Behind the Waterfall

#2 Graduation Mission

Smiling a bit at the memory the boy pulled his hands apart revealing the leaf with a small cut in it. Smiling a bit at the progress he had made he let the green leaf drop, before taking another one off the ground.

A while later Naruto was becoming restless. He knew that no one from his class was left in the classroom, since he had seen everyone leave with their parents, so he was slightly confused, why Mizuki hadn't approached him yet. The ground around the swing was littered with leaves that had tears in it, when he heard the door of the academy open. Resisting the urge to look up he kept his gaze down, appearing to be sad and depressed.

"Naruto, boy." Mizuki called out, making the blonde look up. The smile on the teacher's face was so obviously fake that Naruto wanted to punch him right there and then.

"Hello Mizuki-sensei." He responded, his voice sad as he slowly swung on the swing.

"I'm sorry about failing you. But there is a way for you to still become a genin." The white haired man stated, earning a surprised look from Naruto, where the boy didn't even have to act.

"Yeah, it is true. There is a mission, where a sensei can have a student show his skills in a real life situation. That is especially designed for people like you, who are capable in the practical side of things but don't quite make the cut in the academic part." Mizuki stated, as he crouched down, putting his face on the same level as Naruto's.

"Do you want to take this test?" He asked, almost whispering, putting a hand on his shoulder. The boy felt him remove the seal on his shoulder, as he nodded furiously.

"Alright. I won't have to tell you that this is top secret and no one can know about it. You will have to sneak into the Hokage's office and steal the scroll of sealing. You will have to find out where he hides it, the only thing I know about it is that it is a giant scroll with green ends." The teacher ordered, as Naruto realized where this was going.

"We will meet again at midnight at the abandoned shack outside of the village. You know which one I am talking about?" The blonde nodded, knowing exactly which shack he was talking about, he had spent a lot of his birthdays there to avoid the villagers.

"I will get it done!" He shouted, pumping his fist in the air, earning a small smirk from the chunin.

"Alright, I will be waiting for you." Mizuki stated, as he turned to leave.

"Let's get this show on the road." Naruto whispered as he climbed the Hokage tower. He still wore his clothes from the academy, consisting of a dark blue shirt and black trousers. Reaching the ledge in front of the window, he quickly hid his chakra as best as he could, before reaching up and pulling himself upwards. He smiled slightly, as he found no one in the office. Of course, it was late at night so he hadn't expected the Hokage to still be there, but he had at least expected to have to avoid at least one guarding Jonin or even Anbu. It seemed that luck was on his side, as he slid the window up and quickly climbed into the room.

"Do you know where the scroll is kept?" Naruto thought towards the fox inside of him. Hoping that the beast had paid attention when his previous host Mito Uzumaki had been in the office with her husband, the first Hokage Hashirama Senju.

"I think the first kept it in a small storage seal in his desk. But I don't know where that seal is." Kurama stated, as the blonde boy made his way towards the desk. Carefully opening each of the drawers he tried making as little noise as possible, as he searched. The last drawer was also empty of any storage seals, as Naruto sighed looking around the room looking for anything that stood out.

Looking at the only picture on the wall, he noticed that it had to have been taken long after the first and second Hokage had died. Thinking that maybe Hiruzen or even the fourth Hokage had hung that picture to disguise the seal, moving it in the process.

Making his way around the table, he was so focused on the picture, that he accidentally knocked the pencil holder from the table. Quickly acting on his reflexes, Naruto caught the grey container, thanking the gods that there hadn't been any pencils in it. Staying still for a few seconds Naruto calmed down, before standing back up straight. Putting the pencil holder back on the table Naruto froze as he saw the small intricate lines where the empty cup had stood. Smiling with relief, the blonde moved a few pieces of paper aside to get a better look and saw that the seal was indeed a storage seal. Applying a bit of chakra, a cloud of smoke appeared and he felt the weight of a large scroll in his arms.

Resisting the urge to look inside, Naruto quickly put it on his back, using the carrying strap that was attached to it, before he climbed out of the window again.

"Do you think he will try to ambush you?" Kurama asked in his head.

"Don't think so. I mean, he thinks that I am convinced this is a mission and that I have to give this scroll to him, so I don't think he would risk me becoming suspicious in case I find him laying the trap. I presume that he will get the scroll from me and then try to attack me when I leave." Naruto thought back, having no intention of letting the treacherous chunin get his hands on the scroll.

"I think we should tell the Hokage. I doubt he would be pleased if he found out that you stole the scroll and went to face a chunin without his knowledge, even though you knew it was a trap by Mizuki." Kurama stated, as the blonde landed on the ground next to the Hokage tower. "Yeah, you are probably right." Naruto nodded, turning and running towards the house where the third Hokage lived.

Luckily Naruto saw light in the Sarutobi mansion. Making his way to the door he heard commotion inside and was about to knock when the door was thrown open.

"Naruto, move out of the way! I have to get to the office, it's an emergency!" The Hokage exclaimed, as he almost ran into the boy.

"Let me guess, someone stole the scroll of sealing?" Naruto stated, a small smile on his face as he took said scroll from his back. Stopping in his tracks the elderly man looked at the boy, his eyes darting from the blonde's face to the scroll in his hands and back.

"Let me recall the Anbu and then you tell me what this is about." Hiruzen demanded turning around again and moving back into the house.

"Don't!" Naruto exclaimed, as he took the liberty to follow the Hokage.

"Let me explain. I failed the exams today, as I am sure you know. However, I was deliberately tricked by Mizuki Touji into failing, because he wanted me to steal the scroll and deliver it to him." Naruto explained, as the Third sat down, taking the scroll out of Naruto's hands.

"Why would he want that?" The man asked.

"I think he wants to steal the scroll and flee the village. He told me that it was a secret mission for students that fail the exams but are capable in real life. I would suggest letting everyone think that someone really stole the scroll and have some Anbu follow me to the meeting point, where they can arrest Mizuki." Naruto explained, putting the scroll on the ground next to him.

"That sounds like a great plan. But you know, that we can't give him the chance to get his hands on the real scroll. We would need a decoy." The Hokage stated, as he thought about a possible decoy.

"That should do." He murmured as he got a large scroll out of a closet. Quickly weaving through hand signs, the ends of the scroll turned green, just like the ones from the scroll of sealing before he handed the scroll to Naruto.

"I hope I can trust you to stay alive?" He asked, earning only a small smile from the boy in front of him.

"Alright, you may go. I will have a Squad of Anbu follow you." He instructed.

Watching the boy leave the house the Hokage went through another set of hand signs and waited for a few seconds.

"You summoned us?" Came from behind him, causing Hiruzen to turn around. Smiling slightly at the sight of his Anbu in front of him he nodded.

"Yes, follow Naruto Uzumaki. Stay hidden. He will lead you to Mizuki Touji. As soon as Mizuki takes possession of the scroll Naruto carries, arrest him. He is to be brought to me tomorrow." He ordered, his voice cold.

"When you are done, bring Naruto to me." He added, his features smoothening. The five Anbu in front of him nodded and vanished, as they could feel Naruto's presence slowly distancing itself from the house.