Because of his depression, Mizuki drank more and more sake, and before he knew it, he lay on the table, muttering to himself in a daze. At the same time, the voices from the next table reached his ears one by one.
The two shinobi at the neighbouring table seemed to be lamenting the weakness of their own strength.
The young shinobi's voice sounded, "Alas, it's a pity that I'm only a Chūnin. If I were a Jōnin, I would definitely be respected by everyone!"
Another shinobi, with a hoarse voice, answered, "Don't just eat food and drink sake... Do you want to be a Jōnin? I do, too, but you don't have the talent."
"Well, I know I don't have the talent to be a Jōnin." The young shinobi seemed unconvinced and said, "If I could learn more powerful jutsu, I believe I would be able to stand out and be respected by everyone."
"It's not that easy."
Yeah, it's not that easy.
The dazed Mizuki agreed with what the hoarse-voiced shinobi said. He also wanted to become a Jōnin, wanted to learn more powerful jutsu so that everyone would look up to him, but who would teach him?
Thinking of this, Mizuki felt even more miserable.
The young shinobi retorted, "Tsk! Who said it's not easy? The village's Scroll of Sealing is full of powerful jutsu. If you learn even one, you can become a Jōnin."
"You're drunk!"
"I'm not drunk... not at all.
Hehe, you don't know. Today, when I went to the Hokage Tower to deliver some information, I saw that the Hokage seemed to be reorganizing things. He sent someone to put the Scroll of Sealing in the first room at the corner of the second floor, and there was no one guarding it!"
"Shut up, what if someone hears you!"
"Oh, no one's here. The guy at the next table is already drunk. Look, he's been lying on the table for quite some time!"
"You be quiet too!"
"Okay, okay, I know!"
Mizuki, who had been lying on the table in a daze, was instantly awakened, and all the drunkenness in his body disappeared.
Scroll of Sealing, Hokage, Reorganizing, Powerful Jutsu...
A series of jumbled thoughts flowed through Mizuki's mind, and an irrepressible greed rose in his heart.
Anyone else might have noticed something was wrong.
But for someone like Mizuki, who was eager for quick success and often jealous of others, he could only see the benefits he might gain and wouldn't consider other issues.
Suppressing his inner excitement, Mizuki continued lying on the table pretending to be asleep until the two shinobi at the next table paid their bill and left. Then he sat up.
"The Scroll of Sealing! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I absolutely cannot miss it."
After hastily paying and leaving, Mizuki still relied on the last bit of his rationality and visited the home of a friend who also frequently went to the Hokage Tower.
But in fact, this so-called friend was an Anbu member specifically assigned to investigate Mizuki's suspicious behaviour. The two had become friends because the Anbu shinobi had deliberately approached him.
"Mizuki, why are you here?"
The Anbu shinobi, who had received his orders long ago, pretended nothing unusual and looked at Mizuki, who had suddenly appeared confused.
Mizuki feigned concern and said, "Oh, I was planning to treat you to a drink today, but I heard from others that you've been very busy recently, so I came to check on you."
The Anbu shinobi nodded, "It's been busy indeed.
Recently, the Hokage has been organizing and storing documents from the past few years, so we've been busy, too.
I've been in and out of the Hokage Tower several times in the past few days, each time carrying stacks of documents back and forth."
"I see. The work that Hokage-sama ordered is important, but you also need to make sure you rest."
Mizuki continued chatting with the Anbu shinobi, and after a while, he took the initiative to say goodbye and leave.
Yes, the Hokage Tower is indeed reorganizing information.
In other words, the Scroll of Sealing really is in that place!
Soon after Mizuki left, Shihouin Naraku emerged from the shadows.
The Anbu shinobi stepped forward respectfully, "Captain!"
"Well done," Naraku replied.
Under Shihouin Naraku's orders, Mizuki's every move was being monitored.
The two shinobi who had leaked information while drinking in the tavern were also part of his plan.
In this way, Mizuki completely fell into the trap of his own greed, coveting the Scroll of Sealing.
In the following days, the Academy graduation exam was held as usual. Uzumaki Naruto failed as expected and did not successfully graduate from the Academy.
Even when Iruka-sensei treated Uzumaki Naruto to his favourite ramen afterwards, it didn't lift his spirits.
What was even more surprising was that perhaps because of the tree-walking training and sparring they had done together, Uchiha Sasuke was too proud to mock Uzumaki Naruto. Instead, he showed his concern in a somewhat awkward way.
Originally, after the fierce battle between Shihouin Naraku, Hatake Kakashi, and Might Guy, Uzumaki Naruto had been enthusiastically looking for Shihouin Naraku in the village, wanting him to teach powerful jutsu.
But now that he had failed to graduate, Uzumaki Naruto was too embarrassed to meet Shihouin Naraku, finding it too shameful.
Just at this moment, when Uzumaki Naruto was extremely depressed, Mizuki approached him, pretended to be concerned, and revealed the existence of the Scroll of Sealing. He told Naruto that if he learned jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing, he would definitely be able to graduate.
Uzumaki Naruto, already anxious about graduation, immediately took the bait. He then used his Transformation Jutsu to take the Scroll of Sealing right in front of many shinobi guards, both visible and hidden.
Yes, take it!
Do not steal it!
Shihouin Naraku worried that Uzumaki Naruto might be shortsighted, had clearly written "Scroll of Sealing" on the scroll.
And so a pursuit that many people knew about began!
Umino Iruka was anxiously searching for Uzumaki Naruto!
Mizuki was fully armed and full of pride!
The Third Hokage seemed worried, but he was actually sitting in his office playing with a crystal ball and watching a 'movie'!
And Shihouin Naraku, with a group of well-trained and powerful Anbu members, deliberately failed to catch up with Uzumaki Naruto!
What a great show!
Shihouin Naraku used to watch anime, but now he was actually watching this drama that would play a decisive role in Uzumaki Naruto's life!
Shihouin Naraku and the Anbu members stood in the trees, concealing their presence, and watched the touching scene unfolding in the clearing below.
"Iruka is indeed a good teacher!"
The Anbu members around nodded in agreement; this was also their opinion.
His parents had died at the hands of the Nine-Tails. Even though he had once harboured resentment, Iruka eventually reconciled with himself and truly regarded Uzumaki Naruto as family.
It is even fair to say that Uzumaki Naruto's father figure was, in many ways, Umino Iruka!
Even Konohagakure had to thank Umino Iruka. Without his care, who knows what Uzumaki Naruto might have become.
It was hard to say whether a massive spiral of destruction might have been unleashed upon Konohagakure instead.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting in the Hokage's office, was also very satisfied with the good teacher he had chosen for Uzumaki Naruto.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!!!"
Iruka's firm approval boosted Uzumaki Naruto's courage, and the moment of truth arrived.
In an instant, Shadow Clones appeared everywhere before everyone's eyes!
The Clone Jutsu, which Uzumaki Naruto had once been terrible at, had now been replaced by his mastery of the Shadow Clone Jutsu!
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