Chapter 6: Success
"Hey, Shorty, look. What's that blond kid freaking out about now?"
Naruto's commotion as he practiced the Shadow Clone Jutsu had attracted two other students who had just finished their exam and were on their way home.
"What else? Probably practicing that basic Clone Jutsu even a three-year-old could do. Look at him, his hands are shaking just making the seal. He's a total embarrassment to the Academy. I don't even know what kind of bastard let him in."
"A bastard for the monster? Heh, Shorty, you're getting funnier. I didn't know becoming a shinobi had perks like this."
"You're not so bad yourself, Lanky."
The two shared a laugh, casually tossing their new Konoha headbands in their hands.
Lanky picked up a stray stone and chucked it hard at the back of Naruto's head. "Hey, monster, you hear us?"
"I'm not a monster."
Shorty sneered. "Not a monster? Then tell us, why does every dog in the village walk the other way when they see you?"
He took a few steps closer and deliberately slammed his shoulder into Naruto's arm. "I heard you can't even master the three basic jutsu. If I were you, I'd have packed my bags and crawled out of the Academy a long time ago."
"You're lying!" Naruto's fists clenched.
Lanky suddenly shoved Naruto from behind, sending the boy stumbling forward.
When Naruto turned back, he saw the two of them kicking his Konoha headband, which he had hung on a tree branch, as if it were some interesting toy.
"Give that back!" Naruto roared, lunging at them. Lanky just sidestepped him.
Shorty took the opening to grab the back of Naruto's collar and slam him onto the ground.
Naruto had just started to get up when a vicious kick landed in the small of his back.
"This is all you've got? And you want to be a shinobi?" Lanky's voice came from above, dripping with undisguised malice. "I don't think you're even fit to polish our boots."
"A shinobi?" Shorty pinched Naruto's headband between two fingers in disgust. "I bet he just fished this headband out of the garbage."
Naruto gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, chakra surging violently in his chest.
He saw Shorty kick out again and instinctively threw his arms up to protect his face.
The headband suddenly hit him square in the face, its metal edge scraping his brow. A sharp, stinging pain flared up.
"Can't even make a hand seal? What a total failure—" The words were like a red-hot needle, stabbing deep into Naruto's heart.
All the nights he'd been isolated, all the afternoons people had thrown rocks at him, all the evenings he'd spent alone on the training ground, talking to the targets... it all rushed back to him.
He was not a failure. He would prove it to everyone!
"I'm not a failure!"
"You're not a failure?" Lanky looked at Naruto with amusement, as if he'd found a fun new toy. "Shorty, go teach him a lesson. Make him understand that just having a headband doesn't make you a shinobi."
"You got it. Watch this."
Shorty cracked his knuckles, his joints popping loudly, and a nasty grin spread across his face. "Since Lanky gave the word, I guess I'll just have to show you reality."
He suddenly dashed forward, his fist whistling through the air as it aimed straight for Naruto's face.
Naruto instinctively ducked his head, and the punch grazed his cheek, slamming into the tree trunk behind him. It shook a few dead leaves loose.
"Not bad, a quick reaction," Shorty sneered, flipping his wrist and driving his elbow toward Naruto's chest.
Naruto didn't have time to think. He threw himself backward, awkwardly dodging the blow.
"Is that all you can do?" Lanky taunted from the side. "You can barely even dodge Shorty's attacks. You still dare to say you're not a failure?"
Naruto gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his back as he forced himself to stand straight.
He knew he couldn't back down. If he backed down now, he really would be the failure they called him.
He took a deep breath, focusing, trying to control the chakra inside him.
Seeing that Naruto still wouldn't give up, Shorty's eyes hardened, and he charged again. This time he was faster, his punch heavier.
Naruto watched Shorty's movements intently, trying to find an opening.
Just as the fist was about to connect, Naruto's feet suddenly moved. His body slipped to the side, avoiding the punch by a hair's breadth.
"You can dodge one, but can you dodge the second?" Shorty sneered, changing his fist to an open palm and swiping at Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto's heart tightened. He scrambled backward but tripped on a stone, lost his balance, and fell.
Shorty's face lit up with a triumphant smile. He leaped into the air, pouncing on the fallen Naruto, ready to deliver a final, brutal blow.
At that exact second, a sharp glint flashed in Naruto's eyes.
He remembered what Iruka-sensei had told him: no matter how hard it gets, never give up.
"I AM NOT A FAILURE!" Naruto roared again. The chakra inside him, as if summoned, began to surge wildly.
He snapped his hands up, forming the seal for the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
This time, his movements were perfectly fluid, without a trace of hesitation.
POOF! POOF! POOF!
Countless Narutos suddenly appeared, surrounding Shorty, trapping him in the middle.
The triumphant grin on Shorty's face froze, replaced by pure, utter shock.
He could not believe that this kid, this failure he'd been beating on, had actually learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Th-This is impossible!" Shorty stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Lanky was stunned, too. He stared at the sea of Narutos that had appeared from nowhere, speechless.
He thought this was going to be a one-sided beatdown, but he never expected this.
The real Naruto slowly got to his feet. He looked at Shorty, who was now surrounded by clones, and his eyes were cold. "Now... do you still think I'm a failure?"
Shorty looked at the dense crowd of Narutos around him, his whole body shaking. He couldn't say a word.
He knew he was screwed.
Naruto gave him no chance to recover. He gave the order to his clones: "Teach him a lesson!"
At Naruto's command, the countless clones swarmed.
Shorty tried to fight back, but under the onslaught of so many Narutos, he was powerless. He was quickly beaten black and blue, left lying on the ground, unable to move.
Lanky, seeing his friend beaten to a pulp, felt his legs go weak with fear.
He watched as Naruto took a step toward him. "You... you stay away from me!"
Naruto stopped, staring at Lanky coldly. "Scared now? You were pretty arrogant a minute ago."
Lanky swallowed hard. "I... I was wrong, Naruto! Let me go! I'll never do it again!"
"If 'sorry' was good enough, what would we need fists for?"
"Aaaah!"
"Please, spare me—"
"Too late!"