Night cloaked the forest in silence, broken only by the soft rustle of movement—dozens of silhouettes darted through the trees like shadows. They split, regrouped, whispered, and vanished again among the leaves.
Every one of those figures was Naruto. More precisely, his Shadow Clones.
For six long years, Naruto had prepared for this exact night—the night he would claim the Sealed Scroll. Every calculation, every sleepless night, all came down to these few hours.
If anyone else heard that a six-year-old had plotted something for six years, they'd laugh him off. But that was fine. Naruto liked being underestimated. The weak get pitied. The clever get ignored. The invisible survive.
[Rikudō Shingon]: "How very cautious of you, Host. Such patience… unbecoming of a brat. I'm almost proud."
Naruto ignored the voice, eyes sharp as a blade.
"Found it."
The signal pulsed through every clone at once, converging in his mind—the target's location. The boy carrying the Scroll. And with him… Iruka and Mizuki.
A grin split Naruto's face. Showtime.
He dispelled the clones and bolted forward. His body blurred like a phantom, slipping between the trees. The forest swallowed him whole.
According to his clone's memory, Mizuki and Iruka had already crossed paths with the boy. The confrontation had begun. If Naruto was late, the story would write itself without him—and he couldn't allow that.
Perched on a tree branch, Mizuki glared down at Iruka and the terrified student below.
"Hand over the Sealed Scroll, Iruka! Or I'll take it from your corpse!" His voice cracked like a whip through the forest air. Twin giant shuriken glinted on his back.
Iruka stood firm. "Stop this madness, Mizuki! Turn yourself in! If you surrender now, maybe Lord Hokage will—"
"Save me?!" Mizuki spat. "I'm done playing teacher to a bunch of brats while you pretend we're equals!"
He ripped one shuriken free and hurled it. The weapon tore through the night with a howl.
Iruka met it head-on. His kunai clashed against the spinning blade, sparks flying before he was thrown backward, crashing into a tree trunk.
"Sensei!" the boy cried, rushing to him.
"Run!" Iruka shouted hoarsely. "Take the scroll and get out of here! Don't let Mizuki have it!"
"But—"
"GO!"
Blood dripped from Iruka's arm, but his eyes stayed steady. He knew he couldn't win. But if he could buy even a minute—maybe ANBU would arrive. Maybe not. He'd take that chance.
Mizuki laughed. "You think I'll let him escape?"
He flung the second shuriken. It screamed through the air toward the fleeing boy.
Iruka moved before thinking. His body was already between them, kunai raised. The impact exploded through the clearing, splintering bark.
The shuriken bit deep into Iruka's arm, carving a red line from shoulder to wrist. He barely managed to twist, absorbing the blow meant for the boy. They slammed into a tree, the scroll rolling free onto the ground.
The student had fainted. Iruka, half-conscious, still shielded him with his body.
Blood soaked the dirt beneath them.
Mizuki landed lightly from the branch, smirking. "So this is what you throw your life away for, Iruka? Pathetic."
From somewhere beyond the trees, a faint laugh echoed—a sound too calm for the chaos around them.
Naruto had arrived.