The Orange Legacy

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Kyuubi talking-"Call me Kurama."

Jutsu- "Shadow clone jutsu"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, he is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

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"One more day," Naruto said to himself as he stared into his bathroom mirror. "Just one more day."

It was the day before the graduation exams and Naruto was finishing his morning routine. He left the bathroom wearing nothing but black cargo shorts, he then put on a long sleeve mesh shirt that extended all the way up to cover his neck, over top of that he wore a plain black t-shirt, then he put on a pair of leather forearm guards that extended to the back of his hands but left his fingers and thumbs free, he balled his hands into fists and went through a few hand seals to ensure he still had maneuverability.

At his front door, he put on black shinobi sandals that came up to mid-calf, he also put on gray metal shin guards. Lastly he put on a sleeveless gray haori with an orange Uzumaki clan symbol proudly displayed on the back, he wore this open without an obi.

He stepped into the hallway and before shutting the door fully, Naruto knelt at the bottom and placed his fingers on a specific spot and activated his security seals, he shut the door and waited until the glow from the seals he had scattered throughout his apartment to fade before locking it and leaving.

Instead of going down the front steps and walking the streets, Naruto went to the end of the corridor and up the stairs to the roof. He much preferred roof hopping because it was faster and it allowed him to avoid much of the general population. He made it to the academy with plenty of time to spare before class started and took his seat in the back of the room.

While Naruto waited for the rest of the students and teachers to arrive, he pulled out a leather bound book with a lock. It was about the size of a regular paperback book and just as thick. The leather was a dark brown and the only writing on it was incomprehensible unless you studied seals.

Naruto channeled chakra directly into the seal and the lock popped open with a small click. The front pages of the book were filled with sloppily written notes and crude drawings of all different types of beginner level seals. As Naruto thumbed through his book the sloppy notes and crude renditions of seals gave way to neater and neater hand writing as well as perfectly drawn seals. This book was given to Naruto by the Sandaime on his 8th birthday after Naruto spoke to him about his interest in fuinjutsu. Since that day Naruto never went anywhere without it.

Naruto sat there for the next 30 minutes silently going through his notes before tilting his head slightly toward the door as he heard the soft padding of shinobi sandals in the hall heading in the general direction of his classroom. When the door opened he wasn't surprised to see Iruka Umino, his class instructor.

When he saw Naruto he gave him a brief nod of his head. "Good morning Naruto, another early day?"

"Good morning Iruka-sensei, I didn't sleep much, tomorrow is a big day after all."

"So it is."

After the brief exchange, Iruka went to his desk and started pulling out folders and other papers while Naruto went back to his book. Naruto and Iruka got off to a bad start when Iruka first started to teach Naruto's class. While he wasn't spiteful towards Naruto he was completely indifferent towards him and whenever he did interact with Naruto, he always seemed to look through him whenever he had to speak to him directly.

Naruto didn't know what changed, but 2 months into the academy and suddenly Iruka was calling on him in class, and on a few occasions had him help with demonstrations.

The companionable silence didn't last long between teacher and student, ten minutes after Iruka arrived the academy bell rung and the halls were suddenly filled with a myriad of chattering voices. Naruto had put his book away at the first sound of the bell and just watched as his classmates arrived.

He knew them all of course but it was only a select few that he kept a close eye on, specifically the clan heirs. Shikamaru Nara for example.

Although Shikamaru was near the bottom of the class when it came to grades and class participation, Naruto knew he was a Nara to the bone. That lazy and perpetual sleepy look hid a sharp tactical mind.

When speaking of Shikamaru, the next logical thought would Choji Akamichi, where there is one, there is usually the other. Choji was probably the strongest person in the class physically, but his strength was hampered by his gentle nature.

As the chair next to him scraped against the floor he turned his attention to the boy about to occupy it. Shino Aburame was another tactical fighter. He liked Shino he was undoubtingly a friend, he spent many lunch hours talking to the heir of the insect using clan. He gave Shino a nod which was returned before turning his attention towards the sound of loud laughter and a barking dog.

Kiba Inuzuka and his canine partner Akamaru were in there own world as usual. Kiba was one of the more physical of his classmates, one of the fastest in class but also too reliant on Akamaru and his clan techniques.

He stifled a wince as two loud voices echoed down the hallway. They were loud enough to make Kiba and Akamaru wince even while outside of the classroom.

"HA! I beat you this time Ino-pig!" the pink haired howler said.

"Dream on Forehead, I let you win!" the blonde heiress said glaring at her former friend.

Naruto tuned out there back and forth squabbling, he had a low tolerance for both girls. Neither one seemed to take their time in the academy seriously. While Sakura was book smart, she lacked in just about everything physical.

While Ino wasn't the stereotype dumb blonde and was somewhere in the top ten (at least on paper) when it came to intelligence, she only barely edged out Sakura in the physical aspect of shinobi training.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a movement and followed it to the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata. The most physically dominating fighter out of the kunoichis and would probably be top ranked if she were a bit more…well a lot more assertive.

His attention went back to Ino and Sakura who were nose to nose and about to start throwing punches over who was going to sit next to the soon to be named rookie of the year, Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto didn't like Sasuke and probably never would. It wasn't because all the girls in the class followed him around like they were on leashes, Naruto could care less. It wasn't because he was going to be named rookie of the year, he could have it; Naruto didn't want that kind of attention. It wasn't because the village put him on a pedestal, the opposite of which they had Naruto on.

Naruto didn't like Sasuke just because. It was an instinctual and visceral dislike as soon as Naruto laid eyes on him on the first day of the academy. Naruto took one look at him and just knew on some level the two of them would not get along. Naruto didn't know if Sasuke had felt the same way at the time, but over the years, Naruto knew the Uchiha built up some type of animosity towards him.

"Alright everyone give me your attention up front!" Iruka bellowed from the front of the room. "Tomorrow is a big day for everyone here. Tomorrow each of you will be given the opportunity to join the shinobi ranks and proudly display the leaf symbol that says you have the courage, the determination and the selflessness to defend Konoha and its citizens from all threats inside and outside of the village."

Iruka looked at all the young faces, some of these kids, Kami willing he and they live long enough, might be giving him orders one day, others he will have the privilege to call comrades but more often than not, the majority of the kids here will never wear a leaf head band, which Iruka will count as a blessing because then he wouldn't have to hear about a former student of his who went out on a mission and never returned.

"In preparation for tomorrow's graduation exam, today is all about reviewing everything I've taught up to now." Iruka ignored the groans of his students "and hopefully you'll retain enough to do you some good on the real exam." Iruka went to the chalk board and drew four symbols on the board. "Who can identify the village these symbols belong to?"

On and on it went, history of Hi no Kuni, followed by the founding of Konohagakure, then the founders themselves, then the Kages and then clans. Iruka went on and on and on until the lunch bell rang and was left alone and a little embarrassed as his students bolted for the door and some even dove out the open windows.

Naruto was leaning against the base of one of the many trees dotted here and there in the break yard of the academy.

"How is your clone jutsu coming along?" Shino asked from the other side of the tree.

"I still can't do the basic yet." Naruto replied as if it wasn't a big deal.

Shino was silent for a moment. "You have a plan to get around it." He said it like a statement of fact.

Naruto smirked even though Shino couldn't see it. "I'll tell you afterwards.

Naruto's good morning came to a grinding halt when he saw a determined looking Sasuke Uchiha approaching him along with his admirers. Naruto really didn't feel like dealing with him or his fan following, he sighed heavily and turned his head away. "Did you want something Uchiha or did you just walk over to admire the view?" he asked sarcastically.

"Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that!" Sakura screeched. "There isn't anything about you to admire." Sakura said bravely stepping forward. She was rewarded for her bravery by the cheers of her fellow fanatics.

Naruto turned his head in Sakura's direction and the pink haired want to be kunoichi's courage faltered as those blue eyes that looked like they were made from the coldest ice settled on her. "Sakura, do you remember what happened the last time you yelled me? I believe gave you one strike, this makes two if you get to three, I'm going to flip a coin and see if I dye your hair or cut it all off."

Sakura gasped and clutched the top of her head. "You wouldn't!"

"You ever wonder why Kiba suddenly showed up in class one day wearing that hooded jacket."

Sasuke ignored the by-play, "I asked Iruka-sensei to pair us up in the spar this afternoon." He said, "He's agreed to it since we're at the top of the class in taijutsu and no one else is a challenge anymore."

"Is there a reason in particular you asked Iruka-sensei to do that?" Naruto asked still not looking at him, something he did because he knew it irked the Uchiha.

"I've been keeping track of our class's win-loss records, we're tied at 48 wins, no losses and 12 draws."

"And those draws were between the two of us."

Sasuke gave a single nod of his head. "This could be our last chance to see who the better fighter between us is."

Naruto closed his eyes in thought. "Normally I wouldn't indulge your ego at all but to tell you the truth, drawing even with you is something I just can't have on my conscious. You'll get your fight Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't say anything just smirked and walked away.

After a moment of silence, "Shino?"

Naruto heard the rustle of clothe as Shino stood up, "I'll spread the word. Odds?"

"Hmm, make it 10 to 1 against me, for the guys and 20 to 1 for his fan club."

The rest of Naruto's lunch hour was spent in a comfortable silence, when the bell rang again, signaling the end of lunch, instead of going inside, Naruto's class walked to the back of the academy. There they met, Iruka-sensei and his assistant for the practical portion of the academy Mizuki.

Mizuki was another person Naruto disliked instantly, he got that feeling as soon as Mizuki walked into the classroom, everything about him felt like a genjutsu, completely fake. From the way he smiled, from the way he spoke and from the way he looked at you, all of it felt absolutely fake.

"Alright for the next portion of review day, we'll be going through the practical portion of the academy." Iruka gave his students an evil grin, or at least he thought it was evil from his stand point. He even chuckled sinisterly, again that's what he thought it sounded like to him.

His students on the other hand sweat-dropped and were wondering why there head instructor suddenly looked like he was being tickled.

Mizuki also sweat-dropped and shook his head at Iruka's attempt. "Poor bastard doesn't have a malicious bone in his entire body." He muttered to himself.

"First," Iruka said "we're going to work off those lunches on the obstacle course, everyone line up!" Iruka gave his students another sinister chuckle as his students moaned and groaned towards the starting line.

After the obstacle course Iruka gave the class a 15 minute break to rest before ushering everyone towards an open field to show them how to properly set up a camp also how to set traps for hunting and for intruders.

Following that, he moved the class over to target practice. He called everyone up in alphabetical order and had them throw ten shuriken and ten kunai. Most of the class was average hitting mostly 6 out of 10 in the kill zones with shuriken and kunai. The above average kids were the clan heirs, hitting around 8 out of 10.

The two exceptions were Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. When Sasuke was called up, he swaggered to the table and grabbed up 5 shuriken in each hand and threw them simultaneously. Eight hit around or near the bulls-eye on the chest and two, hit exactly where the eyes would have been. He repeated the same feat with the kunai.

When Sasuke walked back to join the rest of the class amid the cheers of his fan club, he caught Naruto's eye and smirked at him.

Naruto took that as a clear challenge and when he was called up, he grabbed all ten shuriken and fanned them out on the palm of his hand, and with hands faster than what most of his classmates could follow he threw them one at a time. The rapid thunks of the shuriken hitting wood drew the attention over to the practice dummy. Nine of the shuriken were surrounding the bulls-eye on the chest while the tenth was in the dead center in the forehead.

When Naruto moved on to the kunai, he picked up the first five and started juggling them, when he had the timing right, he threw them rapidly with his left and right hand, he repeated the performance with the other five kunai and when he was done, 9 of the kunai formed a heart around the chest bulls-eye and the tenth kunai was again in the dead center of the forehead. Naruto didn't even bother to smirk at Sasuke, he just went back to his spot next to Shino.

Finally it was time for Naruto's and Sasuke's fight. For the last hour Naruto stood on the sideline as his fellow academy students whaled on each other. When Iruka-sensei gestured for Sasuke and Naruto to enter the dirt ring, they did so without hesitation.

"I want you two to remember this is taijutsu only, if either one of you pull a weapon or resort to ninjutsu of any sort you lose. Is that clear?" Iruka said looking at both boys, who looked way too serious in his opinion for an academy spar. Receiving nods from both, he raised his hand between the two boys, "Ready stance…hajime!" after dropping his hand Iruka leaped back out of the ring.

Neither boy attacked immediately, Sasuke was circling to his right, taking small measured steps, his hands were slightly fisted, he was leading with his left, he held his hands at chest level.

Naruto was also circling to his right, bouncing on the balls of his feet, he was leading with his left hand held at chest level and his right held up near his chin, both hands clenched in tight fists.

The boys starting inching towards each other, Naruto started things off by throwing to quick back fists aimed at the side of Sasuke's head, neither one connected but Naruto was just testing the waters.

Sasuke returned his assault with two quick thrown jabs that Naruto slapped away.

It was clear neither student was going to find an opening that easily. At some signal unknown and unseen by the spectators both boys advanced on each other to create their own opportunities.

It became clear pretty fast that Naruto and Sasuke were above the academy level of taijutsu, it was also clear that they knew each-others styles and attack patterns very well. Speedy punches and kicks were blocked or avoided, some landed but most didn't, this was confirmation on how well they knew one another.

After a few minutes of speedy back and forth, something happened that changed everything. Iruka saw it as if it was happening in slow motion. Sasuke slipped, not physically, but mentally. At the start of the spar his face was a mask of concentration, but slowly the frustration crept in. His precision attacks started getting sloppy.

Naruto must have noticed as well because he started landing more hits than he was missing. After one vicious right cross staggered Sasuke and had him tasting blood, Sasuke abandoned any semblance of technique he might have had. He charged at Naruto, punching and kicking at him like a street brawler.

Naruto bobbed and weaved through the berserker assault and when a hard breathing Sasuke finally relented he darted into his guard drove his fist into Sasuke's body, at the top of the stomach just below the rib cage.

Sasuke hit the ground on one knee gasping for air. He didn't get a reprieve though, his right arm was yanked above his head, a black sandaled foot, fell across his chest and then he was pulled backwards and looking at the sky, he struggled but he was already winded from the shot to the chest and he was rapidly losing what little oxygen he had left.

Naruto kept the pressure on as the Uchiha continued to struggle in his triangle choke hold, he knew Sasuke would never tap out, so the quicker he passed out or the quicker Iruka called it was for the best. He had to be careful and not applied too much too quickly, breaking the neck of the last Uchiha in an academy spar would probably not endear him to the rest of the population of Konoha.

"Alright that's it!" Iruka called out as he advanced on the pair.

Naruto pushed Sasuke off of him and rolled away from his prone form. He spared Sasuke one glance as Iruka-sensei and Mizuki began to exam him. Naruto saw that his eyes were closed but he was breathing so he walked out of the ring not giving his victory over the Uchiha another thought, at least not at the moment. Later, he'd try to remember as many details as he could about that fight and jot down notes on ways to improve his taijutsu.

He ignored the jeers, cries of unfairness and accusations of cheating from Sasuke's fan club, he also ignored the cheers and slaps on the back from everyone except Shino, who didn't say anything but he did give Naruto a nod when he returned his blonde friends haori. Naruto walked away from the gathered well-wishers and towards a spigot attached to the academy building. He turned it on full blast and splashed the cold water on his face to wash away the sweat, dirt and any signs of a scuffle.

By the time he returned to his place next to Shino, both Mizuki and Sasuke were gone.

"Well class, I planned to end the day with a review of the basic three jutsu but after that, I think it's a good idea to end the day right here." Even louder cheers greeted this announcement, "Now I suggest, that you review the basic three at home, they're a big part or your graduation exams, class dismissed."

There was a mad scramble away from the practice field. Naruto and Shino walked sedately towards the front gate, before they went their separate ways, Shino handed Naruto a thick stack of bills, (AN: I'm going to go by dollars instead of ryo's or yen.)

"Did you already take your cut?" Naruto asked already knowing the answer.

"Of course."

"Anybody owe?"

"Kiba tried to refuse, but I explained to him, logically of course, that it would be cheaper to pay up, rather than pay the vet for the continuous outstanding number of flea baths Akamaru would require in the near future or to replace all his clothes and possibly some furniture because of a bed bug infestation that has been known to occur from time to time." Shino said in a monotone.

Naruto shook his head ruefully. "I'll see you tomorrow Shino."

"Good bye Naruto."

The two friends separated at the gate, Naruto turning towards the merchant's district and Shino heading for his clan compound. Naruto's feet carried him on a familiar route, towards his favorite food stall, Ichiraku Ramen, not only was ramen Kami's gift to mortals, but at this particular stall it was served by two people who had never even for the slightest of seconds hesitated to welcome Naruto into the stand.

Ayame and Teuchi Ichiraku were two of Naruto's favorite people, he could say without a doubt that if it was within his power there isn't anything he wouldn't do for the father-daughter cooking team.

The closer he got the more he followed his nose instead of his feet. When he parted the curtain he was greeted with a smile and shining brown eyes.

"Naruto-kun, you're here earlier than usual." Ayame said brightly.

"Class was dismissed a few minutes ago, I can't stay long though. Can I get a bowl of miso and a bowl of beef?"

"You got it." She turned to yell towards a swinging door. "Dad? One miso and one beef for our favorite customer.

Teuchi came out the back kitchen, carrying a large bowl. "Naruto just the guy I wanted to see. I've been working on a new dish all morning and I want you to be the first to try it out. I call it the seafood deluxe. Crab, lobster, shrimp and octopus." Teuchi presented the bowl with a flourish.

Naruto stuck his face directly into the steam rising from the bowl and took a big sniff. He plucked out a pair of chopsticks from a nearby cup. "Itadakimasu" he said almost reverently, then he attacked the dish like it was going to run away. In under ten seconds the bowl was empty save for the chopsticks. "Teuchi-san, you have definitely outdone yourself with that one." Naruto said as he lean back on his stool with a pleased sigh.

Teuchi and Ayame were standing in front of Naruto frozen with their mouths hanging open, normally Naruto had more manners than that, they haven't seen Naruto scarf down a bowl of ramen like that in years.

Ayame was the first to snap back to reality, if Naruto could be reverted back to his younger and less dignified table manners, she knew her father's new dish was going to be a moneymaker. She nudged her father in the ribs and softly reminded him about Naruto's order of miso and beef.

"Oh right, coming right up." Teuchi said still somewhat dazed as he turned to the stove.

"So Naruto-kun, how was class?"

Naruto spent most of the next hour catching the ramen chefs up on recent events in his life while eating his next two bowls at a more leisurely pace. When he was finished he paid and bid the duo goodbye.

He didn't travel far from the ramen stand, less than a 100 feet away was Naruto's next destination, 'The Dragons Forge'. It was the only place to go for quality shinobi equipment and not just weapons, but high quality and durable clothing as well. Naruto has been working there for almost a year now, he got the job after the last part timer made it onto a genin team.

When he walked in the place was a little crowded but not so much that you were bumping into to everyone. Naruto looked around and spotted the other two employees, Akio and Eriko, fraternal twins in their mid-40s who had retired at the end of the Third Shinobi War.

Akio was 5'9, with a muscular build. He had friendly green eyes and an open expressive face, he was the one to see for any mid to long range weapons, bow and arrow, senbon, shuriken, and even a slingshot is deadly in his hands at 50ft.

Eriko was 6'3, slender, with small yellow eyes and she always had a stern expression on her face. She wasn't mean, she wasn't friendly; she was just indifferent towards 95% of the people she interacted with. Eriko was also the one you spoke to on any short ranged weaponry. Everything from kunais to zanbatos.

Naruto greeted them both with a small wave that was returned with a smile from Akio and a blink from Eriko. He went behind the counter and through the leather curtain that separated the merchandise from the work shop. Once behind the curtain Naruto stopped to hang his haori on a hook next to the doorway. He was about to remove his bracers when his boss came around the corner.

"Oh Naruto, you're early, you didn't forget to go to class did you?"

His boss Daiki, was as old as the Hokage. He was 6ft even and at 60 plus years his shoulders were still broad enough to make him intimidating, his face was a worn leathery brown from working year after year in a forge and he always wore dark tinted goggles. Even after working with the man from many years, neither Akio nor Eriko had ever seen his eyes.

"Not this time, class was dismissed early in order to give us time to study for tomorrow's graduation exam. I just thought I'd come in and get an early start." Naruto explained as he began taking off his forearm guards.

Daiki held a hand up stopping him, "No need for all that, you won't be staying long."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "I won't?"

"Nope, come out front I have an early graduation give you." Daiki said pushing through the leather curtain.

Naruto followed behind him grabbing his haori on the way, "You're so sure I'm graduating?"

"Oh Naruto, you say the funniest things."

When Naruto cleared the curtain he saw that the store was empty save for Akio and Eriko who was standing expectantly by the counter. Naruto gave the two of them suspicious looks but Akio just smiled and Eriko again blinked at him.

"What are you three up to?"

"Calm down brat, you'll like this." Akio said in his usual cheerful manner.

"Here you go my boy." Daiki said setting a polished brown box on the counter. "These are a gift from the three of us, they're to make sure we don't have to come to your funeral anytime soon or ever."

Naruto opened the box and his eyes widened at what he saw. Nestled on orange silk were two beautifully crafted knives. The knives were matte black that didn't seem to reflect light, the blades itself were curved and about 10 inches long, serrated near the top with black cord wrapped around the handles.

"They're made from a chakra conductive metal, when you learn your elemental affinity you'll be able to channel it through the blades without damaging them." Eriko said stoically.

Naruto was speechless. Chakra metal was expensive and extremely difficult to work with because one mistake and the whole thing would be useless, only true master blacksmiths ever accepted jobs dealing with chakra metal.

"I really don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything." Eriko said.

"You can thank us by mastering those blades and staying alive." Akio through in.

"And you can start right now." Daiki said handing Naruto two leather holsters. "Get out of here and start practicing." He said with a grin.

Naruto grinned back and bowed deeply to all three of them. "Thank you all and don't worry I have a long way to go before they put my name on the memorial stone." Naruto hustled out of their and ran to his favorite training spot. It was near the outskirts away from wanders and curious eyes.

When he finally arrived, he took a few minutes to get his breathing under control. He un-holstered his new weapons from the small off his back and just held them in his hands getting a feel for them. Slowly he started to move, going through the katas shown to him by Eriko, only then he was wielding a pair of kunais.

The sun had set a long time ago by the time Naruto made his way towards the village and his apartment. His quiet walk was interrupted when he heard the unmistakable clash of metal on metal. He stopped to try and get a general direction in where it was coming from but it was unnecessary as it seemed to be heading straight for him. Not wanting to be caught up in someone's spar or on the unluckiest of chances someone's death battle Naruto darted into the shadows and scurried flat on his stomach under some bushes.

Two combatants came crashing through the clearing as nothing but a couple of blurs, metal met metal again and a few pained grunts were heard.

Imagine Naruto's surprise when the two fighters separated and they turned out to be Iruka and Mizuki.

"Give it up Mizuki, ANBU has been alerted by now, give me the scroll, turn yourself in and maybe face life in prison instead of execution." Iruka said.

The scroll he was talking about Naruto saw was a large scroll held in a leather strap on Mizuki's shoulder.

Mizuki set the scroll at his feet. "ANBU will chasing shadows for the next few hours, I've been planning this for months. The only thing standing in my way is you, but that won't be the case for much longer." Mizuki's hands flashed to his weapons pouch and he hurled a handful of kunai at Iruka.

The scarred chunin deflected them with his own kunai, but had to dive out of the way of an over large shuriken thrown by Mizuki.

As soon as Iruka came up from his diving roll, he was met with a kick to the chest from Mizuki that sent him skidding along the grassy battleground.

"What's the matter Iruka, too much time in the classroom?" Mizuki taunted as he threw a brace of shuriken at the downed shinobi. Mizuki's eyes flared in triumph when his target gasped in pain. "You should have focused on your own training instead of a bunch of snot nosed brats." Mizuki said with a cocky grin on his face.

Iruka glared at his former friend before suddenly smiling, in a poof of smoke, Iruka was replaced with a log with a burning exploding tag on it.

Instinct compelled Mizuki to focus chakra into his legs and leap backwards as hard as he could, while he escaped some of the damage, the explosion propelled across the clearing and painfully into the upper portions of a tree, his grunts of pain as gravity forced him through several branches were easily heard. When he finally hit the ground he lay motionless.

Iruka stepped out of the shadow of that same tree and cautiously approached the still smoking form of his ex-assistant. With a kunai in hand Iruka knelt down next to his traitorous former comrade and removed his chunin vest, weapons pouch and especially his headband. Iruka clenched the scorched headband in his fist while glaring at the white haired man. "You never deserved to wear this, not one day in your pathetic life."

Without another word Iruka went to secure the Scroll of Seals. The scroll lay exactly where Mizuki dropped it, as he knelt down to pick it up he paused.

"Hahahaha. That's always been your problem Iruka, you never had the guts to deliver the final blow. If there is one piece of advice I'm glad you never took from me, it's that you have to harden your heart in order to survive in this world. Good bye Iruka."

SQUELCH!

Iruka flinched but he didn't feel any pain, he slowly turned around only to gape at the sharp piece of metal protruding through Mizuki's chest. Iruka sighed in relief as he realized ANBU must have arrived. When Mizuki finally collapsed Iruka saw his savior and again gaped in shock when he saw Naruto, still in a throwing posture standing 30ft behind Mizuki.

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AN: If you need a visual of Naruto's knives, they're the knives Vin Diesel used in Chronicles of Riddick.