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Hokage's Room

Hiruzen watched in anger as Mizuki broke the rule and revealed the secret about the nine tails to Naruto and unknowingly his classmates as well. 'Now that Naruto knows the truth, what will he do?'

The old kage turned his attention to Shikamaru and the rest. 'Shikaku said his son already knew. Yet he hasn't shown any hostility to Naruto. So I don't have to worry about him. But what about the rest? Will their hearts and minds be strong and clever enough to separate Naruto and the beast and see them as two entities?'

Hiruzen kept observing the group and even after the revelation he saw that the rookies jumped in to save Iruka and Naruto. It brought relief and a small smile to his face. 'They all make a great team. Still, they'll have questions when this is all over. I'll need to explain everything carefully. Still, if Mizuki becomes desperate and tries something there is the possibility of someone getting injured or worse. It's best if I send someone over there now.'

Having made a decision Hiruzen was about to call forth his personal guards but at that moment something else happened.

BOOM!

A sudden explosion from the village caught Hiruzen's attention. The windows of the Hokage tower slightly rattled from the winds and every ninja was on alert. The kage stood from his chair and went to look outside. He saw many people rushing towards the explosion. The smoke and fire were coming from the market district.

"Bull." As Hiruzen said the name, an Anbu appeared behind him on one knee. "Find out what's happening and the ones responsible."

"Sir." The Anbu vanished and Hiruzen's eyes roamed the village looking for anything else happening.

Several seconds later just when things didn't seem like it could get worse three more explosions went off in three different locations. The three guards in the room and two remaining Anbu appeared beside the Hokage.

Hiruzen turned to his two Anbu members. One of them had a mask resembling a wolf while the other a lizard.

"Wolf! I'm putting the village on a level 1 emergency alert. Coordinate with the Jonins and get the situation under control. Evacuate the civilians if needed. Make sure of their safety."

"Yes sir."

"Lizard. Go to the locations that were just hit. Assess the damage and casualties and report back to me as soon as possible."

"Sir."

The two ninjas vanished and the old kage turned his attention to the village.

"Who would do something like this?" Raido saw the fire and smoke and could help but ask.

"Someone who thinks it's worth it to make an enemy out of an entire village." Genma said with narrowed eyes.

"It can't be a coincidence that these attacks happened just on the night Mizuki planned to take the scroll. He must be behind this." Iwase theory made sense to everyone.

At that moment the guards and the Hokage sensed the presence of two ninjas rushing towards the tower. They quickly recognized the two ninjas as part of the patrol unit.

"Lord Hokage. I have terrible news! The prisoners have escaped."

"What?" The kage was surprised as he knew the possibility of a prison break was very very slim.

"It's true. The Leaf Correctional facility has been compromised. The prisoners are on the loose. Our team came across a few of them. We captured them and found out about it just a short while ago."

Hiruzen groaned hearing that. "They must be the ones behind the explosion. But for them to escape, gain access to paper bombs and go unnoticed through the village… They must have had outside help."

He went to his crystal ball and altered the chakra flow of his Telescope jutsu. The images immediately changed from Naruto and his group to the outskirts of the village. He saw several escapees in their prison uniform making their way out of the forest. 'If they get outside the border this could become more problematic.'

Hiruzen turned to one of his personal guards. "Iwase. Take these two and spread the word to everyone. I have new orders. Capture every escaped prisoner. Use lethal force if need be. I'll send someone else to get Naruto and the children. Right now containing the prisoners are priority."

"Yes sir." The guard and the two Chunin patrol ninjas nodded and quickly exited the building.

Once the three left, Genma stepped near the kage. "Sir, right now I'm sure the academy students and Iruka can hold back Mizuki. But if no one is looking for Naruto and if the prisoners happen upon their location then they all could be in serious trouble."

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of that. And things would become more dangerous with that scroll in play."

"Lord Hokage, this prison break, the explosions, the theft of the scroll, for all of it to take place like this on the same night. I believe Mizuki must be behind this. He must have a guard at the prison helping him. And if Mizuki told any of those prisoners to get to East Canyons then Iruka, Naruto and the others would be in danger."

"You are right Raido. I was thinking the very same. Alright. I want you to go to the facility and investigate. If the guards have been turned then subdue them and bring them to Ibiki for interrogation."

"On it." Raido vanished and Hiruzen turned to the last guard in the room. "Genma. Get to Naruto's location. If the prisoners show up Iruka won't be able to protect the children on his own. With everything that's happening there is a great risk of something going wrong or beyond Iruka's control. Defend the people and take down that traitor Mizuki and anyone else with him."

"Yes sir."

Hiruzen kept an eye on everything happening in the village through his Telescope jutsu. A few minutes later one of the Anbu he sent returned.

"Lizard, Report."

"I went to the four locations. They weren't part of our critical infrastructure. The locations that were hit were low priority and easy to access. Two explosions happened in the market but at this time the shops were all closed. So no casualties. Only property damage. The third attack took place near the veterinary clinic run by the Inuzuka clan. Again no casualties. The fourth was in the outskirts of the civilian residential area. Two houses were damaged and there have been a few injuries but no fatalities. The injured have already been taken to the hospital and we're already fortifying the key areas. The Hyuga and Aburame are coordinating and leading search teams to see if there are more explosives hidden."

Hiruzen nodded and let out a small breath of relief. 'No one killed in four explosions. I suppose I can call that a miracle. But still, why cause damage to these locations…These damages wouldn't hurt us even in the short term…' The kage stroked his chin and pondered on the reason for this attack.

Hiruzen's eyes widened as an idea suddenly sprung up in his head. 'Distraction. What if this is all a distraction to take off our focus… But they won't be able to escape the way they are now… Unless…'

He quickly looked at his Anbu. "The patrol squad has informed me that there has been a massive prison break. I believe this destruction might be the work of a prisoner. These explosions might be a diversion."

"But Lord Hokage, how can you be sure it was them? And even then the prisoners would be in their uniform, they'd quickly be identified and captured."

"I'm not 100% sure it's them but it's what my gut is telling me. And it would be possible for them to escape in this chaos… If they have our ninja gear."

The Anbu's eyes behind the mask slightly widened. "If that's the case…"

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"Inform the Anbu teams and the trusted Jonins to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. They wouldn't have access to Anbu attire but if those prisoners have outside help then they could be wearing our flak jackets."

"Yes. I understand." The Anbu nodded and immediately left the room.

Hiruzen turned his attention back to the crystal ball, changed the chakra flow and the images soon changed to Naruto battling his traitorous teacher. 'Mizuki. I have a feeling you're behind all this mess. If that is the case then I'll make sure you never see daylight again.'

—-

East Canyons. Shortly after Future Rookies saved Iruka.

Mizuki looked at the newcomers and was completely shocked. 'Where did they come from? How long have they been here? Did they get here following Iruka or Naruto?'

The rogue Chunin was angry that his plan to kill Naruto was thwarted. "You brats made a big mistake coming here."

"We'll see about that soon." Sasuke said as he looked at Mizuki with narrowed eyes.

Sounds of several footsteps came and Naruto turned his head. He realized that he, Iruka and Mizuki weren't the only ones that were there. But at the moment he didn't care about them. He turned his attention back to his teacher.

"Why?"

Naruto's weak voice brought Iruka's attention back to him. The Chunin saw the sad, confused expression on the boy's face and it pained his heart.

"You could have died. Why did you save my life?"

Iruka looked at the boy and tried to smile. Slowly tears started falling down his face as he recalled the memories of his childhood. "You know… you and I are a lot alike. We're the same in so many ways… After my parents died I was all alone. No one cared about me. My grades dropped. I was soon at the bottom. A class clown. I did so many stupid things. I just wanted them to remember my name. Even if it was just for a few seconds… But soon I had to pay for my mistakes."

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at his sensei. Even through the tears Iruka tried to smile. "I know how you feel. Feeling lonely and hurting inside. I should have been there for you more… I'm sorry."

"Sensei…"

"But you know… there is one difference between us. You found friends you can depend on early on. Friends who'll have your back no matter what. I'm really happy…" Iruka smiled as he looked at his favorite student.

Shikamaru and the rest smiled as they looked at their teacher. The young Nara glanced at Iruka from the corner of his eyes and recalled the first day the man came to his class. 'When he first saw Naruto he couldn't even look at him but now… I guess Naruto has grown on him.'

Mizuki gritted his teeth as he looked at the scene. 'This isn't how things were supposed to go. Wait! Maybe I can still use this to my advantage. If I can turn them all against him then I have a chance.'

The grey haired Chunin suddenly chuckled, drawing everyone's attention. "Hihihihi… Oh please Iruka. You don't have to lie. I know you hate him from your very core. The Nine tailed fox killed your parents and it's inside you now Naruto. Iruka would say anything to get that scroll from you."

Mizuki turned his attention to the new Genins. "Naruto's the living embodiment of the catastrophe that struck the village. You all should fear him. He'll soon release the seal and the Nine tails will emerge and destroy the village. He's just a beast hell bent on destruction."

"Yeah like we'd believe that. Someone needs to shut you up." Kiba said and the rest of the rookies were getting ready to attack.

Naruto looked at Mizuki and he suddenly felt ashamed to meet everyone's gaze. He just wanted to escape. He tried to take off running but Iruka suddenly grabbed his arm stopping him. Before Naruto could struggle and escape, Iruka suddenly brought him in for a hug. Naruto stilled as he was embraced in the warm gesture.

"I did hate you, Naruto." The boy's eyes widened as he heard his sensei. "And Mizuki is right. A beast would only know just to rampage and cause destruction when it's hurt… But you're not a beast. I've seen you struggle, endure everyone's hate and still have a smile on your face. I've seen your willingness to work hard and your determination. You try your best despite the odds against you. I came to admire that."

Iruka looked Naruto in the eyes and he had a genuine smile. "You are not the nine tails. You are Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf. And… You're my precious student."

"Sensei." Naruto realized that the man was telling the truth and the instant that realization hit him, he buried his face in his sensei's chest and cried. Iruka gently stroked the back of the boy's head and stayed silent.

Naruto's friends smiled and stayed quiet to give them their moment.

Mizuki clenched his fists as his plans to turn them against Naruto failed. But unwilling to give up he tried one more time. He looked at the children and spoke. "You all don't understand. He's-"

"You should stop wasting your breath. That scroll is going back to the Hokage and we aren't going to turn on Naruto. You're done Mizuki. It's over." Shikamaru said with a serious tone.

"You have nothing up your sleeve left. Surrender." Shino spoke with crossed arms.

"Just give up Mizuki. You're finished."

Sasuke's arrogant tone made Mizuki furious. "You fucking brats! You really think just because I'm outnumbered you can defeat me? I'll kill all of you for your arrogance."

The Rookies took battle stances and we're preparing to attack. But…

"No you won't!" Iruka's strong voice stopped everyone. He stood, looked at Naruto and gave the boy a small reassuring nod. Then he turned to face the rest of his students. "You all. Thank you for saving my life. But this is my responsibility. Mizuki is my responsibility. I'll deal with that traitor.."

"But we can fight. We can help." Sasuke looked at Iruka with determination.

"He's right. Sensei, we…" Kiba wanted to argue but Iruka shook his head. He turned to look at Mizuki but was addressing his students.

"I have a mission for all of you. Protect the scroll of seals and get it back to the Hokage tower safely." Iruka was glaring at Mizuki and walked forward. He stood in front of the new Genins and became focused on his foe.

"You really think you all can escape from me? I'll take the scroll from your corpses if I have to." Mizuki glared at Iruka and the kids.

"I won't give you that chance. Your fight is with me." Iruka took a kunai and readied himself.

Seeing their teachers about to engage, Shikamaru got near Naruto. "Hey. We need to go. Now. While Iruka sensei is buying us some time." Naruto reluctantly nodded but stopped when he heard Mizuki's next words.

"Fine. Have it your way. I'll kill you first, Iruka."

Naruto clenched his fist and jumped from his spot and landed near his teacher. He glared at Mizuki. "If you touch my sensei I'll kill you."

"Naruto, I told you to leave. The safety of that scroll is more important than my life." Iruka was shocked that Naruto stayed. He wanted the kid to leave while he bought them time.

"Not to me sensei. MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" The blonde Jinchuriki made the cross seal and the next second the entire surrounding was covered in smoke. In moments the smoke disappeared and several hundred shadow clones were present all around them.

Everyone was astounded by the number of clones Naruto created.

"Oh man, I can't even keep count the number of clones here." Kiba said with his jaws dropped.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked at the boy standing near Iruka. 'Is this the potential Daichi was talking about? Or is this the power of the nine tails? Did he already know?'

Hinata looked at the Naruto's and blushed. ' .Narutos.'

Shikamaru looked at the clones and then at Mizuki. 'Even he would have some trouble fighting this many clones. But still, I don't know the strength and weakness of this jutsu. Or what it does to the caster. Naruto should be careful. This jutsu was from the scroll dubbed 'Forbidden'. Hmm… Naruto doesn't look winded or anything. Guess we'll have to wait to see what the effects of the jutsu are.'

"All of them are solid clones right?" Sakura asked and Ino nodded. "Yeah. This jutsu is different from the normal clone jutsu."

Sakura pondered on the implications and then looked at Naruto. 'Then this jutsu must take more chakra than the clone jutsu to execute. So to create this many solid clones… Naruto must have a lot more chakra than I thought. I thought Mizuki was lying at first but now… Iruka sensei doesn't seem surprised at Mizuki's accusations. So does that mean Naruto is the nine tails? No… Iruka sensei trusts him. So that can't be it. But Naruto must have some connection to the Nine tails…'

Naruto's shadow clones began attacking Mizuki from all sides. But the Chunin immediately began countering. He had been secretly training and increasing his strength and preparing his body for the ritual.

Mizuki dodged a kick from the back and jumped to avoid a leg swipe. He punched a clone in the chest reducing it to smoke while he grabbed the leg of another that came flying at him. Mizuki tossed that clone around and destroyed another dozen clones.

'To use Lord Orochimaru's power I needed to increase my power and get my body strong enough to withstand the transformation. But I never imagined my training would come to aid me in such a manner.'

Mizuki punched, kicked and used his weapons to kill the shadow clones that attacked him. But as time went by he was getting more tired. 'I need to finish this fast.'

"Rhaaa… You fucking brat. You think you can defeat me with clones?" Mizuki's rage increased his battle momentum and in less than a minute he destroyed all the clones that were present. But he had bruises on his body and was taking several deep breaths due to his exertion.

Iruka looked at the worn out enemy and spoke. "You may have defeated the clones but you're in no shape to fight anyone Mizuki and win."

Suddenly Shino's head snapped towards his left. "Multiple Shinobi approaching." His scouting insects informed him of the approaching people.

Hinata quickly used her Byakugan. "Three people. All wearing Leaf headbands."

Iruka and Naruto relaxed but the rest of the students were on alert.

Shikamaru heard Shino's words and his eyes never left Mizuki once. He saw that Mizuki was tense when he heard that people were coming but then saw his body slightly relax when Hinata confirmed the number.

'Damn it. Could they be his accomplices? Are they here for him?'

He didn't have to wait long to find out. Three ninjas wearing the standard Chunin gear appeared. Iruka looked at the three ninjas but he didn't recognise any of them. But he thought they were here for the scroll under Lord Hokage's orders and was about to move when he heard one of them chuckle.

The leader of the group looked at the scene and couldn't help but let out a ridiculing laugh looking at Mizuki.

"You really are pathetic. You can't even handle a few brats and a Chunin? It seems you're the one who needs our help more." Zefrek spoke with a condescending tone.

"You…" Mizuki hated it when someone looked down on him.

Zefrek didn't care about the tired Chunin and turned his attention back to Iruka and the rest. Everyone saw the dark glint and maliciousness in his eyes.

"Now what do we have here?"

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Author's Note.

Another 3.3k word chp.. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

The Naruto and Iruka scene in Canon is an iconic event for Naruto. I didn't want to take that away from him. But I also wanted to add my own twist to the events.

How do you guys feel about this chapter?

It was a bit difficult when I wrote next few chapters. I needed to create a battle sequence for all the rookies based on their current strength and fighting style. I also had to take teamwork into account, enemy strength, jutsus… the pressure was on to make it a good battle and a good chapter…. I hope I don't disappoint you all…