"Stop! I, Sarutobi Asuma, am here!"
Asuma, who had been hidden in the woods for a long time, saw Mizuki charging towards Naruto. He couldn't spare time to search for Hayashi Lin and Kurenai. Using his wind-style chakra, he rushed to Naruto's side first and blocked Mizuki's kunai.
Clang!
Sparks of colliding metal were particularly striking in the dark night. Mizuki felt a sharp pain in his wrist and quickly dropped the kunai, which had been cut in half, and retreated.
"Such a sharp chakra blade."
Mizuki knew he was no match for the whiskered man before him, but giving up was impossible. He had sacrificed everything to obtain the Scroll of Seals.
And that brat Naruto, he couldn't let him go either!
"Although I don't know what's going on, you actually want to gravely harm a child. I cannot tolerate that."
The chakra blade in Asuma's hand was entwined with two strands of blue chakra light. Even Mizuki, who was not far away, could feel its sharpness.
If he were to be accidentally hit, his body would surely be cut open.
Mizuki's face contorted with ferocity. He extended two fingers and pulled a handful of small black balls from his ninja pouch, flinging them at Asuma.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three small black balls exploded in the air, producing a cloud of smoke that obscured everyone's vision.
Asuma shielded Naruto and said in a low voice, "Kid, hide behind me and stay alert."
Naruto knew very well that his current strength was no match for Mizuki, so he obediently stayed behind Asuma.
However, this smoke seemed to be specially made by Mizuki. Its concentration was lower than that of ordinary smoke bombs, and before Naruto could get close to Asuma, only thick smoke was visible.
The smoke drifting in the air also attracted the attention of the pursuing ninjas in the distance, who rushed towards the back of the Leaf Village.
Swish!
Tingling!
From within the dense smoke, the sounds of metal clashing and taijutsu exchanges could be heard intermittently. However, the smoke was too thick, and Naruto could only faintly hear some commotion, unable to see the situation clearly.
In the smoke, Asuma frowned, observing his surroundings. He could easily handle this situation, but if the opponent found Naruto in the smoke, it would be troublesome.
Asuma formed hand seals, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A gust of wind was exhaled from Asuma's mouth, and in the blink of an eye, it dispersed the surrounding smoke, bringing the scenery back into view.
Just as the smoke was dispersed with Asuma at its center, a kunai was shot from a tricky angle towards a blind spot behind Asuma.
Ding!
Another crisp sound of metal colliding echoed. Asuma looked at Mizuki, who slowly emerged from the smoke, and said, "The gap between us cannot be bridged by a few smoke bombs."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Mizuki grinned and gripped his kunai again, charging towards Asuma. Asuma shook his head, used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Mizuki, and lightly struck Mizuki's neck with the flat side of his blade.
"It's over."
Just as Asuma was about to strike a cool pose to end the battle, the Mizuki lying on the ground in front of him turned into a puff of white smoke with a "boom."
"Shadow Clone! Not good!"
Asuma's expression changed, and he hurriedly searched for Naruto. But it was too late. Mizuki had already captured Naruto, with a kunai pressed against Naruto's throat.
"I really have to thank you. If you hadn't dispersed the smoke, I wouldn't have been able to find Naruto."
The smile on Mizuki's face grew wider. He never expected this whiskered man to underestimate him so much, giving him a chance to turn the tables.
"Let Naruto go!"
Asuma cursed himself for being careless, not realizing that the opponent had used a shadow clone to stall him while the real body searched for Naruto.
If anything happened to Naruto, it would be a huge problem!
"Back off! Don't come any closer, or I'll kill him!"
Mizuki's kunai, pressed against Naruto's neck, drew a mark, and the skin was already broken. Seeing this, Asuma had no choice but to put away his chakra blade and retreat.
"That's right, a little further back."
Mizuki took the Scroll of Seals from Naruto with his other hand and slung it over his shoulder. At this moment, his attention was focused to the extreme.
As long as he had Naruto in his hands, he might be able to escape the Leaf Village safely with the Scroll of Seals today. Then, in the vast ninja world, who could find him?
Thinking of how he would learn advanced ninjutsu and dominate the ninja world in the future, Mizuki couldn't help but grin maliciously in Naruto's ear, "Naruto, it's all thanks to you. Without you, I wouldn't even have a chance to touch the Scroll of Seals."
Naruto swallowed nervously. He was truly afraid that Mizuki would shake his hand and he would die.
Father, didn't you say you would handle this for me?!
Where are you?!
At this time, in the Leaf Village Hospital, Minato Namikaze stood by the window and asked Iruka, "Iruka, do you think Naruto can be a good ninja?"
Iruka, sitting on the sickbed, blushed slightly when facing Minato. He was actually knocked unconscious by Naruto's Sexy Jutsu, which was a major stain on his life.
However, Iruka quickly adjusted his mindset and said, "Naruto is a lively and cheerful child, different from many of his peers. He's the kind of... um."
Minato turned around with a wry smile, "Iruka, you don't need to be like this. I know Naruto's mischievous and troublesome nature."
Iruka silently mourned for Naruto for a second, then began his rant.
"Hokage-sama, you have no idea. Naruto is always zoning out in class... he's always roughhousing with his classmates during breaks, especially with that Uchiha Sasuke... sometimes he even tricks Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba into skipping class... he's truly lawless!"
Minato's face grew darker as he listened to Naruto's endless "good deeds."
"Naruto has truly given Teacher Iruka a lot of trouble."
Minato sighed and apologized to Iruka.
Iruka quickly waved his hands and scratched his head, saying, "Hokage-sama, you don't need to be like this. To be honest, I really like Naruto as a student."
"Although he's sometimes very unruly and doesn't like to study, it's precisely because of this that Naruto always speaks his mind, and he will do his utmost to achieve what he promises."
Minato looked at Iruka, deeply moved, "So, Naruto he..."
Iruka nodded, his smile radiant, "I acknowledge Naruto. He has graduated."
...
"Hahaha, I really don't know how you became the Hokage's son with your IQ. Could it be that your father is as stupid as you are?"
Mizuki, holding Naruto hostage, slowly walked towards the outskirts of the Leaf Village. The Leaf ninjas who had gathered around dared not make any moves because of Naruto in Mizuki's hands.
"You're not allowed to talk about my father like that!" Naruto shouted angrily.
Mizuki's face contorted, "What? Are you angry? What can you do if you're angry? What can you do with your strength?"
"Damn it!"
Naruto felt the coldness on his neck, and his limbs became numb, unable to exert any strength.
So, this is what it feels like to face the threat of death for the first time?
As time passed, the two arrived outside the Leaf Village.
Mizuki roared at the Leaf ninjas in the distance, "You are not allowed to leave the Leaf Village by half a step, or I will kill this brat."
Everyone dared not move. They couldn't afford to be careless with the life of the Hokage's son.
After moving about half a mile away from the Leaf Village, Mizuki finally breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Naruto, saying, "Alright, you can go now."
Naruto's numb body had not yet recovered when he saw a kunai gradually enlarging in his pupils.
Mizuki grinned and raised his kunai, stabbing it towards Naruto's chest, "However, the path you're taking is the road to the underworld!"
How could Mizuki, with his petty mind, let Naruto insult him like this?
"Am I going to die?"
"Move, move!"
Naruto's mind frantically urged his body to move, but his numb body simply wouldn't obey. He could only watch helplessly as the sharp kunai plunged towards him.
Just then, the seal deep within Naruto's heart slowly cracked open, and a surge of red chakra gushed out.
At this moment, the blond man perched on a tree branch not far away stopped his rescue. A hint of red was reflected in his equally azure eyes.
"Go to hell!"
Mizuki, his expression crazed, plunged the kunai into Naruto's body, but there was no sensation of piercing flesh.
"What's going on? What is this thing!"
A stream of red chakra enveloped Naruto, and familiar music began to play. Naruto wiped his nose and said triumphantly, "It's my turn now!"
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Crackling, bang bang bang bang!
The smoke dissipated, and thousands of Narutos appeared in place, surrounding Mizuki, their faces filled with triumphant smiles.
"I originally wanted to use the Multiple Sexy Jutsu clones, but I decided against it. You're not worthy!"
"Everyone, attack together!"
Mizuki watched as thousands of Narutos rushed towards him and collapsed on the ground in terror. This was cheating!
"Ah!!!"
Mizuki's shrill screams echoed through the forest canopy.
...
"Phew, I'm so tired!"
Naruto looked at Mizuki, who was beaten to a pulp, and felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
However, in the next moment, the surrounding shadow clones gradually dispersed. Naruto's vision spun, and he tilted forward, about to fall to the ground.
Thump.
It wasn't the hard ground he expected, but a warm and sturdy embrace.
Minato Namikaze looked at Naruto, who was breathing steadily in his arms, and a smile appeared on his face. He gently took off the forehead protector from his own forehead and placed it on Naruto's head.
"Naruto, congratulations on graduating!"
At this moment, a ray of light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating the father and son.
The day had broken...