Chapter 261 - A Fake Test & A Bad Omen

With Naruto & Mizuki.

"Naruto. I'm here because there is one more test for the graduation exam."

"One more test?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion. 'I've never heard of any tests. What's going on?'

"What do you mean Mizuki sensei? I've never heard of another test."

The academy Chunin smiled. "There is a reason for that. The graduation test you just took was to see who can become a Genin. The test you need to take will determine who really becomes a Genin. It can even help with team placements and final ranks in class. This test is kept a secret so the new recruits don't cheat."

Naruto's eyes widened and he grinned in excitement. 'If I can pass this test then maybe I can get a higher grade than Sasuke.'

"Awesome. Alright sensei what's the test?"

Mizuki took a small scroll from his pocket and rolled it open. He showed it to the eager student and explained. "This scroll contains a list of tasks assigned from the most difficult to the least difficult. Some tasks would be to retrieve small items, some tasks would be to follow others under stealth. Others will be for combat. There are some rules but I'll explain that later."

Naruto looked at the scroll and saw Sasuke's name right next to the second task. He also saw several of his friend's names as well next to the tasks on the list.

"Wait, is everyone in class already participating in this?" Naruto asked the Chunin.

"Most of them. Some declined. But your friends? Yes. They've already chosen their assignments. The higher the difficulty the more points you'll get. Sasuke chose the second task which is to fight a chunin. The only task more difficult than that is the retrieval of a scroll from the Hokage Tower…"

Mizuki carefully kept an eye on Naruto and watched with hidden glee as the boy's eyes narrowed when hearing the words. 'Bruise your ego and you'll do exactly what I want.'

"But that task is way too difficult... Too much for a fresh ordinary Genin." Mizuki shrugged and said in a nonchalant manner. "Now then why don't you choose a task to complete from the middle. I'm sure you can pass that and get a good ranking."

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before asking the question that was on his mind. "Hey Mizuki sensei, If I were to complete the first task, how many points would I get?"

'So predictable…'

"Naruto. Retrieving the scroll is way too difficult. You should pick something else." Mizuki said as if trying to change his mind.

"Please sensei. Just tell me."

"Well, that's the toughest challenge on the list. If you were to complete that then you would automatically become Rookie of the year."

Those words brought a big grin to the boy's face. "Awesome. I'll be the Rookie of the year instead of that jerk. Okay sensei. I've decided. I'm going to take the scroll from the Hokage Tower."

"Are you sure about this Naruto?"

"Yes yes. Now tell me the rules."

"Well, I'll give you information on what scroll you need to retrieve, where it's located and where to bring it. Now remember, your friends have already chosen their tasks. And some of them include surveillance on their classmates and battling. So make sure you don't interact with them or get caught or you might lose points." Mizuki said and Naruto paid close attention and eagerly nodded to everything.

"When you reach the final location, wait for me. Till I get to you your test won't end. So keep that in mind. The information you need is here." Mizuki said and handed Naruto a small paper with the details inside.

Naruto looked at the paper and soon put it in his pocket. He thought about how to get past the guards and he had a mischievous grin on his face. "Sweet. This is gonna be easy."

"Good luck Naruto." The Chunin instructor said with a smile.

"Thanks. Next time you see me, I'm gonna be Rookie of the year. Believe it!" The next second Naruto took off and the kind smile fell from Mizuki's face.

'You have no idea what's in store for you, brat.'

A moment later Mizuki vanished from his spot in a puff of smoke and left the area, unaware that his conversation was overhead and seen by two people.

—-

Fire Country Border. Same time.

In a casino near the Land of Waterfall one of the Legendary Sannin was having a great time. As Tsunade used the slot machine Shizune and Tonton came near.

"Aahh… The hot spring here is wonderful. I haven't felt this good in a while." The young medic said as she sat down watching her teacher lose again. "Maybe you should try something else, Lady Tsunade."

"Just one more roll, Shizune." The blonde Sannin said and pulled the lever on the machine and the dial on the screen started to rotate.

"It was nice of them to invite us to an all expenses paid vacation at this new casino. Although I'm pretty sure they did it because they knew you'd lose every coin and bring them huge profits."

Tsunade drank some sake and looked at her student with a smirk. "Does it really matter? I'm having fun, you're having fun. Let's just enjoy ourselves." She said and leaned back in her chair.

But the next second something the two women didn't expect, happened. All three dials on the slot machine screen landed on jackpot and coins were coming out of the machine.

Tsunade had won.

The blonde woman looked at the pile of coins and then the screen in terror. 'I won? This… can't be… This isn't good. Winning is a bad omen.'

The two medic ninjas were shocked as they saw the results. Shizune was surprised but quickly it turned into excitement. "Oh my god. My lady, you won. You won! This is a lot more than I expected." She turned to face her teacher but instead of excitement she saw dread on the woman's face.

"What's wrong my Lady?"

Tsunade jerkily turned to her student. "Shizune... Remember what happened the last time I won a bet…"

Shizune recalled the incident. "Wasn't that with Daichi just before we…" Her eyes widened in realization. "No... Lady Tsunade, you don't think…"

"Pack everything quickly. We need to get out of here right now." Tsunade stood from her spot and became vigilant.

Shizune nodded and quickly took the winnings and stored them in a scroll. Within minutes the master and apprentice medics left the casino and was on the road.

Tsunade's mind was running a mile a minute. 'Why now? What's going to happen? Is something going to happen to me or Shizune… Or… Is it Daichi… or someone else?

—-

Leaf Village.

Shikamaru, Choji and Ino were walking through the village streets talking about what happened at the academy.

"I still don't get it! What secret about Naruto are they all hiding?" Ino said as she racked her brain for a possible explanation.

"Just forget about it, Ino. Let it go. It's not our business." Shikamaru said.

"Now you're just repeating what our dads said. Come on. Aren't you the least bit curious?" Ino asked and Choji was also paying attention to Shikamaru.

"They must have a good reason." Shikamaru said nothing more than that and just kept walking.

"Naruto seemed pretty bummed out. Where do you think he went?" Choji asked.

"My money is on that Ramen store. Ichiraku Ramen. After that maybe he went home…" The Nara replied with a shrug.

"Should we (munch) go find him?"

"Well… I think we should-" Just as Shikamaru was deciding on what to do he saw Hinata coming towards them running. His eyes narrowed as he saw the panicked expression on the girl's face.

"Hinata. What are you doing here?" Ino asked, looking at the girl.

Hinata was unsure as to what to say but the three others could see that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked the girl.

"It's… It's Naruto. I think he might be in trouble." The Hyuga replied and the others were alarmed.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked her friend.

"I was on my way to see Naruto and… and I saw him talking with Mizuki."

"Mizuki sensei?" Ino and Choji were confused as to why that was a problem but Shikamaru's eyes instantly narrowed and he was on alert. "Hinata. Tell us everything you saw and every word Mizuki said to Naruto. Don't leave anything out."

The other two were also paying attention as the Hyuga began recapping what happened.

Flashback.

Hinata was on her way back home but half way through she decided to find Naruto and congratulate him. 'I can do this. Just wish him well. Yes…'

She somehow found the courage and turned around and started searching for the blonde boy. Hinata used her Byakugan and soon found her crush. She was hesitant for a few moments. She took a deep breath and gathered up the strength to go over to him but stopped, seeing as someone else was also there for Naruto.

'Mizuki sensei? What is he doing with Naruto?'

She looked around with her Byakugan and saw that another person was also eavesdropping on Mizuki and Naruto's conversation. 'That's… But what's he doing here…'

She knew how Mizuki really felt about Naruto so she ignored the other person and concentrated on the conversation between the Chunin and the new Genin. She was not able to hear what was being said but she was able to read lips.

'Another test? I've hadn't gotten any tests…'

She saw the list and the tasks written down and saw her name and her friend's names on the list. 'He's… Lying. But why is he doing this?'

'No, Naruto. Don't… Please don't do it.'

But her hope was in vain. She watched helplessly as Mizuki tricked Naruto into taking the task at the top of the scroll. Hinata quickly memorized the contents of the paper Mizuki gave her friend and saw the Chunin's face turn malicious after Naruto left.

Mizuki left seconds after and Hinata saw the other hidden eavesdropper leave as well. 'No. They're gone. What should I do? Who do I go to for help? Daichi said to go to Iruka sensei but will he believe me?'

At that time she remembered that she wasn't the only one who knew what Mizuki was really like. 'Shikamaru. He'd know what to do.'

Hinata quickly rushed through the streets of the village looking all around. It wasn't long before she spotted Shikamaru with Ino and Choji.

Flashback End.

"Wait. Another test? What's Mizuki sensei talking about?" Ino was surprised to hear that.

"Yeah. I thought we had already graduated." Choji spoke looking to his friend for an explanation.

"We did. There is no other test. Mizuki lied. He tricked Naruto." Shikamaru replied in a grave tone.

"But why?"

At Ino's question Shikamaru turned to Hinata. "Mizuki wanted Naruto to steal some scroll for him. I think that's what this is all about… Hinata. You said you read the paper Mizuki gave Naruto right? What was the name of the scroll he wanted Naruto to take?"

"The Forbidden scroll."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. He heard the name of that scroll before. "I've overheard dad once talking about that scroll. The Forbidden scroll contains some of the village's most powerful and dangerous jutsus. Only the Hokage has access to it and some high level Jonin can take a look inside the scroll with the Hokage's permission. At least that's what I know…"

Hinata, Ino and Choji immediately understood the danger of the situation.

"Wait. If a scroll like that gets stolen then…"

"It'll be chaos in the village. And if it falls into the hands of another village... There's no telling what might happen." Shikamaru's words clearly told them the seriousness of the situation.

"We… We need to tell someone."

"Yeah. I agree with Hinata. I think we should tell the Hokage about this right now." Ino said but Shikamaru was silent.

"What are we going to do?" Choji asked his friend.

"Hold on. Let me just think." The young Nara kneeled and brought his hands together. He closed his eyes and thought about the best way to proceed.

'What do we do? How do we get Naruto out of this mess and trap Mizuki?'

A minute passed in silence and the other three academy graduates were getting anxious. Suddenly Shikamaru opened his eyes and stood up. He looked at the other three and knew they would be with him to help Naruto.

"I have a plan… I need you guys to do exactly as I say."