—How did you figure it out?— asked the white-haired shinobi in the bandana.
—Heh…— The transformation technique dissipated, revealing to the rogue chunin the sight of a wounded Iruka leaning against a tree trunk.
Mizuki cursed under his breath.
Nearby, also leaning against a tree, hid a blond boy in an orange jumpsuit. He clutched a scroll of secret techniques with all his might. The child still couldn't believe what Mizuki had told him. But slowly, everything was falling into place.
*He was the demon.* That's why everyone hated him. They all knew. But why had no one told Naruto? Why had they kept him in the dark?
The conversation between the two instructors didn't last much longer. He had finally realized that everything the rogue chunin had said was true. Iruka-sensei and the others might very well hate him. But then why had Iruka-sensei treated him to ramen, always encouraged him? Why had the teacher saved him before, shielding him from a giant shuriken? And why was he trying to protect him now?
Suddenly, all three on the clearing felt a strange, faint tremor. It wasn't like the shaking of an earthquake—more like the entire world around them was vibrating. Space itself seemed to ripple.
After a moment, everything went still again…
**BOOM**
A deafening impact echoed from deep within the forest, several miles away from the trio. The shockwave reached even this far. The standing chunin barely kept his footing.
—A tailed beast?! What the hell was that?!— Mizuki blurted out, completely forgetting about Iruka for a moment.
The sound was as if someone had detonated an entire warehouse of explosive tags. For a moment, the shinobi froze, staring in the direction of the explosion.
However, no further blasts followed—only the distant flapping of startled birds and the cries of frightened animals. Mizuki relaxed slightly, though he remained on guard. Time was running out now. He needed to finish what he'd started and then get the hell out of here. ANBU would likely investigate the explosion soon.
—Hmph…— The rogue shinobi narrowed his eyes. —Whatever that was, it doesn't matter. I was going to deal with you later, Iruka… but I've changed my mind! I'll kill you first, then take care of the brat.
Mizuki bared his teeth in a crazed grin and slowly drew a fuma shuriken from his back. In the next instant, he spun the weapon and lunged at the wounded instructor.
—You're finished!—
***
**BOOM**
Space tore open—a bald man in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt tumbled out of the portal.
—Huh? Night already?— Saitama looked around for familiar landmarks, but all he saw was forest.
The portal behind him slowly closed as he wondered why it had been midday just moments ago, yet now it was pitch-black night.
—How the hell do I get back to City Z? Tch! Gotta check on Genos ASAP. Guess I'll just pick a direction and run.
Choosing a random path, he immediately broke into a sprint, blurring past monstrously huge trees. Occasionally, one of those trees got in his way—but the bald hero barely noticed. A few moments later, he spotted people in a small clearing and skidded to a halt.
Saitama was overjoyed. People! Today was his lucky day. Running into someone in an unfamiliar forest at night? That was practically a miracle.
The next instant, a giant shuriken came flying straight at him, slicing through branches.
—Uh…— was all he managed to say before stopping the blade with two fingers… an inch from his eye.
"This is a problem." If these people were hostile, getting directions to the nearest city would be tough.
—Who's there?! Show yourself!— shouted a white-haired guy with a bandana, picking himself up off the ground.
Saitama stepped forward with his hands raised, still holding the massive shuriken. He didn't want to provoke them, so he plastered the dumbest expression he could muster on his face.
The scene before him was odd. One guy was badly wounded, slumped against a tree with a log beside him. The bandana guy looked roughed up but was still standing. Both wore the same weird green-vested uniform. The third was just a kid—blond, in an orange jumpsuit with blue accents.
"At least one of them has decent fashion sense," Saitama thought, "though yellow and red would've been better…"
What surprised him most was the kid's stance—legs spread, fingers forming a weird cross, his sharp gaze darting between Saitama and the bandana guy.
—Who the hell are you?— the white-haired one demanded. —And why the hell are you holding my fuma shuriken? Give it back!—
Caped Baldy lowered his hands and blinked at the metal disc between his fingers.
—Oh. Sorry, here you go…—
Saitama *needed* to get back to City Z. If he smoothed things over, maybe they'd point him in the right direction. So he decided to be polite and return the weird weapon.
**WHOOSH**
—Oops,— the bald hero muttered.
The white-haired guy barely dodged with a substitution technique. Who knew he wouldn't even try to catch his own toy?
The shuriken sliced clean through the replacement log and embedded itself halfway into a tree.
—What the hell?! You crazy bastard!— Mizuki roared. —You're dead!—
After the substitution, the shinobi lunged at the bald stranger, pulling a kunai from his pouch. Rage twisted his face, his whole body trembling…
***
The chunin should've shut up and finished the job earlier. But no, he had to play with his prey. Everything had been going smoothly—until that explosion from deep in the woods. Mizuki had considered retreating, but after the long silence, he'd decided to wrap things up: kill Iruka, retrieve the scroll, then deal with the brat.
But then everything went to hell. The brat had knocked him down, interrupting his attack on Iruka. Another distant explosion. And now, of all times, his last fuma shuriken had flown off into the woods, cutting through branches.
And then, moments later, some bald guy had emerged from nowhere holding his fuma shuriken. The only silver lining? The man looked like an idiot and nothing like a shinobi. So Mizuki would eliminate this unwanted witness, then finish off the jinchuriki brat and wounded Iruka.
The string of failures only fueled the chunin's fury. Accelerating, he aimed a precise strike at the bald stranger's eye.
—W-what?!— Mizuki whispered, stunned.
The man had stopped the kunai a hair's breadth from his eyeball. The shinobi tried to yank the weapon free—but it was like trying to pull it out of solid stone.
The stranger's dumb expression sharpened into something cold and focused.
—Enough with the pointy things,— he said flatly. —Just tell me how to get to City Z.
—Huh?!—
The question left everyone speechless. None of them had ever heard of a "City Z." For hundreds of miles around, there was nothing like it—just the Fire Country's capital, the Hidden Leaf Village, and a few small settlements. Hell, the entire continent probably didn't have a city by that name.
Snapping out of his daze, Mizuki tried again to wrench the kunai free. No luck.
—Go to hell, baldy!— the chunin snarled.
A crushing wave of killing intent crashed over the clearing, drenching everyone in cold sweat.
***
Saitama's eye twitched. The kunai in his grip shattered into pieces.
Two things pissed Caped Baldy off more than anything else. First—mosquitoes. Second—people mocking his baldness. What was he supposed to do? His insane training had cost him his hair.
—YES, I'M BALD! GOT A PROBLEM?!— he bellowed.
But then he caught himself and calmed down. He needed directions to City Z, and yelling wouldn't help.
The white-haired guy, now on his knees, trembled in shock—probably from fear. Saitama figured talking to this guy was pointless and turned toward the others. But before he could take two steps, the bandana-wearing bastard grinned and lunged at him again with another kunai.
—Enough with the damn knives!— Saitama snapped, sending the unlucky chunin flying with an uppercut.
The white-haired man cratered into a tree before slumping over a thick branch. It was unclear if he was unconscious or just dead.
—So… about City Z? Anybody gonna help me out?
—Yeah, dattebayo!— the blond kid piped up cheerfully. —Right, Iruka-sensei?
—Uh… yeah, Naruto. We'll help him,— the instructor answered hesitantly. —Thank you. Without you, we wouldn't have…
Saitama stared blankly at the wounded man.
—Without me what? What's even going on here?
Before anyone could answer, five masked figures dropped from the trees in front of him—then five more to his left. The ten ANBU operatives swiftly encircled the clearing. Two med-nin landed beside Iruka and began first aid.
A moment later, a man in white robes and a hat stepped out from the trees. Moonlight revealed his wedge-shaped gray beard.
—Hokage-sama!— Iruka tried to rise, but the jonin forced him back down to treat his wounds.
—Gramps!— Naruto cheered. —We caught the traitor! And I learned a cool new move! And we met this awesome bald guy! He took out Mizuki in one punch, and—
The kid's word-vomit was cut short as the ANBU exchanged glances.
—That's enough, Naruto,— Hiruzen said sternly.
The Hokage assessed the situation, glanced at Mizuki's limp body hanging from the tree, then fixed a piercing gaze on the stranger. Tense silence settled over the clearing.