Forum Thread

Co-authored with Serendibite!

Long ago, a fox demon with nine long tails appeared. Each tail contained untold power, levelling mountains and releasing hurricanes with a single swipe. Ninja from Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, surrounded the fox in an attempt to restrain it and defend their village. Greatest among them was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. With his power, he managed to imprison the demon and seal it within a human vessel, at the cost of his own life.

What this human vessel would choose to do with their power would remain up to the fates. For better or for worse, the fate of the world rested in the hands of this infant. He who would wield powers unseen by human eyes and unmeasured by human abilities.

Spray-painting makeup on the Hokage Monument was definitely the mark of a future Hokage. It spoke to stealth, wit, and a general irresponsibility that almost surpassed that of his predecessor. Hopefully, for him at least, it wouldn’t be the only way in which he surpassed the Third Hokage and those before him.

“Get back here, Naruto! What the hell is wrong with you!?” As soon as he heard their voices, Naruto dropped his paint and began to run down the main street, laughing hysterically. two Chuunin yelled at the top of their lungs behind him. Flocks of people peeled back, paving a clear path for the kid and his pursuers.

“Get back here, you dumb brat!”

Naruto swerved onto a side street, narrowly ducking to avoid the cans of paint tumbling down. “Thanks, Konohamaru!” he called.

His mark was successful. The sound of angry Chuunin followed Naruto even as he ducked into an abandoned shack.

Giggling helplessly, he slid down against the wall, hiding his face behind his hands.

“I sincerely hope you have an explanation, Naruto.” Naruto jumped, slipping down with a curse. “Because I don’t intend on making one for you.”

There, standing over him in the unkept building, was Iruka-sensei. As usual, Iruka had his hair tied up and his face scowling. “We can handle that later. Get to class.”

Naruto’s face went pale as he stood up and began to slink out. “Yes, Iruka Sensei.”


Iruka stood, fuming, in front of the whole class. “Thanks to Naruto’s actions today, you will all be taking a retest on the Transformation Jutsu. Even those of you who already passed, everyone is retaking it!”

Sakura stepped forward, putting her hands together into a hand sign. “Transformation Jutsu!” A cloud of smoke appeared, and out of it came an exact copy of Iruka sensei, smile and all. At the real Iruka’s nod, Sakura untransformed and walked back to her seat.

“Sasuke Uchiha!” Sasuke stepped forward, made a hand sign, and muttered a few words. Once again, from through the smoke, another Iruka appeared. The real Iruka nodded, and Sasuke returned to his own frowning form.

“Naruto Uzumaki!” Naruto stepped forward. He pulled his hands together into a hand sign, and began gathering chakra. Unlike with the others, his thick and potent chakra was visible in a framed sphere around him. It continued to rotate at increasingly powerful speeds, and a cloud of smoke appeared. “Transform!”

Instead of anything a teacher would’ve wanted to see, from the smoke emerged... well, this is Pokeheroes so idk if I can keep this part in, but anyone who's seen Naruto knows. Iruka jumped backwards, bleeding from both nostrils, nearly passing out. He lay, twitching, on the floor for a minute, before recovering.

“You!..” He took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, you pass.” ‘Of all the ways to pass…’


Naruto stood on a rough metal maintenance platform, Iruka peering down at him with a face slightly less intimidating than the one Iruka sat on. In each hand, Naruto held a moist sponge, occasionally bending down to dip them into a bucket of soapy water. As he scrubbed the (admittedly well-drawn) makeup from the Third Hokage’s profile, he let out a series of heavy grunts.

“Stupid Iruka. Stupid old man. Stupid adults!” Naruto threw one sponge at the stone cliff, watching it fall down into the bucket once more. He banged his fist and soon his head against the cliff in frustration.

“I’m not letting you go home until you finish this, Naruto.” Iruka’s well-meaning voice chimed out above.

“So what, I could care less, it’s not like I’ve got anyone there to greet me!” Naruto began to once again aggressively scrub the added “features”. There was a long pause, Naruto still cleaning at the paint, before Iruka began to speak.

“If you want…” Iruka remembered a conversation he had with Hiruzen previously.

“Iruka,” The Third Hokage started. “I know how you feel about Naruto… and about the Nine-Tails. But I want you to remember, Naruto can understand how you feel. He too has lived his life with his parents gone for reasons he can barely begin to understand, and he too has understood the way people treat you for being different. You two are much alike. I want you to try to understand him.”

‘Yes, Lord Third Hokage. I understand.’

“If you want, I can take you out for some ramen at Ichiraku’s once you’re done. My treat.” Naruto perked up at this.

“Free ramen!? Oh hell yeah, I’ll have this done in no time!” His hands begin to move at almost unseeable speeds, leaving nothing behind where they covered. Iruka sighed, dipping his head. ‘Of course ramen is what would motivate him. Oh well, he can’t eat that much, right?’


Naruto sat, 2 stacks of dirty ramen bowls in front of him, showing no signs of stopping. Iruka let out a sigh. He could nearly feel the burning hole in his pocket. “So, Naruto, why did you do that anyways? Those faces are sacred, even to you, so why vandalise them? You do realise who the Hokage are, right?”

“Of course I do, they’re the most important ninja in our village! They were considered to be the strongest warriors of their time! The Fourth especially, he was a hero! He saved the whole village almost singlehandedly!”

“Then why mess up the monument?” Iruka felt like he was getting nowhere.

Naruto smirked. “Because I’m gonna be one of them one day! I’ll be the strongest there is! And then,” Naruto laughed. “if one comes along who’s stronger than me, they can do that to my face! I’ll be beautiful!” Naruto was nearly in tears with hilarity by now.

“Once I become Hokage, people will finally look up to me! They won’t treat me like some dirt smear to ignore, they’ll treat me with respect! Starting with you!”

Naruto paused to take a long slurp of his ramen. “Hey, sensei. Can I try on your headband? Please, please?”

Iruka, eyes wide, was taken aback. “This thing? No, not a chance in hell. This is only for ninja to wear, and you haven’t even made Genin!”

“Aww, c’mon sensei, just for a minute!”

“No way, sorry Naruto. Maybe if you graduate tomorrow.”


“Today is the day of your graduation exam. Each of you will be tested and ranked individually. When your name is called, come into the evaluation room. This test will be on the Clone Jutsu, and…” Iruka continued, but Naruto’s mind began to run amok.

‘Oh come on, clones!? That’s my worst jutsu! I can never get it right, I always do something wrong! It doesn’t matter how many hours I practice, it just won’t work!’

A few kids are called in and walk out with a smile on their face and a headband on their… head.

“Naruto Uzumaki!” As he got out of his seat, Naruto heard snickers around him.

“That kid again, no way he’s gonna pass.”

Naruto stormed down and into the examination room. Once he took his place and faced the instructors, Iruka and Mizuki, he began to focus his chakra. After a lot of intense focusing and grunting, a cloud of smoke materialised beside him. From it came a pale, limp form. It was barely recognisable as Naruto.

“You failed the test, Naruto. For the fourth time.” Iruka, exasperated, buried his face in his hands.

“Oh come on Iruka, give the kid a break. He’s got good strength and plenty of chakra, and he still managed to produce something. Why don’t we just let him pass?”

Iruka shook his head. “The other students produced 3 healthy clones with ease, while he could barely produce one living clone. If he were put onto a squad, he wouldn’t last a day.”

Before Mizuki could respond, Naruto walked out of the room, dragging his feet behind him.


Later that day, Naruto and Mizuki sat on a rooftop together, talking. “I don’t get it, why doesn’t he just let me pass already!? I’ve been trying so hard, training so much! I deserve to be a Genin!”

“He just wants to look out for you, Naruto. He can’t be lenient, after all, the test exists for a reason. That said, if you’re really so desperate to be a Genin, there is something you could do…”


It was the middle of the night, and Mizuki rapped fervently on Iruka’s door. “Iruka, wake up! Naruto took the Scroll of Sealing! I don’t know what he plans on doing with it, but we need to speak to Lord Hokage!”

The two quickly made their way to the Hokage, and alerted him of the situation. As soon as that was handled, Iruka took off to look for Naruto, who he eventually found sitting down in the grass of a forest beside an old shack, curiously studying a collection of jutsu called the Flying Jin in the scroll.

“Naruto! What on earth are you doing!? What the hell were you-”

“Iruka Sensei!” Naruto jumped up and down, excited. “I did it! I memorised a jutsu from this scroll! That’s what you need to pass the test, right? Right?”

Iruka’s eyes widened. “Who told you something like that?”

“Mizuki Sensei, of course! Believe it! He told me about the scroll, and about this cool place, and about-” Naruto was cut off as a flurry of Kunai was hurled towards the two. Iruka shoved Naruto to the side, but was pinned to the wall by some of the kunai. A man in grey hair, Mizuki, jumped out of a nearby tree.

“So, the brat told you. I don’t mind, of course, it doesn’t hinder me any. Naruto, give me the scroll!”

“Iruka Sensei? Mizuki Sensei? What’s going on?” Iruka turned one of his eyes to Naruto, keeping the other on Mizuki.

“Run, Naruto!” Iruka yelled out. “Whatever you do, don’t let him get the scroll! He just wants to take advantage of it for his own gain! He’ll lie and deceive anyone to do that!”

“Oh, you think I’m the one lying? That couldn’t be more wrong. The whole village has been lying to you since you were born, treating you like dirt, and you never knew why. I’ll tell you!”

“What do you mean?”

“Mizuki! Don’t you dare!”

“Everyone knows except you. They’ve all been hiding it behind your back, even your beloved sensei. He’d do anything if it would get me to stop talking.”

“What is it!? What are they hiding from me!?”

“What they’ve been hiding is the truth about the nine-tailed fox. It didn’t just disappear, and it sure as hell didn’t die. It’s inside of you! Minato sealed it inside of your body shortly after you were born!”

Naruto stood, silent. Iruka wanted to do something, to say something, but he knew it was too late. Finally, Naruto spoke up.

“No! It- it can’t be true!” Tears streamed down his face.

“Oh, but it is! The fox demon that terrorised our village, that killed Iruka’s parents, it’s inside of you now! You are a demon, and the worst of them all! And they’ve all been hiding it from you, treating you like dirt without you knowing why! To them, you’re just a past they want to forget! Even to your sensei!”

Naruto screamed and cried, his chakra a mess. Mizuki took a massive shuriken off of his back and threw it. “Now, die so I can pry that scroll from your decaying palms!”

Naruto ducked down, crying and shivering. ‘Please, please, please.’ Naruto mentally hoped, prayed, begged for some miracle. The shuriken soared towards him, and hit a mark.

“...N- naruto… I’m-m sorry.” Iruka stood, or rather lurched, over naruto. Blood seeped from the fresh wound on his back left by the shuriken. “You were hurt so much. I was so… irresponsible. It’s my fault you suffered so much. I’m so sorry.”

A dry laugh came from a nearby tree branch. “You really believe that? You, the nine-tailed fox demon, killed his parents! He hates you! He’s always hated you! He’s only saying this now to try and get the scroll back!”

Naruto, distraught, threw himself forward. Iruka cried after him as he ran off into the forest. “Naruto! Wait! Please!”

Mizuki laughed as he leapt down behind Iruka. “He’s not going to be swayed so easily, you know. He’s going to attack our village with that scroll! He’s going to take revenge for years of torment and misery! You know as well as I that those are the eyes of a demon. The Nine-Tailed fox demon.”

“No…” Iruka stood up, hand on the shuriken stuck in his back. “You’re wrong about Naruto. He would never do that!” He spun around, ripping the shuriken out of his back. Mizuki anticipated his next move, dodging the shuriken with ease as it soared at him.

“I don’t need to bother with you yet. You’re wounded and weak, and you’re not even my target. All I need is to kill Naruto and take that scroll!” He took off through the woods in the direction of Naruto.

A few minutes later, Iruka caught up to Naruto, the two of them jumping tree to tree. “Naruto! Everything Mizuki said was just a lie, please, give me the scroll! Mizuki’s after it!”

In one swift motion, Naruto leapt to the side and slammed a shoulder into Iruka’s gut. The two of them fell to the ground.

“How… how could this be?” In a moment, the fake Iruka turned back into Mizuki. “How did you know I wasn’t Iruka!?”

“Heh, easy!” As if to answer the question, the fake Naruto transformed back into Iruka. “Because I’m Iruka!”

The real Naruto hid nearby behind a tree, listening.

“Why are you doing this, Iruka? Why are you protecting that… demon!? He killed your family!”

“Because I’m not letting an idiot like you get your hands on that scroll.”

“You’re the only idiot here! Naruto’s just like me!”

“How so?”

“Because with his hands on that scroll, he can and will do anything he wants! That monster, that… demon… he’ll destroy everything! That’s how they are!”

“You’re right about one of those things…” Naruto silently gasped. ‘So it’s true. Iruka sensei really does hate me… he’s just a liar…’ He felt on the verge of tears.

“That is how monsters and demons are. Naruto, however, isn’t like that. He’s an excellent student. He’s dedicated, and caring, and focused. He’s also a bit numbskulled at times, because that’s just how he is, but even then he still cares and tries. He understands what it means to hurt, and to suffer. He’s no demon, he’s Naruto Uzumaki, proud student of the Leaf!”

In a stark 180, Naruto was now on the verge of happy tears.

‘What an idiot.” Mizuki smirked. “I know I planned on saving you for later, but while we’re here…” He spun his second shuriken and, in one swift movement, stepped forward to throw it at the debilitated Iruka.

Before he could release it, however, it was knocked from his hands by Naruto. In a single kick, the shuriken was sent spiraling off into the sky as Mizuki flew backwards.

“Not bad… for a demon.” Mizuki, despite the situation, still had a smirk on his face.

“If you ever try to lay a hand on my sensei again… I will kill you!”

Mizuki’s face contorted. “Shut it, kid! I can take you out easily, and when I’m done, I’ll end that pathetic sensei of yours too!” Mizuki leapt forward to attack Naruto, who stood with his hands making a hand sign.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Mizuki paused midair, unable to find the real Naruto among thousands of clones. The Narutos hurled insults and taunts at the now helpless Mizuki. Before one could even blink, all of the Narutos were on Mizuki, pummeling him.

After some time passed and Mizuki was nowhere to be found, the sun came up.

“Sorry about that sensei, I guess I got a little too carried away. So, is your back ok?”

Iruka smiled and nodded. “Yep. You did well back there, thank you for helping me. Come over here, I want to give you something.”

Naruto tilted his head in confusion, but did as asked. “Ok…”

After a few minutes of silence, Naruto opened his eyes. “Hey, Iruka sensei, where’d your headband go?” Iruka just smiled and pointed at Naruto’s forehead.

“You passed your exam with flying colors. To celebrate, how about some Ichiraku ramen?”

Naruto, tears streaming down his face, leapt onto Iruka. “Thank you, Iruka sensei!”