"Iruka Umino?"
"A Chunin-level instructor? That's impossible."
Under the heavenly curtain, the ninja world was buzzing with similar, unsettled questions.
The first two ranked were Zabuza Momochi, the infamous S-rank rogue ninja and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Gaara, the ultimate weapon of the Sand Village the One-Tail Jinchuriki.
Each was a figure of tremendous influence, capable of impacting the balance of entire nations.
But Iruka Umino? Beyond Konoha, he was practically unknown. Many younger ninja hadn't even heard his name.
Why was he ranked eighth, even above Gaara?
Countless people found it absurd, some even wondering if the heavenly curtain was malfunctioning.
On the streets of Konoha, villagers whispered in confusion and disbelief.
"Iruka-sensei? Isn't he the teacher at the Ninja Academy? He's a good man, but…"
"Yeah, this is ridiculous. Could he have some hidden identity?"
"No way. If he were truly important, would Naruto still be pestering him constantly?"
Amid the doubt, the title on the curtain slowly vanished, and the video began to play.
The scene opened on a very ordinary evening.
The sunset bathed the Ninja Academy playground in a warm, golden-orange glow.
Children laughed as they held their parents' hands, chattering about the events of the day.
Only one swing moved gently in solitude.
A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy sat alone on it, clutching the cold metal chains tightly in his small hands.
He looked longingly at the warmth nearby, a mix of envy and loneliness plain on his face.
It was Naruto Uzumaki.
The scene was mundane, without conflict or drama.
Yet in its ordinariness, the boy's utter loneliness pierced like a needle, touching every parent watching with an uncomfortable pang of empathy.
The camera followed Naruto along the street toward his home.
But wherever he walked, the once-chatty villagers fell silent.
They instinctively stepped back as if avoiding a plague, pulling their children away quickly.
Their gazes toward him were filled with unmasked disgust, indifference, and deep fear.
"Stay away from that kid!"
"Shh! Don't look at him!"
"It's him… the 'demon fox'…"
Though whispered quietly, Naruto heard every word clearly.
He lowered his head, pretending not to hear, and quickened his pace, desperate to escape.
Outside the curtain, the streets of Konoha fell into an awkward silence.
The villagers who had treated Naruto this way now saw their own cold, disdainful faces exposed, their cheeks burning with shame.
For the first time, they realized just how cruel their avoidance and words had been to a child.
The video shifted again.
To draw attention, Naruto began to act out.
He scribbled graffiti on the Hokage Rock, painting past Hokage faces as oversized feline creatures.
He used paint traps to trip chasing Chunin, a desperate and clumsy display of his presence.
The more recognition he failed to earn, the more he resorted to these antics to prove he existed.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
A deafening roar thundered from above.
A man with a horizontal scar across his nose grabbed Naruto by the ear, lifting him off the Hokage Rock.
It was Iruka.
"You idiot! You're causing trouble for the Hokage again!" Iruka scolded.
Naruto grimaced, struggling and snapping back, unwilling to yield.
The viewers of the ninja world were more confused than ever.
"That's it? Just a naughty student and an ordinary teacher?"
"Where's the heartbreak? Honestly, Iruka seems like the one suffering the most, right?"
"Focus! I wanted shocking secrets, not childish antics!"
Then, the narrator's voice came, slow and deliberate.
"Iruka Umino, Chunin of Konoha, instructor at the Ninja Academy. His parents were killed twelve years ago during the Nine-Tails' attack while protecting the village."
The crowd fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
Iruka's parents… had died in the Nine-Tails' attack?
Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
The orphan of parents slain by the Nine-Tails had become the teacher of the very jinchuriki he empathized with.
The irony and emotional weight struck everyone watching.
The camera showed Hiruzen Sarutobi gazing through his crystal ball at Iruka and Naruto, who were quarreling. Calmly, he told the nearby ANBU, "He reminds me of you, Iruka. I hope you understand him."
Later, in the Hokage's office at night…
Naruto, punished with cleaning duties, locked eyes silently with Iruka.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei," Naruto suddenly spoke. "After I finish cleaning, can we go to Ichiraku Ramen?"
Iruka paused, surprised by Naruto's fawning smile. His irritation melted inexplicably.
"You idiot! By the time you finish, they'll be closed anyway!"
Even so, after the cleaning was done, he took Naruto to the little shop that always kept its lights on for him.
"Uncle! Two large bowls of miso chashu ramen!"
The steaming bowls drove away the chill of night.
It was one of the few warm moments in Naruto's bleak childhood.
Slurping noodles eagerly, he announced loudly and unclearly, "I've decided! I will become the greatest Hokage! I'll make everyone in the village acknowledge me!"
Iruka shook his head helplessly at his foolish expression, though a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Yet the warmth ended abruptly.
The curtain's tone shifted, becoming cold and oppressive.
"Ninja Academy, Graduation Exam Day."
In the exam room, every student except Naruto successfully used their Shadow Clone Technique. Naruto resorted to a soft, ridiculous, useless "Sexy Technique: Male Version," causing the entire class to burst into laughter.
The results were inevitable.
He was the only one without the forehead protector that symbolized recognition.
He returned to the lonely swing, watching other classmates celebrate graduation with their families.
The crushing disappointment nearly broke his small frame as night fell.
Alone on the roadside, Naruto wallowed in despair.
A figure silently approached.
It was Mizuki, another Ninja Academy instructor.
"Naruto, are you still upset about not graduating?" Mizuki asked, his face gentle, almost fatherly.
Naruto nodded quietly, a low "yeah" escaping him.
"Actually, there's another way to graduate," Mizuki whispered seductively in his ear. "There's a scroll of forbidden jutsu hidden in the Hokage's office. Learn any technique from it, and you can graduate with distinction."
"Really, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto's eyes brightened with hope.
"Of course," Mizuki said, patting his shoulder. In the shadow, his smile looked sinister. "But it's a secret. No one must know."
"I understand!"
Without hesitation, Naruto nodded and ran toward the Hokage building.
Mizuki's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, cruel grin.
Outside the curtain, the ninja world erupted.
"That teacher Mizuki is dangerous!"
"The sealed scroll? Isn't that the one containing forbidden jutsu? He's having a child steal it?"
"Graduation isn't his goal; he wants to exploit Naruto to get the scroll!"
A massive conspiracy was slowly unfolding before everyone's eyes.