"Things will be cleared up with jiisan and an explanation for everything that happened up to taking Mizuki out will be made," Naruto added, "The search party for both me and the scroll will be called off."
"Naruto," Iruka said, "About what Mizuki said to you with that false test he gave you-"
"I knew he was lying from the beginning before I did what I did," Naruto explained, "I was able to see that parts of his story didn't make sense. Infiltrating a Kage Tower and stealing secret documents or scrolls without getting caught, having such a test given to an inexperienced Genin the same day he graduated from the Academy? Such a test is ridiculous unless there was an ulterior motive."
"But you went along with it anyway," Iruka stated.
"I had to expose Mizuki somehow," Naruto shrugged, "It was my word against his. Therefore, I played the role of the misled Genin to bait him to expose himself as true culprit before I gave him a false forbidden scroll which was a trap that didn't go well for him."
"You planned this didn't you," Iruka realized.
"It's not that easy to trick a trickster," Naruto grinned, "Something I had to brutally teach Mizuki firsthand."
Naruto stood up and looked like he was about to leave when…
"Naruto, listen please," Iruka started, "About Kyuubi and what happen-"
"I already knew the truth," Naruto interjected, "For almost a year in fact. I'm the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi No Kurama."
"Kurama," Iruka asked with a confused expression.
"That's Kyuubi's true name," Naruto said, "Don't ask how I know, I just do, along with the names of all the other eight bijuus."
There was a secret behind how Naruto found out, but he wasn't going to reveal that to Iruka. Iruka was wondering if Naruto somehow managed to open a link of communication between himself and Kyuubi.
"You knew the truth all along," Iruka asked in disbelief, "But-"
"I hinted at it yesterday in your class Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied, "When I said how I don't understand how Yondaime, a mere human could killed such a creature like Kyuubi. When I said that story behind Kyuubi's defeat didn't add up, I was giving you hints that I already knew the truth that Yondaime sealed Kurama into me."
"But how did you find out," Iruka asked, "Sandaime passed a law forbidding anyone from telling you or their children about what happened thirteen years ago. It was done in hopes that you could live a normal life."
"And we all saw how well that plan went," Naruto remarked cynically, "Most of the villagers, and by most the stupid ones, see me as a walking reminder of that creature. They can't see the difference between the container and the object being contained."
Iruka flinched knowing that was the irrefutable truth.
"How I found out that I'm a Jinchuuriki you wonder," Naruto said, "A little research I did about bijuus after sneaking into the shinobi library while no one notice. I went into an area where only Chuunins and Jounins are allowed to enter. There, I found a few books discussing facts about Jinchuurikis and their bijuus, the treatment of some of these Jinchuurikis in foreign nations. After putting two and two together, relating the facts to my own life, it wasn't hard to make the connections clear."
As the Chuunin stood there, he saw that in front of him wasn't the same goofy Naruto he was used to seeing in class all the time. This Naruto in front of him was an entirely different person. He was led to believe that the Naruto in front of him was the real Naruto while the one he was so used to was nothing more than an illusion.
"So you're the true Naruto," Iruka said, "This is who you truly are, while the one I and others are used to seeing is nothing more than an illusion you cast for everyone. Sandaime was right to suspect something about you ever since the Academy Field Day four years ago."
"I knew for a very long that you, jiisan and others were on to me," Naruto replied, "And it made holding up my illusion rather difficult."
"You wanted no one to know the truth about your true character," Iruka acknowledged, "Not even me. I can't say I blame you, most of us never really did earn your trust."
"Only Hinata-chan knows the truth but I trust her to not reveal that until much later and I request that you don't either and that you continue treating me as the troublemaking dead last of our class."
"Why," Iruka asked perplexed, "You're obviously a lot smarter and talented than you let on over the years and I see now that you failed many of my tests and other things at the academy on purpose. If anything, you should have been your class' Rookie of The Year. So why continue this charade?"
"We're shinobis," Naruto simply replied, "Deception is one of our primary weapons. If many knew what my true abilities were, they would formulate ways to counter and handle me. To lessen the chance of that happening, I play the role of the dead last and the village clown who's beneath Sasuke's level. In some unforeseen yet inadvertent way, Sasuke is my living decoy."
Iruka took the time to soak in everything he was being told. It was like everything he thought he knew about Naruto was all a lie.
"…You're a true ninja Naruto with two faces," Iruka chuckled with admiration, "A true face and a false one. You played the fool so well that we became the fools who had succumbed to your long range illusion.
"But changing the subject, you said earlier that most of the villagers had mistreated you as a Jinchuuriki but not everyone."
"Hinata-chan learned of my status as a Jinchuuriki from me only a couple of months ago," Naruto said, "She's the only person I told this to. Despite that, she never changed the way she looked at me, and she said that she sees me as the hero who saves her and Konoha everyone by jailing the bijuu. The old man at Ichiraku and Ayame-chan despite knowing that I'm a Jinchuuriki, treat with kindness and never looked or treated me unfairly like many others. Hinata's father and some from the Hyuuga clan, mostly from that Cadet Branch part, also treat me kindly regardless of the fact that I'm a Jinchuuriki. Hinata's younger sister, like many other youths her age and older, doesn't know yet and I prefer that for now.
"Saving Hinata-chan from those bullies five years ago was the best thing I did. It led the way for her clan to gradually accept me though some still look at me with disdain. Besides jiisan, the old man and Ayame-chan, Hinata's clan became a family for me and Hinata-chan is my dearest and closest best friend. These are the very factors that helped me deal with the villagers' discrimination and prejudice against me for something that was never my fault."
"I'm happy that you have such a dear friend like Hinata in your life Naruto," Iruka said, "I really do mean that. I also want you to know that even though I knew you're the Jinchuurirki, I never looked at you as if you were the Kyuubi itself, but its jailer. You weren't the monster that attacked Konoha and killed of all of those people and my parents all those years ago
"I know as your sensei I've always been hard on you because I saw a lot of myself in you to tell you the truth. I understand what it's like to be an orphan. Like you, I made lots of jokes, even if they were on me, just so I could have attention from as many people and children as I could possibly get. But it was a lonely life and I cried many times because I had no family."
Iruka sighed and his lowered his head, "In spite of all this, as your sensei, I failed to empathize with you and instead I scolded you countless times rather helping you where you needed the most help in. Uzumaki Naruto, I'm truly sorry."
This was the first Naruto ever seen Iruka apologize to him ever so sincerely. He found no trace of hypocrisy in Iruka's speech.
"Hey Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied with his huge trademark smile, "Don't worry too much about it. I still became a Genin earlier today even though you delayed me one year. But that's water under the bridge and I managed to make Konoha safer with one less traitor to worry about."
"You did," Iruka agreed, "You helped make Konoha safer. I suppose I can reward you."
"I'm good," Naruto said, "Besides I have to get ready for tomorrow to take my ninja photo ID, and there's something personal I have to take care of before the night is over. I'll see'ya."
Iruka was about to say something to Naruto but the hyperactive blonde had already took off from the scene.
"And I used to think I had Naruto all figured out," Iruka said to himself, "I wonder what more I'm to find out about him."
(At The Hokage Tower)
Hiruzen sighed after he watched the entire scene between Iruka and Naruto from his crystal ball. He was happy that things didn't get out of hand and that the real traitor was exposed and stopped. Leaving his private quarters, he went to his office and sent out a message calling off the hunt for Naruto, stating that the true criminal was found and that the scroll was being returned with the criminal brought in for questioning.
While in his office, Hiruzen took out his pipe and filled it with tobacco and lit it before taking a poof out of it. He exhaled the smoke from his mouth as he relaxed. His time for relaxing was cut short when Naruto appeared with both the scroll and a severely injured Mizuki being brought in by his clones.
"Here's the scroll," Naruto said as he entered and placed it down on the Hokage's desk, "And one of the many trashes of this village."
.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/madarasama125🎉