The warm sunlight filtered through the trees, casting long shadows across the academy grounds. Children clustered in groups, their laughter echoing like bells in the breeze. Proud parents stood nearby, congratulating their newly graduated genin with beaming smiles and tight embraces.
But away from the crowd, on a lonely swing beneath an aging tree, sat Naruto. The chains creaked with every small movement, and his feet dragged faint lines into the dirt.
He watched them all—his classmates smiling, their parents ruffling their hair or handing them headbands. His fingers tightened around the ropes of the swing.
"…Why did I fail?" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "Why is it always me?"
His voice was quiet, swallowed by the wind.
A soft crunch of footsteps on gravel made him glance up.
"Because the world isn't fair, Naruto."
Mizuki stood just a few feet away, arms folded casually, his usual warm smile painted across his face.
Naruto blinked. "Mizuki-sensei…?"
"You want to be a ninja, don't you?" Mizuki asked gently, stepping closer. "You work hard. You've got spirit. But sometimes… hard work just isn't enough in this world."
Naruto looked away, his throat tightening. He didn't want pity. He wanted someone to believe in him.
"But," Mizuki continued, crouching to Naruto's eye level, "there's a way you can still graduate."
Naruto turned back sharply. "Really?!"
Mizuki nodded. "It's a little secret. The Scroll of Seals—it's hidden in the Hokage's office. If you can learn a jutsu from it, just one, it proves your worth. You'll graduate, no question."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "You really think I can do it?"
Mizuki smiled again. "I know you can."
Unseen by either of them, Haruto crouched silently on a branch high above. His sharp eyes didn't miss a single word.
"Tch," he muttered under his breath, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Knew it. Mizuki's playing his hand."
His gaze lingered on Naruto's eager face.
The office was still. Moonlight poured through the windows, dust motes dancing in the glow. Naruto knelt in the center of the room, the massive Scroll of Seals unrolled before him.
His hands trembled slightly as he ran his fingers over the ancient writing.
'This is it… If I can learn something from here, I'll prove them wrong. I'll prove I'm not a failure.'
He swallowed hard, scanning the scroll until his eyes landed on a set of bold characters.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu…" he whispered.
His breath hitched. Unlike the regular Clone Jutsu, this one created real, tangible copies. Not illusions.
Naruto sat back, eyes wide. A fire began to burn in his chest.
"If I can pull this off…"
He didn't finish the thought. He simply got to work.
Time passed. The room echoed with the sound of his breath and the thrum of chakra. Again and again he tried, sweat soaking his clothes, face streaked with dirt. He pushed until his muscles ached and his vision swam.
Haruto leaned against the trunk of a tree, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the open window of the Hokage's office. His expression was unreadable.
"He's pushing himself too hard…" he muttered. "But he's got spirit, I'll give him that."
His eyes narrowed.
"Alright, Mizuki. Show your true colors."
Naruto sat against a tree, the massive scroll beside him. His chest heaved with exhaustion, but his eyes were glowing with determination.
He barely noticed the sound of someone approaching until—
"Naruto!"
He looked up, startled. "Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka appeared, breathless, eyes wide with worry. "What are you doing here?! Do you even realize what that scroll is?!"
Naruto frowned. "Huh? But… Mizuki-sensei said if I learned a jutsu from it, I'd pass the exam."
Iruka froze. "Mizuki told you…?"
A sudden whoosh cut through the trees. Instinctively, Iruka dove to the side.
Thunk!
A massive shuriken embedded itself into the ground where he had stood.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock.
"What the—?!"
A figure dropped from the trees with a sinister grin. Mizuki's usual kind features twisted into something cruel and smug.
"Well, well… Looks like you got here first, Iruka. Too bad."
The clearing was quiet—tense.
"Mizuki," Iruka growled, stepping in front of Naruto with his arms spread protectively. "So it was you all along."
Mizuki grinned, his usual pleasant mask twisted into something bitter and cruel."Of course it was. Naruto, you really are a fool. Did you honestly think stealing the Scroll of Seals would make you a ninja?"
Naruto froze."W-what…?"
"Don't listen to him!" Iruka barked. He could feel it—the moment was spiraling out of control.
But Mizuki wasn't done. He leaned in, voice like a serpent's hiss.
"You don't even know, do you? The real reason why this whole village hates you."
Iruka's eyes widened in horror."Stop it! Don't—!"
Too late.
"The truth, Naruto," Mizuki said, his voice laced with venom. "You… are the Nine-Tailed Fox."
Naruto felt like the world had been yanked out from under his feet.The Kyūbi…? Him?
He took an instinctive step back, his breath catching.
"That's right," Mizuki pressed, eyes gleaming. "Twelve years ago, the demon fox attacked Konoha. It tore through the village like paper… killed hundreds. And the Fourth Hokage couldn't destroy it. So he sealed it away. Into a newborn child."
Naruto's stomach clenched."No…"
"That child was you."
A silence heavier than any kunai settled over them.
And in that moment—everything made sense.The glares. The whispers. The loneliness.It wasn't because he was annoying.It wasn't because he was a failure.It was because… they all saw him as a monster.
Naruto's hands trembled. His vision blurred. He wanted to scream—but no sound came out.
Mizuki sneered. "You've been living a lie, Naruto. This village—"
"I think that's enough."
The voice was calm, but cold—like the first snap of ice before winter truly bites.
Mizuki froze, turning around just in time to see a boot smash across his face.
CRACK.
His body flew backwards, crashing into a tree with bone-rattling force.
Naruto blinked."H-Haruto…?"
Haruto stood in Mizuki's place, one hand still in his pocket. The other lazily dropped to his side.His usual playful expression was gone. His golden eyes were unreadable. Cold.
Naruto had never seen his brother like this.
Mizuki groaned, struggling up. "Y-you…"
But Haruto didn't let him speak. In a blur of movement—light as air, silent as shadow—he appeared in front of Mizuki and drove a kick deep into the man's ribs.
WHUMP.
Mizuki's body slid across the ground like a ragdoll, coughing blood.
Iruka stared.Naruto's mouth hung open.
"You bastard," Mizuki hissed, fury overtaking fear. "A damn brat like you—!"
He snatched the giant shuriken from his back and hurled it.
Haruto didn't flinch.
He raised his palm. No hand signs. No words.
Suddenly, chains of glowing energy burst from the air around him, catching the spinning blade mid-flight. The shuriken shattered into fragments, scattering harmlessly into the grass.
Naruto's jaw dropped."What… was that?!"
Mizuki's eyes went wide in disbelief. "T-That's not… any known jutsu!"
Haruto tilted his head with a cheerful smile."I could kill you now. But where's the fun in that?"
"You damned brat!"
SHUNK.
A sword pierced Mizuki's thigh out of nowhere.
He screamed in agony.
"You talk too much," Haruto muttered, squinting with a smile. "Why not be quiet for once?"
"I'll kill you, you little—!"
SHUNK.
A second sword impaled his other thigh.
Mizuki collapsed, twitching, barely able to breathe.
Haruto clicked his tongue. "Be grateful you're still useful. Otherwise—"He snapped his fingers.
A rock the size of a melon dropped from above, slamming into Mizuki's skull and knocking him out cold.
Silence fell.
Naruto stared.Iruka stared.
Haruto exhaled and rolled his shoulders like he'd just finished a light workout."Man… that was annoying."