Near the end of class, Iruka Umino stood on the podium, gazing at the rows of empty seats below, his eyes full of sentiment and reluctance.
After a long while, he slowly spoke.
"Students, there's no banquet in the world that doesn't eventually end. From now on, live well… Class dismissed!"
As Naruto walked out of the classroom, Iruka was still leaning against the corridor wall, watching each student leave.
When their eyes met, Iruka's gaze revealed complicated emotions.
"Naruto, in your eyes, I must be a pretty terrible teacher, right?" Iruka's tone carried a trace of dejection.
But to his surprise, Naruto slowly shook his head.
"You're not a bad teacher. It's just that your way of doing things doesn't really fit with me, that's all."
Watching Naruto's departing back, Iruka gave a helpless smile. "Doesn't fit, huh."
Yet Naruto's answer had let him breathe a sigh of relief—he wasn't as bad as he had thought.
Leaving the academy, Naruto walked alone along the street back home.
At a corner, a voice suddenly called out from behind.
"Naruto, wait up."
Hearing that, Naruto didn't even turn around. The corners of his lips curled faintly.
As expected, Mizuki had come to find him.
Unfortunately, since he chose to come for him, this guy's ending was fated to be even worse than in the original story.
When Naruto didn't turn back, Mizuki hurriedly caught up and blocked his path.
First glancing cautiously around to make sure no one was watching, he lowered his voice.
"Naruto, do you want to get stronger? I know a way you can become stronger really fast. All you have to do is nod, and I'll tell you right now!"
Naruto deliberately put on an expression of curiosity and longing. "What way?"
Seeing Naruto interested, Mizuki's eyes flashed with a barely concealed look of triumph.
"There's a place that holds a scroll, one that records countless powerful jutsu. If you get it and learn the techniques inside, you'll definitely become strong in no time!"
"At that point, whatever you want to do—no one will be able to stop you!"
Naruto raised his brows and widened his eyes. "Oh? Something like that exists? Then why don't you just take it for yourself, Mizuki-sensei?"
Mizuki froze at the question, but quickly recovered.
Of course he couldn't tell Naruto that stealing the Scroll of Seals was extremely dangerous, so he made up an excuse.
"That scroll is called the Scroll of Seals. As a teacher, I'm not allowed to learn from it. But you're different, Naruto—you're smart enough to understand what I mean, right?"
Naruto put on a face of sudden realization.
The entire conversation between the two was quietly observed by Kakashi Hatake and his team, who saw everything.
Poor Mizuki—he thought he was playing on the third level of the game, but in truth, he was nothing more than a pawn on the very bottom.
"Mizuki-sensei, then hurry and tell me, where's this Scroll of Seals hidden?" Naruto pressed.
Mizuki, seeing that, smiled with satisfaction. "It's hidden in…"
From Mizuki, Naruto obtained the location of the Scroll of Seals. He first returned home.
Kakashi's team didn't interfere the whole time.
Later, Yamanaka Kei went to the Hokage building to report everything.
After hearing the news, Kei returned to her post.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his pipe and murmured, "So then, Naruto… what choice will you make?"
At the same time, in the Third Hokage's heart, he weighed the pros and cons—should the Scroll of Seals be relocated?
With the talent and nature Naruto had shown, would letting him obtain the Scroll be good or bad for Konoha?
This was the habit Hiruzen had developed after becoming Hokage—whenever faced with a choice, he always weighed gains and losses, making the decision he believed best for the village.
That night, Naruto lay on his couch, thinking about how he should live from now on.
Just then, a knock came from the door.
He activated the Transparent World. Standing outside were Hinata Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and the others.
When Naruto opened the door, Sakura Haruno, standing at the back, averted her eyes shyly.
Ino cheered, "Naruto, we're planning a graduation party! You're good with ideas—where do you think we should go?"
Naruto thought for a moment, then came up with a place.
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the largest hot spring bathhouse in Konoha.
He had long heard that the Land of Cherry Blossoms was famous for its hot springs, but never had the chance. Now he could finally try it.
Seeing that Naruto had brought them to a bathhouse, the three girls blushed slightly, each thinking of something else.
Inside the hall, there were quite a few men in yukata, and equally many women.
The robes were loose at the chest—it was no wonder that Jiraiya always chose hot springs for his "research."
Naruto's arrival, unsurprisingly, drew quite a few stares.
At the reception desk stood a mature woman with sultry looks.
When she saw Naruto, her whole body flinched slightly. Then she put on a bewitching smile.
That smile made Naruto feel strangely uneasy.
The group of nine booked two private hot spring rooms, one for the boys, one for the girls.
On the way to their rooms, a deep growl came from the Nine-Tails.
"Naruto, that woman who smiled at you just now… the malice in her heart is even bigger than her ridiculous chest."
Hearing that, Naruto stopped in his tracks and turned back.
Sure enough, the woman was still watching him. When she noticed Naruto glance back, the venom in her eyes flickered for an instant before vanishing beneath that same charming smile.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked curiously when he saw him stop.
"It's nothing. Let's go."
Once Naruto and the others had vanished from sight, the sultry woman at the desk leaned close to a male attendant, whispered something in his ear, and he nodded before jogging off.
The group changed into yukata and followed the room number tags to their reserved baths.
But a young woman in a uniform stood at the entrance, stopping them.
"Apologies, but this room is still being cleaned. Please wait a moment."
They had no choice but to wait in the corridor.
Naruto grew more uneasy. Ignoring the setting, his eyes sharpened as he activated the Transparent World, peering inside.
There were people in the room, but they weren't cleaning.
They were tearing open several packets and pouring powders into different parts of the hot spring pools.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
That woman's odd behavior earlier, coupled with the Nine-Tails' warning about immense malice…
There was no way this was just a complimentary herbal bath.
A short while later, the male attendant stepped out, bowing deeply.
"My apologies. You may enter now."
Without suspicion, Shikamaru and the others walked inside.
As soon as they did, heat rushed at them; the room was thick with steam.
Kiba was the fastest. The moment he entered, he leapt toward the pool, eager to enjoy a good dog paddle in the water.
But before he could land, Naruto grabbed his ankle and yanked him back, slamming him onto the ground.
"Ow!" Kiba winced, baring his sharp canine teeth as he shouted angrily, "Naruto! What the hell?! If you wanted to go first, you could've just said so!"