Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks burst as two swift figures clashed again and again, blades ringing in rapid succession, the sound echoing like steel striking stone.
Naruto, eyes closed, gripped his kunai with both hands to block Shisui Uchiha's short blade. He didn't know if this was the true body or another phantom, but it didn't matter anymore.
To counter genjutsu, he had fought with his eyes shut from the very start, relying only on his senses to lock onto Shisui's chakra. Guided by perception alone, his attacks came like a storm.
But after only a few breaths, Shisui caught the lull in his offense. In a flash of his Shunshin, familiar illusions multiplied again. Naruto immediately formed seals and split into countless shadow clones to stall him.
Yet even they fell one after another, bursting like fragile bubbles beneath Shisui's phantom blades.
Naruto poured chakra into his kunai, transmuting it into a blade of pure, gleaming energy. His sword clashed with Shisui's, sparks dancing as power surged through the dojo of his mind.
Shisui retreated sharply, exposing an opening. Naruto pressed forward, one hand driving the chakra blade, the other hurling a kunai.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Thousands of shuriken filled the sky like a storm of steel, raining down upon Shisui. There was no way to dodge such a barrage. Yet when the dust cleared, his chakra still pulsed steady.
Had it been a phantom all along, or had his real body swapped unnoticed mid-battle?
Naruto opened his eyes. Scores of Shisuis stood around him, their blank faces closing in. He inhaled deeply, discarding his kunai, and condensed in each palm a swirling black orb of pure chakra.
"Great Spiral Wheel Dance!"
Boom!
The battlefield dissolved into silence.
"Congratulations! You have obtained Shisui Uchiha's Genjutsu training experience!"
The text pulsed across his vision. Naruto glanced at it, then turned away, expression as calm as still water.
Time slipped by like grains of sand. Another year's end drew near.
For half a year now, every reward he gained from Shisui was nothing but genjutsu training. He had long grown accustomed.
Without dwelling on it, Naruto willed the screen to change, choosing Choji's profile to initiate battle. Yet before the match began, an unexpected chime rang out.
"Congratulations! You have awakened Lightning Release chakra!"
A mechanical voice echoed through the mirror world.
Before Naruto could even react, another voice intruded—Kurama's.
"Naruto, your teacher is calling your name. Go to the podium and get your final exam results."
"I know."
Naruto left the mirror world. When he opened his eyes, Iruka stood before him, face dark with anger. The whole class stared his way.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Here."
"Come up and take your report card!"
Iruka waved the sheet in his hand. Watching Naruto walk slowly up, his chest tightened with frustration.
By the Third Hokage's orders, Iruka had monitored Naruto all year with special care. And yet, from the first day of class to now, Naruto had never truly paid attention. Even when Iruka called him just now, he'd had to repeat himself twice.
Naruto never participated seriously in ninjutsu or taijutsu lessons either, always idle, always detached.
And yet—his written scores were excellent. His Three Basic Techniques, tested openly, were performed flawlessly.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
Polite as ever, Naruto accepted the sheet and turned away, heading calmly back to his seat.
"Wait!"
Iruka's voice cracked like a whip. "You don't even want to check your score? Aren't you afraid you might have failed?"
Naruto halted, turned, and met his teacher's eyes with a faint smile. "Under a teacher as excellent as you, how could I possibly fail?"
At noon break, Iruka carried the stack of results to the Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage! I can't do this job anymore!"
He submitted the class records, then another envelope. On its face were two words in bold: Resignation.
"Oh? Why?"
The Third Hokage looked at Naruto's results with a sharp gleam in his eye, ignoring the letter.
"From these grades, your entire class is performing well. What problem could drive you to this?"
Iruka's face twisted. Hiruzen's voice turned cold.
"I… I feel unworthy to teach Naruto."
"You've seen my reports. He never listens in class. He ignores me. I can't guide him, Hokage-sama. Please, consider another teacher—"
"Iruka!"
The Hokage's tone snapped like thunder, cutting him off.
"Not only Naruto fails to pay attention. Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji nap every day. Does that mean they reject you as well?"
"I just… I cannot face Naruto!"
Iruka's eyes were bloodshot, his voice trembling with raw emotion.
The Hokage sighed. "Iruka, I know your burden. But Naruto's situation mirrors your own childhood. You should be the one most able to accept him. You once told me your dream was to become a teacher, to pass down the Will of Fire. Wasn't it your vow to dedicate your life to that dream?"
Iruka froze. His heart quivered. Slowly, his eyes steadied. He bowed. "I understand, Hokage-sama."
"Good. I believe in you."
Iruka left. The instant he stepped out, Hiruzen's kindly expression vanished without a trace.
"Father, Iruka just left the Hokage's office. Think he tattled on me?"
Naruto sat in class, sensing Iruka outside.
"Probably not… your grades were fine, weren't they?" Minato's voice wavered with doubt. He knew Naruto hadn't studied a single lesson seriously. Surely Iruka had complained.
"I've listened to Iruka's teaching sometimes. He repeats the same doctrine again and again—the Will of Fire."
"…And that is wrong?" Minato hesitated. To a teacher, was instilling that really a flaw?
Naruto's eyes gleamed. "The Will of Fire is positive, yes. But children can hardly grasp such ideals. Worse, Iruka's lessons always circle back to one man's image: the Third Hokage himself."
"He makes the students idolize him. He makes them all dream of becoming Hokage, but only like him, the shining, flawless Hokage."
"As for the other Hokage? He mentions them only in passing, like names on a monument."
Minato's gaze grew heavy. He understood now what Naruto meant, but found no words.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Everyone is born original. But under guidance like this, most children grow up unable to tell if they want to be Hokage… or if they just want to be copies of the Hokage."
"And when they fail? Their lives become nothing but pale imitations. A pirated dream. A pirated life."
His words fell into silence, cold and piercing.
______________________________
If you're enjoying this story and want to read more advanced chapters, you can support me on Patreon: patreon.com/PurgatorialPoet. Your support helps keep the translations coming faster.