Escape From Konoha

I don't know how I walked out of the classroom. Naruto just felt that his mind was blank.

After being ruthlessly declared to have failed the exam by Iruka and other examiners and teachers, Naruto could not think of anything in his mind and his walking became muddled.

Below the teaching building, many parents gathered around eagerly waiting for their children to return and share the joy of passing the graduation exam.

A little unable to stand such an atmosphere, Naruto shook his head and had no choice but to walk to the swing in the open space not far away and sit on it, trying to calm down here.

Becoming a ninja was his dream.

However, failing the exam meant that he would have to repeat the next grade in the ninja school. With envious eyes, he watched the students in his class leave the school one by one and become independent ninjas.

Ninja... Swinging on the swing, Naruto looked at the ants on the ground and saw God for a moment.

"Really, it's not like I didn't successfully use the Clone Technique. Iruka-sensei and the others are too strict... What's the point of being accommodating and letting me pass."

Naruto muttered dissatisfiedly.

He was the only one in the class who failed the exam, which was really embarrassing.

If this incident spreads in the village, the adults will ridicule and hate him even more.

Sure enough, the adults not far away started pointing at him again.

The lips were moving, and because they were far apart, Naruto couldn't hear clearly what these adults were saying, but judging from their mean and disgusted expressions, Naruto knew that they must be talking bad about him, and the words must be very unpleasant. .

Thinking of failing in the exam, this kind of loss made Naruto extremely irritable and reached the point where he couldn't bear it.

No matter where he goes, he doesn't want to stay here anymore.

He felt that there was no place for him in such a place, whether it was a school or a village.

He just failed the exam, these adults are so annoying, why are they always targeting him?

Students who failed the exam in previous years have never seen them ridiculing them like this.

Feeling that the whole world was maliciously targeting him, Naruto got off the swing and prepared to go home.

"Naruto."

A familiar voice sounded in his ears, and Naruto subconsciously raised his head and looked at the person, his expression changing slightly.

"Teacher Mizuki."

The person who came was none other than Mizuki. He faced Naruto with a gentle smile, making Naruto feel a little warm.

"Um, why are you here, Teacher Mizuki?"

He didn't know why, but in his eyes, Mizuki's attitude toward others was obviously more gentle, but Naruto always had an inexplicable feeling of respect in his heart.

On the contrary, Iruka, who seemed lustful and bad-tempered, found it easier to get along with him.

Therefore, when facing Mizuki, Naruto's body and expression became reserved.

"Come to see you. I'm worried that you will fail the exam and be thinking wildly here. How about you, do you want to change your mood?"

Mizuki asked with a smile.

"Change your mood?"

Naruto looked at Mizuki confused.

Mizuki smiled without saying a word and led the way. Soon, he took Naruto to the terrace on the top of a teaching building.

From here, you can not only overlook the entire ninja school, but also the nearby streets. The gentle wind blows from a distance, making Naruto feel comfortable.

The feeling of disappointment during the exam has also disappeared a lot.

“Wow, this place is awesome!”

Naruto looked amazed.

After being in the ninja school for so long, this was the first time he knew that there was such a place in the school.

Even if he usually skips classes, he would not escape to a place like this.

"Haha, this is my secret base. Very few people usually come here. It's good to change my mood here. I used to come here often to relieve my worries."

Mizuki smiled.

"Yeah." However, Naruto quickly noticed the underlying meaning in Mizuki's words and asked curiously: "Is Teacher Mizuki also worried?"

"As long as you are a human being, you cannot be without worries. Changing moods is also a very important skill for ninjas."

"Yeah?"

At the mention of ninja, Naruto's expression became disappointed again.

He has no chance to be a ninja this year. He can only hope that the graduation exam next year will not test the things he is least good at.

Otherwise, graduation will be delayed again.

Even thinking that he might have to study in the same class as children in his twenties, Naruto felt the urge to burst into tears just thinking about it.

If that really happens, I feel like it will be easier for me to commit suicide.

What a shame!

"Iruka, he means no harm."

Seeing Naruto's disappointed face, Mizuki restrained his smile and spoke.

"But he didn't allow me to pass the test..."

"It's a rule. Besides, it's your protection."

"Protect?"

"Becoming a ninja means fighting, and fighting will inevitably mean sacrifice. If you can't even reach the passing mark, you will be easily sacrificed in the battle if you pass the exam. Moreover, Iruka has had no parents since he was a child, and You are also an orphan. That's why he is so strict with you. He doesn't want you to have any accidents while performing your mission, otherwise he will be derelict in his duties as a teacher."

Mizuki said calmly.

"But... I really want to graduate, and I don't want to be laughed at by others."

Naruto whispered.

Quietly glanced at Naruto, Mizuki's eyes revealed a touch of depth and thought.

Then, he asked in a firm tone, "Naruto, are you really eager to graduate from school?"

"certainly!"

"I'm really at a loss for you, so I'll tell you a hidden graduation test. As long as you pass this test, Iruka will recognize you and let you graduate."

Mizuki said with a smile.

"Really? What hidden exam?"

Naruto's eyes seemed to come alive, showing excitement.

Hidden graduation exam? This feeling is like a special exam specially prepared for elite students.

Seeing Naruto's active mind, the smile on Mizuki's face became wider and wider:

"Come closer, don't let others know, the content of this exam is..."

◎

In the middle of the night, Iruka was still lying on the bed thinking about the day's affairs, and had no intention of going to sleep.

Although he usually has a good relationship with Naruto, more like a friend who can talk to each other than a teacher and a student, once he arrives at school, he must fulfill his responsibilities as a teacher.

More than the rest of the examiners, he hopes that Naruto can pass the exam and become a ninja.

However, rules are rules, especially this kind of principled rule. As long as Naruto fails to pass the test, Naruto will not be qualified to graduate.

This is also for Naruto's good. As a genin, you have to face various tasks. Sooner or later, you will encounter enemies. If Naruto unfortunately dies in a mission due to lack of strength, he, as the culprit, will feel guilty for this for the rest of his life. .

I hope that kid Naruto can understand my painstaking efforts. Iruka sighed inwardly.

He turned his head and looked at the time, it was already late at night.

"That's it for today. We have to get up early tomorrow and go to school to arrange grouping matters. We will have to work for several days..."

After all, the number of graduates in recent years has reached 100, and there are more than 30 groups.

It is a very tedious task to assign these genin to corresponding groups based on their comprehensive abilities.

At that time, Lord Hokage will personally lead the ANBU elites to arrive and conduct careful verification.

Just when he was about to rest, there was a rapid knock on the door, causing Iruka to get out of bed and open the door.

What I saw was a flustered Mizuki:

"Mizuki, why do you..."

"No, Iruka!"

"What happened?"

"Naruto, for some unknown reason, attacked Lord Hokage and stole the sealed book in the village! Lord Hokage has issued an order to capture Naruto as soon as possible! This can already be explained as a prank. !”

Mizuki finished speaking in one breath, with an anxious expression on his face, urging Iruka to act together.

"What, Naruto—"

Iruka was stunned.

The first reaction is disbelief.

Attack the Hokage? Stealing the sealed book?

How could a student who couldn't even use the clone technique well do such a thing?

Not to mention, where the Sealed Book is stored, there are a large number of Anbu.

wrong--

Thinking of Naruto's other identity, Iruka changed his color.

If it were Naruto, he might actually be able to successfully attack the Hokage if he was careless!

"Mizuki, how is Hokage-sama's injury?"

Iruka hurriedly put on his clothes and followed Mizuki to the Hokage Building to gather.

"I heard that the nose was injured and the blood loss was serious."

Mizuki looked serious.

"???"

Nose hurt? Severe blood loss?

Iruka didn't know for a moment whether this was a minor injury or a serious injury.

◎

The order to arrest Naruto was quickly issued, and most of the jounin and chuunin in Konoha Village were already dispatched.

Everyone gnashed their teeth and became fierce, vowing to capture Naruto.

Attacking the Hokage and stealing the Sealed Book were completely different from playing hooky, painting the Hokage Rock and other pranks.

Considering Naruto's special identity, could the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki want to defect?

If something like this actually happened, it would be more than a simple prank that could whitewash past bad behavior.

Sneak attack on Hokage and steal the Sealed Book, no matter which one it is, is a crime of felony level.

In the office, the originally noisy scene suddenly became much quieter.

Hiruzen seemed to recall something, rubbed his still hot nose, took out the crystal ball, injected his own chakra, and it directly showed the scene of the forest.

In an open space deep in the forest, a dirty Naruto sat there, flipping through a huge scroll that was half a man tall, scratching his head, as if he was very worried about how to learn the ninjutsu on it.

"Hokage-sama, don't we need to stop it? Many of the books in the Sealed Book are forbidden techniques. If you are not careful..."

Kakashi appeared next to Hiruzen and saw Naruto's somewhat reckless behavior. The brows under his mask couldn't help but raise.

However, Hiruzen's expression was calm, as if he acquiesced to Naruto's behavior and did not stop it.

Hiruzen's acquiescence also left Kakashi speechless.

After all, what Naruto took away was the genuine sealed book, but... there must have been multiple traps set up inside. Even he, the ANBU minister, would have fallen into it and would not have benefited from it.

Otherwise, Hiruzen, as the Hokage, would not have allowed Naruto to take away such a dangerous thing so easily.

"Have the people behind Mizuki been investigated?"

Sun Zhan asked.

"Sorry, not yet. But I think there are only two possibilities, Chiba Shiraishi and Orochimaru."

Kakashi analyzed.

Hiruzen nodded.

He had the same idea.

It's just that compared to Orochimaru, he is more inclined to think that Chiba Shiraishi is the mastermind behind the scenes.

"You should also take the ANBU there, Kakashi. It's time to close the net."

"yes."

Kakashi took the order and went down.

◎

Naruto felt very tired, his head was buzzing and it hurt like hell.

He leaned against the tree and looked at the sealed book in front of him. To put it shamefully, he could only barely understand the first ninjutsu.

As for the subsequent spells, although I know the words, all the words are basically incomprehensible when they are put together.

"Hehe, but with the first ninjutsu you have mastered, it is really easy to pass the graduation exam. You have to thank Mr. Mizuki seriously..."

Saying this, Naruto stood up from the ground proudly, not even taking a few steps.

A breath quickly approached, Naruto raised his head, saw the other party's gnashing of teeth, and looked over with a smile:

"Naruto!"

"Ah, I found Iruka-sensei!"

"Asshole, I'm here to find you!"

Iruka roared loudly, looking at Naruto angrily.

"Uh...why are you so angry?"

Naruto looked at Iruka with a puzzled expression.

Isn't this a hidden test rule?

"..."

Iruka took a deep breath, tried to calm down the anger in his heart, and asked patiently: "Before I go back with you, I want to ask, what are you doing here, and why did you steal the Sealed Book?"

Fortunately, I was the first to discover Naruto. If it was another Zhongnin or Jonin, then this would not be the case.

Instead, he beat Naruto half to death, and dragged him back roughly.

But after seeing Naruto's expression, Iruka knew that there must be some secrets that he didn't know.

Even if Naruto could really steal the sealed book because of his special status, the probability of this is too small.

He was very worried, whether Naruto was being used by someone.

If that's the case, you have to go back and report to Hokage.

"Of course it is to practice ninjutsu... As for stealing the sealed book, isn't this the school's hidden exam rule?"

Naruto looked at Iruka.

"Hide the exam rules?"

Iruka was stunned.

Is there such a hidden test rule in the school?

"By the way, let me take a look at my new ninjutsu first. After seeing this, let me graduate, Mr. Iruka!"

While talking happily, Naruto began to form seals, gathering the few chakras in his body.

"Wait, things haven't been explained clearly yet. Who told you about the so-called hidden exam rules?"

Iruka asked urgently.

"Hey, of course it's Mr. Mizuki. He said that as long as he can take the Sealed Book from the Hokage's house and learn the first ninjutsu on it, he can pass the hidden exam and successfully graduate to become a ninja."

Naruto told it all.

Then he looked at Iruka with a strange face, why did the other party look completely ignorant.

"Mizuki!?"

Iruka's face was startled, and at the moment of sudden realization, he pushed Naruto away and let him roll out.

"ah!"

The painful cry woke up Naruto who was rolling on the ground.

Seeing Iruka being stabbed by shurikens and kunai, leaning against a tree, he managed to hold on without falling.

"I... Iruka-sensei..."

Naruto couldn't help but tremble when he saw Iruka covered in blood.

"Don't worry about me Naruto, I'm fine..."

As he spoke, Iruka gasped and stubbornly raised his head to look at the figure standing on the branch not far away.

"I see, are you the one who deceived Naruto, made him attack Hokage-sama, and stole the Sealed Book? Mizuki?"

Iruka understood everything at this time.

Looking at the cold expression on his friend's face, the tenderness was no longer there, as if he had gotten to know each other all over again.

"Hey, Mr. Mizuki, why do you..."

Naruto also noticed Mizuki's figure, looking back and forth between Mizuki and Iruka, not knowing what was going on.

"Thank you for your hard work, Naruto. Okay, come to me with the scroll, and I will take you to a place where no one will discriminate against you."

Mizuki followed Naruto's lead and jumped off the branch, ignoring Iruka's presence.

No one...discriminates?

Naruto was attracted by Mizuki's words and subconsciously walked over.

"Don't go, Naruto! This guy is lying to you!"

Iruka pulled out the kunai from his body, and after simply stopping the bleeding, he came to Naruto and blocked Mizuki's way.

"Lied to me?"

Naruto didn't know why.

"Yes, there are no so-called hidden examination rules in the Ninja School. This guy Mizuki is using you to steal the Sealed Book and master the forbidden power in it!"

Iruka forced a serious expression on his face.

When Naruto heard this, he also looked at Mizuki, his eyes wary.

Mizuki didn't make any excuses. He looked at Naruto and smiled: "Yes, I did lie to you, Naruto. But don't you want to know the truth?"

"the truth?"

Naruto looked at Mizuki suspiciously.

What truth?

"Do you know why Iruka won't let you graduate?"

"It's not because I failed the exam..."

"No, that's just a polite word. The real reason is because you are Iruka's parricide enemy! He doesn't want his enemy to graduate from school and become a ninja. His essence is actually the same as those mean people in the village. Sir, there is no difference!”

Mizuki said with a gentle smile.

"..."

After Naruto heard this, his mind went blank.

He... is Iruka-sensei's parricide enemy?

"Mizuki, you bastard! Shut up! Don't confuse the public with your lies here—"

Iruka couldn't bear it anymore, picked up the kunai and rushed towards Mizuki.

Without even looking at it, Mizuki dodged away easily, and then kicked out, sending Iruka's injured body flying away, causing him to roll to the side and vomit blood.

Naruto saw Iruka's injured form and subconsciously went over to stop him.

However, Mizuki continued: "Do you really want to help him? You are his enemy."

"I don't know what you are talking about. How could I be Iruka-sensei's enemy?"

Naruto glared at Mizuki dissatisfied.

This guy must be cheating on him again.

"I didn't lie to you this time, it's true. You should know how Iruka's parents died, right?"

Mizuki asked.

"Of course, he was killed by the nine-tailed demon fox that attacked the village twelve years ago."

Naruto, who admired the Fourth Hokage, was naturally aware of this matter.

"That's right, and the answer is very accurate."

Mizuki smiled even more.

"Stop talking! Mizuki!"

Iruka hissed, trying to step forward to stop Mizuki.

But the injuries to his body were too serious. After taking two steps forward, he unconsciously knelt on one knee and gritted his teeth.

"However, there is one thing you don't know. The nine-tailed demon fox did not die, but changed into a human face."

"Human... face?"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat, as if something surged from the depths of his heart.

Even Naruto didn't realize that his body began to produce an evil chakra breath.

do not talk! Seeing that Mizuki's mouth was still open, it seemed that he wanted to express something, but Naruto shouted in his heart, begging Mizuki not to continue.

Because he was very afraid of that answer, and he couldn't bear it.

"After the Yondaime defeated the nine-tailed demon fox, he did not kill it, but extracted its soul and sealed it in a newborn baby. You said that this baby... twelve years later, will it be Who is it, Naruto?"

Mizuki provoked Naruto's extremely uneasy emotions, the corners of his mouth curled up more and more deeply.

"……it's me?"

Naruto stood there in a daze, feeling that his whole body was surrounded by endless darkness.

"After the spirit of the demon fox in this child was sealed by the fourth generation Hokage he admired, he became a new generation of demon fox, and was gradually alienated by people in the village. Yes, this child is you - Uzumaki Naruto."

Mizuki announced the answer.

In this way, Kyuubi's chakra should overflow, at the moment when Jinchuriki's mood is extremely unstable! Mizuki watched Naruto's every move closely, not daring to be careless, as if he was afraid that he might miss some important opportunity by blinking.

But Naruto's eyes were still blocked by darkness.

All the things I didn’t understand were understood.

Why among the children, I am the only one who is hostile by the adults.

In his memory, there has never been a memory that angered others.

And as long as the child doesn't make any particularly big mistakes, adults will laugh it off.

But he is different.

A small mistake will be infinitely magnified and directly escalated into a crime.

The rolling eyes of countless people, the contempt and disgust of countless people, are all so undisguised.

what do I do?

Damn it, my mind is so messed up!

Naruto covered his head, a little at a loss.

"Naruto, don't listen to this guy's nonsense, there is no such thing!"

Iruka was there hostile to Mizuki.

"Oh? Do you want to say that everything I said is wrong? But this is the absolute truth. You are deceiving yourself, Iruka."

Mizuki asked rhetorically.

"Naruto, that's not the case. I've always regarded you as..."

"Shut up. As a demon fox, you don't need such whitewashed and false sympathy. Naruto, come to me. Whether it's Iruka, Hokage, or other adults in the village, they are actually very afraid. Your existence. But I am different. I need your help very much, and I will take you to a place where no one will discriminate against you, and you may even be appreciated by some big shots. Come on, come with me. I am the only one here. This is your destination!”

Mizuki walked towards Naruto with a smile on his face.

However, his smile seemed to Naruto to have no smile at all.

He made a smile, but there was no smile in it. Naruto only felt that Mizuki at this moment made him feel extremely shocked and scared.

"You, don't come over..."

Naruto said stumblingly, retreating backwards.

"What, do you want to go back to that village full of hypocrisy? It's really sad. Teacher, I helped you with such kindness."

"Hypocritical, you just want to use me to steal the Sealed Book."

Like the adults in the village, they didn't care about his feelings at all.

And compared to the undisguised disgust of the adults in the village, Naruto hated people like Mizuki who were completely bad inside and out.

Once she falls into his hands, she will definitely die in an ugly way!

"Is that so? It would be the same to cut off your limbs and drag you away. Just make sure that Jinjuriki won't die."

Mizuki still had a smile on his face, but there were bursts of coldness in his eyes.

Moreover, his mind is not only on Naruto.

There was a certain uneasiness around the forest.

Dou, Anbe, and Genbu are all here. Are these guys planning to have a big meeting here when they get together? Mizuki thought to himself.

Although the situation was a bit on thin ice, Mizuki felt extremely excited.

Unexpectedly, a small person like myself would one day attract so much attention and become the only one in the field.

This is the best stage!

But these guys have all arrived, which means it's time to close the net.