Chapter 6: Two Thousand Narutos, Are You Scared Yet!
The night wind was biting. Iruka was half-kneeling on the ground, a massive Fuma Shuriken lodged in his back, with blood dripping from his flak jacket into the grass. He was panting heavily, his eyes fixed protectively on the large tree behind him.
Behind the tree, Naruto clutched the scroll, his body trembling slightly.
On the tree trunk opposite him, Mizuki wore a twisted, sinister expression.
"Naruto, do you know why everyone in the Villagehates you? Because you are that Nine-TailedDemon Fox who killed the Fourth Hokage!"
"Even your Iruka-sensei—his parents were killed by you! He actually hates your guts!"
These words were poisonous. If this had been the original Uzumaki Naruto, his Chakra might have gone out of control by now, or he would have been in tears.
But at this moment...
[Good grief, I've heard these lines at least a hundred times. No creativity at all, not even a punctuation mark has changed. Can't this guy Mizuki have some professional standards as a villain? For instance, adding a 'Jie jie jie' weird laugh would be nice.]
Behind the tree, Naruto kept his head down. He looked like he was trembling with despair, but he was actually struggling to hold back his laughter.
[And besides, calling me a demon fox? Please, the real monster is still snoring in my stomach right now. Do you want me to give you a live broadcast? Forget it, I'm afraid I'd scare a weakling like you to death, since you're not even a Special Jonin.]
Although he was roasting him internally, he still had to put on a good show.
After all, this was his first battle to clear his name in Konoha.
"You're... you're lying, right?"
Naruto roared with a trembling voice, playing the part of someone helpless and broken upon learning the truth perfectly. "Iruka-sensei... is what he said true?"
Iruka gritted his teeth, enduring the sharp pain in his back as he shouted, "Don't listen to him! Naruto, run! You have to deliver the scroll to Hokage-sama!"
"Run? Where can he run?" Mizuki pulled out a second Kunai from behind him. "Die, Nine-Tailedbrat!"
A cold light flashed.
Mizuki's figure had already charged forward.
"That's not it!"
Iruka suddenly stood up. His voice was hoarse, yet it carried an unshakable resolve.
"He is... Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha Village!"
"He is no demon fox! He is a student I acknowledge! Even though he's clumsy and loves pranks, he works very hard... He is a Ninja who possesses the Will of Fire of Konoha!"
Naruto's movements behind the tree paused slightly.
Even knowing the plot beforehand, even being a transmigrator with a system, in this real world, when someone is willing to take a hit for someone they share no blood relation with and loudly acknowledges their existence in a world full of prejudice...
That feeling of one's heart being tugged cannot be faked.
[Tsk, is this the charm of shonen manga? This guy Iruka... he only has the strength of a Chunin, but his Talk no Jutsu has reached Kage-level.]
Naruto sniffled, pulling back the trembling he had been acting out. An irrepressible, arrogant smile curled his lips.
[Since you've set the mood this far, as the protagonist, if I don't make my entrance now, wouldn't that be too disrespectful?]
[And Mizuki... since you want to see the power of a monster so badly, I'll satisfy you.]
Just as Mizuki was about to deliver the final blow to Iruka.
Boom!
A majestic surge of golden Chakra suddenly erupted from behind the tree.
"Don't you dare..."
An orange figure burst from the darkness, slamming a foot heavily onto the ground in front of Iruka, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Naruto slowly raised his head. His azure eyes were no longer filled with fear; instead, they held a mix of playfulness and ferocity, like a predator locking onto its prey.
"Don't you touch my Iruka-sensei! I'll kill you!"
This classic declaration of protecting one's teacher, combined with that somewhat wicked expression, caused Mizuki to feel an inexplicable shudder of fear.
"Bluffing! What can you do now? It'll be a cold day in hell before you learn a high-level Ninjutsu like that!" Mizuki was still putting on a brave face.
Naruto's mouth curled into a grin. He slowly raised his hands, forming a simple Cross Seal.
"Learn?"
"You underestimate the value of a cheater."
Naruto took a deep breath, and the Chakra within him poured out like a bursting dam.
"Multi... Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
The entire forest was instantly shrouded in white smoke.
In front, behind, to the left, to the right, above, and below Mizuki—every corner of his vision was filled with that face wearing a malicious smile.
This wasn't just a clone technique.
This was clearly a one-man army!
Exactly two thousand physical Shadow Clones!
The once empty woods instantly became incredibly crowded.
"This... this..."
Mizuki, who had been so aggressive just a moment ago, now had hands that trembled as they held his Kunai. He looked around blankly, his vision filled with that scalp-tingling orange.
"How is it possible... so many..." Iruka's jaw dropped, forgetting even the pain in his back. Was this amount of Chakra really from that dead last? This was already Hokage-level Chakra, wasn't it?
Mizuki, surrounded in the center, was like a chick that had wandered into a wolf pack, waiting to be slaughtered.
The original Naruto closest to him picked his ear and flashed an extremely hypocritical smile.
"Hey, who did you say was going to die just now?"
Immediately after, two thousand Narutos spoke simultaneously, their voices deafening:
"Do you want a one-on-one or a gang beatdown? Oh, sorry, we only have the gang beatdown option!"
"Brothers! Beat him up!"
With one command, the orange figures instantly submerged Mizuki.
"Aaaaaah!"
"Stop hitting! Not the face!"
"My leg! My ribs!"
Screams rose one after another. Mizuki was tossed into the air by countless hands and feet, fell heavily, and was tossed up again.
The original Naruto stood to the side, not lifting a finger. He simply held the massive scroll, watching the brutal scene with disdainful eyes.
[Hit him harder! This bastard wasted half my night. Tomorrow is the day of team assignments; what if I get dark circles from lack of sleep and Sakura dislikes me?]
[And also, kick those kidneys a few more times in that direction. I heard this kid Mizuki wants to run away with his fiancée, Tsubaki? Let's see you run! After this beating, you probably won't have any thoughts in that department for the next six months.]
The one-sided violence lasted for a full five minutes.
Only when Mizuki could no longer even scream did Naruto lazily snap his fingers.
Poof, poof, poof, poof...
The smoke dissipated.
The clones returned.
Leaving behind only a total mess and a Mizuki whose eyes were rolling back as he foamed at the mouth.
"Hmph, really, I haven't even warmed up yet." Naruto casually tossed the large scroll to the stunned Iruka and scratched the back of his head with an innocent smile. "Hehe, looks like I went a bit overboard, Iruka-sensei."
At that moment, the morning sun happened to pierce through the clouds. The first ray of golden light filtered through the canopy, spilling over the boy whose face was still dusty but who wore an incredibly bright smile.
Iruka stared blankly at this scene.
In that instant, the boy's silhouette seemed to overlap with that of the Fourth Hokage.
"Naruto..."
Iruka's eyes moistened, but he took a deep breath and forced himself not to cry. He beckoned, "Come here, close your eyes."
"Ah? What for?" Even though Naruto knew exactly why, he still obediently leaned over and closed his eyes.
[It's here, it's here! This moment full of a sense of ritual! Once this headband is on, I'll officially say goodbye to my student status and start my Ninja World harem... oh no, my path to being the strongest Hokage!]
A headband with a metallic texture was gently but firmly tied around the back of his head.
"Alright, open your eyes." Iruka's voice was filled with pride. "Congratulations on graduating, Naruto."
Naruto touched the cold metal headband, his mouth splitting into a wide grin. His happiness at this moment didn't involve much acting.
At the same time.
The blue system panel, which only he could see, exploded on his retina like fireworks.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden achievement: 'Counter-killing a Chunin with absolute power and showing extraordinary charm'.]
[Grade: S (That 'I'll kill you' and this neat and tidy beating have caused a strong psychological impact on Iruka and even the Third Hokage watching from the shadows).]
[It has been detected that although this was not directly targeted at winning over a female, this 'hero saving the teacher' spirit possesses immense masculine charm. If a female were present, the lethality would reach a critical hit. System special reward granted.]
[Reward issued: Wind Release Nature Transformation affinity greatly increased (Your Chakra will become sharper, suitable for cutting through all obstacles, including but not limited to enemy defenses and... certain complex skirt-string relationships).]
"Wind Release, huh..."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, feeling a subtle change in the Chakra within his body; it seemed to have become lighter and sharper.
This was a god-tier skill that laid the foundation for the future Rasenshuriken.
"As expected, whether it's fighting or falling in love, as long as the pose is cool enough, the system won't shortchange me."
He was in a great mood, completely failing to notice an imperceptible fluctuation in a presence on a nearby tree trunk. He strode purposefully toward the Village, following the limping Iruka.
A new day had begun.
It was also the first day the legend began