[AI-chan is about to assign you a mission!]
[Master, please accept your first mission!]
[Ding!]
[Beginner Mission: Please successfully pass the graduation test and become a Genin!]
[Mission Reward: Max-Level Swordsmanship + All Attributes *2!]
Max-level swordsmanship?
He could understand what "All Attributes *2" meant, but what did "Max-Level Swordsmanship" mean?
[Ding!]
[Max-Level Swordsmanship means it surpasses the strongest swordsman in this world, Master~!]
!!
As expected of something from AI-chan!
[Of course, Master! Anything from AI-chan is guaranteed to be amazing!]
Being praised by Naruto made AI-chan so happy she was almost dancing with joy—
—if only she had hands and feet.
[Master, that's rude!]
"Hehe."
Naruto let out an awkward laugh and focused back on the mission.
The task was to become a Genin, but how was he supposed to do that?
Sure, there were cases in Konoha of people becoming ninjas even if they couldn't use ninjutsu—like Rock Lee!
But Rock Lee had the backing of Jonin Might Guy. What did he have?
Was he supposed to copy the original Naruto and steal the Scroll of Seals?
He didn't have any memory or knowledge of ninjutsu, so even if he got the scroll, there was no guarantee he could learn anything from it.
But... Mizuki might be useful.
If he could defeat Mizuki right in front of Iruka and prove his strength, maybe he could become a ninja by special exception.
After all, he had just taken down a Chunin—there's no reason he couldn't become a Genin!
Just as Naruto was planning how to deal with Mizuki, someone appeared next to him.
"Naruto, what are you thinking about?"
Hearing the voice, Naruto looked up. Sure enough, it was Mizuki-sensei.
He instinctively gave a sly smile.
Speak of the devil, and he appears!
Mizuki felt a little uneasy under Naruto's suspicious gaze. "W-What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about Mizuki-sensei, and then you showed up. What a nice surprise."
Naruto stopped smiling and put on a blank expression.
He didn't look surprised at all.
This brat...
Seeing Naruto's completely emotionless "surprise," Mizuki cursed him in his heart, but kept a friendly smile on the surface.
"Really? I thought you were still worrying about the graduation exam," Mizuki said casually.
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew Mizuki was trying to poke at his sore spot, make him feel down, and then lure him into stealing the Scroll of Seals.
But... I'm not the original Naruto.
The tables have turned now.
Naruto lowered his head, pretending to be discouraged. His acting wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to fool Mizuki.
"Want to talk about it?" Mizuki asked, clearly pleased.
"Sure."
Naruto agreed right away, as if he had no suspicions at all, and followed Mizuki.
Before long,
They arrived at the rooftop balcony of a building.
They sat at the edge of the balcony. Below was a quiet road, and in the distance, the beautiful sun was about to set.
"Actually, with the way you usually perform, you should be able to pass the exam. Iruka definitely isn't trying to give you a hard time," Mizuki suddenly said.
"I know," Naruto replied calmly.
It was a taijutsu test, and he didn't manage to pull off even a single jutsu. Who else could he blame but himself?
Mizuki gave Naruto a strange look.
He had found him strange since the exam started.
The old Naruto was always loud and noisy, making a scene all the time.
Why was he so quiet today?
Was it because of the graduation exam?
Mizuki came up with an excuse for Naruto and didn't think too much about it.
As the first minor villain in the early part of the story, Mizuki really wasn't very smart.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have done something as foolish as tricking a Jinchuriki into stealing the Scroll of Seals and then planning to kill him afterward!
"So, do you want to graduate or not?" Mizuki got straight to the point and didn't waste time with empty talk.
"I do."
Naruto looked at the sunset in the distance and replied calmly.
"If you really want to graduate... then I'll tell you a secret about the Konoha ninja!"
As he said this, a breeze gently blew through Mizuki's hair. With his sharp features and somewhat handsome face, he did look a bit cool.
No wonder even such a dumb villain had a fiancée...
"What secret?"
"Actually, the Konoha has a scroll that contains many powerful jutsu. It's called the Scroll of Seals!"
Mizuki smiled and glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "If you can get your hands on that scroll, just learning one or two jutsu from it would be enough to graduate from the academy!"
"Where's the Scroll of Seals?" Naruto asked, playing along.
Mizuki shook his head, keeping up the mysterious act. "I only know the general location, not exactly where it is."
"If you want to find it, there's one place you can try—inside the Hokage's residence!"
Then Mizuki pointed Naruto in a certain direction.
Right in the center of the Konohagakure Village was an old, oddly-shaped building.
"That's the Hokage's place!"
"Alright, I'll go grab it right now!"
Naruto, looking all fired up, stood up and was about to head off—but Mizuki quickly pulled him back.
"You really are something."
Mizuki looked speechless. "The Scroll of Seals has some of the most powerful jutsu in the village. Do you really think they'd just leave it lying around for anyone to take?"
"Then can you get it for me?" Naruto tilted his head, expressionless.
"..."
"I've got other things to take care of later, so you'll have to do this one on your own."
Mizuki made up an excuse, then added, "There are Konoha Ninja guarding the scroll, so it's best to go at night when it's dark."
"Follow me."
Mizuki led Naruto to a small, hidden cabin deep in the forest.
"Once you take the Scroll of Seals, the Konoha Ninja will definitely start searching for you. You won't be able to go back home."
Mizuki continued, "Not many people know about this place. After you grab the scroll, hide out here and study the jutsu. No one will find you!"
Naruto nodded. "Got it. So when do we move?"
"..."
"Naruto, not we—but you!"
Mizuki had to make sure he stayed out of it until Naruto actually got the scroll.
If Naruto failed to steal the scroll and Mizuki got exposed, he'd lose everything for nothing.
"You don't want to learn the jutsu in the scroll?" Naruto suddenly asked.
Mizuki froze. Did this kid figure something out?
"I don't need to!"
Mizuki lied without blinking. "I'm already a Chunin. That stuff wouldn't help me much."
"Oh."
Naruto's blank face made it hard for Mizuki to tell what he was thinking.
But seeing that the sky was getting darker, Mizuki knew there was no time to waste chatting anymore.
Even if Naruto had guessed something—so what?
No one would believe him anyway. Mizuki was the kind and gentle Mizuki-sensei, after all.
But Naruto?
Who would trust the words of a demon fox?
With that thought, Mizuki let his guard down around Naruto.
"Well then, I'll get going now. Good luck, Naruto!"
"Hope I can hear the news of your graduation tomorrow!"
After tricking Naruto one last time, Mizuki quickly left.
But he didn't go far—he hid nearby, watching Naruto in secret.
He still didn't fully trust Naruto. If Naruto didn't go to steal the Scroll of Seals, Mizuki planned to come back and persuade him again.
Naruto, after seeing Mizuki leave, didn't go steal the Scroll. Instead, he walked into a small wooden cabin he had prepared.
"Tch!"
"What's that demon fox planning now?"
Mizuki frowned and tried to circle around the cabin to peek through the window, only to find that Naruto had shut the windows tight.
"Don't tell me he's going to sleep in there?"
Mizuki was confused and slightly uneasy.
Today's Naruto was acting strange, and Mizuki couldn't figure him out at all.
But inside the cabin, Naruto had his own plans.
Before stealing the Scroll of Seals, he wanted to get used to the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit.
If you want to do something well, you have to prepare your tools first.
This version of Naruto didn't know the Sexy Jutsu, so if he ran into that old man Hiruzen, he wouldn't be able to trick him with that weird move.
And the reason he chose to train in the cabin was because he suspected Mizuki might be watching him from the shadows.
He didn't want Mizuki to find out how strong he really was. Otherwise, when he did steal the Scroll, Mizuki might refuse to take the blame, and then Naruto would be seen as the main culprit for sure.
Even if that happened, though, it didn't really matter. Worst case? He'd just become a rogue ninja.
He'd still be a ninja somewhere—what difference did it make where?
Still, unless absolutely necessary, Naruto didn't feel like running off to some other place to be a ninja.
After locking the doors and windows to make sure no one outside could see in, Naruto activated the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit for the first time.
Golden light gathered at his fingertips, eventually forming a bright flash of light!
The flash lit up the entire dark room in an instant.