"Naruto… how far you go from here… will depend on your own fate."
In a dimly lit room, the Third Hokage exhaled deeply from his long smoking pipe. The betrayal of Chūnin Mizuki, the theft of the Scroll of Seals, it had all unfolded right under the noses of Konoha's highest command.
But the truth was, Konoha had long since obtained evidence of Mizuki's treachery. His daily activities and movements had been closely monitored by the ANBU. When Mizuki persuaded Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals, the Third Hokage simply played along, allowing it to happen in the hopes that Naruto might learn a few jutsu from the forbidden scroll.
This tactic cleverly bypassed the council's prior resolution, to strictly limit Naruto's growth in power so they could maintain tighter control over the jinchūriki.
Ever the calculating strategist, Hiruzen also intended to use this incident to foster Naruto's sense of belonging within the village, ensuring his absolute loyalty to Konoha. That was why Iruka, someone Naruto trusted, had been sent in. Otherwise, with all the elite jōnin and ANBU dispatched, how else could an ordinary chūnin like Iruka have been the one to find Naruto first?
Now the operation had concluded, perfectly. Iruka's selfless protection had earned Naruto's absolute trust. And Naruto, in a moment of brilliance, had used the forbidden Shadow Clone Jutsu he had just learned.
With this, three objectives were achieved in one move:
One, Mizuki the traitor was eliminated.
Two, Naruto "accidentally" mastered a forbidden technique.
Three, the jinchūriki's loyalty to Konoha was solidified.
A triple win.
However, just as everything seemed to be going smoothly, an unexpected variable emerged.
After being beaten half to death by Naruto's barrage of shadow clones, Mizuki, driven mad with rage, drank one of Orochimaru's experimental forbidden potions. His strength skyrocketed, and Naruto was overwhelmed in an instant.
The reversal came so fast even the Third Hokage's expression shifted. He had deliberately instructed the search parties to follow a staggered route and timed intervals to prevent others from finding Naruto too quickly. That meant, right now, Naruto and Iruka were in real danger.
"Die, you damn fox brat!!"
With a thunderous stomp, Mizuki launched high into the air, his body surging with explosive chakra. His muscles ballooned grotesquely from the potion's effects. If this attack landed, Naruto could truly die.
The Third Hokage shot up to his feet. He immediately activated a secret communication technique to summon nearby search ninja, but it was too late!
"Hmm?!"
His sharp gaze caught sight of Iruka, lying in a pool of blood. Suddenly, Iruka's weakened body moved, he pushed himself up and lunged over Naruto, using his own flesh and blood to shield the boy.
The Third exhaled slowly in relief. Iruka's desperate act had bought just enough time. That slight delay would allow the other shinobi to arrive, and any one of them could put Mizuki down, even in his berserk state.
Still… it meant Iruka would die.
Hiruzen couldn't help but recall the Nine-Tails attack from over a decade ago. Iruka's family had died heroically, sacrificing themselves to delay the beast. And now, the last remaining member of that family was about to follow the same fate.
Yet even if given the choice again, Hiruzen would still choose to protect the jinchūriki. He would sacrifice a mediocre shinobi like Iruka without hesitation, for the good of the village.
Such was the brutal reality of this world. No matter how sunny or grandfatherly he appeared on the outside, when it came to Konoha's interests, the Third Hokage never wavered.
The title "Shinobi no Kami", God of Shinobi, was not something he wore lightly.
But then, just as Mizuki's final strike was about to fall,
"Die, grrk…?!"
Midair, Mizuki's body suddenly froze.
A sword had pierced him from behind, perfectly aligned with his heart.
His beast-like crimson eyes widened as he looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. His face contorted with fury and disbelief. He struggled, trying to twist his neck for one last look at the person who had ended him, but before he could, his head slumped to the side.
Dead.
Schlik!
The blade was violently withdrawn, spraying blood in a wide arc. As Mizuki's massive body toppled to the ground, a figure emerged behind him, not tall, but standing firm.
"K-Kirito?!"
Naruto, still pinned under a bleeding Iruka, stared wide-eyed at the boy in front of him, the one holding the straight sword.
Kirito gave him a warm smile.
"Yo, Naruto. I came to save you~"
"Damn it…" Naruto groaned, frustrated. "That was supposed to be my epic hero moment!"
This had been the first and only time in his life that he'd ever gone all out and beaten up a real chūnin, only for Kirito to swoop in and steal the final blow with a single dramatic sword strike. It wasn't fair! Who was the main character here anyway?! But of course, being Naruto, he was still grateful to Kirito for the rescue.
As for how Kirito had managed to kill a berserk chūnin with a single strike, that thought never even crossed Naruto's mind.
"Kirito… that Hyuga branch child, huh?" the Third muttered thoughtfully, peering into his crystal ball.
That gentle, sunlit smile on Kirito's face… it looked so pure, so harmless, as if no plot in the world could possibly touch him.
Because the Third's entire focus had been on Naruto, he hadn't even spared Iruka a second glance, nor had he noticed Kirito's presence, let alone how he'd managed to pull off such a flawless backstab.
Soon after, the jōnin, ANBU, and other reinforcement squads arrived at the scene. Their attention went straight to Naruto, the village's prized jinchūriki. Hardly anyone noticed Kirito.
Even though he'd dealt the final, most decisive blow… he was utterly ignored.
But Kirito didn't mind.
Without a sound, he turned and quietly slipped away.
The moment he struck Mizuki down, the system's mission had been marked as complete.
[Ding! Mission Complete, Rewards Ready for Collection]
Kirito could barely wait to find a quiet place and see what he'd earned.