inside the innermost room, he found the Scroll of Seals resting right on a table.
After grabbing the scroll, Naruto slipped away unnoticed from the Hokage Tower.
Meanwhile, Mizuki was watching from the shadows. As Naruto secured the Scroll of Seals, Mizuki smirked.
In Mizuki's eyes, the Scroll of Seals was already his.
Thanks to Mizuki's earlier rumors, word had spread quickly about Naruto stealing the scroll.
Including Hiruzen, Mizuki, Iruka Umino, and many other ninja, everyone gathered at the clearing outside the Hokage Tower.
"Lord Hokage, this matter must not be taken lightly!"
"The Scroll of Seals contains numerous dangerous ninjutsu. If misused, it will lead to disastrous consequences!"
"If it leaves the village, it'll cripple Konoha!"
Hiruzen sternly declared, "Yes, go bring Naruto back immediately!"
"At once!"
All the ninja scattered in different directions to search for Naruto.
Mizuki, overjoyed, planned to kill Naruto the moment he handed over the Scroll of Seals. This way, the scroll would become his, and no one would ever know Mizuki had orchestrated everything.
Once they were gone, Hiruzen grabbed the crystal ball again to keep watch over Naruto. After all, he always knew exactly where Naruto was.
Right now, Naruto was deep within the Forestland.
Nine-Tails warned Naruto that Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching him again.
"It doesn't matter. After all, didn't he approve this? Let me see what ninjutsu are recorded in this Scroll of Seals."
Naruto Uzumaki unfurled the Scroll of Seals. The first technique that caught his eye was [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu].
Naruto Uzumaki already mastered [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu], so he skipped it directly. Then came [Four Symbols Seal], [Impure World Reincarnation], [Flying Thunder God Technique], [Eight Gates], [Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags]...
Naruto focused on [Eight Gates] and [Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags].
Without a foundation in sealing techniques, Naruto couldn't make sense of the rest, no matter how much he read.
The [Flying Thunder God Technique] also involved sealing fundamentals, so Naruto glanced at it and moved on.
However, the very first sentence about [Eight Gates] said: "By unlocking the channels that restrict chakra flow within the human body, one can temporarily gain tremendous power," which greatly interested Naruto.
Then there was [Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags]—creating endless explosive tags from just one, triggering continuous pinpoint concentrated explosions. As long as it hits the target, it keeps detonating until the target gets reduced to ashes.
When Naruto finished reading about these two techniques, Mizuki arrived before him.
Mizuki looked greedily at the Scroll of Seals in Naruto's hands and said, "Naruto, give me the scroll, and you'll pass the test!"
"Sure."
Naruto tossed the Scroll of Seals to Mizuki without hesitation.
After all, he had memorized [Eight Gates] and [Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags]. At this moment, he was just an innocent pawn, unaware he was being manipulated by Mizuki, still believing Mizuki was a good person. Naturally, he should obey.
Mizuki caught the Scroll of Seals thrown by Naruto and felt extremely excited looking at it in his hands.
Now that he had the Scroll of Seals, he needed to eliminate Naruto.
What neither Mizuki nor Naruto expected was that Iruka found them.
Mizuki wanted to kill Naruto secretly and keep the Scroll of Seals for himself, so he couldn't afford any witnesses.
Meanwhile, Naruto expected Hiruzen to show up instead.
Unaware of everything, Iruka assumed Mizuki had found Naruto and successfully convinced him to hand over the Scroll of Seals.
Iruka shouted, "Naruto Uzumaki, why did you steal the Scroll of Seals?"
Naruto feigned panic and asked, "Steal? But Mizuki-sensei said this was a test for me. He told me if I could retrieve the Scroll of Seals from Hokage Tower and give it to him, I'd pass the test. Then I'd qualify to learn ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals. How could this be stealing?"
Stunned, Iruka turned to Mizuki, "Mizuki, is what Naruto saying true?"
Mizuki smirked coldly, "Iruka, why did you have to show up here? If you hadn't appeared, I wouldn't have had to kill you, my friend!"
Naruto pretended to be confused and asked, "What exactly is going on here?"
Looking at Naruto with disdain in his eyes, Mizuki said, "Since I'm going to kill you, I might as well let you die knowing the truth. You'll finally understand why everyone hates you and despises you..."
Iruka interrupted loudly, "Shut up! The Hokage has issued a ban on this!"
Mizuki shrugged and said, "I've already manipulated him into stealing the Scroll of Seals. Do you really think I'm afraid of a mere prohibition? And Iruka, don't you also hate him? I've seen it many times—the looks you give him filled with hatred. If you hate him so much, what's the harm in letting him know why?"
Mizuki turned to Naruto with a cold smirk and said, "Since the incident twelve years ago, the village has had one rule—one rule that was strictly forbidden to reveal to you, Naruto Uzumaki!"
"That rule was never to disclose the truth that your real identity is actually the Nine-Tails! In other words, YOU are the Nine-Tails who killed many Konoha ninjas and destroyed our village! This is exactly why everyone hates you!"
Naruto Uzumaki stood frozen on the spot, his face showing complete disbelief.
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