Chapter 4: Testing the Power
"Laser."
Naruto stared at the bright beam of light in his hand, his heart far from calm.
Just one day ago, he had been living in a modern, science-based world. Now he could control this supernatural power.
It was impossible for him to feel zero emotion about it.
Still, the wave of shock lasted only a moment. He quickly regained his composure.
After decades on Blue Star, his heart had long been tempered into still water by the harshness of society.
Mere superpowers… mere Glint-Glint Fruit… were nothing.
He took a deep breath, completely steadying his mind, and began testing the abilities he remembered from Borsalino (Kizaru).
Laser beams, Light Speed Kick, Ama no Murakumo, Yata Mirror, Yasakani no Magatama…
Thanks to the max-level Glint-Glint Fruit, executing these techniques felt completely natural. Every move came to him as if he had practiced them for countless years.
After testing several abilities, the wooden cabin was left in ruins — holes punched through walls and floor by his lasers.
"If Mizuki sees this, he'll definitely get suspicious."
Naruto frowned at the damage he had caused, but he quickly came up with a solution.
Just collapse the entire house.
As long as Mizuki didn't move the debris, he wouldn't see the inside. He would probably assume it was just another one of Naruto's pranks.
After all, Uzumaki Naruto had painted graffiti on the Hokage Rock. Knocking over one house was nothing.
With that thought, Naruto fired a laser at one of the cabin's load-bearing pillars.
Outside, Mizuki had been waiting anxiously.
He had been listening to the loud crashing sounds coming from inside and was just about to open the door when—
Boom!
The entire cabin collapsed.
A moment later, he saw Naruto crawling out from under the rubble, covered in dust.
"Mizuki-sensei? Why are you back?"
"The house collapsed on its own! I almost got crushed to death!"
"Quick, help me up!"
"..."
The house collapsed on its own?
You think I didn't hear all that crashing and banging inside?
Mizuki cursed Naruto viciously in his mind, but he still moved forward to pull him out.
This was the first step of his plan. Without Naruto, everything would fall apart.
"I forgot something and came back to get it…" Mizuki said while helping Naruto, trying to explain his presence.
Naruto had already guessed Mizuki never left, so he wasn't surprised. He had only asked to keep up appearances.
"Thank you, Mizuki-sensei."
Naruto's mouth said the words, but his face remained completely expressionless.
Clearly insincere.
Mizuki took a deep breath and forced a smile. "As long as you're okay. Don't worry about the house — I don't live here anyway."
"Oh. Actually, I wasn't worried. I couldn't afford to compensate for it anyway."
"..."
Mizuki's mouth twitched. Suppressing his anger, he said, "Since you're fine, hurry up and go get the Scroll of Seals. It'll be dawn soon — you'll lose your chance!"
"I know that without you telling me."
Naruto brushed the dust off his clothes and walked calmly toward the center of Konoha.
Mizuki watched Naruto's retreating figure, a dark glint in his eyes.
Is that demon fox planning something else?
Still uneasy, Mizuki quietly followed behind him.
Fortunately, Naruto didn't do anything strange. He walked straight to the Hokage Residence and entered without hesitation.
Seeing Naruto stroll so openly into such a heavily guarded building made Mizuki wonder if he had chosen the wrong person for his plan.
After waiting for a while, there was still no commotion inside, which only made him more nervous.
Is it shift change time? No guards inside? Or has the fox already been caught?
Mizuki was confused but didn't dare go inside to check.
If Naruto got caught and gave him up, he could simply deny everything. Nothing would happen to him.
But if he followed Naruto in and got caught, he would have no way to explain himself.
He had no good reason to be near the Hokage Residence at this hour.
Even claiming he was following Naruto because he suspected trouble wouldn't sound convincing.
The Anbu wouldn't believe him easily, and he knew he wouldn't last under interrogation.
...
Inside the Hokage Residence,
Naruto moved carefully through the corridors, searching for where the Scroll of Seals might be kept.
The building was larger than expected. After searching two floors, he still hadn't found anything suspicious.
"Storage room, training room, lounge… archive room?"
"This should be it, right?"
He looked around. There were no visible guards.
He wasn't sure whether the security was genuinely lax or if Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately let him in.
Either way, it didn't matter. As long as he could get the scroll.
He pushed open the door.
The room was brightly lit by candles.
Someone had clearly been here recently.
Naruto scanned every corner cautiously, but saw no one.
Maybe it was the Third Hokage, and he just stepped out to use the bathroom?
Such a convenient coincidence was hard to believe, but it didn't matter now.
Where was the Scroll of Seals?
Naruto looked at the bookshelves and immediately spotted a large scroll on the opposite shelf with the word "Seal" written prominently on it.
"They're not even trying to hide it, huh?"
Naruto's mouth twitched.
They had pulled the Anbu away so he wouldn't get caught. They had lit the candles so he could see clearly. They had placed the scroll in the most obvious spot so he couldn't miss it.
Only the original Naruto, with zero suspicion, would have fallen for this.
"Actually, I don't have much suspicion either," he muttered.
With a quick leap, he grabbed the scroll labeled "Seal."
Although he hadn't inherited the original Naruto's memories, he had inherited his physical body — enhanced further by the system's double attribute bonus. Right now, he was basically a small superhuman.
"Easy. Time to go."
He slung the scroll onto his back and dashed for the door.
He hadn't run far before he ran straight into Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had clearly been waiting for him.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?"
"..."
Naruto looked at the Third Hokage and hesitated for a split second.
In the original story, Naruto had used Sexy Jutsu to distract Hiruzen and escape. Now he had two options:
Use the Glint-Glint Fruit to fight and escape, or use it purely to run away.
Naruto's eyes flickered. He decided on a middle ground to test the waters.
If Hiruzen was acting, even a clumsy trick should work.
If not… he refused to believe the Third Hokage could catch up to light speed.
He looked behind Hiruzen with feigned surprise and said, "Huh? Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here too?"
"Iruka?"
The moment Hiruzen turned his head, Naruto knew he was right.
He really was acting!
The plan was to catch him in the act of stealing the scroll, then let him escape so they could arrest him later — probably to lure out Mizuki.
Naruto didn't know whether Hiruzen was trying to catch Mizuki or simply wanted him to learn from the scroll.
But he knew one thing — the opportunity wouldn't last long.
If he didn't run now, even Hiruzen might not be able to keep up the act.
"Yata Mirror!"
Activating the Glint-Glint Fruit, Naruto vanished from the Hokage Residence in an instant.
By the time Hiruzen turned back, Naruto was already gone.
"He sure runs fast," Hiruzen muttered with a faint smile.
The Scroll of Seals had been stolen, yet the Third Hokage didn't seem anxious at all. In fact, he even sounded amused.
Of course, he hadn't seen Naruto use the Glint-Glint Fruit. If he had, he wouldn't have remained so calm.
...