Chapter 38
Kakashi's reason for being here:
He had originally been heading to his usual spot to read when he ran into Shikamaru and Chōji, who had left school during self-study to buy snacks.
With one glance he recognized them as the sons of Shikaku and Chōza.
After a brief exchange, he learned the reason they were out: Iruka had gone to the back mountain to look for some reckless truant students, so class had been changed to self-study.
He naturally knew Iruka—the other man was a teacher the Third Hokage held in high regard.
They had chatted a few times in the past, and Kakashi was also aware that Iruka had some internal conflict when it came to dealing with Uzumaki Naruto.
Then he learned that Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had also skipped class after them and headed toward the back mountain.
What were those two doing joining the excitement? The back mountain hadn't been safe these past couple of days.
After reminding the two little troublemakers that self-study didn't mean they were off the hook and telling them to return to school,
Kakashi used Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the back mountain, just in case something went wrong.
It wasn't until high-level Fire Release ninjutsu erupted in the forest that he arrived at the battlefield.
The moment he reached the scene, what met his eyes was Sasuke brutally beating down the Takigakure ninja.
He didn't see Uzumaki Naruto anywhere—only the injured Iruka not far away.
Kakashi was somewhat surprised. He knew the conditions for awakening the Sharingan: it required extreme emotional agitation for an Uchiha.
Could it be…?
He stayed hidden and observed…
He watched until Sasuke finished dealing with the enemies.
Only when he saw Naruto crawl out of the dirt did he finally relax.
With a flicker, Kakashi appeared beside the three Takigakure ninja.
Sasuke had ultimately been too kind—he hadn't actually killed them.
At that moment, one of the remaining Takigakure ninja showed signs of waking. His fingers twitched slightly, seemingly reaching for an explosive tag on his body for a final counterattack.
Zzt—!
A streak of blue lightning flashed in Kakashi's hand.
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke clearly saw his movement.
The barely conscious Takigakure ninja was instantly electrocuted unconscious. The ninja tool pouches on all three were sliced off and fell to the side.
"Cleanup is my job now."
Kakashi turned around. The single visible eye curved into a crescent moon shape as he gave Naruto and Sasuke a thumbs-up with a smile.
"Now, it's time to go check on your brave teacher."
Half an hour later, several Anbu and medical ninja arrived at the scene one after another.
The Takigakure ninja were taken away by Anbu for interrogation.
Iruka—seriously injured and having lost a great deal of blood—had fallen into a coma. After emergency treatment, he was rushed to the hospital.
Konoha Hospital.
Sasuke was exhausted from overusing his chakra and the strain of just awakening his Sharingan—he was somewhat depleted.
Naruto, on the other hand—aside from being filthy—didn't have a single injury.
Both kids were covered in dust, dirt, and traces of blood. They were also examined by doctors and found to be perfectly healthy.
"Don't worry—I just asked the doctor. Iruka's fine."
After finishing the handover, Kakashi came over to the two of them: "No vital organs were hit. He'll recover after some rest."
Hearing this, the tension finally drained from Naruto's body.
Soon afterward, Iruka—wrapped head to toe in bandages and still on an IV drip—was wheeled out and transferred to a ward.
"Well then… if you two want to see Iruka, stay a bit longer. I've got something to do, so I'll head out first."
"Thanks, White-Hair Uncle." Naruto looked up and said earnestly.
"Uncle…" Kakashi's mouth twitched. "I'm only in my early twenties, you know."
Naruto didn't correct himself. He simply flashed an innocent grin and waved Kakashi off.
Not long after, Iruka—lying face-down on the hospital bed—slowly opened his eyes.
He saw two filthy kids by the bedside, and three more standing awkwardly in the corner of the room!
Seeing that Uzumaki Naruto was unharmed—and the other students too—his eyes instantly reddened.
The overwhelming relief of surviving, combined with the deep gratitude toward these two children who had risked their lives to save him, completely shattered the last remaining barrier in his heart.
Demon fox? Nine-Tails?
At that moment, the one who had stood in front of him was his student.
"Iruka-sensei's awake!"
"Idiot…"
Iruka's voice was weak and hoarse: "This time I'll let it slide… but next time… no more skipping class."
When he looked at Uzumaki Naruto, his gaze was now clear—none of the previous conflicted feelings remained.
...
News of the children's trouble quickly reached their parents, and the ward soon became noisy.
The students' parents fussed over Iruka's injuries and thanked him profusely for saving their kids.
Hibachi and the other two troublemakers were each grabbed by the ear by their parents, dragged to the bedside, and forced to apologize and thank Iruka.
Crying and wailing filled the room.
"So nice…"
Naruto put both hands behind his head, watching the lively scene without any irritation. Instead, he felt a little envious.
"Let's go, Sasuke."
Naruto nudged the still-weak Sasuke beside him: "Iruka-sensei's okay now. We should head back too."
Sasuke nodded. After taking two steps, Naruto suddenly stopped as though he remembered something.
He slapped his forehead: "Oh no! Almost forgot about this!"
His dirty hand rummaged in his clothes and pulled out the still-intact Y-shaped kunai.
"That thing the enemy was desperate to get back must be really important."
Naruto unwound the cloth strip from the kunai handle. It was covered in incomprehensible circuit-like diagrams.
"This looks like a map of the village Police Force defense layout!" Sasuke—now slightly recovered—recognized part of the content on the strip.
After all, his father was the head of the Police Force.
Iruka glanced at the diagram and spoke: "What's on there is important Konoha intelligence. I'll have to trouble you to go find the Third Hokage and hand it to him personally."
"Thanks to you this time. Once I'm discharged, I'll treat you both to ramen!"
"Yay! Awesome! Iruka-sensei, you have to get better soon!"
Naruto turned, grabbed Sasuke, and ran toward the Hokage Tower.
Hokage Tower – conference room.
Smoke filled the room. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was looking over the daily paperwork he had to handle.
Across from him, Uchiha Fugaku—in his Police Force uniform—was pointing at several spots on a map, reporting the latest security deployment situation.
Knock knock knock!
A knock sounded, followed immediately by the door being pushed open.
"Hokage-jiji! Uncle!"
Two filthy kids burst in like a whirlwind.
Fugaku's brow furrowed as he looked at his youngest son—covered in dirt and with traces of blood on his clothes.
Then his gaze was drawn to what Naruto was holding.
"That's…" Fugaku's eyes lit up.
"Hokage-jiji, this is for you!"
Naruto dashed to the desk in a few steps and slapped the diagram down with a loud pa!
Sarutobi Hiruzen picked it up, glanced at it, and passed it to Uchiha Fugaku.
"This is indeed the stolen intelligence," Fugaku said.
If this information had gotten out, enemy ninja could have infiltrated Konoha silently and caused severe damage.
Now that the intel was recovered, some future defense arrangements would still need urgent changes.
After finishing official business, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression softened. He looked at the two children before him with a kind, grandfatherly gaze.
An Anbu report had already reached his desk minutes earlier.
He now knew everything that had happened in the back mountain today—Iruka facing three enemy ninja alone and sacrificing himself to save three students.
Two other second-year students had arrived in time, worked together to protect their teacher, and held out until jōnin Hatake Kakashi appeared.
Of course, Kakashi's own report had simply said he only handled the cleanup.
"You two did very well."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at them with genuine warmth: "Not only did you save your classmates and your teacher, you also recovered vital intelligence for the village."
Hearing the praise, Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
Sasuke turned his head away with feigned indifference, but the slight upward curve of his lips betrayed his mood.
"But!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone suddenly sharpened: "Naruto! You were way too reckless this time…"
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