Chapter 44 - Naruto: The Hidden Nine-Tails Sage of Naruto

Chapter 44

Konoha Hospital, inpatient ward.

"Iruka-sensei! We came to visit you!"

The voice reached Iruka's room before the people did.

Uzumaki Naruto's shout echoed in, followed by the door being gently pushed open.

Naruto and Sasuke walked in carrying a fruit basket.

On the bed, Iruka had been lying face-down resting.

Hearing the voice, he instinctively tried to prop himself up—only to pull at the freshly healed muscles on his back.

Hiss—ow.

Seeing the two of them, he froze for a second:

"Why are you two here again? Did you already hand the intelligence over to the Third Hokage?"

Naruto stepped forward, found an empty spot on the already crowded table, and set the fruit basket down.

"I already gave it to Hokage-jiji. After praising me, he gave me a scolding on the side."

Naruto made a wry face and continued: "We just got out of school and didn't have anything urgent, so we came to check on you, Sensei."

"I'm fine. The wounds have already been treated by the medical team and healed. Just a few more days of observation and I can be discharged."

Iruka recovered his composure, carefully controlled his body, and sat up again.

Konoha's medical level was arguably the strongest among the Five Great Ninja Villages; their medical system was extremely advanced.

For ordinary life-threatening injuries, as long as they could be sent to Konoha Hospital in time, even if full recovery wasn't guaranteed, at least survival was almost certain.

Let alone minor external injuries and blade cuts from explosive tags.

They treated countless ninja every year—wound recovery was routine. Their reputation was well-earned.

Of course, surface-level healing varied depending on individual constitution.

Later recovery differed from person to person.

That's why doctors recommended staying in the hospital a few extra days when there was no rush.

Iruka's gaze swept over his two students. Casually he asked: "How was school today? The substitute teacher Mizuki… didn't cause any trouble, did he?"

At the mention of that name, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, their expressions subtly strange.

"It was… okay, I guess. Just felt… kinda weird."

Naruto pondered while casually picking up a red apple from the table.

He wiped it on his clothes and took a loud crunch bite.

After chewing twice, he remembered this was a get-well fruit basket. He quickly grabbed another apple and held it out toward Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei, you have an apple too!"

"Idiot."

Sasuke smacked the back of Naruto's head, unable to watch anymore.

Then he demonstrated exactly why Naruto deserved it.

Sasuke picked up the fruit knife from the table. His fingers danced, peeling the apple in one long continuous strip.

Soon the neatly sliced fruit was arranged on a nearby plate.

"This is how you visit someone in the hospital." Sasuke lectured Naruto.

Naruto scratched his head, unbothered, and continued: "By the way, Sensei—what kind of person is Mizuki-sensei anyway? I always feel uncomfortable during his classes."

"Naruto, be polite! Mizuki-sensei is a good person."

Iruka put on a stern face to scold Naruto.

Seeing the puzzled looks from both students, he sighed and his gaze turned nostalgic:

"Mizuki and I have known each other since the academy."

Iruka motioned for the two to sit properly and spoke in a gentle tone, recounting old times: "Back then, because of certain things, I was pretty isolated in class—no real friends. It was Mizuki who approached me, became my friend, and we became ninja together…"

"Later we both left the mission system and came to teach at the academy."

"He wasn't as lucky—didn't pass the full teacher qualification exam. He can teach classes but can't lead an independent homeroom…"

"He's always been very caring. During this time while I'm hospitalized, he was the one who volunteered to substitute for me."

At this point, Iruka looked seriously at the two: "He's a trustworthy partner. You should try getting to know him."

Sasuke listened, then pushed the plate of neatly cut apples over.

He said flatly: "You can know a person's face but not their heart. I think Naruto's instinct is right, Sensei—you should still be careful."

He simply felt that Naruto wouldn't feel malice toward someone for no reason—that was something he'd noticed after years of knowing him.

If Naruto really hated people so easily,

then ninety-eight percent of Konoha's villagers would be his enemies.

But Uzumaki Naruto's personality wasn't like that.

Iruka blinked, then gave a helpless laugh.

To him, this was just prejudice from two students who didn't like Mizuki.

"You two little brats… acting all deep when you're still so young."

Smiling at these two very different students who had once risked everything to save him,

even if they said bad things about Mizuki, Iruka didn't feel annoyed—as long as he didn't tell Mizuki, it was fine.

Looking at their serious faces, the pain in his back somehow felt lighter.

"Oh right, Sensei!"

Naruto finished the apple core in a few bites, suddenly leaned in with a serious expression: "You said you'd treat us when you're discharged—no backing out!"

Iruka's eyes widened: "You little punk, I'm still a patient and you're already thinking about extorting me?"

Naruto's eyes were sincere: "No, I just hope you recover and get out soon."

"Fine, I accept my students' well-wishes."

"Then from now on, just behave and follow Mizuki-sensei's classes properly—don't disrupt the classroom!"

"Once I'm discharged, the first thing I'll do is treat you two to a big meal."

…

Over the next few days, Iruka continued resting in the hospital while Mizuki kept substituting for Class 2-A.

Though he maintained that refined, gentle smile and treated students with extreme patience—his popularity in class grew higher every day.

But only the two students he "paid special attention" to could sense something off about him.

During free practice at the outdoor training ground,

Mizuki called out to Naruto and Sasuke, who were about to move farther away to spar.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke—come here for a moment."

With that signature smile on his face: "Sensei noticed your taijutsu skills are improving very quickly, but your stamina growth seems to have hit the bottleneck typical for your age."

Sasuke stopped walking, expression calm: "Does Mizuki-sensei have any advice?"

"As your teacher, of course I want you both to become stronger."

Mizuki took out a delicate small porcelain bottle from his pouch and shook it.

The clear sound of pills clinking inside rang out: "These are Energy Boost Pills specially prepared for you two by someone I know."

"They're made from precious herbs. Once consumed, they greatly stimulate physical energy and can multiply your training speed several times over."

Mizuki leaned forward, lowering his voice with a hint of temptation: "Especially you, Naruto—you must want to get stronger quickly so the rest of the village will acknowledge you, right? This is the shortcut to power."

Naruto looked down at the porcelain bottle in Mizuki's hand, then toward the ever-present Fox Sage.

Xuanming didn't even need to think—he could instantly tell whatever Mizuki was offering was definitely bad news.

In the original story, Mizuki was pure evil without reason.

People like him were better suited to be reChapter 44