The air in the Academy classroom was thick with nervous energy. The final practical test was underway. When his name was called, Naruto Uzumaki stepped forward with a casual confidence that seemed entirely out of place.
He aced the Transformation and Substitution jutsus with a bored sort of perfection.
"And finally," Iruka announced, "the Clone Jutsu."
Inside his mind, Garp scoffed. "This flimsy light-show trick. Don't waste too much energy on it, brat."
Naruto brought his hands together. He knew what would happen. His control over the thimble-sized trickle of chakra required for this jutsu was nonexistent; his reserves were a roaring ocean. He pushed, and as expected, the result was pathetic.
Poof.
A single, sickly-looking clone flopped onto the floor and promptly dissolved. The room erupted in the usual laughter.
Iruka sighed, his expression pained. "Naruto, you fail."
Naruto just shrugged, a small smile on his face, and walked back to his seat, ignoring the jeers. He didn't feel the familiar sting of sadness or shame. As he sat down, Garp's voice boomed in his head with a hearty laugh.
"So what if you don't become one of their little spies? Your path is greater. With my training and the fox's power, you won't just be the strongest ninja; you'll be the strongest man in the world, period. Let them have their headbands."
The thought was liberating. Naruto Uzumaki, the world's strongest man. It had a nice ring to it.
He was on the swing later, not out of sadness, but because it was a good place to think. He was contemplating what to have for dinner when Mizuki-sensei approached with a conspiratorial smile.
"I saw what happened," Mizuki said kindly. "I know a way you can still pass. A secret test."
As Mizuki explained the plan—steal the Forbidden Scroll, learn a jutsu—Garp's voice was a low growl in Naruto's mind. "This man stinks of lies, brat. A test that involves stealing a high-value village asset? He's playing you for a fool. But the scroll itself… that could be interesting. Play along. Let's see what the fool's game is."
Naruto put on his best hopeful, idiotic grin. "A secret test? Really?! I'll do it!" He would follow the steps, but he would be ready for the betrayal.
Later that night, with the massive scroll unfurled before him, Naruto found the Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
"That one," Kurama's rumbling voice echoed, a rare intrusion. "Solid copies. It bypasses your pathetic fine control by using brute force. It's a perfect fit. Do it. I refuse to have my jailer be known only for his failure to make a simple clone."
Naruto grinned. In moments, the clearing was filled with a dozen perfect shadow clones. His practice was cut short by Iruka's furious arrival, followed swiftly by a volley of kunai from the trees that hit Iruka.
Mizuki landed, his face twisted in a villainous sneer. "Give me the scroll, demon brat!"
Iruka struggled against his restraints. "Naruto, don't listen to him! He used you!"
"Oh, he knows what he is," Mizuki laughed cruelly. "It's time you learned the truth, Naruto! The reason the village hates you, the reason they whisper behind your back! The secret decree! It's because you are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!"
Naruto simply stared back, his expression utterly blank. He didn't gasp. He didn't cry. He didn't even seem surprised. He just tilted his head.
"Yeah? And?"
Mizuki faltered, his grand revelation falling completely flat. "What… What do you mean, 'and'?! You're the monster that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village!"
Naruto shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "Okay. So I've got a big, angry fox in my gut. I've known that for years. Is that all you've got? I gotta say, for a secret betrayal, this is kinda lame."
Mizuki's face contorted with rage at being robbed of his moment. "You insolent little monster! Then die!" He hurled a giant shuriken at the unbothered boy.
This was what Naruto was waiting for. He didn't dodge. He stood his ground and flexed. Tekkai.
The shuriken bounced off his chest with a dull clang.
"My turn," Naruto said, his voice dropping the goofy act entirely. He used Geppo, kicking off the air to appear directly in front of the stunned Chunin.
The fight was a clinical dismantling. Naruto's fists and feet were a blur of boxing and kickboxing techniques, battering Mizuki's guard. When Mizuki tried to create distance, Naruto used grappling to close it, slamming him into the ground. It wasn't a fight; it was a punishment.
"What are you?!" Mizuki screamed, scrambling away in terror.
Naruto brought his hands together in the familiar seal. "TAJU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"
The forest exploded into a sea of orange. The beatdown was short and decisive.
When it was over, Iruka stared at the scene, speechless. He looked at the boy who hadn't flinched at a truth that should have shattered him, who had fought with a skill and power that defied all logic.
"Naruto…" Iruka said, removing his own headband. "Come here. Close your eyes."
Naruto walked over calmly. He felt the cool metal being tied around his forehead.
"You know," Iruka said, his voice filled with a newfound respect. "A ninja is someone who endures. You've proven that tonight. Congratulations… you pass."
Naruto opened his eyes, a genuine, confident grin finally breaking through. Being a ninja might have been Plan B, but it was a plan he could definitely work with.
The Hokage's office was silent except for the soft puffing of Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe. The Third Hokage fixed Naruto with a gaze that was ancient, sharp, and deeply weary. Iruka stood by his side, shifting nervously.
"Naruto," Hiruzen began, his voice calm but firm. "Mizuki has been taken into custody. Iruka has given me a full report. A very... detailed report." He paused, letting the smoke curl from his lips. "It seems our understanding of your abilities has been incomplete. Let's start with the giant shuriken. You took it to the chest and it bounced off. Explain."
Inside Naruto's head, Garp gave a low chuckle. "Alright, brat. Stick to the script we practiced. The one about the rocks. Make it sound good."
Naruto put on a slightly goofy, proud grin. "Oh, that! It's this cool thing I figured out! I've been training super hard with Gai-sensei and Lee, and he's always talking about guts and spirit! I started punching rocks to make my fists stronger." He held up his calloused knuckles as evidence. "After a while, I figured, if you're gonna punch something hard, you gotta learn to be hard back! So I just tense up all my muscles right before I get hit. It still kinda hurts, but it's better than getting a big shuriken in the chest!"
Hiruzen's eye twitched. The explanation was absurd, yet it aligned perfectly with Gai's passionate reports about Naruto's "youthful" and "unorthodox" training.
"And your taijutsu," Hiruzen continued, his voice carefully neutral. "Your movements… the way you dodged, the way you threw Mizuki. That is not the Academy style. Nor is it Gai's."
"I just mixed it up!" Naruto said cheerfully. "You watch enough people fight, you start to pick things up, ya know?"
"I see," Hiruzen said slowly. "And I suppose you 'picked up' how to jump in mid-air as well?"
Naruto's grin widened. "That was a super-jump! I just tried to blast a bunch of chakra out of my feet to go higher. I guess it worked better than I thought!"
Iruka looked like he was about to faint, but Hiruzen held up a hand, his expression turning serious. The grandfatherly mask was gone. This was the Hokage.
"Naruto, I am not a fool," he said, his voice low and commanding. "Guts and hard work can explain your stamina. They do not explain deflecting steel. They do not explain defying gravity. The safety of this village depends on me understanding the true nature of your power. I will ask you one more time. Tell me the truth."
The pressure in the room became immense. Naruto's cheerful facade faltered.
"Alright, he's not buying it," Garp's voice rumbled. "Time for the second layer. The believable lie. Feed him the story about the fox. But don't look confident. Look scared. Look like you're confessing something you're ashamed of. Sell it, brat."
Naruto looked down at his feet, his shoulders slumping. He started scuffing the floor with his sandal. "Okay…" he mumbled, his voice now small. "There is… one other thing."
He looked up, his eyes wide with feigned fear and confusion. "Sometimes… when I get in a real fight, or I'm in a lot of danger… my body just does weird stuff. It gets super hard on its own, or I jump way too high. It doesn't feel like it's me doing it."
Hiruzen leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I… I think it might be the fox's power," Naruto whispered, as if afraid of saying the words. "Leaking out to protect itself, or something."
The Hokage's office grew deathly still. This was the dangerous, but credible, explanation Hiruzen had feared.
"And how would you know anything about the fox, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked, his voice soft again, but with a sharp edge.
Naruto flinched, playing the part perfectly. "I met him. Once. A few years ago, I was feeling really down and I guess I fell asleep or passed out. I woke up in this… giant sewer. There was a huge cage, and he was in there." He shuddered for effect. "He was so big, and so angry. He told me what he was before he… he threw me out of the dream. So now, when the weird stuff happens… I just figure it's him."
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, taking a long, slow drag from his pipe. He stared at the boy who stood before him—a boy who explained impossible feats with a child's logic about rock-punching, and then with a terrifying, whispered confession about the monster in his gut.
The explanation was plausible. The hard work was his own, a foundation. The impossible abilities were anomalies of his Jinchuriki status—instinctive, uncontrolled, and dangerous. It explained everything without revealing the impossible truth of the spectral Marine Vice-Admiral teaching him from within.
"I see," Hiruzen said finally, his mind racing with the implications of the Kyuubi having that much influence. "You have been through a great deal, Naruto. You did well tonight, protecting your teacher and the village. You have earned this." He gestured to the headband on Naruto's forehead. "But this conversation is not over. We will speak of this again."
Naruto nodded, looking suitably chastened. Inside, however, he and Garp were celebrating a flawless victory. They had fed the Hokage a perfect story—a mixture of the fun and the credible—and had kept their greatest secret safe.