"Yes. After all, I am a shinobi. Isn't it natural to be curious about ninjutsu? I heard the Scroll of Seals contains techniques beyond imagination…"
Before Naruto could finish, he noticed Iruka had stopped beside his desk at the very back of the classroom. In his hands was a stack of report cards.
It was break time. Turning his head, Naruto saw that apart from Shikamaru sprawled out asleep, only Sasuke remained in the room.
"Iruka-sensei, is there something wrong with my grades?"
"No, nothing." Iruka exhaled deeply, his expression conflicted, then held the papers out to Naruto. "I came to apologize."
"Apologize?" Naruto's eyes glimmered with amusement.
"Yes." Iruka's gaze steadied, sincerity pouring into his voice. "I shouldn't have looked at you with prejudice."
Naruto tilted his head slightly. From the look in Iruka's eyes, he wasn't pretending. The corner of his lips curved. "Iruka-sensei, you really are a good person."
"T…thank you."
The words made Iruka flustered. For some reason, when Naruto said it, it didn't sound quite right.
Naruto's smile lingered as Iruka tried to maintain a gentle expression. "You are an excellent student. If there is anything you don't understand, you can come to me anytime."
Naruto only nodded silently, the smile unchanged.
So the Hokage was right. Naruto did not resist when others approached him. That thought eased Iruka's heart. He turned and returned to the podium.
Meanwhile, inside a conference room in the Hokage building, the Third Hokage sat with his three advisors.
"Civil complaints are increasing. The villagers are furious with the Police Force for their harsh methods. These are all protest letters."
Koharu Utatane pushed forward a thick stack of documents.
"Indeed," Homura Mitokado added grimly. "Suspicion and distrust toward the Uchiha rise with every day."
"Hiruzen, it is time to decide. The Uchiha flaunt their power more openly with each passing moment."
Danzo's single eye gleamed as he spoke coldly.
"All of this traces back to the Nine Tails incident," Hiruzen replied, face expressionless.
"But the Uchiha were not harmed then," Homura countered.
Koharu immediately followed. "And that is precisely why suspicion festers."
Hiruzen's expression grew heavier. "Yes. The decision to keep the Uchiha away from the Nine Tails during that crisis planted the seeds of doubt long ago."
Danzo's voice cut through sharply. "That isolation was established as Konoha's fundamental policy since the time of the Second Hokage."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "Tobirama's intent was not to isolate, but to balance. Every clan in the village had to be checked by another. The Uchiha must be handled carefully. Right now, circumstances are not…"
"Lord Hokage! Kakashi has arrived, and the Barrier Corps has urgent findings!"
The meeting ended abruptly. Koharu and Homura rose immediately. Even Danzo, after locking eyes with Hiruzen for a long moment, turned and left without a word.
Moments later Kakashi entered with the Barrier Corps captain, both carrying reports. Hiruzen read them quickly, his expression darkening.
"Kakashi, your opinion."
"No trace of the intruder. Whoever it is, we don't yet know their goal. The only option I see is to flood the area with manpower, combining with the Barrier Corps to overwhelm them."
"But the Uchiha compound is sealed by their barrier. The Corps cannot enter. The only way is to order the Police Force to increase its own patrols. However…"
Kakashi hesitated.
"However what?"
"The Uchiha atmosphere has changed. They reject outsiders more fiercely than ever. They no longer welcome even our presence."
"I see." Hiruzen closed the report slowly. "Leave it to me. Your task here is done."
Night fell, the village blanketed by silence.
Naruto sat on the second floor of his home, in the Mirror World with Minato, studying chakra transformation. Pale blue chakra surged over his fists as he shaped it into shifting forms.
Finally, his left hand clenched, and chakra burst outward, forming a round shield before him.
"Father, is this shield the Sand Village used?"
Minato nodded. "Yes. This is the path of shape transformation. Master this thoroughly before you attempt to add elemental properties to the Rasengan. But remember, training here is theory. The real world will differ."
Naruto understood. Until he could slip free of surveillance, all of this was preparation.
Suddenly Minato's voice sharpened. "Naruto, the number of watchers outside has doubled."
Naruto snapped back into his body, senses flooding outward. Something was wrong.
The village was far too quiet. More ANBU were stationed outside his home, and the chakra of countless shinobi pulsed restlessly through Konoha as if no one intended to sleep.
And most striking, the entire Uchiha compound was sealed by a massive barrier. Shinobi gathered thickly outside. He could even feel Hiruzen Sarutobi's chakra among them.
"So it begins."
Naruto strode to the window. The moon above shone full and round, silver light bathing the rooftops.
The Hokage's office was empty.
Naruto closed the window gently. He donned the black robe and mask.
"Father, the time has come."
"What do you mean?" Minato asked, alarm flashing.
But Naruto had already split into a shadow clone, his real body finishing its transformation.
A blur, and he appeared inside the Hokage's office. He scoured the shelves and desk. Two bookcases, one desk. No sign of the Scroll of Seals.
"Father, where is it?"
"In the Forbidden Jutsu Vault," Minato answered at last. "Naruto, you didn't truly think it would be kept here, did you?"
Naruto's lips curved beneath the mask. His face, however, grew cold. "So it seems I assumed too much."
He opened the desk drawer. Inside lay a crystalline orb, gleaming faintly.
"The crystal ball," he murmured.
"Father, can the Hokage forge another?"
"No. That was a treasure Tobirama himself created, using rare resources gathered by the daimyo of Fire Country. There is only one."
Naruto studied it. Yes, in all the history he knew, only the Great Toad Sage possessed another orb.
He placed both hands upon it, chakra surging. At once, the Mirror World pulsed with sound.
Data collected… Updating… Synchronization complete… Uzumaki Naruto, authority elevated: Third-Level Master of the World.
Naruto's laughter was low. "So even this yields a reward."
His palm crackled with chakra.
Cracks spread. The orb shattered to dust.
Another shadow clone appeared.
"The Hokage Monument. I leave it to you."
The clone vanished with Flying Thunder God.
Minato's face was grim. "Naruto, this will kill countless people…"
Naruto's eyes glowed. "I know. But Father, you understand too. If I only destroy the Hokage's crystal ball, suspicion will fall directly on me. Only by burning down the trail, by burying this entire shadow, can I clear the path. I am only removing the stones they have placed before my feet."
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